This morning, we return to our study of “The Love of the Triune God”, looking specifically at God’s creative love and how he loves to reveal himself. Last week, we saw that God loves to reveal himself in his creation. The creation speaks of God in its design, purpose, and truth. I explained that this is what we call “General Revelation”. God speaks to everyone through creation, so that they are without excuse. However, as I pointed out, the revelation we see of God in creation is enough to condemn us, but it is not enough to save us. As Paul said in Romans 1, “Although they knew God, they did not honor him as God… and their foolish hearts were darkened… claiming to be wise, they became fools and worshiped the creation rather than the creator.” Because of our sinful nature, inherited through Adam, we desire our own designs over God’s design, our own purposes over God’s purpose, and our own truth over God’s truth. So, sinful humanity exchanged the truth for a lie, the creator for creation, and the natural for the unnatural.
It would seem God’s revelation in nature really does us no good, then. In fact, it seems that it only serves to harm us, as it condemns us because we are made culpable in our false worship. God’s love for his self-revelation does not end with creation. There is another way that God reveals himself, and we call that “Special Revelation”. God reveals himself by speaking directly to his people. Before we go any further, I want to return to a common point I’ve made throughout this study. God does not have to love us. His love is freely given. And, he does not have to reveal himself to us, either. He reveals himself out of his love and grace. This is important to recognize when studying “Special Revelation”. After all, it is called “special” for a reason. Yes, God reveals himself in his creation to all of humanity, so we are without excuse. But, God does not speak directly to all of humanity. He chooses to whom he will speak. He chooses how and when he will speak. So, God’s revelation of himself through His Word is his own prerogative.
This morning, I want to consider two passages in two points to understand God’s special revelation. First, we will see The Miracle of God’s Revelation in Heb. 1:1-4, and then The Means of God’s Revelation in 2 Tim. 3:14-17. To begin, let’s read Heb. 1:1-4 to see the miracle of God’s revelation.
The writer of Hebrews, at the very outset of his letter, sets forth a progression of God’s special revelation of himself to his people. There are three characteristics of God’s revelation that I want you to see here. First, God’s speaks through his covenant. Notice that the writer says that God has spoken in various ways and at various times “to our fathers.” This letter is to Jewish believers, and so he means to draw their minds to the ancient covenant that God made with Abraham all the way back in Genesis 12. There, God called Abraham out of the land of Ur and promised that he would bless him and make his name great and through him all nations would be blessed. As Joshua 24 emphasizes, there was nothing special about Abraham. He was a pagan living a foreign land. God called him out, and this began a covenant between Yahweh and the descendants of Abraham. Now, it is certainly the case that God can speak to whomever he wants, whenever he wants. He spoke to the Egyptian slave Hagar, the false prophet Balaam, and the people of Nineveh through Jonah. God can do what he wants. But, God typically speaks to and through his covenant people.
We see this in the other characteristics of God’s revelation in Heb. 1. The writer says that God spoke to the fathers through the prophets. From Abraham to Malachi, God chose individuals through whom he would speak to his people. This revelation through the prophets begins with his law, and in the law of God we find an expression of God’s loving revelation. Now, we don’t often think of the law as loving, because we are sinners. We see it as restrictive and arbitrary. But, the law reveals the character of God and the way of life, and it is given in love to his people. Deut. 33:3-4 says, “Yes, he loved his people, all his holy ones were in his hand; so they followed in your steps, receiving direction from you; when Moses commanded us a law, as a possession for the assembly of Jacob.” Later in the history of Israel, as they strayed from faithful worship to Yahweh, God would call them back by sending his prophets. The prophets had two responsibilities. On the one hand, they acted as prosecuting attorneys, laying out the case against Israel in their violation of the covenant. But, on the other hand, they served as advocates, calling the people back to obedience and offering redemption. As 2 Chron. 36:15 says, “The LORD, the God of their fathers, sent persistently to them by his messengers, because he had compassion on his people and on his dwelling place.”
But, the people would not turn because their hearts were hardened. They needed a new heart, and that new heart could only come through God’s complete revelation of himself. So, the writer gives us a third characteristic of God’s revelation. God has ultimately and finally revealed himself through his Son, Jesus Christ. He writes that Jesus is the “exact imprint of his nature”, the perfect sacrifice for sin, and now the Messiah over all creation. There are three ways that Jesus fully revealed God. First, he revealed God in his presence. John 1:18 says, “No one has ever seen God; God the only Son, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known.” Jesus is “God with us”, so he communicates the nature of God by his very presence with us. But, his presence also reveals our true nature, as well. Jesus is the second Adam. He was born of a woman, born under the law, to give back to God the obedience he demanded of us.
Second, He reveals God in his preaching. Jesus spoke with the authority of God. In fact, at his baptism, God spoke from heaven and said, “This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased.” And, at the transfiguration, he said something similar, “This is my beloved son, listen to him.” Jesus did not speak of his own authority, but he spoke every word given to him by the Father. So, in his “Sermon on the Mount”, he could correct the traditions of the elders by saying, “You have heard it said, but I say…”
Third, Jesus reveals God in his payment for sin. In his death and resurrection, he fulfilled the demands of the law and began a new creation. This is why, from the cross, he cried out, “It is finished.” The great drama of the OT was complete. God had proven himself faithful to his covenant, and able to redeem the world through his Son. So, Paul says in 2 Cor. 1:20, “All the promises of God find their ‘yes’ in [Jesus].”
Jesus is the full and complete revelation of God, but there is still a problem for us: how are we to know that? I mean, Jesus lived at a specific time and place, and we weren’t there. So, how are we to know this special revelation of God? Beyond that, how are we to know how to live as believers in this world and the will of God for his people, the church? We find that answer in my second point, the means of God’s revelation, in 2 Tim. 3:14-17. Paul is writing to his son in the faith, Timothy, who is the pastor at the church of Ephesus. His intent is to encourage this young pastor to stand firm in his role against false teachers that have cropped up in the church. To stand firm, Paul gives him a guiding principle, which we find in this passage. Timothy is to stand on what he has been taught and known from an early age. That teaching is anchored in the Scripture. Paul establishes here that Scripture is the means by which God reveals himself to his covenant people, the church. There are three characteristics of Scripture that we find here. First, in verse 16, Paul says, “All scripture is breathed out by God.” The Scriptures are not helpful thoughts from wise men. They are not a collection of ancient human knowledge. The Scriptures are God’s words. As 2 Pet. 1:21 says, “For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” This means that Scripture is the ultimate authority for the individual Christian and for the church. Notice that Paul does not direct Timothy, when fighting false teaching, to appeal to his calling as a pastor, or to the majority vote of the church, or to the traditions. He directs him to appeal to Scripture because it is breathed out by God. As the London Baptist Confession of 1689 puts it, “The whole counsel of God concerning all things necessary for His own glory, man’s salvation, faith and life, is either expressly set down or necessarily contained in the Holy Scripture: unto which nothing at any time is to be added, whether by new revelation of the Spirit, or traditions of men.” This is not to say that there is no other authority besides Scripture. The Bible itself lays out other authorities (pastors, governors, parents). But, those other authorities are to be governed and corrected by Scripture. The Word of God is the final say in all matters of faith and practice. As Martin Luther so boldly said in his trial at the Diet of Worms, “Unless I am convinced by the testimony of the Scriptures or by clear reason … my conscience is captive to the Word of God.”
Second, scripture is the means by which we have knowledge of salvation. In verse 15, Paul reminds Timothy that it is through the Scriptures that he was made wise of salvation. Rom. 10:17 says, “Faith comes by hearing the words of Christ.” It is the word of God, given to us through Scripture, that opens our hearts to the Gospel. It is the word that gives faith. It is the word of the Gospel that is the power of God unto salvation. We are not saved by fog machines and light shows. We are not saved by contemporary music or hymns. We are not saved by smooth talking celebrity preachers. We are saved by hearing the Word of God.
Finally, Scripture is the means by which we mature as Christians. In verse 17, Paul tells Timothy that Scripture is profitable for every aspect of the Christian life - for rebuke, correction, and training in righteousness. All of this is beneficial because it makes the man of God complete and ready for every good work. There is no aspect of the Christian life or the life of the church that should not be governed by Scripture. No podcaster or TikToker should hold more sway that the Word of God. No meme on Facebook should have more say than the Bible. No politician should cause us to compromise on the Word of God. Yet, so often, we indiscriminately and undiscerningly substitute the wisdom of man for the Word of God. Because we do not know the Word ourselves, we are deceived by the hot takes from influencers. Because we lack discernment, we quickly share posts on Facebook without thinking through what they teach. Because we love power more than truth, we give politicians a pass when they abuse Scripture. Scripture rebukes our lack of discernment. It corrects our ignorance. And, it is able to make us wise and mature, if we will but take it up and read.
In closing, I want to bring this passage home for us as Baptists. We love to beat up on the Roman Catholics for their belief that the traditions of the church hold as much authority as Scripture, but it is sad to say that we make similar errors in practice. I want to propose that there are four authorities that the modern evangelical church regularly gives as much or more authority than Scripture. First, we can value superstars over Scripture. In the evangelical church in America, we have a terrible habit of making our preachers into celebrities and following them at all costs. A sobering example of this comes from the case of Solid Rock church in Myrtle Beach, SC. You may have heard the story of their pastor, JP Miller, and his wife, Mica, who tragically took her own life in 2024. There is a documentary about this on Netflix, called Death of a Pastor’s Wife. Even though the subject matter is mature, I’d encourage you to watch it, because it should serve as a warning to any church of the “Cult of Celebrity” that can grow up in a church. In short, JP Miller was a pastor’s son who became a youth pastor in his father’s church and then started his own church at Solid Rock. JP was a talented musician and speaker. When he founded Solid Rock, he was married to Ali and had three children, but he began to have an affair with his worship leader, Mica. This led to a divorce and remarriage to Mica. JP had a perverted appetite and drove his wife to fulfill his deviant desires, all while he preached and she led worship. He had multiple affairs and appeared to drive his wife insane, leading to her suicide. Now, this story is still very live. There are ongoing court cases and investigations, so there is no way to know the whole truth. But, in watching the documentary, I was continually frustrated, not just by JP, but by the church. The elders of the church knew of his affairs. Another pastor and the deacons knew. Many on the worship team knew. And yet, he continued to serve without question. No one challenged his authority. No one questioned his errant teachings that were meant to justify his own sins. Everyone went along because he had such charisma and spoke with such authority. Brothers and sisters, please understand, no one in this church (or any church) has more authority than the Word of God. No pastor should ever be given that privilege. No church member, regardless of how long they’ve been a member, should be given deference only reserved for the Bible. If anyone in this church abuses Scripture and claims an authority equal to or greater than it, then you have a moral and biblical obligation, even if you are the only one, to resist it. Make a stink. Stand up in the middle of service and object if you have to. But, do not let the celebrity of one man take authority over the Word of God.
Second, we can value seekers over Scripture. Many churches today have adopted the “seeker sensitive” model of Church, which basically says that the practices of the church should be governed by the desires and interests of “seekers” (unbelievers who are curious about the church). So, these churches have organized their worship around the felt needs of unbelievers, changing worship into a concert and preaching into a self-help lecture. This, too, places something else in authority over Scripture.
Third, we can value statistics over Scripture. This is something Baptists are particularly guilty of. We put numbers to everything, and so, when our attendance is down, we ask, “What can we do?” This question can often lead to making changes, not because they are commanded in Scripture, but because we think it might be more effective.
Finally, we can value sensation over Scripture. Many believers determine where to attend a church not based on whether the church is faithful to Scripture, but whether it has the right feel, whether their kind of music is played, or whether the church “has the Spirit”. Churches can be guilty of selecting a pastor, not because he faithfully preaches from the text, but because he really pulls at the heart strings. Both of these instincts are placing something else over Scripture.
The Word of God is our supreme authority for faith and practice. It is able to make us wise unto salvation. It is able to make us mature in Christ. It is an act of love from a gracious God who delights to reveal himself. May we have no other authority over it or beside it.
Bibliography
Death of a Pastor's Wife. Directed by Julia Willoughby Nason and Michael Gasparro. 2026.
London Baptist Association. The 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith. n.d. https://www.the1689confession.com/1689/chapter-10?utm_source=chatgpt.com (accessed August 8, 2026).
Luther, Martin. "Career of the Reformer II." In Luther's Works, by George W. Forell. Philadelphia: Muhlenberg Press, 1958.
1 Second London Baptist Confession, 1.6.
2 Martin Luther, “Luther at the Diet of Worms,” 112-13
3 Death of a Pastor’s Wife
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