Bible Study . FORMS OF DIVINE REVELATION . part 2 B. SPECIAL REVELATION Throughout human history , God has provided a special revelation. Often recorded in the Word of God that speaks directly to man, as He did in the Garden of Eden, or Old Testament prophets or the apostles in the New. Some of these special revelations were recorded in the Bible and are the only authorized inspired record we have of this special revelation. Once complete the 66 books of the Bible, the special revelation in the ordinary sense of the term seems to have ceased . No one has been able to successfully add a single verse of Scripture as a true statement. The apocryphal additions are clearly inferior without the actual inspiration that always characterizes everything written in Scripture. Instead of special revelation , however, a work of the Holy Spirit has especially characterized the present age. As the Spirit of God enlightens and illuminates the scriptures , there is a legitimate way to present at the time revelation from God in which the teachings of the Bible are clarified and applied to the lives of individuals and circumstances . Matched with the lighting work is the Spirits work as a guide, when the general scriptural truths apply to the particular needs of an individual. Although both the guidance - and lighting - are genuine works of God , do not guarantee that an individual fully understand the Bible, or in all cases adequate understanding with Gods guidance . So while the lighting and the guide are a work of the Spirit , do not have the infallibility of Scripture , since recipients are humans inherently fallible. Apart from this work of the Spirit of God , however , to reveal what Scripture means , no real understanding of truth , as stated in 1Co_2 : 10. The truth of the Word of God needs to be revealed to us by the Spirit of God, and need to be taught by the Spirit ( 1Co_2 : 13) . According 1Co_2 : 14, ... the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him : neither can he know them because they are spiritually discerned . Consequently , the Bible is a closed book, with regard to its true meaning, for who is not a Christian and is not taught by the Spirit. This also required by the individual scholar of Scripture, an intimate proximity to God in which the Spirit of God is able to reveal its truth.
Posted on: Fri, 28 Mar 2014 10:09:51 +0000
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