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Karl Barth states that God's revelation is the Word of God or Jesus Christ. It is through The Word that God communicates with his creation. Through his use of the Word, he called attention to all of the elements in creation. They each listened to him and followed the in- struction that he gave them. In doing so, they came into being and accomplished the purpose for which they were made.
God utilized Jesus the Christ (the same Word, made flesh) as the means of drawing man's attention back to himself in order that we might see specifically who God is. It's not that we had not already seen him in the majesty of his creation, but that in Jesus Christ, we are given a personal introduction. In seeing him through Jesus Christ, we are given the opportunity to understand. In understanding, we then, can and must decide if we will obey him.
There are three essentials of revelation in Christian theology. They are that God has always revealed himself through nature; yet that revelation is incomplete. Secondly, revelation is necessary because our reasoning is distorted by sin and is therefore unreliable and thirdly, that it is only through the revealed word (Jesus Christ) that we can come to see and know God as he is. I will begin with nature and connect all three aspects as they relate to an understanding of God.
First of all, what we learn from nature is incomplete and inadequate because no matter how much we learn, it never explains how or why anything exists. Nature only gives us a partial understanding. Natural theology embraces what man may attain by the study of God in nature. This extends not only to what is beheld of him in the heavens and the earth, but also in the intellectual and spiritual nature of man himself. When nature doesn't reveal it's secrets to us, we resort to human reasoning.
Since everything we know is outside of ourselves, our reasoning is biased, being based on life experiences. Within ourselves, we think we know by the things we have experienced. We therefore make presuppositions based on our moral selections of what we think is important, valuable or true. However, these selections are tainted by sin, which causes us to see the world from an imperfect view. Supernatural theology is that derived from such special information as God has given by what we commonly call special revelation. Special revelation is not something that can be deduced, but rather something that is given. Therefore, it cannot be based on self-centeredness
In addition, is not subject to any private interpretation. We must view that which God has revealed, from his perspective. In viewing things from God's perspective, we need to realize that we don't seek to understand. It is God, who out of his love and intention to save, seeks us. He opens himself up to us and we can only respond to him. Since we didn't initiate the dialog, it leaves no bargaining room for us to try to manipulate God.
In God's revelation of himself to mankind, he uses two means to reveal himself, general revelation (natural theology) and special revelation (supernatural theology). General revelation s that which can be ascertained in the physical creation. That is, we can see the stars, the sun, the moon, the landscape, clouds, plants and animals. We see his majesty in them and we can understand that they were made by God, but this understanding does not bring us to a personal relationship with him. Therefore, this knowledge is insufficient to bring us to salvation.
Special revelation is the transcendence of God in that he has revealed himself to us in the person of Jesus Christ. We cannot encompass God in our beings (intellect and imagination) and can only know that which he reveals to us about himself. These revelations were written and have been passed down to us through generations. In receiving these revelations, we must do so by faith. This is not done in the fallacy of human intellect, but in the certainty that if we are to know anything about God; he must make himself known. The condescension of God is necessary for the transcendence of God to be made clear to man-kind. God entered into the human experience in order that man could know exactly who he is. God had to approach man in a way that man could understand and appropriate. It would do man-kind no good to know God, yet not be able to understand him. A prime example of this condescension is recorded in Isaiah 1:18. Here God says, "Come now, and let us reason together." In order to reason with someone, each party to the conversation must be able to understand the other.
God understands that man's finite mind Cannot comprehend him. Therefore, he makes himself available on man's level and to man's degree of understanding in order to communicate with him. God made this ultimate con- descension in the person of Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh. In doing so, God revealed each aspect of himself to mankind. The harmony, and consistency, which will be found in all God's teachings, from whatever source we may draw them, will become conclusive proof of the divine origin of revelation. This will result, not only from a comparison of what Reason and Nature teach, with the revelations of God's Word, but of each of the several books of the Bible with the others, and especially of the body of the Old Testament as one book, with that of the New Testament as another.
The word Theology means literally a discourse concerning God but in analogy with other words, as geology, chronology and biology, it means the science, which treats of God. It concerns itself with such questions as these: Is there a God; what is His nature and character, can he be known; what are the relations he sustains to the universe, particularly to intelligent beings who have spiritual natures, and above all, in what ways has he made himself known to men; and especially in what aspect does he reveal himself to them. This is Theology proper.
In connection with this last relation, it treats man as a creature of God placed under the government of his moral law. Theology delves into his original condition of innocence, and happiness. It displays how man fell from that position; his present state of sinfulness, condemnation and inability to rescue himself. This leads to the discussion of the nature of the salvation which God, has provided as seen in the person and character of Jesus Christ. Salvation came through him, and in the works of active and passive obedience, by which he has reconciled us back to God. That's why it also, considers the nature and work of to Holy Spirit, through whom man is led to accept the provisions of God's grace, and to attain (through faith) salvation in Christ, which consists in freedom, not just from condemnation, but also from the dominion and defilement of sin.
It is through faith that we are made children of the Heavenly Father. It follows man beyond the death of the body, and makes known the future state of both the righteous and the wicked. This occurs before and after the resurrection of the body, together with the final judgment of both these classes, and the heaven and hell, which shall be their respective homes forever. Finally it teaches the goal which God is accomplishing through all his works, in revealing to all his creatures of his own glory, as seen in its twofold aspect of mercy and justice in his dealings with this fallen race of man.
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