The Bible: Special Revelation

What Is Special Revelation?

              What is special revelation?  We know that general revelation is the revelation of God in nature that is available to all.  “By special revelation we mean those acts of God whereby He makes Himself and His truth known at special times and to specific peoples.”[1]  In special revelation God is not manifesting Himself to all, but is revealing Himself in a more in depth way to specific people.

Instances of Special Revelation

              Special revelation has occurred in a variety of times and manners.  The writer of the book of Hebrews acknowledged this saying, “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; ” (Hebrews 1:1–2, KJV)  Among the ways in which God revealed Himself to man in times past are: dreams (Jacob in Genesis 28), a vision in a trance/dream (Peter in Acts 10), visible, face-to-face (Moses Numbers 12:8), and a visible and verbal revelation (Peter, James, and John in Matthew 17:1-6).  It is crucial that we notice that revelation is God’s prerogative and not man’s.  Man has never dictated to God how He will reveal Himself.  Special revelation is special not only in the sense of it being a special occasion when God reveals Himself to someone, but also because it is the special work of God in His sovereign wisdom.

The Bible: Special Revelation

              “..nobody would know the truth about God, or be able to relate to him in a personal way, had not God first acted to make himself known. But God has so acted, and the sixty-six books of the Bible, thirty-nine written before Christ came and twenty-seven after, are together the record, interpretation, expression, and embodiment of his self-disclosure. God and godliness are the Bible’s uniting themes.”[2]

              Note that Packer holds that the Bible is special revelation from God.  God has revealed Himself to us in His Word.  He continues saying, “The Bible should, however, not be regarded as a revelation that is co-ordinate with the ones we have already mentioned, but rather as an embodiment of them.  It records, for instance, the knowledge of God and His dealings with the creature which men of old gathered from nature, history, and conscience, as also from miracles, prophesy, the Lord Jesus Christ, and inner experience, and Divine instruction.”[3]  

              It is interesting to note that the first recorded revelation of God is a verbal revelation.  That is seen when “God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. ” (Genesis 1:28, KJV)  Since that time, God has continued to reveal Himself verbally to man.  In fact, I can think of no instance in which God has revealed Himself that He has not verbally revealed Himself.  In fact, God being a personal God, and seeking to bring us into a personal relationship with Him; it is only logical that He reveal Himself to us verbally.  Not only so, but a written record of that revelation is helpful, too.  Louis Berkhof explains why: “..God provided for its inscripturation, so that His revelation now comes to us, not in the form of deeds and events, but as a description of these. In order to guard against volatilization, corruption, and falsification, He gave it permanent form in writing.” [4]  How true it is that the interpretation and transmission of deeds and event can, and indeed will, be corrupted in transmission.  Oral transmission is very susceptible to change and corruption.  One only need think of one experience with gossip to recognize this as the truth.  If something is written down, copied, and widely spread, it is difficult to falsify as there are too many witnesses to the truth, and those witnesses would be practically impossible to recover, change, or destroy.  Thus it is that we can affirm that  “Revelation..is God’s continuing act of self-disclosure through the medium of the Bible.”[5]

              As we read our Bibles we find that the New Testament church, including Jesus, counted the Old Testament writings to be to revelation of God.

              Jesus counted the writings of Moses to be God speaking to us:  “Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God. For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven. But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living. ” (Matthew 22:29–32, KJV)  Though God revealed Himself to Moses, Moses wrote it down.  Jesus declares that the words which were written by Moses is nothing less than God speaking to us!

              The apostolic writers believed the Scriptures to be the revelation of God.  The whole of Hebrews chapter one shows to us that the writer believed that God was speaking through the Scriptures.  Not only so, but Peter explicitly states that the Old Testament Scriptures were Divine Revelation: “Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow. Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into. ” (1 Peter 1:10–12, KJV)

              We can also have confidence that the New Testament that we have today is God’s revelation of Himself.  Jesus promised that there would be more revelation to come: “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. ” (John 14:26, KJV)  “I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. ” (John 16:12–14, KJV)  Later, Paul stated that what he taught and wrote were revelation: “..we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. ” (1 Corinthians 2:13, KJV)  John also was cognizant of the fact that he was giving to us revelation from God: “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;) That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full. ” (1 John 1:1–4, KJV)  Notice that John states what he had seen and heard: God manifest Himself to us in human flesh (See John 1:1-14) and now John writes it down.  John understood that he was giving to us written revelation.  In fact, he is plain about this when he says, “And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name. ” (John 20:30–31, KJV)  Special revelation was given that we might have the knowledge of God, and John’s statement demonstrates that he was aware that he was giving the knowledge of God and His salvation in Christ Jesus.

              Finally, we have great confidence in this revelation of God because it has proven itself to be a book of unity, coherence, and trustworthiness.  The clarity of thought, the coherence of the Christian system of thought, and the track record of fulfilled prophecy all give us confidence that God has indeed revealed Himself to us in His Word.

              It is now up to us how we respond.