Revelation, Inspiration, and Authority: From a Pentecostal Background February 6, 2013 08:15 There has been an ongoing debate about revelation, inspiration and authority. Many have been debating unwisely and have only led to hostility. The debate has been based on many views. It is a good idea to discuss all these views in light of this passage: In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for Sins, he sat down at the right hand of the majesty in heaven. (Heb. 11vv. 1-3). The discussion shall be under three sub-topics as follows: a. Revelation. Revelation is categorized into that which emanates from human reasoning which is said to be natural and that which emanates from the throne of God which is special. This study is interested in revelation emanating from God’s throne. When the Scripture claims that God spoke through prophets in the Old Testament and through Jesus in the New Testament, it is referring to a divine revelation from above, not one from the common sense of mankind. The debate on divine revelation has many views which are discussed below. Unfortunately, most of the views held by majority are not stable, and when weighed against the Scriptures, they turn out to be commonsense, which has been seen to be natural. There are those claiming that God has spoken by each individual. Every individual is seen as having the word of God and taken as an authority. So, the Bible does not apply to each individual because those opposed to it claim they have also heard from God and what they heard is not what the Bible claims. This view cannot be substantiated because there is no standard for it. Each person operates as a spiritual authority and is free to follow his own revelation. One man got born again in the year 2003 and started well. Soon, he began taking all his thoughts as revelation from God, claiming that he did not need the Bible because God’s Spirit was in him. He soon subscribed to the view that God has spoken to each individual and today he is mad. The introductory Scriptures have clearly stated that God spoke through the prophets in the past and in the last days he spoke through Jesus. Every individual was not a prophet in the Old Testament and everybody is not Jesus in the New Testament. This leads to yet another view. A second view claims that God used all world religious to speak to mankind. The main problem with this view is that all religions are different and have different practices. Each has its own rules and even each has a different “God” with a different name. One God cannot contradict himself. The Bible contains the theme of monotheism with Yahweh cursing those who worship other gods or those who follow ways of other religions to worship him. Most of the religions worship idols and the creatures of God contrary to the word of god in Rom. Iv. 25. The opening verses are very clear, that God spoke through the Old Testament prophets and through his Son, Jesus Christ. All other religions do not follow a revelation given through these prophets and Jesus. There are still others who do not subscribe to the views already discussed, and so, this leads the reader to yet another view. Although the Scriptures confirm that God’s revelation came through his Prophets in the Old Testament and through Jesus in the New Testament, many are still holding a view that these Scriptures are not the revelation of God but there are other texts which contain the revelation of God. Some claim that the texts they believe to be inspired dropped down from heaven. Still others are following texts written by people who did not want to follow what the Bible teaches. The doctrines of these other texts are contradictory and so one cannot validate them. These other texts have led to different world religions, some of which wrongly call themselves Christian. Some of these texts have been manipulated Scriptures from the Bible aimed at stating what the writer wanted but not what God wanted. They are called “Bibles” but they are false Bibles. The Scriptures contained in the Protestant Bible are inspired by God and following alternative texts will only lead one to destruction. Much study will only leave one tired based on Eccl. 12v. 12. This now leads to a view held by a few but which is the best. If God spoke through his prophets and Jesus in the Old and New Testaments, his revelation is contained in the Holy Bible, which contains 66 books. 2 Tim. 3v. 16 shuts the mouths of the mockers by declaring that the Bible is inspired by God. The Bible is the only revelation of God available and is useful in many ways. The Bible clearly affirms that God has revealed himself in Rom. 1v. 20 and so one should not think of God as a self-centered despot who hides himself in fear of being discovered. One person proudly claimed that the Bible is read to children on days of worship and that there is no God. When one rejects the Bible, he or she rejects God whose revelation it carries. The character of God is shown in the Bible and so one should study it for personal benefit. No one should add to it and no one should delete anything from it. Although many read and see that Jesus applied the Old Testament Scriptures confirming that he came to fulfill them, there are still those who refuse to accept the fact that he came to reveal the Father to mankind. Worse is that, there is still another last category in this discussion having a view that the Bible is not complete and that revelation is still on through the body discussed next. This last category claims that the organized Church is used by God to supplement what is contained in the Bible. The problem is that one is not able to tell which Church. Some claim the authority of Apostle Peter but have come up with the commandments of man which the Bible condemns. They read the Bible and see clearly that God spoke through his prophets and Jesus, not through the organized Church, but still follow their foolish ideologies, to their own destruction. They twist Scriptures to support their false doctrines and practices. Debating with this category is a painful thing, and that is why the Bible Cautions about meeting with a fool in his foolishness in Prov. 17v. 12. This brings the reader to the conclusion of this part. In conclusion, one should have this point in his or her head and heart: God’s revelation, which is the Bible, came through his Old Testament Prophets and through his Son in the New Testament. All other views may appear true on the outside, but after a careful analysis, they are futile and of no use to anyone. This leads the reader to a second part of this discussion. b. Inspiration. In the introductory Scriptures, it has been stated that God spoke in the Old Testament through his prophets and through his Son in the New Testament. This makes references to inspiration wherein God used people to reveal himself to his creation. God revealed himself through inspiration, which is seen as God “breathing” upon the people being used. Just as was the case of revelation, inspiration has attracted a debate from people with different views. These views are discussed in the paragraphs below. As one reads a discussion on these views, it is important to know that all cannot be true. One of the views claims that God dictated as the authors of the Scriptures wrote. When one reads the Scriptures, it is easy to notice that each book reflects that different personalities were involved because of the words and context of the text. If God used dictation, then all the books of the Bible would be uniform in all ways. Another view states that God gave the ideas and thoughts and allowed the human authors to use their human talents to write his revelation. When one reads the Bible, he is able to realize that this view is true. Each author selected the words to use and even expresses his or her emotions while writing. Man is not a machine to operate at the click of a button. God partnered with Old Testament prophets and New Testament writers to reveal himself. He breathed upon them. 2 Pet.1v. 21 states that men of God spoke his word as they were carried along by the Holy Ghost. That does not sound like dictation. The Holy Ghost influenced them. Even when God used visions accompanied by audible words, still, the prophets used their talents to communicate to fellow humans. Although this view carries more weight than any other, others still have other views discussed next. One category claims that the authors were not inspired but God inspired the written documents and copies of the original. This view has no value because the documents would have only been creations of humans and each has his own ideas. At the introduction, it was seen that God spoke through Old Testament prophets and through his Son in the New Testament, but does not state that he took human documents and breathed upon them making them his revelation. This leads to yet another view. Everyone seems to have an idea in the ongoing debate. There are those who claim that the authors were not inspired at all but the audience is the one which was inspired. Audience includes the original, secondary and present day one. So, each person who reads has his own interpretation which is taken as authoritative. The problem is that, one God is seen giving contradicting messages to people and so this view is disqualified as being true. It is wrong. God spoke through prophets of Old and his Son, not through those who heard their messages. One may think this is the last view, but there are still others discussed below. Many hold the view that God used the Church to speak. The problem is that no one tells his audience which Church was used. There are those who call themselves “one true Church” who seem to continue receiving “revelation” claimed to be from God, but the problem is that their practices do not agree with those in the New Testament Church as shown in the book of Acts In addition, the introductory verses have affirmed that God inspired his prophets of Old and his Son, but not a particular Church. This makes this view of no value to a teachable reader. This leads to one last view in this discussion. Some claim that God used the natural imagination of man, just like in any secular field of study. This means that God cannot be trusted because he depends on the mind of man. The Bible shows that it is only Satan who has a human mind in Mat. 16v. 23. So, their view is of Satan and not God and should be discarded as being of no value. God used his Old Testament prophets and his Son to reveal himself to mankind. This brings the discussion on this part to conclusion. In conclusion, it is easy to realize that God inspired his Old Testament prophets and his Son to speak to his people. 2 Tim. 3v.16 clearly shows that the Scriptures are inspired and the introductory verses show that he used men to create the Scriptures by giving them the ideas and thoughts and using their talents to put down his revelations in a written form for future generations to hear his will. This brings the discussion to the final part. c. Authority. In the introductory verses, the Scripture affirms that Jesus, the radiance of God’s glory sustains all things by his powerful word. His word is authoritative. Because God created all things by his word, his word applies to all things. One thing one should understand is that a text is not to be used as an authority because it is a revelation or because it is inspired. What matters is whose revelation or inspiration it is. Many so called world religion Scriptures are revelations which are not inspired by God. Some are inspired by people and others by demons. 1 Tim. 4v. 1 shows that there are doctrines of demons being followed by men. Elsewhere, the Bible shows that some people preach the commandments of men. Some Christian denominations follow a mixture of truth and commandments of their founders and leaders. One may want to know the extent of the Bible’s authority. The next paragraph tackles this. Although the Bible is an authority for all men, it also uses good laws of men based on Rom. 13. All good laws in any country’s constitution are part of the law of God and are an authority for anyone in that country. International laws are also part of this law if they are good. The fact the Bible and all good laws of men are an authority for all does not mean that all obey it or can use it effectively. If a sinner declares Scriptures against Satan, nothing will happen because he or she does not have spiritual authority to use it. Similarity, if a villager quotes his or her country’s constitution against a thief in his village, nothing will happen because he or she does not have a legal authority which is needed and applies to courts. Declaring the Scripture or law this way may terrify Satan or the thief, but it will not bind them. They will still be free and may attack the one declaring it to silence him or her. At this point, one may want to know whether civil laws are inspired. Human laws are not inspired, but all good human laws are sanctified by the inspired Scriptures and are authoritative because their authority comes from the Scripture. This means that when a sinful police officer is arresting a thief, he or she is serving God. This explains the reason as to why God brings his rainfall to sinners and saints alike. All of them do his work in one way or the other. So, authority can emanate from inspiration by God or sanctification by God. Sanctification here refers to setting apart a thing for God’s use. God is able to sanctify a sinner, as he did to Cyrus in Isa. 45v. 4, and use him to fulfill his purposes. When it comes to inspiration which brings about authority, one would want to know whether the Old and New Testaments, are both authoritative because God inspired both. The Old and New Testaments are both authoritative because both are inspired by God, but not literally always. The Old Testament gives Christians principles to apply in different situations but the outward regulations such as what to wear, what to eat, and what to sacrifice, are not applicable. Even in the New Testament, one will also still need to draw principles to apply because both in the Old and New Testaments, there are some things which were only applicable to the original audience. One cannot take these and use them as an authority in his or her life. This brings the discussion to a conclusion. In conclusion, it has been said that revelation may be natural or special. Different views of special revelation have been discussed with the best one being that God spoke through Old Testament prophets in the Old Testament and through his Son in the New Testament. Different views on inspiration have been analyzed with the best being that God gave the authors of Scriptures his ideas and thoughts but allowed them to use their natural talents to express them. Finally, authority has been discussed and the most important point seen as that the Bible is an authority because it originates from God and that human laws are part of the law of God if, and only if, they are good.
Posted on: Sun, 07 Jul 2013 08:30:15 +0000
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