Sitting in Dr. Hanna’s class yesterday (Tues) the discussion regarding Supreme Revelation, Special Revelation, Ecclesial Revelation, and General Revelation sparked a way of looking at the subject in my mind that I would like to share and then get your thoughts on. It seemed to help make it more practical.

Dr. Hanna said that Jesus Christ as Savior is the Word and at the same time Scripture is the Word and Nature is the Word too. Someone had asked a question regarding the equality of the different revelations, i.e. exactly how does the Incarnation relate to Inspiration and how does Inspiration relate to Ecclesial etc.

It seems to me that how they all relate to each other can be related to how we view constitutions and bylaws in governments and corporations. In a government, the constitution is defined as “a system, often codified as a written document, that establishes the rules and principles that govern an organization or political entity. In the case of countries, this term refers specifically to a national constitution defining the fundamental political principles, and establishing the structure, procedures, powers and duties, of a government.”(www.wikipedia.com, “Constitution”). Bbylaws are similar especially in corporations; they contain “the most fundamental principles and rules regarding the nature of the organization.” (www.wikipedia.com, “Bylaws”).

With these definitions, it seems that we could liken the Scriptures (Inspiration) to the constitution/bylaws of the God head. In essence, the Scriptures, and especially the Law, are a codified, written document that establishes the rules and principles that govern how God operates the Universe. The Scriptures contain the most fundamental principles and rules regarding the nature of God and His everlasting government. But, just here is where an important observation should be made. While a constitution, such as the constitution of the United States of America, is a written, codified expression of what the nation is and does; the constitution is not actually the nation itself. To put it plainly, the Constitution of the United States is not the United States. Rather, it is a codified description of the basic essence of what makes the United States the United States.

The United States is made up of people, places, systems, interactions, laws, powers, etc. Without the actual people, places, systems, and interactions that make America, America, the Constitution itself would be nothing more than paper with words on it. But, because the Constitution describes the actual workings of the nation, we see that it is indeed a living document. Although, this metaphor has weaknesses due to the fact that it can be argued America is not actually living up to its Constitution, but none-the-less, I hope you can see my point.

Thus, applying it to God and Scripture we see that while Scripture is a written revelation of God and who He is and what He does and all the essence of Him, the Scripture itself is not actually God. In fact it is not the Scripture itself that makes the principles and the laws and the ideas presented therein potent. But rather, it is the living God behind those words that makes them living.

In other words, if it weren’t for God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit to constantly stand behind the Word that they have spoken, it would just be a dead letter…ink on paper, nothing more, nothing less. But, because they do indeed stand behind every Word, the Holy Scriptures are a living book. They are transforming in nature.

It is also possible to address the connection between incarnation, inspiration, and general revelation by comparing God and Scripture with organizations, governments and their products. For example, when an organization creates a product, that product reveals in a small way some aspect or philosophy of the company. Microsoft, for instance focuses on software. They do not build computers, but build the stuff that makes the computers run. Thus, the nature of their products tells a bit about the nature of their company. That is that it is a software company, primarily. In a similar way, all of God’s creation, in some way or another reveals some aspect of His character and of His government. It reveals His purposes, His aim, and His focus. But, indeed, the creation is not the Creator. Windows operating system is not Microsoft Corporation. Microsoft Corporation made Windows. Likewise, creation is not God, God made creation.

Anyhow, I shall end here.