A shorter post this time (I promise). I want to look at the other side of the revelation ‘coin.’

In my post last week, I shared my desire to hear from God and to experience His revelation. For what its worth, I don’t think this desire is particularly unique. As a matter of fact, I believe that deep in the heart of every human soul (so far down, perhaps, that some do not realise or acknowledge it) there is a yearning to know and to experience God. I also spoke of the distinction that the discipline of theology is careful to make between the notion of once-for-all revelation (the written word of God, Jesus himself, and the Creation) and personal illumination—the experience of the lights going on, for an individual; and while I acknowledged that some distinction was necessary, I suggested that the notion of ‘illumination’ was insufficient to account for the sorts of truly revelatory encounters that Christians experience with God. These revelations are, of course, no longer universal, in the same way that the Bible is, but the bottom line is, God is still speaking and still ‘revealing’ himself. Christians experience it. You can expect it.

Nevertheless, most theologians are concerned that elevating the value of ‘personal revelation’ will undermine confidence in the Bible. And I think that this concern is one that Charismatic and Pentecostal types need to take much more seriously than we do. And let me be blunt. We will only do this by engaging with our bibles a lot more diligently than we do.

The Word of God revealed

In the account of Samuel’s call we find that the reason Samuel had trouble recognising the voice of God calling out to him was that he “did not yet know the Lord: the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.” The ‘word of the Lord’ here of course refers to the prophetic encounters that Samuel was to have, but it was equally true that God’s written word was not fully revealed at that time. Samuel would probably have only had the Pentateuch. In short, his instinct for hearing God’s voice was not especially well trained. But the same cannot be said for us who live on the other side of the Cross. Not only do we have God’s written word revealed in its entirety, but we also have encountered the Living Word in Jesus Christ.

But this does not mean that the tide of revelation is now stemmed. Rather, the floodgates have opened. Surely we who have encountered Christ, who read the Scriptures and who are filled with the Spirit have a better chance of understanding God when he speaks?!

It is not as if God only reveals himself by means of Scripture these days, but that by immersing ourselves in the revelation of Scripture we can be more certain of discerning his voice when he speaks. And that is not only an awesome privilege—think of the many faithful Christians throughout history who would have paid any price to be able to have the access to God’s word that we have today—but a sovereign responsibility.

Understand the Priorities of the Holy Spirit

I hope that you are hungry for revelation, but here are a few ways to ensure that you are ‘on the money’:

1. A ‘revelation’ must accord with Scripture. God spoke and continues to speak through Scripture. God revealed and continues to reveal himself through Scripture. If we claim to have a ‘revelation’ from God that is inconsistent with what God has already revealed and is currently revealing through Scripture, it can’t be from God.

2. A hunger for personal revelation goes hand in hand with a hunger for God’s word. Anybody who seeks to set the Word in opposition to the Spirit has failed to understand the Spirit who inspired the Word. Want to experience Revelation? Get stuck into the Bible. Read a lot. Read it often. Read it prayerfully.

3. A deeper experience of the Spirit will be accompanied by a greater love for God’s people and his Church. If somebody is isolated from the Church and ‘getting revelations’ that justify the isolation, that’s a red flag. To state this positively, revelation flourishes among those who are deeply connected and humbly submitted to the local church. Want to experience revelation? Stay connected, get submitted, love God’s people—even the difficult ones like yourself.

I yearn for a deeper revelation of God. I pray for a greater visitation of the Spirit in the Church. I hunger for renewal and revival in this nation and around the world. I long to see and experience signs and wonders, tongues and prophecy, healing and deliverance, dreams and visions. I passionately desire for God to reveal himself in fresh ways in this generation. It is because of this that I will not settle for a sanitized ‘illumination.’ But it is also because of this that I want to bury myself in the Scriptures. Here’s a thought: If you want to go on a pilgrimage to somewhere that God is speaking, go to the Bible!

(For another great resource on this topic I recommend Helen Calder’s blog. See in particular Six Questions to Ask about Supernatural Signs