Revelation: 4 trustworthy ways you Can know about God
Snapshot:
- You cannot know something unless it is revealed in some way.
- You can only know God because he has chosen to reveal himself.
- God has revealed himself in four ways; creation, the Bible, Jesus, and one’s conscience.
You cannot understand God without Revelation. God revealing himself is required in the Christian faith. To illustrate this, I want you to imagine that I am standing before you and I am holding items in my closed fist. If I then asked you to take a guess on what is in my hand, would you be able to guess it? Imagine I am in front of you, what would you guess is in my hand? Take a few minutes to think about what is in my hand in the picture.
Hover over the image of my hand if you did not already to see what I have in my hand.
Did you guess it right? Probably not. You cannot figure something out unless it is revealed to you. You discover things through sight, touch, smell, sound, and taste as something reveals itself to you. You cannot comprehend something or even think about something unless that thing is revealed to you. This knowing, is often referred to as epistemology which is all about how one knows what they know.
As the analogy shows, the only way a person can know something is if that something has been revealed in some way. The big question then becomes, in what way does God reveal himself. We know God has chosen to reveal himself in four different ways.
1. Revelation through creation
God reveals himself through creation. Paul, in Romans discusses one way God reveals himself. Romans 1:20 says, “Forever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.” Holy Bible: New Living Translation. Paul is discussing how God has revealed his qualities to all of mankind through nature. This does not mean one interprets his qualities properly through nature as observers of nature make mistakes. Just think about the progression in humanities view of the cosmos and which planets revolved around others. The theory of gravity changed greatly as science progressed. Therefore, this is not saying that mankind understand everything in creation but that through creation, one can have an idea of God’s qualities. The way nature works and all its intricacies put God’s power and caring nature on display. Humans can misunderstand nature but the creation reflections the amazing creator through holy eyes.
2. Revelation through the Bible
God reveals himself through the Bible. Luke 24:27, 44-46. Jesus, his resurrection explains to the disciples his death and resurrection using the Scriptures. Luke says this, “Then Jesus took them through the writings of Moses and all the prophets, explaining from all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.” Luke also records another account of Jesus in which Luke claims Jesus said, “‘When I was with you before, I told you that everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and in the Psalms must be fulfilled.’ Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.” God has chosen to reveal himself through the Scriptures. This is why it is imperative that Christians find themselves regularly studying the Word of God.
3. Revelation through Jesus
God reveals himself through Jesus. According to Matthew 11:27 and Colossians 1:15 “My Father has entrusted everything to me. No one truly knows the Son except the Father, and no one truly knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” Mt 11:27. Notice that the Son reveals who God is and what he is like. This is why Colossians says, “Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation.” Col 1:15. Christ is God in the flesh as he took on human form and reveals what the invisible God is like. God reveals who he is through the sending of his son.
4. Revelation through one's conscience
God Reveals himself through one’s conscience. According to Paul’s letter to the Romans, he says, “Even Gentiles, who do not have God’s written law, show that they know his law when they instinctively obey it, even without having heard it. They demonstrate that God’s law is written in their hearts, for their own conscience and thoughts either accuse them or tell them they are doing right.” Ro 2:14–15. Notice that Paul says that God’s law is written on their hearts and informs them of whether they are doing right or wrong. Many have thought of this as the Moral Law, which all cultures believe certain actions are right or wrong. Across cultures and time certain actions have been deemed as wrong such as taking another persons possessions or murder. C.S. Lewis writes about the Moral Law in his book Mere Christianity if you would like to read more on it. It is important to note that the conscience can be deceived and should not be your leading source for understanding God. When a person repeats sinful actions it starts to dull their senses in that the repeated sinful action starts to be thought of as amoral (neither right nor wrong) instead of immoral. Sin hardens a person and the continued action of sin can sear one’s conscious. By knowing there is right and wrong in the world, one comes to the reality that something outside of themselves, and above themselves placed the moral law and that reveals that God exists.
So what now?
Seek the God that has revealed himself and do not make a god out of your own imagination. This starts by seeking God where he has revealed himself. Start reading a Gospel if you have not done so in awhile. Start with the book of Luke. See who Jesus is. Ask the questions; what is he like? What does he believe? what does he do? Another thing you can do is ponder creation. Watch a nature documentary and ponder the intricate ways God has designed you, the world around you, and the universe. Remember in all of this to pray for God’s wisdom and also pray that he instructs your conscience properly.