Revelation: Audible vs. Written

Has God actually revealed the truth to you, or is your faith based on what you’ve heard from other people? Do you subscribe to man-made teachings or has God actually spoken to you?

Abraham heard God speak, Jacob heard him, and so did Elijah. These three each had the uncommon experience of hearing the Father speak. Yes, God made his voice audible to these men.

Abraham heard God:

And Yahweh said to Abram, ‘Go out from your land and from your relatives, and from the house of your father, to the land that I will show you’ (Genesis 12:1).

Jacob heard God:

He [Jacob] had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the Earth, with its top reaching to Heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. There above it stood the LORD, and he said: ‘I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying’ (Genesis 28:10-13).

Elijah heard God:

After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’ (1 Kings 19:12-13).

And then we have the Lord Jesus. He also heard God’s audible voice. The Father spoke from Heaven twice during Christ's ministry, saying ‘This is my Son in whom I am well pleased’ (Matthew 3:17; Luke 9:35).

But Jesus, as priviledged as he was to hear God's voice, didn’t base his faith on audible revelations. Jesus knew that audible revelations of God’s Word are not superior to written revelations. Did you know that? What you read in the Bible is superior to what you might hear from God because the Scriptures are ‘the prophetic word made more sure.’

… we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts (2 Peter 1:19; NASB).

If you’ve heard God’s audible voice, that’s sure—but the Scriptures are more sure. With an audible voice, you must confirm whether or not it was God truly speaking to you—and you do that by comparing the words of the voice with the Bible. With the Bible, you just believe. God’s Word has been confirmed throughout generations in a collection of prophecies we call the Bible.

A Foundation in Inspiration

Is the Bible the foundation for your faith? We’re not getting off track here. This question has everything to do with the Holy Spirit—precisely because the Holy Spirit inspired the Bible!

… know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God (2 Peter 1:20-21; NASB).

Note that this is something you need to know before anything else. Peter said ‘know this first of all.’ Is it something we’ve established first and foremost or are some people undecided?

The Holy Spirit Serves God

Note also, as the passage says, that regarding the Scriptures, they are a result of men who were moved by the Holy Spirit—men who spoke from God. How can being moved by the Holy Spirit cause someone to speak from God? Does that mean (as many deduce) that the Holy Spirit is God? Is the Holy Spirit the Father?

No. The Holy Spirit serves God. The Spirit comes to us with messages from God. The same Father who sent Jesus, now send the Holy Spirit to buttress the work of Jesus. He sends the Spirit in Jesus’ name—that is, according to the cause of Christ, the cause of salvation. More precisely, God sends the Spirit to us to teach us.

… the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things (John 14:26).

So, God has sent us a Teacher, the Holy Spirit. The task of this Teacher is a big one: to reveal to us all things. The all things refers to all things that we need for life and godliness. In other words, God has equipped us through the Holy Spirit to be fully prepared to do all that we need to do to live righteously in this day and age.

… his divine power has bestowed on us all things that are necessary for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3).

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

Christians will make the Bible their number one source of revelation. If you’re learning from the Bible, you’re learning from God who inspired it. And if you’re learning from the Bible, you’re learning from God through the Spirit—the same Spirit who inspired the Biblical writers.

All Scripture is God-breathed [inspired by God] (2 Timothy 3:16)

[regarding] prophecy of Scripture … men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God (2 Peter 1:20-21; NASB).

Who is Who?

How can we speak about God and the Holy Spirit in the same context? The cop out "solution" is to say that they are “one and the same God.” However, this statement denies a basic truth: The Father inspires the Holy Spirit. God enlightens the Spirit. Such a confusing and patently false statement denies a Biblical fact: that the source of the Holy Spirit’s message is the Father who sent him.

The Father is the God of the Holy Spirit. Think about it: If the Father is ‘the God of our Lord Jesus Christ’ (Ephesians 1:17), and Jesus is the Holy Spirit’s immediate authority—then we can safely deduce that the One God and Father is the God of the Holy Spirit. Observe how Jesus tells us that the Holy Spirit is under his authority:

He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you (John 16:14-15).

What does ‘All that belongs to the Father is mine’ mean? It means that God has assigned the Holy Spirit to serve Christ Jesus. Among those beings that belong to God is the Spirit, and God has given the Spirit to Jesus to serve Jesus. Jesus has become the Holy Spirit’s Boss. And, as his Boss, Jesus sent the Spirit to us!

Self-Check

Back to the point: Although God sent the Holy Spirit to teach us, unfortunately for most people there is a tradition, a theology, a book, a website/app/podcast, or a human teacher they prefer to hear over a simple reading of the Bible. To make sure you’re not one of those people, ask yourself: Are there any Bible passages you prefer not to hear?

Why ask yourself this question? Because if you are avoiding Bible truths, then you’re avoiding the Holy Spirit. Do you conveniently ignore certain passages, and cancel them out with man-made thoughts? Then you’re ignoring the Holy Spirit. Do you argue against certain Bible teachings? Then, you’re arguing with the Holy Spirit.

Such opposition to the Holy Spirit is much more common than you might think:

1. Mainline Protestants proudly allow gays to lead in their congregations, but the Bible calls homosexuality rebellion against God. It says that homosexuality is a result of people turning away from God in Romans 1.

2. Catholics cling to their images and statues, even though the second of the Ten Commandments clearly prohibits these objects in worship. See Deuteronomy 5.

3. Reformed teachers who regard Martin Luther as a great theologian vehemently argue that salvation is sola fide (by faith alone) even though the Bible says in black and white that it’s not by faith alone (James 2:24).

4. Jehovah’s Witnesses insist that the Holy Spirit is a force or “energy,” even though the Bible repeatedly presents him as a spirit being who speaks, teaches, feels, guides us, picks people up, and acts according to his own will.

5. Evangelicals proudly preach that Jesus was “the God-man.” They say that Jesus came to us as “100% man and 100% God.” They’re wrong. Not only are they contradicting the Bible, they’re contradicting the most basic doctrine of the New Testament: that Jesus came to us ‘fully human in every way’—100% man (Hebrews 2:14, 17; 4:15).