We come to know God through God’s revelation. The creator discloses some of his character and his purpose to his creation, radically changing his creation in the process (Milgore, 2004, p. 22). We can only know God in part. God is revealed through general revelation (nature and human history) and special revelation (the Word of God) (Milgore, 2004, p. 29).
General revelation is limited and is subject to special revelation. Milgore (2004) states, “special revelation repeatedly challenges, corrects, and transforms all of our earlier knowledge of God, from whatever source, as well as confirming what is good and true in it” (p. 32). Additionally, Tennett (2007) states that God’s revelation both transcends (“pilgrim” principle) and penetrates (“indigenizing” principal) cultural context (p. 13).
Milgore (2004) argues that even scripture is subject to the revelation of God through the life, death and resurrection of his son. He states “the truth is that neither ‘scripture alone’ nor ‘scripture plus church tradition’ is sufficient to communicate the gospel of Christ effectively” (Milgore, 2004, p. 41). Christians then, both as a community, and as individuals, are called to make themselves available to be a part of God’s revelation to the world. That is, I think, what the great commission is all about.
Milgore, D.L. (2004). Faith seeking understanding: An introduction to Christian theology. 2nd Ed. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.
Tennent, T. C. (2007). Theology in the context of world Christianity. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan
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