I chose to write today while enjoying a nice bowl of Raisin Bran from atop Mt. Everest!

OK, so that is not actually true, but I did not think your heart would stop with, “Today, I am going to be writing a blog about general and special revelation!”

Most people do not get super excited about such theological topics. But these two concepts are exceedingly important to every single believer. (And every single unbeliever, for that matter!)

Why? Because if Almighty God has revealed Himself; then He has communicated something about Himself.

This means that no matter how we may feel about His message, absolutely nothing about the objectivity or authority of His message is changed when it is the Almighty doing the revealing. Everything in the known cosmos would hinge upon whatever He has to say regardless of our feelings, attitudes, or lifestyle in response to it.

You have probably heard the saying, “God said it! I believe it! That settles it!” One notable theologian rightly observes that while this trendy maxim is quite pithy, it is also quite arrogant. He is particularly agitated by the middle statement. “If God said it, then it doesn’t even matter if we believe it, it has been settled by divine fiat!”

Our sentiment subtracts nothing to the content or truthfulness of God’s message. If God has spoken, only fools would turn their ear away! Which incidentally, the God who has spoken has something to say concerning this posture in Proverbs 14:1, “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’”

Theologians refer to general revelation and special revelation as the two ways God has chosen to reveal Himself to all people. Please allow me to share some distinctions between these two ways of knowing God.

General Revelation

General revelation refers to the general truths that can be known about God through the world and all that has been made. Scripture tells us in Psalm 19:1-4,

“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.”

According to this passage, God’s existence and power are plainly known to every believer and unbeliever alike through the speech of nature. The starry host, the sun, and the moon have made a declaration concerning the one who created them. They rise like soldiers each day, await their orders, and execute them in perfect obedience. Even the person living in a remote country who has never heard of the God of the Bible knows the God of the Bible through created phenomena. One needs simply to look around at the observable universe to see the order, beauty, and wonder of a creation clearly displaying the power and glory of its creator. And all these things are upheld at every moment by the word of His power. (Hebrews 1:3)

The idea of general revelation is again presented in Romans 1:18-21,

“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them because God has shown it to them. 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. 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.”

These biblical passages inform us that God’s eternal power and divine nature are both “clearly seen” and “understood” from what has been made. There is no excuse for denying these realities, even for a moment. No matter how hard we may rail against God, we cannot make what is true, not true. Every single person, whether ignoramus or brilliant scientist, knows that he/she has never actually created anything out of an absolute vacuum. The most learned and creative person may make a thing out of something, but people never create things out of nothing. This power and authority belong to God and God ALONE!

This whole concept can be summarized by simply saying that general revelation is what God has clearly and plainly revealed to all people, at all times, and in all places that display his existence, power and glory. We may think of nature as an open book. God’s provision, greatness, kindness, and creativity are all revealed through the things He has created. Just as a piece of music or artwork may reveal something of the nature of the one who has painted or written it, God’s magnificence and glory are revealed to us through His created order.

Special Revelation 

Special revelation is how God has chosen to reveal Himself specifically through miraculous and supernatural means. In contrast with General revelation, Special revelation includes physical appearances of God through dreams, visions, the written Word of God, and most importantly, finally, and ultimately through the person of Jesus Christ.

“In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.” - Hebrews 1:1-3

The Bible records God appearing in physical form many times (Genesis 3:8, 18:1; Exodus 3:1-4, 34:5-7), and the Bible records God speaking to people through dreams (Genesis 28:12, 37:5; 1 Kings 3:5; Daniel 2) and visions (Genesis 15:1; Ezekiel 8:3-4; Daniel 7; 2 Corinthians 12:1-7). 

Of primary importance in the revealing of God is His Word, the Bible, which is also a form of special revelation. God miraculously guided the authors of Scripture to correctly record His message to mankind, all without violating the styles and personalities of the individual writers. (Hebrews 4:12; 2 Timothy 3:16-17). The Word of God is inspired, profitable, and sufficient.

Why did God deliver the truth regarding Himself recorded in written form? Because of the inherent inaccuracy and unreliability of oral tradition. Furthermore, God would also know the propensity of man to misinterpret, convolute and stretch visions and dreams. God decided to reveal everything that we need to know about Him, what He expects, and what He has done for us in the pages of Holy Scripture and then consummated it with the revelation of His one and only Son. All of Scripture before Christ pointed to Christ!

This is the ultimate expression of special revelation. God Himself became one of us in the person of Jesus Christ.

Almighty God immediately revealed Himself to mankind by taking on the form of a man. (John 1:1). As noted above, Jesus Christ is the ultimate “special revelation” from God. All authority in heaven and on earth belongs to Him. He reminds us in John 14:9, as he did the disciples, on the night before His betrayal, “He who has seen me has seen the Father.”

It must also be noted that even if we never had a special revelation from God, the scripture passage shared above from Romans 1 reminds us that General Revelation alone would provide us with MORE than enough information to; reveal the divine majesty, stop all our mouths, and hold every each one of us accountable before the God we ALL know! General revelation is no less authoritative than special revelation, but special revelation sheds more specific light concerning the character and work of God.

Finally, we must be reminded that neither general nor special revelation implies comprehensive revelation or full disclosure on God’s part. There are many things hidden from us in the economy of God for “The secret things belong to the LORD our God” (Deuteronomy 29:29). When Job realized the unsearchable knowledge and wisdom of God, he commented that these are “things too wonderful for me to know” (Job 42:3).

We must humbly accept that we are finite, and God is infinite. He has revealed everything necessary to us for life and salvation… all for our good and His eternal glory!

“His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.” - 2 Peter 1:3