By Fard Bell 3-29-2011
God reveals Himself to all mankind through nature, through our conscience, and even through history in ways that make it pretty obvious that there is a Creator at work. Psalms 19:1 says “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth His handywork. ”According to Kevin J. Connor, author of The Foundations of Christian Doctrine, these are known as “General Revelations” of God. Although these “General Revelations” each contain layers of amazing evidence that point to God as our Creator, they do not reveal to us however, who God is entirely and therefore, are insufficient to provide us with a complete revelation of God. It is not enough to know that God exists. Even a child can perceive that we were both created and have a Creator. What is more important is that we know not only that God exists, but also who He is and what His divine desire and plan is for us. There are however, several “Special Revelations” which refer to those acts of God whereby He reveals Himself and His will to specific people. I wish to illuminate two of those special revelations, including the revelation of God in personal experience and the revelation of God in Jesus Christ. I agree with Connor when he said, “Christ is the sum total of the revelation of God including His will, His nature, His person and character. To look at Christ is to look at God, for Christ is the expressed revelation of God in human form.” John 1:1-5 says “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.” When I read the Bible and look at the personal experience that Saul (later known as the Apostle Paul) had, and His revelation of God in Christ, and even my own personal experience, it reminds me that a revelation of God without a revelation of Christ is an incomplete revelation of God.
For the first example, let's take a look at Saul (later known as the Apostle Paul) and his personal experience with God in Acts 9:1-9.
“Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” And he said, “Who are You, Lord?”
Then the Lord said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads.” So he, trembling and astonished, said, “Lord, what do You want me to do?” Then the Lord said to him, “Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice but seeing no one. Then Saul arose from the ground, and when his eyes were opened he saw no one. But they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank.”
Notice how God not only reveals who He is to Saul, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” but also His desire and plan for Saul, “Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” This is a classic example of a Revelation of God through personal experience and a Revelation of God in Jesus Christ.
Saul, a scholarly Pharisee, had a revelation of God without a revelation of God through Christ, and one absent of personal experience. With all of his knowledge as a Pharisee, his education was not suffice to truly know who God truly was and what His desire was until God was revealed to him through Christ, in a personal experience. He actually thought he was serving God by arresting and murdering those who had a true revelation of God through Jesus Christ.
In Galatians 1:13-14 Paul later admits, “For you have heard of my former conduct in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it. And I advanced in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries in my own nation, being more exceedingly zealous for the traditions of my fathers. But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace, to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately confer with flesh and blood, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; but I went to Arabia, and returned again to Damascus.”
Saul's story reminds me of my own personal experience with God. As a child I remember feeling the presence of God through the birds and the trees and sunshine. I remember His divine protection miraculously stopping a truck from running over me, healing me from asthma, giving me special knowledge and insight when no one else's answers would satisfy my curious mind. I remember having complete strangers pray with me and verbalize the secrets of my heart through prophecies. I remember God delivering a bible to me on my 7th birthday although I did not attend church and being comforted by scriptures such as Psalm 23 when I was afraid of the dark. I remember being forced to watch movies like “Jesus of Nazareth” and “King of Kings” with my dad. When I look back over my life in retrospect, I can see God progressively revealing Himself to me every step of the way. But none of those experiences compare to my personal experience with God when He revealed Himself to me in a dream and said “I am with you, and I am pleased.” That personal experience with God left me with an unbreakable relationship with my God and caused me to seek Him even more diligently. In February 2001, while attending Howard University in Washington, D.C., God sent His servant by the name of Osaze Murray to approach me and ask me about my relationship with Christ. At that time I had a revelation of God without a complete revelation of Jesus Christ. Osaze challenged me to ask God to reveal Christ to me. I did so and God was gracious enough to grant my request. One month later I was overtaken by His Holy Spirit which opened my mind and heart to receive the revelation that Jesus Christ truly is the Son of God and I forever acknowledge Him as my Lord and King!
If you have yet to receive a revelation of God, look at the magnificence of nature and the universe He created for you and marvel. Listen as the conscience He gave you gives you a sense of what is right and wrong. Look at God's hand through history – how He produced, preserved, and protected the Bible, His God inspired, infallible Holy Scriptures just to deliver His Word to you. Be awed by His miracles and fulfilled prophecies! Remember that in some cases God will reveal Himself to you instantaneously, and in many others, as in my life He is revealing Himself to you progressively, each revelation building upon the other. Believe that He would not have given you the mental and spiritual capacity to receive revelation from Him unless He intended for you to receive it. Pray for God to reveal Himself to you in a personal way and look closely at your life as He shows you an instantaneous or progressive revelation of Himself! In the words of Connor1, The purpose of all the revelation of God is that man may come to know God in a personal way. It is not enough for men to say they know God in nature, conscience, history, miracles, or prophecy. Man must come to know God in an experiential way. From the fall of man unto this day, there have been millions of people who have known God in a personal way. Most of all remember that Christ is the sum total of the revelation of God including His will, His nature, His person and character. To look at Christ is to look at God, for Christ is the expressed revelation of God in human form. A revelation of God without a revelation of Christ, is an incomplete revelation of God.
1Connor, Kevin J., The Foundations of Christian Doctrine,
God reveals Himself to all mankind through nature, through our conscience, and even through history in ways that make it pretty obvious that there is a Creator at work. Psalms 19:1 says “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth His handywork. ”According to Kevin J. Connor, author of The Foundations of Christian Doctrine, these are known as “General Revelations” of God. Although these “General Revelations” each contain layers of amazing evidence that point to God as our Creator, they do not reveal to us however, who God is entirely and therefore, are insufficient to provide us with a complete revelation of God. It is not enough to know that God exists. Even a child can perceive that we were both created and have a Creator. What is more important is that we know not only that God exists, but also who He is and what His divine desire and plan is for us. There are however, several “Special Revelations” which refer to those acts of God whereby He reveals Himself and His will to specific people. I wish to illuminate two of those special revelations, including the revelation of God in personal experience and the revelation of God in Jesus Christ. I agree with Connor when he said, “Christ is the sum total of the revelation of God including His will, His nature, His person and character. To look at Christ is to look at God, for Christ is the expressed revelation of God in human form.” John 1:1-5 says “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.” When I read the Bible and look at the personal experience that Saul (later known as the Apostle Paul) had, and His revelation of God in Christ, and even my own personal experience, it reminds me that a revelation of God without a revelation of Christ is an incomplete revelation of God.
For the first example, let's take a look at Saul (later known as the Apostle Paul) and his personal experience with God in Acts 9:1-9.
“Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” And he said, “Who are You, Lord?”
Then the Lord said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads.” So he, trembling and astonished, said, “Lord, what do You want me to do?” Then the Lord said to him, “Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice but seeing no one. Then Saul arose from the ground, and when his eyes were opened he saw no one. But they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank.”
Notice how God not only reveals who He is to Saul, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” but also His desire and plan for Saul, “Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” This is a classic example of a Revelation of God through personal experience and a Revelation of God in Jesus Christ.
Saul, a scholarly Pharisee, had a revelation of God without a revelation of God through Christ, and one absent of personal experience. With all of his knowledge as a Pharisee, his education was not suffice to truly know who God truly was and what His desire was until God was revealed to him through Christ, in a personal experience. He actually thought he was serving God by arresting and murdering those who had a true revelation of God through Jesus Christ.
In Galatians 1:13-14 Paul later admits, “For you have heard of my former conduct in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it. And I advanced in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries in my own nation, being more exceedingly zealous for the traditions of my fathers. But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace, to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately confer with flesh and blood, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; but I went to Arabia, and returned again to Damascus.”
Saul's story reminds me of my own personal experience with God. As a child I remember feeling the presence of God through the birds and the trees and sunshine. I remember His divine protection miraculously stopping a truck from running over me, healing me from asthma, giving me special knowledge and insight when no one else's answers would satisfy my curious mind. I remember having complete strangers pray with me and verbalize the secrets of my heart through prophecies. I remember God delivering a bible to me on my 7th birthday although I did not attend church and being comforted by scriptures such as Psalm 23 when I was afraid of the dark. I remember being forced to watch movies like “Jesus of Nazareth” and “King of Kings” with my dad. When I look back over my life in retrospect, I can see God progressively revealing Himself to me every step of the way. But none of those experiences compare to my personal experience with God when He revealed Himself to me in a dream and said “I am with you, and I am pleased.” That personal experience with God left me with an unbreakable relationship with my God and caused me to seek Him even more diligently. In February 2001, while attending Howard University in Washington, D.C., God sent His servant by the name of Osaze Murray to approach me and ask me about my relationship with Christ. At that time I had a revelation of God without a complete revelation of Jesus Christ. Osaze challenged me to ask God to reveal Christ to me. I did so and God was gracious enough to grant my request. One month later I was overtaken by His Holy Spirit which opened my mind and heart to receive the revelation that Jesus Christ truly is the Son of God and I forever acknowledge Him as my Lord and King!
If you have yet to receive a revelation of God, look at the magnificence of nature and the universe He created for you and marvel. Listen as the conscience He gave you gives you a sense of what is right and wrong. Look at God's hand through history – how He produced, preserved, and protected the Bible, His God inspired, infallible Holy Scriptures just to deliver His Word to you. Be awed by His miracles and fulfilled prophecies! Remember that in some cases God will reveal Himself to you instantaneously, and in many others, as in my life He is revealing Himself to you progressively, each revelation building upon the other. Believe that He would not have given you the mental and spiritual capacity to receive revelation from Him unless He intended for you to receive it. Pray for God to reveal Himself to you in a personal way and look closely at your life as He shows you an instantaneous or progressive revelation of Himself! In the words of Connor1, The purpose of all the revelation of God is that man may come to know God in a personal way. It is not enough for men to say they know God in nature, conscience, history, miracles, or prophecy. Man must come to know God in an experiential way. From the fall of man unto this day, there have been millions of people who have known God in a personal way. Most of all remember that Christ is the sum total of the revelation of God including His will, His nature, His person and character. To look at Christ is to look at God, for Christ is the expressed revelation of God in human form. A revelation of God without a revelation of Christ, is an incomplete revelation of God.
1Connor, Kevin J., The Foundations of Christian Doctrine,