- Today on Let the Bible Speak,
is God still speaking to man?
♪ Music ♪
Announcer: From the churches of Christ
Let the Bible Speak
with Evangelist Kevin Presley.
It's good to start the week with you
and I'm glad you've taken a few moments
to study the Scriptures together.
A lot of people say that God speaks to them.
You certainly don't have to look far
to find a preacher who will claim
that the Lord gave him some kind of message.
But does God speak to men today?
For that matter, has God spoken any of us at all?
Well, I invite your attention to the book of Hebrews,
and I wanna read to you there beginning
in chapter one verse one.
Here the apostle says, "God, who at sundry times
"and in divers manners, spake in times past
"unto the fathers by the prophets,
"hath in these last days spoken unto us
"by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things,
"by whom also he made the worlds."
Those verses establish at least two important facts.
That number one, God has spoken to man.
And number two, that God spoke using human messengers
to relay what he said.
And that's what we want to learn about today.
What kind of message does God have for mankind?
How was that message sent to earth?
And is God still speaking today?
But first, a song.
- The Psalmist said, "Through Thy precepts,
"I get understanding."
The Bible is the revelation of God to man
and you simply can't live for God until you know something
about the Word of God
and you may say, "Well, I want to read
"and study the Bible, but I don't know where to begin.
"I feel overwhelmed" or "I don't understand the Bible."
I want to offer you a wonderful way
to get acquainted with the scriptures.
You'll learn about some of the most basic
and foundational teachings of God's Word
and you'll get a better handle on how to read
and approach and study the Bible as a whole.
Won't you get in touch with us today
and ask to be enrolled in the Bible Correspondence Course.
It won't cost you a penny and we'll mail the lessons
to your home and you take your time to read and study
through the lessons,
I think you'll be surprised how much you'll learn.
Arthur Pink once suggested the following scenario.
What if an angel from heaven was dispatched to earth
to appear to mankind and let's say it was announced
he was bringing an important message from God.
Suppose it were announced that this angel
was going to deliver this message in some large auditorium,
that it was going to be broadcast on live television,
today over the internet,
transcribed in the morning newspaper.
Well, if nothing else, at least out of curiosity,
you would have to admit most people would want to know
what he had to say.
In fact, I'm sure television rating would shatter
any standing records and the newspapers would fly
off the rack the next morning.
People would throng to see such a sight
and hear this angel speak in person, if possible.
I'm sure people would hang on every word
and the speech would be relayed and reprinted
over and over again.
Oh, it'd be the talk of the country.
In fact, it'd be the talk of the world.
And yet, God has spoken to man.
And the message he sent unfortunately barely receives
a passing shrug from the average person.
Paul declares in Hebrews chapter one that God has spoken.
And you would expect that he would.
Now, the deist has said that God just essentially
wound the world up like a clock
and is letting it all run down,
that he created and then essentially walked away,
and has no concern or any involvement in human affairs.
But if God made man in his own image,
as the Bible declares that he did,
and has any concern for him and any involvement in his life,
well, that would necessitate
a revelation of some kind of God to man.
How would we know anything about such a God,
much less have any kind of relationship with him
if he never spoke to man, but instead
remained enshrouded in eternal mystery
and sat silently through the ages?
Some might say, well, you know, I see and communicate
with God through nature.
Some do make that claim.
It's very true that God communicates his presence
and his power through nature.
But that's not how he communicates his will for man.
The book of nature, if we wanna call it that,
is what we would call God's natural revelation.
The Psalmist, for example, said in Psalm 19,
"The heavens declare the glory of God
"and the firmament showeth forth his handiwork.
"Day unto day uttereth speech
"and night unto night showeth knowledge,
"and there is no speech nor language
"where their voice is not heard."
Well, those wonderful and poetic words are David's way
of saying that the sun, moon, stars,
they're all celestial preachers that travel around the earth
shouting in every language known to man, there is a God.
And I never cease to be amazed
at how supposedly intelligent men
can behold the beauty, power, precision, order
of the world and the universe beyond,
and say that there is no intelligence behind it,
there is no designer behind the design,
that there is no God.
The Bible truly says in Psalm 14:1,
"The fool has said in his heart there is no God."
I've never been to a watch factory,
but I know they exist, because I have a watch.
I've never seen the wind, but I know it exists,
because I see the effects of it, feel the effects of it.
In the same way, I've never discerned God
with my physical senses.
I haven't seen God, I haven't heard God,
I haven't touched God.
But I know that there is an intelligent Creator,
because I see his creation.
And I no more believe the universe
as a result of chaos and chance,
any more than I believe an automobile
is a result of a tornado through a junkyard,
or that parts of my watch randomly came together
in just the right way at just the right moment
and somehow I have a watch that tells the exact hour,
minute and second and is even waterproof.
And so, every time we take time to marvel
at the beauty of the earth, we see the fingerprints
of an omniscient and omnipotent God.
But though we come to the obvious conclusion
that there is a God,
we don't know his will by merely looking at a mountain
or gazing at a star.
We just know there's a Creator,
and we yearn to know that Creator.
But you see, knowing that Creator necessitates
not merely a natural revelation of him,
or a revelation of him in the natural world,
it necessitates a supernatural revelation
of his mind and his will.
You know, in Romans chapter one, Paul said
that the Gentiles of old, Romans one,
beginning about verse 20, he said, "The Gentiles of old
"were without excuse for their unbelief
"because the evidence of his existence and his power
"are clearly seen in the things that are made,
"even his eternal power and Godhead," Paul said.
But however, these same people lived in spiritual darkness,
because God did not reveal his mind or his will
unto them at that time.
They were without the law of God.
Since God made himself known
only to the Jews in that age, his chosen race.
Well, in the same way, no man can know the mind of God
until God reveals it to him.
So we not only need the natural revelation of creation,
we need the supernatural revelation
of the Creator's mind and will.
And folks, that's what the Bible is about.
Friend, that's the purpose of the Bible.
Did you know the purpose of the Bible
is not to prove that God exists?
That's not it's purpose at all.
The Bible's written to people who already believe
that God exists based upon natural revelation.
But you see, the Bible is God's supernatural revelation
to man that makes known the mind, the character,
the will of the heavenly Father.
Now, to explain, let's spend a few moments
in the second chapter of First Corinthians.
If you have a Bible, read with me,
beginning in verse seven here,
and reading through verse 16.
The apostle Paul said, "But we speak the wisdom of God
"in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom
"which God ordained before the world unto our glory,
"which none of the princes of this world knew,
"for had they known it, they would not have crucified
"the Lord of glory.
"But as it is written, 'Eye hath not seen,
"'nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man
"'the things which God hath prepared
"'for them that love him.'
"But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit,
"for the Spirit searcheth all things,
"yea, the deep things of God.
"For what man knoweth the things of a man
"save the spirit of a man which is in him?
"Even so the things of God knoweth no man
"but the Spirit of God.
"Now we have received not the spirit of the world,
"but the Spirit which is of God,
"that we might know the things
"that are freely given to us of God,
"which things also we speak,
"not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth,
"but which the Holy Ghost teacheth,
"comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
"But the natural man receiveth not the things
"of the Spirit of God, for they're foolishness unto him
"neither can he know them,
"because they are spiritually discerned.
"But he that is spiritual judgeth all things
"yet he himself is judged of no man,
"for who hath known the mind of the Lord
"that he may instruct him?
"But we have the mind of Christ."
Now, let's start there in verse 14
and work our way back.
Paul said the natural man receiveth not
the things of the Spirit of God,
for they're foolishness unto him.
He cannot know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
Now, in one sense, you could say that a natural man
would be a man who acquires his knowledge by natural means,
that would be an example of a natural man, for one.
A scientist, for example, functioning only as a scientist,
well, that's a natural man.
He draws conclusions based upon what he observes
in the natural world.
A geologist studies rocks and minerals,
and he may carefully study the rocks
and the formations that make up the earth.
He may draw many conclusions about the earth
and what it's made of.
He may assume how old it is.
The chemist studies the chemical composition of things,
and the astronomer, he focuses his telescope
off in the heavens and he studies things
that lie beyond this globe.
He peer into his telescope and observes the planets
and the stars, and he acquires a great deal of knowledge
through his study, no doubt.
He perhaps, if he's wise, reaches the same conclusion
that David did, that there must be a God,
there must be a higher power for something
so wonderful and filled with such order
and such design to come to be.
But you see, even if he reaches that conclusion,
none of these men can know the mind of God
through such channels of knowledge.
In fact, the things of God really are foolishness
to these men who rely upon such knowledge.
Those things are not naturally received,
but rather, God made them known
through a supernatural process
called revelation and inspiration.
Now, back up to verse 11 where he says,
"For what man knoweth the things of a man
"save the spirit of the man which is in him?
"Even so the things of God knoweth no man
"but the Spirit of God."
Well, here Paul is simply saying
that one cannot know the mind of another
until the other person articulates his thoughts
in word or in deed.
In the same way, God's thoughts
had to be articulated unto man.
You can't know the will of God by staring into a crystal
or sitting on a mountaintop somewhere
peering off into the sky,
or sitting along the creek bank
and listening to the murmuring brook.
We only know as much as God has chosen to reveal to us.
Well, that helps us to understand what Paul then is saying
in verses nine and 10, when he says,
"But as it is written, 'Eye hath not seen
"'nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man
"'the things which God hath prepared
"'for them that love him,'
"but God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit
"for the Spirit searcheth all things,
"yea, the deep things of God."
Now, some people think verse nine is talking about heaven,
in other words, no man supposedly has ever seen heaven,
to be able to know or tell
about what it'll be like one of these days.
That's not what Paul is talking about at all.
In fact, the apostle Paul one time said
he was caught up into the third heaven himself.
He's talking about the plan of redemption.
He's talking about the things that were in the mind of God
that God had prepared from before the foundation
of the world itself for the salvation of man.
And God's plan for man had not aforetime been revealed.
That is, before the coming of Christ and his apostles,
until the Holy Spirit brought it to earth
when he clothed the apostles with inspiration
and confirming demonstrative power.
But Paul says now, now, those things are known.
How?
Paul says, God revealed them to us through his Spirit.
The antecedent of us here is referring to Paul
and the other apostles.
Thus, Paul says in verse 13, "Which things also we speak."
We apostles speak these things
that God has revealed through the Spirit.
Listen, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth,
but which the Holy Ghost teacheth,
comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
Now, don't get the idea that this is some kind
of a better felt than told, experiential type of thing
that you really can't describe,
God's Spirit just somehow illumines your heart,
and somehow you divine, know the will of God.
Paul isn't saying anything of the sort here in this chapter.
He's talking about the very logical, rational process
of God revealing his mind, his will for man,
by the means of the Holy Spirit that he imparted
to his apostles who inspired them with the words
that they needed to communicate the mind
and the will of God to the rest of us.
Not only did God reveal himself unto them, the apostles,
Paul says, we, apostles now speak those things
using the very words
that the Holy Spirit furnished and superintended.
Now, because God has spoken to them,
we can all know and understand the mind of God
by the testimony that they left behind,
by reading what they wrote down
by inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
And thus Paul said in Second Timothy three and verse 16,
that all Scripture is given by inspiration of God,
and he goes on there to say
that it thoroughly furnishes us unto every good work.
So Paul back in First Corinthians two says
in verses 15 and 16,
"He that is spiritual judgeth all things,
"yet he himself is judged of no man,
"for who hath known the mind of the Lord,
"that he may instruct him?
"But we have the mind of Christ."
Now, the spiritual man that Paul was referring to here,
that's not you or me or somebody that just feels like
they somehow have some abstract operation
of the Holy Spirit, rather he's talking about the apostles
who were inspired by the Holy Spirit.
Their teachings were and are not subject to the approval
or disapproval of anyone else,
because they were the words of God himself,
communicated through God's Spirit.
And Paul affirms that he and the other apostles possessed
the mind of Jesus Christ.
In other words, God spoke to the rest of us through them,
and those men are not subject to the judgment of other men.
We're subject to the judgment of God,
according to the standard of his word,
but those men, the words that they spoke,
those came by inspiration of the Holy Spirit
and are God's word.
In fact, to be very specific, they are the words
of Jesus Christ himself.
Paul said in Second Corinthians 13 and verse three,
since you seek the proof of Christ speaking in me.
and the things that God inspired
Paul and the other apostles to write 2,000 years ago
were collected, canonized into what we now know
as the New Testament Scriptures
that have been preserved and translated
and passed down throughout the ages for us to have
and to read and to study and to obey
and to know and to do the will of God.
Now, back to Hebrews chapter one verses one and two.
Paul says, listen to me now, "God, who at sundry times
"and in divers manners, spake in times past unto the fathers
"by the prophets, hath in these last days
"spoken unto us by his Son"
You see, this refers to the gradual process
that God used beginning a long time ago
to reveal himself to man.
God used different men and different methods
to make himself known.
One thing we can conclude from that
is that God does not individually speak to all people.
He never has.
God never has.
God has always used certain ones
through whom to make his will known to the rest.
First Paul says that God spoke
in divers manners or different ways.
God manifested himself in his plan in a multitude of ways
throughout the developmental age of mankind.
For example, he first spoke directly to the patriarchs.
And those men, functioning as essentially the priest
for their family, God would speak to the family
through the patriarch, through the father.
He later inspired his prophets of old
with certain messages to be relayed to his people.
Moses, of course, was the great lawgiver.
There was a string of prophets after Moses
who God spoke to the people of Israel through them.
God prefigured and foreshadowed his plan of redemption
in the various types and shadows and symbols
and ceremonies of the Old Testament dispensation.
God manifested himself to the world,
not only through his creation,
but through the nation of Israel
and this covenant with them.
But all of that, all of that was merely a precursor,
a build up, you might say, to the final revelation
of God's plan for the entire human family.
Notice Paul says that though God spake at different times
in the past through the prophets,
in other words, pointing forward to what was to be,
he then says, but in these last days,
God has spoken unto us by his Son.
In other words, the message
that Jesus Christ was and brought to earth,
was God's final and ultimate message to mankind.
That's why he goes on to say
Christ is the heir of all things.
Christ is the very fulfillment
of all of the things spoken afore.
Now, look again at Hebrews chapter two this time,
beginning in verse three.
There he says, "How shall we escape if we neglect
"so great salvation which at the first began to be spoken
"by the Lord and was confirmed unto us by them
"that heard him, God also bearing them witness,
"both with signs and wonders and with divers miracles
"and gifts of the Holy Ghost according to his own will."
You see, the full revelation of Jesus Christ
and the gospel of salvation through and by him,
that's God's message for the ages.
It was first spoken by Jesus Christ.
And then he says it was confirmed unto us
by them that heard him.
Now that's talking about the apostles
who were eyewitnesses of the Lord Jesus Christ
after his resurrection.
They were with the Lord, not only during his ministry,
they were with the Lord after his resurrection,
and that namely, was the qualification to be an apostle,
and that's how the apostle Paul later became such,
because he saw the Lord on the Damascus road
after Jesus was risen.
And because these men were eyewitnesses
of the majesty of the Lord Jesus Christ,
because they were with him and heard him
and could testify to the fact that he is alive
and he is, therefore, Lord and Christ
and everything that God declared him to be,
and that Christ claimed to be,
because of that, that gave the word of those men authority.
Now, you've heard the expression
signed, sealed, and delivered?
Well, the message of God was signed, sealed, and delivered.
It was signed by God,
it was sealed by the work of the Holy Spirit
in the first century,
and it was delivered by the mouths of the apostles,
and consequently their pens.
That's so very important for us to understand.
You see, the apostles occupied a very unique role
in the revelation of God's message
that no man today or any other men of any other age occupy.
The problem is a lot of people today believe
that God still speaks to them
just like he spoke to the apostles of the first century.
It's not uncommon to hear preachers say
that the Lord gave them a message.
Oral Roberts a number of years ago claimed
that the Lord was sending us all a message through him
and that message, do you remember?
It said if we didn't send him so many millions of dollars,
that the Lord was going to take his life.
Well, did you believe
the Lord really said that to Oral Roberts?
My question is why should we believe that?
You know, the apostles had the credentials
of their divine office to prove
that God was speaking through them.
Preachers today don't carry those credentials.
Anybody can make the claim that God said something to them,
and many people do.
But how are we supposed to know whether he did
or whether he didn't?
What is their proof?
What divine credentials do they have to prove
that God really spoke to them
and that therefore, we should give credence
to what they are saying?
Well, friend, as goes the claim, so goes the demonstration.
God bore them, the Bible says, witness
with miracles and signs and so forth.
Someone today says, "Well, we reject whatever they say
"that is not in harmony with the Bible.
"We test it by the Bible."
But friend, think that through.
If God spoke to us through the apostles,
who wrote the New Testament,
and men today can only speak those things
that are written in the New Testament,
well, why would God need to speak to them today?
Don't we already have it then in the form of the Scriptures?
Jude answered that question for us in Jude verse three.
He said, "Beloved, I gave all diligence
"to write unto you of the common salvation.
"It was needful for me, though, to write unto you
"and exhort you that you should earnestly contend
"for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints."
And Greek scholars tell us the word translated once
should actually be translated once for all,
once for all time.
Now that makes it a lot more simple, doesn't it?
I don't have to be confused by the conflicting claims
of all of these people who say the Lord speaks to them.
Jude tells me that the faith,
the body of truth of Jesus Christ,
was delivered once and for all time
when it was revealed to his apostles.
Let us listen to it and heed it.
Well, we covered a lot of material rather quickly today,
and if you would like to go back and study it
more in depth, or you'd like to share today's study
with someone else, we'd be happy to send you
a free printed transcript.
So get in touch with us and ask for today's lesson,
Is God Still Speaking to Man?
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I hope you'll also make your plans to join me
right back here for another study next time.
Until then, I hope you have a wonderful week
and may God bless you.
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