Long ago, at
many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in
these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of
all things, through whom also he created the world. (Hebrews 1:1-2 ESV)
God's self-revelation to us -- in nature, the Scriptures, and his Son -- is his own freely chosen act of self-disclosure, in the words of Carl Henry. We did not seek or find God, but he himself takes the initiative to reveal his nature, mind, and will to us. This includes historical acts and facts, but also includes the God-given meaning of those acts and facts. Henry writes...
"Only because
God so wills is there a special revelation that centers in the redemptive acts
of Hebrew history from the exodus to the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth, and
in the communication of the meaning of these saving acts in both the prophetic
and the apostolic word. Only because God
so wills is the truth of God given in the special form of inspired writings;
only because God so wills is his special revelation crowned by the incarnation
of the Logos in Jesus of Nazareth. God
has chosen to reveal himself in different times and in different modes (Heb.
1:1)...
"In an amazing
variety of ways--in every way except in his final eschatological revelation
(and for the sake of those who still reject we may be glad that this end-time
revelation has not yet been given) -- God has made himself known. In both general and special revelation--in
nature and in history, in the mind and conscience of man, in written
Scriptures, and in Jesus of Nazareth -- he has disclosed himself."
~ Carl F. H. Henry, God, Revelation and Authority, II:10.
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