Does God still speak to man?

 

There are two errors alive and well in the world today which the preacher and theologian John Stott calls "opposite errors." The first is the belief that though God's voice was heard in ancient times it is silent today. The second is that God is speaking today but that what He says has little or nothing to do with Scripture. The truth is that God has spoken and that He still speaks, and the two messages are closely connected with one another.

Foundational to an understanding of truth and rejection of either of these errors is an understanding of the unchanging nature of God. God says of Himself: "For I am the Lord, I change not…" (Malachi 3:6) The divine constancy of God is a theme that runs through both the Old and New Testaments. Built upon this foundation and equally essential to the rejection of error is knowing the value God places upon His Word. For the Scripture records: "I will worship toward thy holy Temple, and praise thy Name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy Name." Psalm 138:2)

Clearly from the two points mentioned above we can say that God has neither ceased to speak, nor has He changed His message to man. What has changed is the amount of the revelation of God man has access to. The pinnacle, the revelation of God, Himself, being of course the Lord Jesus Christ who is God incarnate. The message of He who is the Living Word is conveyed across two thousand years of time and manifested in our hearts and minds by the written Word. The reason that some can think that God is silent today is they have no connection with Him through the Lord Jesus Christ and His revelatory Word.

Someone once said, "the Bible is God preaching." There is a lot of truth in that statement. And, just as the Spirit of God moved upon men of old to record God's Word, that same Spirit moves upon men today so that they might get understanding through the written Word and hear the voice of God speak to them through it. People have said that God is hiding from men, but the truth is men hide from God because (1) they do not like what He has to say, and (2) they do not like the way He chooses to say it. They want God to do things in ways that accomodate them instead of submitting themselves to His will, plans, and purposes.

            Jonsquill Ministries

P. O. Box 752

Buchanan, Georgia 30113

171001-1