The reality of the word part 5
The revelation of God to man is not found in any articles or creature.
The revelation of God can only be made available to man by God himself.
This is because God is a revelation.
He is not known by experiences or assumptions.
It is Jesus who reveals God to man. Any attempt of man to find God outside of Jesus Christ who is God’s revelation to man will lead to a religion.
Religion is man’s attempt to find God using experiences, imaginations, cultures, traditions and superstitions.
The further man attempts to find God, the farther such a man departs from where God is.
Paul speaking in Mars’ hill in Acts 17: 22-29
22 Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars’ hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious.
23 For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, To the Unknown God. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you.
24 God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;
25 Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed anything, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;
26 And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;
27 That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:
28 For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, for we are also his offspring.
29 Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device.
My emphasis is on the following phrases
- That God is not far from any one of us if anyone genuinely desires to know the true God as highlighted by Paul in verse 27.
- That people can worship a God ignorantly and this is an offshoot of religion and superstition. This was iterated in verse 25.
- That we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device. This is seen in verse 29.
The third point iterated above is the hallmark of most of the world religions.
It is seen in man’s attempt to give God a kind of image that is in someone’s imagination.
In the Christian faith, we don’t look for God because God is no more a mystery to us.
God has revealed himself in the person of the Christ. However, there are some Christians who are religious because of lack of proper teaching of God’s word.
John 1:18 further gives credence to how God is known.
“No man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.”
No man means before the incarnation that no one has seen God’s manifestation as a man.
That is in the incarnation of Jesus Christ, men spoke with and interacted with God.
When men touched Jesus, they touched God.
The word ‘bosom’ means what is together.
In the Greek, bosom is often used for one’s breast pocket.
It means the father and the son are together.
The word declare is used when you are relaying or narrating a firsthand experience.
It’s used when you are speaking of an event which you were present during its happening. It’s not used for a third-party reportage.
It was used in the following Bible references:
Luke 24:35 “And they told what things were done in the way, and how he was known of them in breaking of bread.
This speaks of a firsthand account. What they saw happened. It wasn’t a hearsay.
Acts 15:14 Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name.
This what Simon saw happen.
Acts 15:12 Then all the multitude kept silence, and gave audience to Barnabas and Paul, declaring what miracles and wonders God had wrought among the Gentiles by them.
In this scenario, Paul and Barnabas were narrating what happened through their ministry to their audience.
Acts 21:19
And when he had saluted them, he declared particularly what things God had wrought among the Gentiles by his ministry.
Paul is narrating to his audience the exploits God used him to accomplish among the gentiles.
Back to John 1:18
No man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.”
…has declared means that Jesus is not speaking on God’s behalf neither is the God’s errand boy or servant.
He is God speaking for himself.
This is because the father and the son are found together in the spirit.
The father reveals the son and the son reveals the father.
The father is known by revelation. The son is also a revelation.
Confession:
I receive the revelation of God in Christ. I don’t know God by my experiences or assumptions. I know God in Christ. I don’t have any confusion as regards who God is to me.
