God Revealed

God Revealed
GOD REVEALED.
BY G. H. P. SHOWALTER

"No one knoweth the Son save the Father; neither doth any know the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son willeth to reveal him" (Matthew 11:27). With the wording but slightly different Luke also records this lan­guage of Christ: "No one knoweth who the Son is, save the Father; and who the Father is, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son willeth to reveal him" (Luke 10:22). I take it that the Saviour meant to teach that aside from revelation —without revelation—it is impossible to know God. Without this man can neither know him nor know who he is. It is impossible to form any safe, adequate, or correct conception of his infinite, divine attributes —of his eternal power, of his exalted, matchless dignity, or of the supreme holiness of his character —unless it is revealed to us through those supernaturally endowed. That a knowl­edge of God is of the highest importance, and that revela­tion is, as a consequence, of the greatest value is set forth in the clearest possible terms by our Saviour in the interces­sory prayer: "This is life eternal that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent" (John 17:3). The reception of eternal life depends upon a knowledge of God, and of Christ, and a knowledge of them depends upon revelation. The author of the Hebrew letter in beginning this remarkable document, states concisely what is claimed by all writers of the sacred canon—God has spoken to man. He is very specific, sub­mitting two clear and distinct propositions.

God spoke to the ancients through the prophets.
God has now spoken to us by his Son. (See Hebrews 1:1).

I shall address myself first to arguments sustaining the proposition that God can be known only through revelation, and shall seek to sustain the conclusion that this revelation s given man in the book we call the Bible. I shall next show hat this revelation was progressive, and, so far at least as our present state, condition, and hope, are concerned, closed in the first century of the Christian era.

It is conceded by all that the idea of God is in the world. Now an idea can not obtain except for the existence of the object or the thing which originates the idea. A little study of concepts will make this perfectly clear, I presume, to all thoughtful and honest minds. Every word representing a name is coined in accordance with this invariable law. Let us take the word "horse." This is a term used to designate a distinct concept or idea. Whenever this word is employed there is, in the mind, a certain distinct and peculiar concept of idea —one that does not present itself to the mind when any other word is employed. If we should use some other word, "pig," for example, we would have an idea in the mind wholly different from what the mind would entertain when the word "horse" is used. When the latter term is used, we think of a certain kind of animal, and the word is used to represent but a single species. However, the species must first be in existence, else there can be no such an idea, nor could there be a word, expressive, at least, of the slight­est intelligence to us, for a word is nothing more than a vehicle for conveying an idea. The order is: The existence of the species or the thing.
The idea or concept.
The word, the vehicle of conveyance. Nor is it possible to change this order, or dispense with the relations that appear therein. When we have an idea, there is of necessity, in existence, or has been in existence, the thing that produced the idea.. We have the word "horse," and the idea conveyed by it, and there are horses; we have the word "mouse" and the idea conveyed by it, and there are mice; we have the word "God" and the idea con­veyed by it, and God is. We might illustrate with one thous­and words and the result would be the same. Try to use a word that conveys no idea —rather to coin a word that ex­presses no idea, and behold the blank on the mental canvas. Throw together any number of vowels or consonants repre­senting no known word and observe that it expresses no idea, either material or abstract. I will throw together some letters and make the word Oldze. Now you might pronounce this combination of letters but they convey no intelligent significance whatever. We inquire why they carry to the mind no idea, and the answer comes that there is nothing in existence, and has never been, that produced an idea to which this aggregation of letters of the alphabet have been applied or may be applied. They are simply meaningless.

Every name comes from an idea and every idea comes from that which is. The idea of God is in the world, and is one of the most general ideas or concepts known to man. Wherever the race is found this idea prevails, a condition which could not be if God is not. You might as well argue that there is no sun as to argue that there is no God. Both may be done with the same degree of logic and intelligence. To argue the possibility of a concept without the existence of that which originates it, is a presumption that is nothing short of a metaphysical absurdity. Some skeptics have argued that the idea of God is a product of the imagination, but this can not be. Imagination does not and can not create a new idea. It may dispose and re-arrange, but it can not create, and hence it can not be responsible for giving to the world the idea of God. It uses ideas but does not and can not originate them. But whence comes the knowledge that God is? It must be through:
Intuition.
Rational deduction, or,
Revelation.

Some have tried to solve the problem on the supposition that such knowledge is intuitive, but this can not be. All knowledge that is innate, instinctive, or intuitive, is also universal. If the knowledge of God comes in this way, all men would know him by nature, and atheism would be im­possible. But the existence of atheism argues the impossi­bility of our knowing God by intuition. Moreover, it ap­pears from actual observation that a knowledge of God is not possessed by those who have not had opportunity of re­ceiving this knowledge from others. Man's instincts are very few, and cover only the most simple and primary truths, and in their very nature must be accepted and rec­ognized by all men. For these reasons and others, neither the idea of God nor the knowledge of his existence and at­tributes can come through intuition. Nothing that is intui­tive is debatable, or can possibly be a subject of controversy. Does this knowledge come through reason? Are we to suppose that it is a deduction from premises supplied us through nature? David said; "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth his handiwork." This is true, but David did not say the heavens reveal God. The works of his hands praise him only in the minds of those who know of his existence and power. We can praise an architect only when we know who he is. We look upon a building with admiration, but must learn who the builder is before we can praise him for his skill. A building does not tell who the builder is. The works of nature do not reveal God. They are a commentary on his attributes only to those who have a knowledge of his existence and power. Once possessed of this knowledge, and all the works of creation speak of his wisdom, goodness, greatness and power. But we can hardly conceive of one who had no knowledge of God, bursting forth with the eloquence of David and ex­claiming: "The heavens declare the glory of God." No reason can not reveal God. It is not the office of reason to create. It uses materials already supplied. It combines, generalizes, arranges, compares and draws conclusions, but the materials which reason uses are not created by reason itself. They must be supplied from some other source. Reason, then, can not and does not reveal God.

Since the knowledge of God can not be by intuition, and can not come through reason, and still such knowledge is in the world, we prove by a process of elimination that this knowledge must be through revelation. We know nothing of the unseen except as it is revealed to us by others. I have an idea of London, Paris, Berlin and Tokyo. I have some knowledge of these cities, but all this knowledge is derived either from reading or hearing spoken words from others. All the knowledge I have is received from someone else who either speaks or writes that which he knows. We accept as true, the statement: "No man hath seen God at any time." Hence the necessity of revelation, as the only possible means of conveying a knowledge of him. What we know of God, of Christ, of redemption, of redeemed spirits, of heaven and hell, have been revealed to us. The great thinkers among the philosophers of Greece and Rome recognized the necessity of revelation. Socrates, the prince of Greek philosophers, met Alcibiades on his way to the temple to pray, and said to him: "You can not know how to worship until a divine being instructs you. You can not know how to pray till informed by some divine being. As you must learn from men, what to do in reference to men, so must you learn from the gods, what to do in reference to the gods. The great philosopher in this was right. No man know- eth the will of God, nor is it possible that any one should know the will of God without divine instruction. The best thinkers among the Romans agreed with the Greeks. The eloquent Cicero quotes Socrates with approbation. The province of nature, as it relates to divine instruction, is simply and solely to confirm revelation. The heavens and the earth, the planets in the wonderful precision of their movements in the solar system, the moon, stars, and all mountains, seas, land, snow, hail, rain, the lilies of the field, and every blade of grass that springs forth from the earth, speak forth to the believer, words of confirmation of re­vealed truth, and magnify the infinite divine attributes.

It is needless, at this juncture, to submit argument that the Bible is the only specimen of literature that challenges the attention of man as worthy to sustain, in any way, or manner, a claim to divine origin, and as the one book that reveals God. When once the necessity of revelation is es­tablished, the proposition that the Bible is itself the revela­tion, follows as a corollary: It is now in order to consider the nature and character and significance of this revelation. The author of the Hebrew letter has told us that God in sundry times and in divers manners, spoke to the prophets, and that in this day he has spoken unto us through his Son. The apostles of Jesus Christ became his spokesmen, his ambassadors, his chosen and properly qualified heralds, to make known the revelation peculiar to the new covenant. God spake in sundry times and in divers manners. This, of itself sufficiently indicates that revelation was not completed in its beginning, that it was not consummated in its incipiency. That part of the human race that lived in the patriarchal age, enjoyed the blessings of revelation, but only in a limited de­gree. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Noah, job, and all the patri­archs had a sufficient knowledge of God to meet their re­quirements, and to complement their nature, but they were not possessed of the glorious light of truth that now il­lumines the world, in the fuller representation of the divine character. A careful study of the Old Testament will make it clear to all that the patriarchs did not possess that degree of knowledge of God that was vouchsafed to Israel through the law of Moses. When the Lord appeared to Moses in the land of Midian, and divinely qualified him for leading forth the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt, he stated to him distinctly that he had not revealed himself to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in his name "Jehovah," but that they had known him as El-Shaddai —God Almighty. This sufficiently suggests that Abraham and his illustrious son and grandson had a conception of God not enjoyed by the antediluvians, and those who lived immediately following the days of the del­uge. They knew the God of heaven as Elohim, the high conception of dignity and awe, and as such they adored him as the most exalted conception of personal existence. God revealed himself to Abraham as the Almighty, and in this way his power and providence became distinctly known. We see this beautifully exemplified and illustrated in the case of the call of Abraham from the land of the Chaldeans, and during the whole of his subsequent life. He must needs look to one who was not only able but willing to make pro­vision for him, for he went out in accordance with the order —not knowing whither he went. When he was called upon to offer the son of promise as an offering unto the Lord, and when the provision of another offering became, as it were, a necessity, it is clear that Abraham had learned fully, a new and wonderful lesson —intended for all subsequent ages of the world —that God is the great Provider. When a ram was furnished Abraham to offer in lieu of his son. he built an altar and called the name of it Jehovah-Jireh —the Lord, the Provider. This conception of God has remained in the world. Every man of faith in the world today looks to God as the great Provider. We may not always understand how provision is to be made, Abraham evidently did not. But he, as the father of the faithful, and as the friend of God, and as a prophet, had learned a lesson that all good men should learn that:

"It may not be my way.
It may not be thy way;
And yet in His own way.
The Lord will provide."

God is not only the infinite, exalted being of dignity and awe; he is not only the God of power, the Almighty, but he is also the great Provider, and Paul, the apostle, consoled himself with this knowledge when the assurance was given him, " I will never leave thee nor forsake thee; my grace is sufficient for thee."

Some centuries had passed when to Moses God revealed himself as Jehovah, and as the "I am." As the children of Israel journeyed through the wilderness and made that wonderful history that was intended to be a lesson to all peoples of subsequent time, they met with opposition, and it was necessary for them to go forth into battle. They went into this war with the Amalekites trusting in God as their leader and director. The hands of Moses were reached forth toward the heavens, and as long as he could reach to­ward God for help the armies of Israel were successful. Aaron and Hur held up his hands when his physical powers were weak, in order that Israel might continue to prevail. Amalek was routed. A great victory was won. A proud and powerful nation were rebuked because they arose up against the people of God. "And Moses builded an altar and called the name of it Jehovah-Nissi" —The Lord my banner. And thus we have an added conception of the benevolence and protecting care of God. Those who wage war will always be successful if they enter it by the author­ity of God. He has never lost a battle for those who fight under his instruction. One man can chase a thousand, and ten men can put ten thousand to flight, if their battle is waged with the I_ord as their banner. Victory is deter­mined by the God of heaven, and in the great spiritual con­flicts it is equally true that he will win who fights under the instruction and leadership of God and of Christ, the great captain of our salvation. We may say triumphantly with Paul, "We are more than conquerors through him that loved us." In the days of the Judges we find an added conception of God, aptly illustrating this subject. Moses, Joshua and the early leaders of Israel in Canaan, had long since passed from the earth. Israel was hard pressed by their enemies. When they sowed their fields the hostile nations about them reaped their abundant harvests. Midian and Amalek went forth against them with powerful armies. Gideon, a mighty man among the oppressed Hebrews, arose. Israel rallied to his standard, and accepted him as their leader. He looked to God as the only hope for bringing peace to the disturbed land. Gideon erected an altar and called the name of it Jehovah-Shalom-Jehovah, a God of peace —a most satisfy­ing conception of God's power and protection. Who can bring peace to a disturbed nation except through the direc­tion of our God? He is the God of peace. In our day when the fuller light of the gospel shines forth in the hearts of all men, we are, or at least should be, more confident than any other people who have lived since the world began, in the sublime and consoling truth that God is a God of peace. The angles on Judean hills, who announced the birth of the Messiah, issued the proclamation: "Peace on earth, good will to men." The Christ is pre-eminently the Prince of peace, and he has given distinction to this gratifying concep­tion of God in the beatitude, "Blessed are the peace-makers, for they shall be called the children of God." Our God is assuredly the God of peace; and if we would have peace, the peace that passeth all understanding, the peace that is secure and abiding, we must be led to that peace through trust in God.

Scanning the further revelation of the divine attributes, we note that Ezekiel, in the closing part of his prophecy, pictures to us the beauty, splendor, and excellence of the city of God. The culmination of his description is recorded in the last verse of his remarkable prophecy, "The name of the city, from that day shall be Jehovah-Shammah—The Lord is there." This brings to man the assurance and the blessedness of the divine presence. John saw the new Jeru­salem, the city of God, and pictured the happiness of re­deemed spirits. He drew attention to that which was and is a most consoling hope. "The throne of God and of the Lamb was there, and his servants shall serve him, and they shall see his face, and his name shall be in their foreheads." The Jews had a meager conception of the dwelling place of God. They thought that he was at Jerusalem, that he abode in the temple, and that they must worship him there, because this much they had received as suitable information for them in that age of the world. The woman of Samaria declared that the Samaritans believed that they ought to worship in the mountain, and the Jews thought men ought to worship at Jerusalem, but the Saviour disclosed to her and to all mankind, the wonderful knowledge that God will hear and receive the adorations of men at any point of the globe where man may live.

Referring to the prophecy of Isaiah (Isaiah 7:14), we have one of those strange predictions made in reference to the coming of the Messiah, and his new name —Immanuel —God with us. It is one of the pre-eminent distinctions of the fuller revelation as set forth in the new covenant, that God is omni­present. Of a truth God is everywhere. Wherever man is found today, who has received the Bible, he has likewise re­ceived the knowledge that God may be worshipped at any place. He speaks to God with the confident assurance that God will hear him on land, on sea, in the desert, in the fer­tile fields, or in the populous cities. And it is certainly a consoling and glorious truth that God is present everywhere to hear the cries of those who trust in him. God is an ever-present God, a very present help in time of need.

There remains the most important conception of deity, and this was likewise deferred as a revelation to be a dis­tinct peculiarity of the gospel age. Man had sinned and the fiat of God had gone forth, "The soul that sinneth it shall die." No limitation was made. A small sin or a great sin was sufficient to result in the utter condemnation of the human race. When all had sinned and come short of the glory of God, it became necessary that some provision be made for man's life, otherwise the entire race of responsible beings would be forever lost. God's prophet. Jeremiah, gave the promise (Ch. 23:6; 33:16) that in the glorious age that was to come, his name would be called Jehovah- Tsidkeneu —the Lord our righteousness. When our sin and pollutions had become such that it was impossible for our righteousness to bring us to a position of acceptance with him. he became himself, our righteousness. Christ died for the race, he became a propitiation for the sins of the whole world. Through him was atonement made for sin. He was without guile, entirely without sin, and this ideal sinless­ness has been vouchsafed to us through an acceptance of the atonement made for our sins, and thus we have Christ as the Son of God, and the burden-bearer for us. He took our sins away in becoming righteousness for us.

We live in the most favored age of the world. All the divine attributes that have gradually been revealed to the world, are now known to us. God was known to the first inhabitants of the world as the Elohim. and that set forth the infinite dignity and loftiness and holiness of his nature. Later he was revealed as El-Shaddai. the Almighty; then as Jehovah-Jireh, the great Provider: Jehovah-Nissi, the God of battles —the one to whom all men must look, and under whose instructions they must fight if they will win the victory in battle; Jehovah,Shalem, the God of peace, the one to whom we can look, and whose orders we must abide, if we would achieve and enjoy peace; Jehovah-Shammah, and Immanuel, which terms signify to us the presence of God. his remaining with us, and the possibility of approach to him everywhere —the Lord is omni-present; Jehovah-Tsid-keneu, the Lord our righteousness, the one who has borne our griefs, has received our stripes,, has suffered for us. Thus far has the divine nature been revealed to man, and and we are prepared to receive the triumphant announce­ment made by Paul in his letter to the Colossians: "Christ is all and in all." He is everywhere, and is everything to us. Our relations to him may be sustained by abiding in him (John 15:3). We may feel1 his presence, enjoy his so­ciety, grow in his grace, and be made happier and richer through these gracious experiences of the divine benefaction. This much is essential for this life and the age in which we live, and is sufficient for our present happiness, and our hope for the future; and the ultimate consummation of his revelation to us will finally be realized when we shall have passed the confines of time and landed on the eternal shores where we shall see him as he is, and know as we are known.