The Self-Revelation of God
• The need for God to reveal Himself: John 1:1-5
o “Divine speech”: we can only know Him because He “speaks” to us – He reveals Himself for the purpose of relationship
o It all begins with believing that there is a God: Hebrews 11:6
o His revelation of Himself is our principium cognoscendi, our “principle of knowing,” or the foundation of all our knowledge
o He is that knowledge, and He is the framework for understanding our existence: Acts 17:28a
o He is the basis of all truth, and we can only learn of Him through how He has disclosed Himself: John 14:6
▪ “The Way is a Person. The Truth is a Person. The Life is a Person” – Tom Johnston & Mike Perkinson
▪ Knowledge about God (information) vs knowing God (relationship). You know about Him to have a relationship with Him
▪ The God of the Bible is a personal being, not an energy, power, or abstract concept – and He wants to restore His relationship with His Creation (us)
• Four Ways He Reveals Himself (speaks) to Humanity
- Creation
Jesus Christ
The Holy Spirit
- The Scripture (the Word of God)
• Creation: Romans 1:18-20
• Jesus Christ: Hebrews 1:1-4
• The Holy Spirit: John 14:15-26
o The Spirit of Truth will emphanizo (reveal clearly) Jesus and lead us into all truth about Him (John 16:13)
o His Person, His purposes, and His plan – interpreting events in life
• The Scripture (the Word of God): Romans 15:4, 2 Timothy 3:14-17
o Think of the Bible as the “Story of God”
o Progressive revelation – each thing builds upon what comes before
o Part of that revelation is the discovery of His nature, which is reflected in the names of God found in Scripture
• The very first name we find in the Bible is Elohim: Genesis 1:1-2
o Masculine plural of El, connotating divine majesty and power
o The story begins with Him and is about Him
o The first picture we have of Elohim is his power to create, to form – He is revealed as our origin, our source
o The Spirit (ruach- breath, wind) of Elohim speaks Creation into existence: “Elohim said” – He is so powerful He creates the universe by simply speaking/commanding it to be (John 1:1-3, 2 Timothy 3:16)
o We will see El/Elohim progressively paired with adjectives, further revealing God’s nature
Why this Matters
• The spiritual life and health of individual believers, as well as the Church, are dependent on the correct knowledge of God
• The aim of His self-revelation is to restore His relationship with us
• He still speaks to us today through the Creation, the person of Jesus Christ whom the Holy Spirit clearly reveals, and the Scripture
• The very first thing He reveals to us about Himself is that He is our source, and we understand our existence in this framework
• God’s revelation as Elohim proclaims that He is majestic and powerful – this is our God!
• Understanding His names within the Scripture is essential in understanding His nature – and our place in His story, our purpose
Your Next Steps
• Accept and explore the means through which Elohim has revealed Himself – reject all false means of revelation
• Ask Jesus to reveal Himself to you
• Expect God to speak!