Transcript Revelation & Inspiration

www.prshockley.org
REVELATION & INSPIRATION
Two types of Revelation:
 1. General Revelation
 2. Special Revelation.
Three questions that need to be asked:
What does “revelation” mean?
What distinguishes general revelation from
special revelation?
How are they related?
What does “Revelation” mean?
 The term “revelation” is from the Greek word
“apokalupsis,” which means “disclosure” or “unveiling.”
 Therefore, the term, “revelation” is may be divine
information that is disclosed or whereby God Himself
manifest Himself to His creatures.
 The key idea is that God discloses truth about Himself; it is
information that would not otherwise be known.
 Revelation can occur in one particular act;
 Revelation may be given over a long period of time;
 Revelation may be continuous (e.g., General Revelation).
What is General Revelation?

General Revelation is information given to everyone everywhere.

There are 6 “witnesses” or “manifestations” of revelation as discussed
religious and theological studies:






Witness of Creation (Psalm 19:1-6; Rom. 1:18-21)
Witness of Human Design (Genesis 1-3; Psalm 139)
Witness of Conscience (Genesis 3; Rom. 2:14-15)
Witness of God-ward longings (Rom. 2:14-15)
Witness of Consequences (sow and reap; reap and sow)
Witness of Providence (benevolence; food; rulers; water: Dan. 2:21; Matt. 5:45;
Acts 14:15-17).

For those that embrace general revelation, they typically contend that no one,
whatsoever, is ignorant of God’s existence, right from wrong, or the knowability
of truth. Notice that this information is empirical, rational, and intuitive.
What is Special Revelation?
Special revelation is more narrow than general
revelation. Special revelation is specific
information given to specific people as in
miraculous events, Divine Speech, and Visible
Manifestations.
Let us take a closer look …
Special Revelation as Miraculous Events:
1. Miraculous Events: God at work in concrete
historical ways within the world, affecting
what occurs such as the Call of Abram (Gen.
12); Birth of Isaac (Gen. 21); Passover (Exod.
12); Crossing of Red Sea (Exod. 14).
Special Revelation as Divine Speech:
2. Divine Speech: God’s Revelation through human language:
Example:
Audible speech (God speaking to Adam in the garden, Gen.
2:16, and to Samuel in the temple in 1 Sam. 3:4)
The Prophetic office (Deut. 18:15-18)
Dreams (Daniel, Joseph)
Visions (Ezekiel, Zechariah, John in Revelation)
Scripture (Psalm 19:7-11; 2 Timothy 3:16-17)
Special Revelation as Visible
Manifestations:
3. Visible Manifestation: God manifesting Himself in
Various Ways:
Examples:
Old Testament Theophanies: Gen. 16:7-14;
described as the angel of G-d;
Wrestling with Jacob in Gen. 32;
Shekinah Glory: Exod. 3:2-4; 24:15-18; 40:34-35.
What is the relationship between special
revelation & natural revelation?
Special
Revelation
Complimentary
Relationship?
Natural
Revelation
Thomas Aquinas:
 Aquinas advocates that true knowledge of
God can be gained from the spheres of
nature, history, and human personality pat
from the Bible. All truth is God’s truth.
Thomas Aquinas: He argued that a true knowledge of God can be gained
from spheres of natural revelation (e.g., nature, human personality, and
history) apart from the Bible. All truth belongs to two realms:
Higher realm is the realm of grace and is
accepted on authority by faith (reasonable
and not irrational faith (e.g., because of
what we do know about the character of
God, when can trust Him with the promises
of Scripture).
Lower realm is the realm of nature and is
known by reason (e.g., the existence of
God).
Catholic Theology:
A revealed theology is level two. This would include, for
example, substitutionary atonement, the Trinity, etc. On
this level a person is brought to salvation.
General Revelation provides a basis for the construction
of natural theology: level one. Natural theology is built
from building blocks of general revelation cemented into
place by reason and evidence. This includes proofs for
the existence of God. While this level is insufficient for
salvation, it champions personal awareness of the
existence of God, right from wrong, and the knowability
of truth.
Presbyterian Calvinistic Theology:
A revealed theology is level two. This would include,
for example, substitutionary atonement, the Trinity,
etc. On this level a person is brought to salvation via
regeneration.
General Revelation is level one. God has given
objective, valid revelation of Himself in general
revelation in nature, history, and human personality.
It can be observed by anyone: Psalm 19:1-6 and
Romans 1. Notwithstanding, sin has marred our
ability (our will) to yield to accept these truths apart
from His personal initiative in our lives.
Dutch Calvinistic Theology:
Level 1: Regeneration must first
take place. The elect must first be
brought from spiritual death to
spiritual life by means of the Holy
Spirit. Salvation is a gift by God and
is only given to the elect apart from
any evidence. Regeneration must
proceed faith.
General Revelation becomes
valuable for the believer at level
two. God has given objective, valid
revelation of Himself in general
revelation in nature, history, and
human personality. But general
revelation can only be observed by
the regenerate. Why? Original sin
destroyed the image of God in man.
Therefore, while truths from
general revelation exist & are
objective, the unregenerate is not
able to receive these truths. But
with salvation, the person is
enabled to see clearly what is in
general revelation.
Karl Barth
Barth Rejects Natural
Theology & General
Revelation
Revelation is redemptive
in nature. To know God
and to have current
information about Him is
to be related to Him in
salvific experience.
We are not able to know
God apart from revelation
in Christ for if man could
achieve some knowledge
of God outside of His
revelation in Christ, man
would have contributed in
some small measure to
his salvation.
People that do find God in
cosmos already know Him
from special revelation
communicated by the
Holy Spirit when one
reads the Word of Godwhich is the vehicle God
uses for one to encounter
God.
Inspiration:
We now to turn some of the more significant
views of inspiration.
Some thirty-eight hundred times the Scriptures declare,
“God said,” or “Thus says the Lord”:
For example in the Hebrew Scripture see Exodus 14:1;
20:1; Leviticus 4:1; Numbers 4:1; Deuteronomy 4:2;
32:48; Isaiah 1:10, 24; Jeremiah 1:11; Ezekiel 1:3.
In New Testament Literature see 1 Corinthians 14:37; 2
Peter 1:16-21; 1 John 4:6.
Issues regarding Inspiration of
Scripture:
 Theories of Inspiration involve the following
issues:
1. The role of the human element (individual
styles and personalities);
2. The Divine element (God’s role in
“breathing out” the Scriptures);
3. The result of the divine-human authorship
(e.g., recorded without error in form &
content).
Theories of Inspiration:
 Mechanical-Dictation Theory
 Partial Inspiration Theory
 Degrees of Inspiration Theory
 Conceptual Inspiration,
 Intuition or Natural Theory
 Illumination, Mystical, or Spiritual Theory
 Barthian or Neo-Orthodox Theory
 Verbal, Plenary Theory of Inspiration
Mechanical/Dictation Theory:
 The biblical author is a passive instrument in
the transmission of the revelation of God.
 The personality of the author is set aside to
preserve the text from fallible human aspects.
 These authors were mere secretaries who
wrote only the words they were told to write.
Partial or Dynamic Inspiration:
 Only the doctrines of Scripture that were unknowable to the
human authors were inspired
 This view allows for errors of various sorts in the Scripture.
 Typically adherents to this view believe that the message of
salvation is inspired whereas matters related to such things as
chronology, history, and science may be in error.
 Moreover, some advocates of this view contend that the
general ideas may be inspired but gave the human author the
freedom in the manner of expressing it.
Degrees of Inspiration:
 Certain portions of the Bible are more inspired or
differently inspired than other portions.
 The view allows for errors of various sorts in the
Scripture.
 Typically adherents to this view believe that the
message of salvation is inspired whereas matters
related to such things as chronology, history, and
science may be in error.
Conceptual Inspiration:
 Only the concepts or ideas of the writers are inspired
but not the words.
 God gave an idea or concept to the writer who then
penned the idea in his own words. Thus, there can be
errors in Scripture because the choice of the words is
left to the writer and is not superintended by God.
 Typically adherents to this view believe that the
message of salvation is inspired whereas matters
related to such things as chronology, history, and
science may be in error.
Intuition or Natural Inspiration:
 Only gifted individuals with exceptional insight
where chosen by God to write the Bible.
 Inspiration is reduced to an artistic ability or a
natural endowment.
Illumination or Mystical Theory of
Inspiration:
 The human authors were enabled by God to
write the Scriptures.
 The Holy Spirit heightened their normal powers.
 Thus it is not the writings that are inspired.
Instead, it is the writers are inspired.
Barthian or Neo-Orthodox Theory of
Inspiration:
 Bible is not to be exactly equated with the Word of God
because God does not speak in mere propositions.
 God does reveal information about Himself; He reveals
Himself.
 Thus, the Bible is not the substance of the Word of God,
but rather is the witness to the Word of God.
 Thus, the Bible is a vehicle to take you into an encounter
with God Himself.
Verbal, Plenary Inspiration:
 God used the individual authors and their personalities
to record exactly what God wanted recorded.
 Inspiration extends to the very words of Scripture
including tense of verb and formation of letters (verbal).
 Thus, the entire text of Scripture (plenary) is inspired.
 Verbal, plenary inspiration means that the Scriptures
are the product of the mind of God expressed in human
terms and conditions.
Verbal, Plenary Inspiration:
 For example, one proponent of verbal, plenary
inspiration is Dr. Charles C. Ryrie. Ryrie writes:
“Inspiration is… God’s superintendence of the
human authors so that, using their own
individual personalities, they composes and
recorded without error His revelation to man in
the words of the original autographs.”
~ A Survey of Bible Doctrine (Chicago: Moody,
1972), 38.