General and Specific Revelation
Psalm 19 and Romans 1:20-23
Psalm 19
1 The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
2 Day to day pours out speech,
and night to night reveals knowledge.
3 There is no speech, nor are there words,
whose voice is not heard.
4 Their voice[b] goes out through all the earth,
and their words to the end of the world.
In them he has set a tent for the sun,
5 which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber,
and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy.
6 Its rising is from the end of the heavens,
and its circuit to the end of them,
and there is nothing hidden from its heat.
7 The law of the Lord is perfect,[c]
reviving the soul;
the testimony of the Lord is sure,
making wise the simple;
8 the precepts of the Lord are right,
rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the Lord is pure,
enlightening the eyes;
9 the fear of the Lord is clean,
enduring forever;
the rules[d] of the Lord are true,
and righteous altogether.
10 More to be desired are they than gold,
even much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey
and drippings of the honeycomb.
11 Moreover, by them is your servant warned;
in keeping them there is great reward.
12 Who can discern his errors?
Declare me innocent from hidden faults.
13 Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins;
let them not have dominion over me!
Then I shall be blameless,
and innocent of great transgression.
14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable in your sight,
O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.
Romans 1:20-23
20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.
____________
The Psalmist begins with the declaration that the heavens, declares the glory of God. God is seen through the beauty, vastness, and diversity of the heavens - the sky, clouds, sun, moon, planets, solar systems, galaxies, black holes, the expansion of space itself. Here on our beautiful island we see first hand how God reveals his creativity and character through his created order- from the snow capped peaks to the intricacies of moss growth.
Many theologians through the years have called this type of revelation, General Revelation. This is the revelation that points to divinity, and in this way it awakens the divine image within us. With constant exposure, it causes the divine image latent within each of us to yearn for the divine.
Paul points out that with only general revelation, humans tend to worship created things rather than the God of all the universe. With the divine image within each of us, we have a longing for a relationship with God, but without the specific revelation, humanity worships other created things or even things that we have created. We do this, because there is this innate desire to worship and give praise. We were made for communion with the Divine. As Augustine said in his Confessions, “You have created us for yourself. Our hearts are restless until they find their rest in you, Oh God.”
Therefore, as the Psalmist and Paul in Romans point out, there is a need for a specific revelation, i.e. the revelation of who God is. The Psalmist points to the law, the Torah, to be the defining mandate. Here we see God’s character and judicial order revealed. Jesus later said, he came to fulfill the law, meaning that the full revelation and mandates of God are seen and learned through him.
The specific revelation of God is Jesus Christ. He is the exact representation of God (Hebrews 1:3)- the same image as God (Philippians 2:6). We see and experience Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit as it speaks to us through scripture. Scripture tells us that if we want to see God, how God rules, how God treats his enemies, how God seeks and saves the lost, how God shows compassion and endurance in commitment, we look at Jesus.
We cannot live the type of life God has in store for his people if we do the Christian life in isolation. Christianity was never meant to be a personal, sequestered belief lived merely in the private confined parameters of personal life. Stanley Hauerwas jokingly personifies this type of theology by saying, “Jesus is Lord and Savior, but that is just my personal opinion.” If Jesus is Lord, he is not just my Lord, but Lord of all creation- the heavens, the earth, and all that is in them. This means that all things under heaven and earth fall under his authority, including (and perhaps most importantly) the communal life of the church. The church, as it interprets scripture in community and seeks to live out this Word in community, together shares the image of Jesus. We need each other in order to share the full image of Christ, the specific revelation of God, to the world. When we read scripture or seek to live out the christian life in isolation, we read with our own set of spectacles, our lens of understanding the world. We interpret and live out the word through our lens of culture, education, experiences, etc. This, when done without the body of believers, (at best) gives only a sliver of the vastness and wholeness of Christ. At worst, it creates a false identity of God that is formed in our own likeness (since we become the only one that listens and defines the will of God). Isolation of faith (without a community of believers) often creates a false deity that resembles the individual, i.e. the deity loves and hates the same things that the individual loves or hates.
Therefore, we need each other to share our own spectacles (experiences, culture, etc.) so that together we may grow and build each other up in love, as each part does its work (Ephesians 4:16)- to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ (Ephesians 4:12-13). A community of faith is not optional; it is essential. We need each other.
Announcements:
Potluck this Sunday after Service
No Sunday School classes (youth and adult) until September
Link to the CBC Calendar
Pastor Steven will be visiting family in Texas from June 22- July 8 (if you need, me call or text - 972-921-2516)
Church Weekly Schedule
Sunday worship at 11am
Wednesday Prayer Posse 12pm
Trail Life each Sunday from 2-3pm
Pastor Steven’s Office Hours 8-4 Mon-Thursday
I have an open sign (if it is on, I am here)
If I am not in the office at these times, I am meeting with someone
Call or text me 972-921-2516
Email steven@kodiakcbc.org