Jesus Christ has been, even prior to creation, and always will be, actively involved with his creation. In fact, all knowledge of God is from his interactions and self-revelation to humanity. No human could ever understand anything about God without God revealing himself to us. God chooses to be revealed to his creation through general revelation, or natural revelation, and special revelation. God is actively involved with his creation through his Word and the Holy Spirit. Furthermore, specific to my vocation, God is involved in ministry and the building of His church. God being actively involved with his creation not only affects the way we interact with people within a chosen vocation, but also affects the way we interact with all the world.
God’s Revelation
- General or Natural Revelation
No human could ever understand anything about God without God revealing himself to humanity. The Bible says in Romans 1:20, “For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse.”[1] God’s creation, and even his eternal power and Godhead, testifies to all man, so that we are without excuse. When the day of judgement comes, no man will have an excuse and all of God’s judgments will be righteous. Beyond man just not having an excuse in the day of judgment lays the foundation of a great love that God has for all men.
The Bible says in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”[2] God did not reveal himself just so man would be without excuse on the day of judgment. God revealed himself because he desires to come into a relationship with all men.
The Bible says in 2 Peter 3:9, “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”[3] God wants all to come to repentance, but because we all have free will, inevitably, not all will come to repentance. God is on a mission to bring glory to His name and to bring the world into a relationship with him, and it all started with God’s self-revelation so that man could come to know, love, and serve Him.
-Special Revelation
Beyond creation testifying (general or natural revelation) to the glory and power of God, God has chosen to, “bridge the gap between himself and his creatures by disclosing himself and his will to them. God is the source of knowledge about himself, his ways, and his truth. By God alone can God be known. The knowledge of God [and his mission are] revealed by his self-disclosure.”[4]
God wills to accomplish His mission by working with and through His people!
“God has acted and spoken to redeem the human race from its own self-imposed evil. Through miracles, the exodus, and ultimately Jesus Christ, God has revealed himself in history. Special revelation includes not only those acts in history but also the prophetic-apostolic interpretation of those events, meaning that revelation occurs in deeds and words.”[5]
In this case, it is special revelation to have the eternal and preserved Word of God as the final authority in all matters of life! “Premodern theologians generally assumed a connection between special revelation and Holy Scripture, thus presupposing its authority for preaching, teaching, and personal guidance.”[6]
The Bible says in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”[7] Through God’s interaction with humanity, his self-revelation, his Word, and the gift of the Holy Spirit, we have all the necessary knowledge and tools to prepare ourselves to be used by God to accomplish his mission as he interacts with and is actively involved with His creation.
God’s Word and the Holy Spirit
The Bible says in Hebrews 4:12, “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”[8]
Many people today claim to have prayed to God, but they, “never got an answer.” Well God is actively involved with his creation through his living Word. Too many people are willing to pray while remaining unwilling to read the 66 books of the Bible to see if God has already answered their questions or concerns. If one was handed a packet with a plethora of advice and instruction, but ignored it, and continued to ask questions or address topics that were already answered and dealt with within the packet, many would consider that person to be ignorant. There is no difference here when it comes to God and the Bible.
God revealed himself from the beginning, he has hid just a few mysteries from us. All required knowledge is revealed within scripture. Humanity needs to stop looking for the easy way out, and realize that God is actively involved with his creation and has most likely already answered your question or addressed your concern within the 66 books of the Word of God, which is the final authority in all matters of life.
The Bible says in John 14:26, “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.”[9] The gift of the Holy Spirit is for our edification, not our destruction, and it is one of the main ways God stays actively involved with his creation.
God Builds His Church
Specific to my vocation, evangelism and ministry, God is actively involved in building His church!
Jesus says in Matthew 16:18, “And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”[10] Jesus says that “he will build his church.” He did not say “I will build my church for you” or “you will build my church for me.” Jesus said, “I will build my church.” Jesus is actively involved with his creation and he is actively building his church!
I am honored to prepare myself to the best of my ability and to dedicate my life to his will for me within his church. This is a multistep level of active involvement between God and his creation. In Perspectives on the World Christian Movement: A Reader, the authors explain a seven-step process of how God initiates His work through His people, “Throughout the Old and New Testaments, God worked in the same way as He did with Moses, inviting His people to be on mission with Him. His ways are the same today. God reveals Himself to us so we can know Him personally. Then He initiates a relationship with us, and invites us to join Him. As God reveals Himself to us we often experience a crisis of belief that calls for major adjustments in our lives so that we can relate to Him and His mission. As we make the adjustments and obey Him, He moves us into the middle of His activity, in order to experience Him and to enjoy the astounding significance of being on mission with God.”[11]
The Bible says in 1 John 5:7, “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.”[12] What an amazing and wise God that we serve! God has been actively involved with his creation from the very beginning of his creation. Through one of these three that bear record in Heaven (and these three are one), God can remain actively involved with his creation for all eternity. God has revealed himself through general or natural revelation and special revelation. God has been actively involved with his creation through the Holy Spirit and through His living Word, which is the final authority in all matters of life. Finally, specific to my vocation, God is actively involved in missions, Jesus himself said, “I will build my church.” The signs and the proof are all around us, we serve the living God, the only God, whose love drives him to remain actively involved with His creation.
Bibliography
Daniel L. Akin, Bruce Riley Ashford, and Kenneth Keathley. A Theology for the Church. Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing Group, 2014.
Holy Bible: King James Version. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1989.
Ralph D. Winter and Steven C. Hawthorne. Perspectives on the World Christian Movement: A Reader. Pasadena, Cal: Institute of International Studies, 2009.
[1] Holy Bible: King James Version (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1989), 944. [2] Ibid., 888. [3] Ibid., 1026.
[4] Akin, Ashford, and Keathley. A Theology for the Church (Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing Group, 2014), 103.
[5] Ibid., 104. [6] Ibid., 103. [7] Holy Bible, 1004. [8] Ibid., 1009. [9] Ibid., 903. [10] Ibid., 813.
[11] Winter and Hawthorne. Perspectives on the World Christian Movement: A Reader (Pasadena, Cal: Institute of International Studies, 2009), Article 11.
[12] Holy Bible, 1030.
hi there @testthebiblecom i am a muslim and i really agree wth you on one point religion is made by made for men not by gods but we can dscuss this with many psot and exemple take exemple in the bible or in the ancien testement , i grow up in france in paris i am from morocco but i have been to a catholique school until my thirteen then to a public and my dad is religious person , so he teach me a little about religion our islam , and i was really chocked when i peon this book after read the bible for years at school class every friday , because they speak about the same fact the same spirit and only the way that they said those thing are different but i really ask myslef if big and rich people knowing the truth why they chosse to lie instead of taking us to the next level
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