The Need for a Revelation
Lesson #234
TEXT
: Rom. 16:25; Eph. 3:3INTRODUCTION
:A. WE CAN KNOW BY GOD’S CREATION THAT HE EXISTS.
1. The machinery of the universe evidences intelligent design and purpose.
2. God is reflected also in the unique nature of man.
B. WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT GOD? NOTHING BUT THAT HE IS.
C. ALL WE KNOW OF GOD OR CAN KNOW MUST BE REVEALED BY HIM.
1. We contend that the Bible is not the product of man’s imagination but that ...
2. God reveals himself and his will to men and that the Bible is that revelation.
I.
IS "REVELATION" A BIBLE WORD?A. REVEAL, apokulupto, which means to unveil, uncover. A revelation is the
uncovering, or making known of something previously not known.
B. THE SCRIPTURES CLAIM INSPIRATION OF GOD AND THEY COME NOT
FROM HUMAN WISDOM OR IMPULSE ( 2 Tim. 3:16-17; 2 Pet. 1:20-21 ).
C. MAN’S LIMITATIONS CONSTITUTE THE COVERING
( Isa. 55:8-9; 1 Cor. 3:19-20 ).
1. Man is limited in time and knowledge ( James 4:13-14 ).
2. God is not limited ( Heb. 4:13; Mark 10:27; Psa. 139:7-10; 90:2 ).
3. Therefore, it is up to God to reveal himself.
a. Man can’t hope to attain to God’s wisdom on his own.
b. It is up to God to bridge the gap.
II.
CAN MAN KNOW GOD APART FROM SOME REVELATION?A. We cannot know God by nature.
1. It is true that we can know that God is through his handiwork (Psa. 19:1-4;
Rom. 1:20). But what does God’s creation tell us about God’s will?
2. From his earliest history, man, with all his wisdom and all of his observation of
nature, has worshipped the creature rather than the creator (Rom. 1:25).
Man sees the beauty of nature and the power that God gives nature, and without
revelation, nature is all we know of God. Therefore, man worships nature and all
of its beings which are God’s creation. Worship is determined by lusts and
appetites.
B. We cannot know God by intuition.
1. (Prov. 14:12; Jer. 10:23). Man can’t direct his own steps.
2. The gospel is God’s power to salvation ( Rom. 1:16 ). If man had some inner
light, what would be the need of the gospel?
C. We cannot know God by human wisdom.
1. (1 Cor. 1:21; 3:19). The only way we can know God is through the preaching
and studying of his word.
2. With all the vaunted accomplishments of the Roman Empire, the celebrated
philosophers of Greece, the moral and spiritual degradation of that generation is
graphically pictured in Romans 1. Even Plato realized the inadequacy and
limitation of human philosophy and wisdom when he said, "We will wait for
one, either God or a God inspired man to teach us our religious duties and to
take away the darkness from our eyes."
3. Human wisdom stands in opposition to God’s ( 1 Cor. 1:21-25; Col. 2:8 ).
D. THOUGH MAN HAS TRIED TO BRIDGE THE GAP BETWEEN HIMSELF AND
GOD, ALL ATTEMPTS HAVE FAILED. GOD MUST BRIDGE THE GAP.
III.
HOW DID GOD DO IT –HOW DO WE COME TO KNOW ABOUT GOD?
A. Heb. 1:1-2. GOD SPOKE IN TIME PAST THROUGH THE PROPHETS,
BUT NOW THROUGH JESUS ( John 1:18; 14:6-10; 17:7-8; 12:48-50 ).
B. BUT JESUS DIDN’T TELL EVERYTHING ( John 16:12-13; 14:26 ).
C. THE SPIRIT WAS THE MEDIUM JESUS USED TO REVEAL GOD
( 1 Cor. 2:10-11 ).
D. UNTO WHOM DID THE SPIRIT REVEAL GOD’S WILL ( Eph. 3:5 ).
E. WHAT DID THE APOSTLES DO WITH THIS REVELATION?
( 1 Cor. 2:12-13; Eph. 3:3-5 ).
F. WHEN WE READ THE SERMONS AND LETTERS OF THESE "INSPIRED"
MEN, WHAT WILL BE THE RESULT? ( 1 Cor. 2:16; Eph. 3:3-4 ).
G. WE CAN EVEN KNOW MORE THAN THE OLD TESTAMENT PROPHETS
( 1 Pet. 1:12 ).
H. WHAT ARE WE TO DO WHEN WE LEARN ABOUT GOD? ( 2 Tim. 2:2 ).
I. SO IT IS THROUGH THE PREACHING OF THE GOSPEL THAT GOD REVEALS
HIMSELF AND HIS WILL ( 1 Cor. 1:21; Rom. 1:16; James 1:21 ).
CONCLUSION
:A. WHAT THEN DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT GOD ( John 3:16; 1 Tim. 2:3-4 ).
B. WHO THEN IS GOD GOING TO SAVE? ( Matt. 7:21 ).
C. WHAT DOES GOD WANT US TO DO? ( Acts 2:38 ).