General Revelation

by | Aug 13, 2013 | Seeing God | 4 comments

General Revelation

God’s General Revelation – No one has an excuse

“But what of those who have never heard of the Gospel?  What about those who have never even known that He could exist?”

God’s presence is everywhere within His creation.  It makes sense, really – if you were to paint a portrait, no matter how good it is – you’re going to leave some sign that you were there, be it some little signature you leave behind, or perhaps, just how good or bad of a painting it is overall.  Creation is much the same way,  just as you can clearly identify a Dutch Master or a Warhol, often with a quick glance.  Paul shares this insight with us in : “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.” [ESV]

You cannot look upon creation and not see the hand of God.

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You cannot look upon creation and not see the hand of God.  You may not recognize it as such, immediately or ever, but it remains theGeneral Revelation - To Deny Him is Pure Arrogance case that even “the heavens declare the Glory of God” [, ESV].  God’s fingerprints are everywhere.  When an unbeliever contemplates a moral decision, when he is faced with a dilemma of right versus wrong, he is witnessing proof of God, and the very law within him.  (see )  The coherence and natural order of the world, of the solar system, of the very universe shows us that there was care and intentional, intelligent design.  The very creation in which you currently reside resounds with so much evidence of a God, that to deny Him is pure arrogance, not unlike standing before van Gogh and telling him that he did not paint Starry Night.

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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. (ESV)

19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. (ESV)

16 on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus. (ESV)

  • You’re post made me think… a lot.

    My take on this post is that most people’s natural desire to be moral and the precision in which the universe operates is proof of God. If I missed the point then I would enjoy being set straight 🙂

    So if my take on it is correct then a couple of things are bugging me.

    First, why does the fact that most people want to be good mean that there is a God. Also why does precision mean that there is a God.

    Second, if I buy into the idea that morality and precision mean that there’s a God; Then is is the existence of a God the only possible explanation?

    Again, thanks for the post. I sincerely appreciate you thoughts & ideas.

  • Jeremy Zach

    I love the topic of revelation.
    I understand that General Revelation is: The personal act of God by which He makes Himself known through His creation, providence and conscience to humanity in general so that they might come into relationship with Him. (, , )

    But what your thoughts about special revelation not only in the scriptures but here and now?
    I would define special revelation as: The personal acts of God by which He makes Himself known by His redemptive word-work to many people son that they might come into relationship with Him. (, )

    What role does special revelation play into our lives?
    When God speaks He is using the Holy Spirit. God speaks to us through Scripture. We speak to God through prayer. So what happens when God directly speaks to us?

    • Alex

      It’s a great subject, isn’t it?

      I’m not 100% sure I understand the entirety of your question, but i’ll see if I can answer this appropriately. I love your definition of Special Revelation – I’ve not heard it quite that succinctly – But i’d also like to add to it a little bit (something you’ve touched on in the last paragraph of your comment).

      I think it’s important (if one is to discuss special and general revelation in depth) to include mention of how special revelation is driven. Yes, it is definitely a personal act of God, but it’s done through the Scriptures, and others who live out the scriptures. It’s a way for people to come to know who God is through Supernatural means, rather than natural means – i.e. the Scriptures, the person and Ministry of Christ (which is passed down through other believers), and similar methods.

      The generally accepted third revelation, known as ‘direct revelation’ is when God speaks to us through dreams, apparition (a topic for another article on a different site), tongues (nope, not going into this now), prophesy (move on now), and visions (… see dreams). Does this happen? Yes, absolutely… but one must be careful, as even the most mundane things can be seen to have ‘spiritual weight’ when in fact they are nothing more than natural revelation, or personal ideas and thoughts that have deeper meanings.

      So – through all of that, if there’s still anyone reading, what am I saying? There have been well documented cases (I will link them at some point) where people have been in countries where they are not at all exposed to God’s word (or would be killed if they were!), and have still somehow managed to dream about Christ and start churches. That is a perfect example of how direct revelation works.

      I think it’s important to be aware that God definitely speaks to us directly, but I also think that we should be very careful when we ascribe every little thing to God speaking directly to us. I think if we used a little more prudence in these areas, we’d have less Harold Campings and more people coming to know Christ! =D

      Is that a good answer?

      A [TMT]

  • Jeremy Zach

    Yeah. You answer my question perfectly. I like the term: direct revelation.

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