By Pastor Dave Farmer
Summary
When compared to God man is limited and lost; finite and fallen. So God must disclose Himself to us. There are a variety of ways He does this. We are going to look at General Revelation. This is how God reveals Himself to us by His WORKS.
General revelation is the continuous activity of God through which He reveals His presence to all people, at all times, primarily through His works. There are many ways God speaks to us in general revelation. Since we are only going to highlight a few of those ways, I would like to share Dr. Floyd Barackman's condensed statement of this doctrine:
God's general revelation is given by His works or actions in His creating and governing the universe. His creating the universe manifests His eternity, power, divinity (Romans 1:20), glory (Psalm 19: 1), purpose (Revelations 4: 11), wisdom (Psalm 136:5), and immensity (Isaiah 66: 1). God's government of the universe reveals His goodness in providing for man and beast (Acts 14:17; Romans 2:4; Psalm 104), His sovereignty in controlling nature (Job chs. 38-41) and the affairs of men (Daniel 4: 17), His holiness in expressing wrath against wickedness (Romans 1: 18; 9:22; Psalm 9: 1 6), and His mercy in dealing with His people (Romans 9:15,23; Psalm 103:13) (Barackman, page 26) 1
We call the first witness to the stand to testify, The Material Universe.
[1] The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.
[2] Day to day pours forth speech, And night to night reveals knowledge.
[3] There is no speech, nor are there words; Their voice is not heard. [Psalm 19:1-3 ]
David's Five Conclusions:
First, the heavens are telling of the glory of God. David says, as I look at what God created, it reveals to me the GODHOOD of God. The word "glory" often represents the Person of God, His deity, and His divine nature. Such as in Romans 3:23; Ephesians 1: 17; Deuteronomy 5:24; Psalm 21:5.
Secondly, their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. Creation points up! You look at creation and creation points its finger heavenward and says, "God is!"
Thirdly, day unto day, and night unto night. This is an idiom expressing the idea of that which happens daily or constantly. The message is persistent.
Fourthly, utters speech and reveals knowledge. Creation speaks. Notice that the point of contact is the mind of man. It reveals knowledge. Anyone who possesses an IQ has the intellectual capacity to see in creation the Creator.
Fifthly, no speech or language where its voice is not heard. The message gets through. Carefully notice that there are no barriers: no geographical barriers, no linguistic barriers, and no intellectual barriers. In other words, creation is an effective witness.
Let’s Summarize what David found:
1. Creation is a Universal Witness. The message it sends reaches everywhere.
2. Creation is an Unlimited Witness. It has no barriers: geographical, linguistic, intellectual, or cultural.
3. Creation is an Unending Witness. It continues twenty-four hours a day, around the clock, without stop.
4. Creation is an Unfailing Witness. It speaks to everyone. It is sufficient to bring everyone to an awareness of the existence of God.
Let’s summon another testimony about creation as a witness to the existence of God. Paul's statement in Romans 1: 19-20:
[19] because [Paul argues] that which is known about God [something is knowable] and there exists a revelation of God] is evident [this information about God is clear, conspicious] within them [addresses man’s faculty of reason]; for God made it evident to them [God has revealed Himself to them].
[20] For since the creation of the world [Here is the witness of material creation.] His [God’s] invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.
Paul's conclusions:
First, there exists knowledge of God.
Secondly, this knowledge is clear, not muddled, puzzling or cloaked in some mystery. Note the verbs "clearly seen and understood."
Thirdly, God created man with a mind, and He speaks to man's intellect through creation.
Fourthly, Paul says, there is no excuse. No one can claim,“They did not know God existed.” This will not hold up in divine court.
Is it possible to look at creation and not see God? Paul says that anyone with an IQ one point above moron gains knowledge of God through the universe they live, move, and have their being in. What about a self-proclaimed atheist? They look at creation and say there is no God. Paul's answer is not that they cannot see God in creation, in fact, they have! But they have chosen not to believe in Him because to do so would mean they would have to submit to Him. It is not an intellectual problem. It is a matter of their wills. They choose not to believe. They willfully suppress the knowledge of God. Romans 1:17. Don't fear atheists; they are rare birds.
Let’s summon another testimony about creation as a witness to the existence of God.
The writer of Hebrews' testimony in Hebrews 3:4:
[4] For every house is built by someone [some person], but the builder of all things [creation] is God.
The writer of Hebrews' conclusion:
The writer is using the logic of creation. Can you conceive of two people standing in front of a house and asking each other, "Do you think this house was built by coincidence, or by chaos, such as an explosion? Which of these possibilities do you think built this house?" Isn't it more reasonable and natural for us to ask, "Who was the builder?" Everywhere in the universe one finds intelligent and useful planning - we fit the environment we live in. The atmosphere of Planet Earth and my lung system go together! Where you find design, there exists a Designer.
Dr. Morrison in his little book "Man Does Not Stand Alone" 3 says, "So many essential conditions are necessary for life to exist on our earth that it is mathematically IMPOSSIBLE that all of them could exist in proper relationship by chance on anyone earth at one time. Therefore, there must be in nature some form of intelligent direction."
Some factors which show design are:
1. The world in the right place in relation to the sun.
2. The crust of the earth the right thickness, and the depth of the ocean just right for the presence of oxygen, and hence, vegetation on the earth. He says, had the crust of the earth been ten feet thicker, there would be no oxygen, without which animal life is impossible; and had the ocean been a few feet deeper, carbon dioxide and oxygen would have been absorbed and vegetable life on the surface of the land could not exist.
3. The rotation of the earth at the right speed for the maintenance of life.
4. The speed of the earth around the sun.
5. The relation of the earth TO THE ONE sun in thousands which could make for life on the earth, for its size, density, temperature, distance, rays, etc., are just right.
6. The presence of the right gases in the right proportion in our atmosphere, for even a slight change in proportion, would be fatal. "
Finally, he states, "The chance of any one of these factors (and others not mentioned) occurring would be one in a million; the chance that they would all occur is too great to be calculated." 3 (Morrison, page 146)
Is there a God? Is there any evidence which reveals His presence? David said, "Yes, look at creation. It points heavenward and says "God is there!" Paul testifies that Creation reveals the Godhood of God. There is a Person, a divine omnipotent Person there. The writer of Hebrews was our third witness and what does he say? There is intelligent design, and if there is design, there must be a Designer. This is the logic of creation. It speaks to all! It speaks everywhere. It speaks effectively!
Dr. Francis Schaeffer states it eloquently when he says, "As the Creator, God shapes and fashions and brings bare being into form a form which is truly reflective of the One who fashions it. And when God is finished with this process, what He has made speaks of the God who made it." 4 (Schaeffer, Vol. I, page 37) When I look at a daffodil I see its color, its biological function, and structural makeup and the truth speaks, "Someone created this!"
Other Witness about creation and their conclusions:
Abraham Lincoln once said: "I can see how it might be possible for a man to look down upon the earth and become an atheist, but I cannot conceive how he can look up into the heavens and say, 'There is no God!' 5 (Phillips, page 26)
It was recorded that one of the people involved in the French Revolution said to a peasant, "We are going to pull down all that reminds you of God." The peasant replied, "Citizen, pull down the stars." (Ibid. page 26)
Hume, a Scottish philosopher, was a skeptic. Now a theist believes in the existence of God. The theist says, "God is there." An agnostic is a person that says, "We don't know whether God is there or not. We don't have any conclusive proof. The skeptic says, "Truth is unattainable by any means within man's reach.” This man's philosophy suppressed the truth. Yet it is said, that walking with his friend on a very beautiful evening, he said, "Adam, there must be a God." 6 (Thiessen, page 32) He was overwhelmed by the beauty of God's creation.
Voltaire, a French philosopher of the Renaissance who was an atheist, was said to have "prayed in an alpine thunderstorm." (Ibid, page 32) Prayed! But too whom? It is not that man doesn't know God exists. It is rather they choose to suppress that truth. Because they live in the world that God has created, they live in constant tension with what is around them, and the natural logic of their own mind constantly collides with their preconceived ideas and viewpoints.
Charles Darwin is known as the father of the evolutionary theory. In his autobiography, he said, "In my most extreme fluctuation I have never been an atheist in the sense of denying the existence of God." In another place, he said, "I cannot believe with my mind that all this was produced by chance. 7(Schaeffer, Vol 4, page 272)
The truth that he had been suppressing all his life just surfaced in that statement. Over the years of studying God's creation, developing a theory of chance in explaining the origin of man, he stood in tension with what is there. His mind has just evolved from a monkey's mind. If he could not trust his mind on such a pivotal point, how could he trust his mind to formulate the evolutionary hypothesis?
Albert Einstein, who is one of the greatest thinkers of the modem era, said "I pity the man that says there isn't a Supreme Being. Everyone who is seriously involved in the pursuit of science becomes convinced that a spirit is manifest in the laws of the universe, a spirit vastly superior to that of man and one in the face of which we with our modest powers must feel humble. “ 8
Creation illustrates one of the greatest testaments to the existence of God. In our next article, we will look at another witness: General Revelation.
ENDNOTES
1Barackman, Floyd H. Practical Christian Theology. Old Tappan: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1981. [Dr. Barackman was my Theology teacher at Davis College as well as my friend and mentor. I highly recommend this theology book.]
2All quotations from the Bible come from the New American Standard Bible (NASB). Bracketed portions within the verses are added to explain and amplify the sacred text.
3Morrison, A. Cressy. Man Does Not Stand Alone. New York: Revell & Company, 1944; quoted by Young, Vernon C. A Christian Approach To Philosophy. 3rd ed. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1958.
4Schaeffer, Francis A. The Complete Works of Francis A. Schaeffer. 2nd Ed. Vol.2 Wheaton: Crossway Books, 1991.
5Phillips, John. Exploring Romans. Chicago: Moody Monthly, 1969.
6Thiessen, Henry C. Introductory Lectures in Systematic Theology. 9th Ed. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1968.
7Darwin, Charles. Life and Letters. Vol 1. quoted in Frances Schaeffer, The Complete Works of Dr. Frances A. Schaeffer. 2nd Ed. Vol 4. Wheaton: Crossway Books, 1991.
8 Kennedy, James D. "How I Know There is a God." Truth Notes (June, nd): p3.