We can fit quite a number of different motivations and moral systems into the physical nature of the universe and the way in which our lives function in it. What is true? Here is where special revelation comes in.
There are two fairly obvious ways in which one can be misled, both of which result from applying the wrong type of revelation to the problem. Using special revelation to gain information about the physical world has resulted in young earth creationism, the doctrine that the earth (and the universe) is a mere 6,000 years old, and was created in six literal days. An overwhelming mass of scientific evidence stands against this conclusion. Everything we can learn from the natural world contradicts it, yet advocates hang onto it simply because they believe it is what the Bible teaches. The special revelation, in this case, trumps the revelation of the physical world in an area in which it should not.
The reverse case is Social Darwinism. Here simply because we observe that those most fit to fill an environmental niche will survive, while those less suited fail, we decide that in society this is what ought to be. In this case observations from science are abused to produce a moral conclusion.
Direct and Clear Revelation
I first truly struggled with this question in a small study group I was leading several years ago. Part of the group program was that we would take however much time the members wanted to and work through the meaning of each passage as long as the group cared to do so. This led to some rather lengthy arguments, and often to nitpicking the meaning. (You should only use this kind of approach in a study group if everyone truly wants to do it.) In one such session we were debating some passages in Revelation, and one of the members finally gave in to frustration and said, “Why can’t God just write all this out in the sky clearly, so that we would know beyond any doubt what it meant?”
Hebrews 1:1-4 tells us that God has spoken at various times and in various ways through the prophets. Now, in the last days, he has spoken by means of his Son. But you and I still have to listen to God speak to someone else. We don’t see a physical Jesus or hear him preach. Instead we read reports of what he said to other people 2,000 years ago. We don’t even get to listen to the author of Hebrews; indeed, we can’t seem to agree on who he (or some say she) is. So again we’re hearing him speak to other people, and we are kind of eavesdropping. Why doesn’t God make it clearer? Why doesn’t he speak directly to me?
It’s not just speaking directly, though. It’s the clarity that’s important. If God would just make the message personal, we would not have to consider just what the principles are, and how to apply them to our own lives–we’d know!
I believe that God does speak to each person directly, but clarity is another matter. In doing prayer ministry, one reason people will ask me to pray with them is that they believe they have heard from God, but they’re not sure that it is God, or they’re not sure just how to put it into practice.
This is not an easy question to resolve quickly, but it’s a good question to think about. Let me make some suggestions:
1 God wants us to learn to think. We often treasure the work of the prophets, and we like the results of the wisdom writers, but are we willing to do the work that goes behind wisdom? Hebrews 5:14 tell us: “14Solid food is for the mature, for those who through practice have exercised their understanding to distinguish good and evil.” God may well want us to practice our own judgment and discernment and grow in wisdom.
2 God wants us to hear from him in a community. Any one of us can go wildly astray on our own, but when we have accountability to brothers and sisters, at a minimum we have to consider the response of those close to us to what we say. Even writing a blog entry makes me give consideration to how people will receive and understand what I say. What impact will my words have? That is a natural accountability that comes simply from us being in community..
3 God wants to leave us free to make unpressured decisions. This is hard for some of us to understand, because we think we want to know and do precisely what God commands. But if God made himself too obvious, we might feel pressured just by his obvious presence, sort of like having the boss breathing down our neck.
4 Those who actually listen to God are rare. It’s possible that God is speaking a great deal more than we are hearing, and that the prophets are the ones who listen more. If this one sounds good to you, make sure to consider the idea of the prophetic call Ezekiel 1 or Isaiah 6, for example, in this connection. Is it possible God calls many, and only a few hear and report the situation?
The Word was in the beginning; the Word was with God and the Word was God. Right at the beginning He was with God. All things came into existence through Him. – John 1:1-3a (HN)
The Word of God
At some point, however, we are assuming that someone listens. For Abraham the word of God was something that God had spoken to him. We don't know how he discerned when God was speaking. Perhaps God graciously made it more clear to him, since he knew that Abraham had nothing to which he could compare what he heard.
In modern times, the most common use of the phrase “word of God” is to refer to the written word, and specifically to that collection of books that we call the Bible. This is one case in which a change of terminology can be dangerous.
God's word includes whatever God says, and since his word is also action, whatever God does. The phrase word of God, as used in scripture, is very broad in meaning. The primary function of the word is creation. Genesis 1 emphasizes this and reemphasizes it by showing God speaking, and whatever God speaks, becomes so. Psalm 33:6-9 makes this explicit.
Psalm 104 first emphasizes the power of God's spoken Word (Psalm 104:7), and then the continuing nature of God's creative activity. Jesus is the Word made flesh (John 1:1-3; 14), the ultimate form of God's message to humanity (Hebrews 1:1-3).
Even salvation is an example of God's creative power in action, this time through the Word made flesh. "Anyone who belongs to Christ is a new person. The past is forgotten, and everything is new." - 2 Corinthians 5:17.
God created everything, and so we can learn about God from the natural world and the events that take place in it (general revelation). While we cannot get the same information from studying nature that we can through God's revealed Word in scripture (special revelation) and through the gift of prophecy, we can get truth which comes from studying the word of God in action.
When we engage in scientific study truthfully and honestly, we are studying the word of God. We can approach it with prayer, reverence, and an openness to what God wants us to learn. We should certainly approach it with honesty.
There are some who suggest that we should study the natural world specifically to support certain theological presuppositions. But the best way to learn accurately about God in his creation is by observing it as objectively as possible. We need to allow nature to speak to us just as we allow the scriptures to speak with us, and allow both to correct our own understanding. Together they will bring us a more complete picture of our creator.
But while creation is the primary function of the word, the physical things that are created are not the sole way in which we can receive the word. In the past God has spoken to us in many ways. He has sent angels (Genesis 18), He has spoken directly (Genesis 22, Exodus 19:16-25). He has given visions (Ezekiel 1, Isaiah 6, Acts 10) and dreams (Matthew 2:19-20), and communicated through through direct prophetic utterances.
Many of these are recorded in the Bible and throughout Christian history. The chart below presents a general process by which the word of God is received:
