I want us to look at something foundational today
and start by understanding what is revelation
according to the Bible. You might be thinking,
why are we starting with this big word, revelation?
Why not jump straight to questions like, can
I trust the Bible? Or what about contradictions?
Because before we can ask, can I trust it? We
have to settle, what is it? Is the Bible just
ancient people doing their best to talk about
God? Or is it something else God himself actually
speaking? If it is only human religious talk,
you and I stay in the judge's seat. We get to
decide which parts we like. But if it is God's
own revelation, then everything flips. We are
no longer the judges. We are the listeners. When
I say revelation, I mean very simply. God making
himself known, not us climbing up to him, but
God coming down to us. So what exactly do I mean
by revelation? Let me put it as plainly as I
can. Revelation is God starting the conversation.
Revelation is God saying, you will never figure
me out by guessing, so I will tell you who I
am, what I have done, what I require, and what
I promise. That includes a few basic things.
God initiates. We do not force him to speak.
He chooses to. It is his decision and his kindness.
God gives real information. He tells us who he
is, his character, his names, his holiness, his
love, what he has done, creation, judgment, redemption,
what he commands, how we should live before him,
what he promises, salvation, and a future in
Christ. God's revelation has authority. When
God speaks, we are not being invited to give
feedback. We are called to listen, trust, and
obey. And the Bible does not just talk about
this idea in theory. It shows us a God who actually
speaks into history. Think of a few examples.
God calls Abraham. Scripture says, Now the Lord
said to Abram, Genesis chapter 12 verse 1, Abraham's
whole story begins because a word from outside
him breaks in. He is not inventing a new religious
idea. He is responding to a real personal command
and promise. God speaks to Moses from the burning
bush. Moses is not sitting in the desert, meditating
his way to a higher concept of God. God appears
in the bush, calls Moses by name, reveals his
covenant name, I am who I am, and sends him to
bring Israel out of Egypt. Exodus chapter 3.
The Old Testament prophets. Over and over we
read phrases like the word of the Lord came to
Jeremiah or thus says the Lord. For example,
Jeremiah chapter 1 verses 1 to 9, Isaiah chapter
1 verse 10, Ezekiel chapter 1 verse 3. The prophets
do not present their sermons as private reflections.
They say this is God's message to you. Then the
New Testament pulls the pieces together. 2 Timothy
3, verses 16 -17 says, All Scripture is breathed
out by God and is useful for teaching, rebuking,
correcting, and training in righteousness, so
that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped
for every good work. That means Scripture is
not just human thinking about God. It is God
-breathed, His own breath written down. Hebrews
chapter 1 verses 1 and 2 says, So the Bible sees
itself as God revealing himself, his character,
his acts, his will, and above all, his saving
work in Christ so that we can truly know him.
Isn't every religion just people guessing about
God? Now somebody might say, look, aren't all
religions basically humans trying to reach up
to God? Why should the Bible be any different?
From the Bible's point of view, there really
are only two basic patterns. Human guessing about
God, man climbing up. In this pattern, the starting
point is always human. People look at the world,
feel moral pressure, feel fear or longing, and
build religions and philosophies. The question
in their minds is, What do we think God is like?
The Bible says this often turns into idolatry
making gods in our own image. You see this in
Romans chapter 1. Paul says that what can be
known about God is plain to people because God
has shown it to them through creation. But instead
of honoring him, they exchange the glory of the
immortal God for images. Romans chapter 1 verses
18 to 23. They trade the real God for substitutes.
Isaiah chapter 44 paints that picture too. A
man cuts down a tree, uses half the wood to cook
his food, and with the other half carves a god
and bows down to it. The point is, left to ourselves,
we invent gods that are safe, small, and convenient.
God revealing himself. God coming down. In scripture,
the true knowledge of God does not start with
our search. It starts with God's initiative.
God speaks. God acts. God makes covenants. God
sends prophets. And finally, God sends his son.
He tells us, this is who I am. This is what I
have done. This is what I require. This is what
I promise in my son. Because this revelation
comes from an all -knowing, truthful God, it
gives real certainty, not just educated guesses.
It does not answer every curiosity we might have,
but it does give us everything we need for knowing
God truly and living before Him. So, are all
religions and philosophies just guesses? Scripture
says, no, God has spoken. A person who says all
religions are only guesses is assuming something,
that God, if He exists, has never clearly spoken.
But notice the tension. That same person still
wants to talk as if there are real moral truths,
real standards of logic, real meaning in life.
Those things actually make the most sense in
a world created and ordered by a wise God who
can and does make himself known. If everything
really is only guesswork, then you cannot ever
say with confidence what is right or wrong, or
whether there is any future judgment or hope.
The floor drops out. The Bible's answer is much
simpler. God has spoken, and he has done so in
a way that can be written, read, heard, and trusted.
Why does it matter if the Bible is God -speaking
or not? You might say, okay, I see the categories,
but practically, what difference does it really
make? Let me draw two simple pictures. First
picture. The Bible is just human ideas about
God. If that is true, you are free to compare
it with other ideas and pick what fits you. You
are the final authority. You decide what is right
and wrong. You can safely ignore any parts that
clash with your culture, your feelings, or your
plans. Second picture, the Bible is God -speaking
revelation. If that is true, you are no longer
over the Bible. You are under it. You come to
it with a listening posture. Lord, speak, correct
me, guide me. You expect the Bible to challenge
your assumptions, confront your sin, and comfort
you with promises you did not invent. Jesus teaches
us that Scripture settles all arguments, even
arguments with Satan. When the devil tempts him
in the wilderness, Jesus reasoned and presented
Scripture as his argument. He simply says, It
is written, and then quotes scripture, for example,
Matthew chapter 4, verses 4, 7, and 10. That
only makes sense if he believes the written word
is truly his father's voice. So revelation is
not a side issue. It is the difference between
us using the Bible as a resource and us bowing
to it as God's word. But isn't revelation scripture
plus the church's voice together? Here is an
important question, especially asked and believed
by our Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox friends.
Isn't revelation found in scripture and in the
church's living tradition and magisterium or
holy tradition? If the Bible is God's word, doesn't
the church also speak with the same authority?
I want to answer this respectfully. The Bible
does honor the church. It calls the church. the
body of Christ. It says God gives teachers and
leaders as gifts. We should not despise the wisdom
of the church through the centuries, but we also
have to notice what scripture itself does with
the relationship between God's word and human
traditions. Jesus speaks to the religious leaders
of his day in Mark chapter 7. He says, you leave
the commandment of God and hold to the tradition
of men. Mark chapter 7 verse 8. And he accuses
them of making void the word of God by their
tradition. Mark chapter 7 verses 6 to 13. The
point is not tradition is always bad. The point
is that when tradition contradicts God's written
word, scripture must win. Further, we honor the
church, but we must remember its place. The church
is the body and Christ is the head, as mentioned
in Colossians 1 .18. How does the head govern
the body? by His Word. If the Word of God is
God -breathed, as mentioned in 2 Timothy 3 .16,
and if it is Spirit, as mentioned in John 6 .63,
then we must remember that the Spirit blows where
He wishes, as mentioned in John 3 .8. The Spirit
is not a prisoner of the Church, the Spirit is
the Lord of the Church. The Word of the Lord
is Spirit. as mentioned in John 6 .63 and Ephesians
6 .17. And therefore, the church is controlled
and regulated by the word rather than the church
regulating the word. Remember how Jesus rebuked
the leaders of his day? He told them they leave
the commandment of God to hold to the tradition
of men, as mentioned in Mark 7 .8. Even the Bereans
in the book of Acts 17 .11 were praised because
they tested the apostles' own preaching against
the scriptures. If we put a human institution
on the same level as the word, the word eventually
becomes a prisoner of that institution. Only
if scripture is the supreme authority can the
church itself be reformed when it goes astray.
Because the Bible is the ultimate authority,
If a choice must be made between Jesus and the
Pope, we choose the Lord Jesus, as he is Lord
and the only infallible one, and his word, which
is spirit, is also infallible. John 1 .1 .14
.6, 2 Timothy 3 .16 In contrast to the Lord Jesus,
even the Pope is a fallible human being, prone
to sin. Romans 3 .23 Therefore, we choose the
Lord Jesus and his word to govern all life and
conduct. Psalm 119, 105, Matthew 4, 4. In Acts
chapter 17, Paul preaches in Berea. The people
there do something very important. They examine
the scriptures every day to see if what Paul
said was true. Acts chapter 17, verse 11. And
the Bible praises them for that. Even an apostle's
preaching is tested by the prior revelation in
scripture. In Galatians chapter 1, Paul says
that if even he himself or an angel from heaven
should preach a different gospel, that person
should be accursed. Galatians chapter 1 verses
8 to 9. So the final standard is not the status
of the speaker. It is the content of the gospel
already revealed. Historically, the early church
fathers and councils understood this. They appealed
to the prophetic and apostolic writings as the
decisive norm. Creeds and councils were meant
to summarize and defend what Scripture already
taught, not to add new equal -level revelation
alongside it. Now, what assumption sits underneath
the idea that we must have Scripture plus a living,
equal church authority? It assumes that the Bible
by itself is not clear or sufficient enough.
It assumes we need a continuing human voice that
can finally declare what God really meant. But
once you do that, something shifts. Scripture's
authority becomes dependent on the institution.
Whenever there is tension between the Bible and
later decisions, the later decisions tend to
win. The very body that is supposed to guard
revelation also gains the power to redefine it.
At that point, we no longer have a stable external
word from God that can correct the church. The
church is sitting on the bench. The Bible is
on trial. I am arguing that we must reverse that.
The church, including my own teaching and your
tradition, always has to stand under scripture
ready to be corrected. If God speaks, why can't
he keep giving new scripture? Let me raise another
question that often comes from Mormon friends
and from other groups that claim restored revelation.
If God speaks, why can't he keep giving new books
of scripture like the Book of Mormon or modern
prophetic words? On the surface, that sounds
very open and humble. We are open to more of
what God might say. But we need to listen to
how God himself describes his revelation. Hebrews
chapter 1 verses 1 and 2 says, Long ago, at many
times, and in many ways, God spoke to our ancestors
through the prophets. But in these last days
he has spoken to us by his Son. There is a clear
contrast. Before many times, many ways, prophets.
Now in these last days, by his Son. Jesus is
not just one more in a line of prophets. He is
the climactic word. Jude verse 3 tells us to
contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted
to God's holy people. Once for all entrusted
means the apostolic gospel is a completed deposit,
not an open -ended stream still being written.
At the very end of the Bible, in Revelation chapter
22, verses 18 to 19, there is a serious warning
to anyone who adds to or takes away from the
words of the prophecy of this book. Strictly,
that warning is about the book of Revelation
itself, but it fits with a broader pattern we
see through Scripture. God's covenant documents
have boundaries. They are not ever -expanding
libraries. Historically, The early church saw
itself as guarding that apostolic deposit, not
waiting for new canons centuries later to correct
the old one. Now, what assumption lies under
the idea of needing new scripture? It assumes
that what God said earlier was not sufficient
or not clear enough. It implies that God's previous
revelation needs to be fixed or completed by
later revelation. But if God is perfectly wise
and truthful, would he give revelation that he
knows is inadequate for his people for centuries?
Would he reveal himself in Christ and through
the apostles and then later say, actually, I
need to revise or correct that? If you say yes,
then you have, without meaning to, put a crack
in the character of God. You are saying his earlier
revelation was not fully wise, not fully sufficient
for what he intended. and once you go down that
road you can no longer be sure of any later revelation
either if his first word can be corrected why
not his second and third there is never a final
word you are always waiting for the next update
The Bible's own picture is different. It shows
God's revelation in Christ and the apostolic
witness as a completed foundation for the church
in every age. We do not need new scripture. We
need deeper faith and obedience to the scripture
we have. Isn't it arrogant to say we have real
revelation? One more question we need to face
honestly. Isn't it arrogant to say God has spoken
in the Bible? Isn't it more humble to say we
are all just doing our best? We need to admit
something here. There is such a thing as arrogant
Bible talk. You and I have seen people use verses
to beat others down with no humility, no love,
no brokenness over their own sin. That is wrong.
But notice, it is not arrogant for a creature
to say, my creator has spoken and I believe him.
That is actually humility. True arrogance is
saying, I will trust my own mind, my own feelings,
my own spiritual impressions more than God's
written word. If God has chosen to speak clearly
in scripture, then the humble posture is to listen
and submit. saying, I know better than that book
is not humility. It is rebellion dressed up as
sophistication. So where does all this leave
us practically? Let me pull the threads together
in simple terms. Every system you and I will
encounter does one of two things at the bottom.
It either places some human authority at the
top church structures, prophets, traditions,
culture, or your own heart, and makes God's word
answer to that. or it places God's written word
at the top and makes every human voice answer
to that. If we say God has not given a clear,
sufficient, trustworthy revelation in scripture,
then several things follow. We have no stable
ground for doctrine. Everything becomes negotiable.
We have no final standard to test traditions,
prophets, and spiritual experiences. Some human
authority has to take that role. We have no higher
court than our own institutions or feelings.
That is what I mean by the impossibility of the
contrary. Once you remove a clear word from God,
you are left with human voices arguing on equal
footing and no one can finally speak with God's
authority. But if the Bible truly is God's revelation,
God speaking, not man climbing, then we finally
have a firm foundation for knowing who God is
and what he has done. a stable standard to test
every tradition, prophet, and philosophy, a living
voice that calls us to repentance, faith, and
obedience. So here is how I would apply all of
this to us. Come to scripture expecting to hear
God. Come willing to let him correct you. Come
ready to say, not just as a slogan, but from
the heart, speak Lord, for your servant is listening.
In the rest of the book, we will talk more about
how God reveals himself in creation and in Christ,
how the Bible came to us and why it is trustworthy.
But everything begins here. The Bible is not
humanity's best thoughts about God. It is God's
own revelation, his voice into our darkness,
calling us to listen, trust and obey.