Special Revelation IN MIDSTREAM we are confronted with the fourth stone. We notice it is unique, for neither upstream nor downstream is there a similar one. It is no mere steppingstone. This stone appears to be made up of threescore or more strata fused together to form a massive rock. It is so large that when standing on the rock of Reason we cannot see the far side of the stream. We jump from Reason and land at the base of Special Revelation only to find we must leave behind our cherished cargo in order to scale the sides.
As we climb we notice previous climbers have written words of encouragement in the rock face. One message reads, "He that cometh to God must believe [not be convinced by logical demonstration] that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that seek after him" (Heb. 11:6, R.V.). An other reads, "The secret things belong unto the Lord our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever" (Deut. 29:29).
Reaching the flat top of the rock, we see indeed that God has revealed Himself. The whole area is inscribed with messages about God. "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth" (Gen. 1:1). "God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Rom. 5:8). "I am the Lord, I change not" (Mal. 3:16). And the strange words, "God said unto Moses. I AM THAT I AM" (Ex. 3:14). These concepts of God, depicting Him as the Creator and re-creator, the unchangeable lover, and the self-existent one are concepts gained solely from Special Revelation.
Notice a few more: "God is Spirit." 1 "Now unto the King eternal, immortal, in visible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever" (1 Tim. 1:17). "Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the Lord. Do not I fill heaven and earth?" (Jer. 23:24). "With God all things are possible" (Matt. 19:26). "Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite" (Ps. 147:5). Every statement is countersigned with the name "Jesus Christ."
Yes, God Is
We make an exhaustive search and find no statements that try to prove that God exists. The fact that God is is assumed as a first truth. Then we remember that Soren Kierkegaard once posed the same question that is in our minds. He asked, "Is there a God?" And then he answered him self, "This question is either useless or silly. If God does not exist, it is useless to try to prove it; if He does exist, it is silly to attempt such a proof." 2 Why? Because, as we have mentioned earlier, we are finite and limited in time and space. Therefore, "because of the inaccessibility of the data, ... it is incompetent to complete a philosophy of life without special revelation from God." 2
Solomon came to the same conclusion. "Then I beheld all the work of God, that a man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun: because though a man labour to seek it out, yet he shall not find it; yea farther; though a wise man think to know it, yet shall he not be able to find it" (Eccl. 8:17).
So we face a choice. We can choose to remain ignorant of God or accept God's writings as true. We either accept revelation or reject everything and jump off the rock.
Unfortunately, the rock of Revelation is the end of the journey for many. But for those who surrender preconceived ideas, cherished opinions, and willful sin and accept unconditionally the revelation of God, even Jesus Christ Himself, then there remains one more tangible step in knowing God is.
Prayer
The last steppingstone is a precious stone connected as it were by a spit of sand to the rock of Revelation. Flashing like a neon light, there is written on it the advertisement, "Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God" (Phil. 4:6, R.S.V.).
First having made the choice to accept revelation, we are now faced with a challenge from God: Discover Me by personal experience. Get to know Me by talking to Me and I shall know you and answer your prayers. "We know that he abides in us, by the Spirit which he has given us" (1 John 3:24, R.S.V.). "Beloved, let us love one another; for love is of God, and he who loves is born of God and knows God" (chap. 4:7, R.S.V).
John's choice of ginosko rather than oida for the verb "to know" is a significant choice. The Greek word ginosko carried the additional meaning of "to know by observation and experience," as distinct from oida to know by intuition or information only.4 Reason and revelation enable us to know about God. Prayer enables us to know God by personal experience. The experience of knowing that God is is one of mutual joy. Paul uses ginosko when he writes, "If one loves God, one is known by him" (1 Cor. 8:3, R.S.V.).
Albert Schweitzer said, "The most fundamentally important religious exercise is the practice of the presence of God." 5 Answered prayer and a daily personal experience with God prompt the Christian to say, "God is now here" rather than "God is nowhere."
The Leap of Faith
Still standing on the precious stone of answered prayer, we look farther across the stream but see no more steppingstones. There remains the leap of faith to bridge the gap. "Pascal reasoned that God gave enough evidences to satisfy the mind of man whose heart was surrendered to Christ, but not enough to tempt a man into Christianity by pure reason alone."6 "But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him" (Heb. 11:6).
"God never asks us to believe, without giving sufficient evidence upon which to base our faith. His existence, His character, the truthfulness of His Word, are all established by testimony that appeals to our reason; and this testimony is abundant. Yet God has never removed the possibility of doubt. Our faith must rest upon evidence, not demonstration. Those who wish to doubt will have opportunity; while those who really desire to know the truth, will find plenty of evidence on which to rest their faith.
"It is impossible for finite minds fully to comprehend the character of the works of the Infinite One."7
So innate knowledge, reason, law and design, special revelation, and answered prayer each infer the existence of God without offering absolute proof. Finite man must exercise faith. "He who waits for entire knowledge before he will exercise faith cannot receive blessing from God." 8
A Sound Basis for Faith
All five steppingstones form a basis for faith. Faith is not a synonym for superstition or gullibility. Faith comes with testing the evidence on the five steppingstones. Indeed, faith must be exercised with every step. First, we must have faith that our innate knowledge is even worth considering. Second, we must have faith in the reliability of our own reasoning. Third, we must believe our senses are working properly in order to appreciate law and beauty in nature. Fourth, we must exercise faith in the truthfulness of the miraculous birth, life, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, for at best we have only secondhand evidence because we did not see the events ourselves and therefore must believe eyewitness accounts. Furthermore, all the inscriptions were written before we arrived on the top of the rock. We must believe they were not forged by a clever swindler as a tourist attraction and a means of making money. Fifth, we must have faith that prayer is heard by God and that it is something more than a psychological talk out to relieve mental tension. Yes, there is no shame in admitting that the life of a Christian is a life of faith.
The atheist takes one step of faith faith in the truthfulness and reliability of his own reasoning---to arrive at the conclusion that God is not. He concludes that no special revelation has been given to us; prayer is a farce; there is no hope of eternal life; no reason for existence and no objective norm for morality.
If you succeed in this life as an atheist, you lose everything eternal. If you fail in this life as an atheist or as a Christian, you still lose everything eternal. But if you succeed in Christ, you gain all happiness in this life and eternal life.
The philosophy that "God is dead" offers nothing. The philosophy that "God is" offers everything eternal and worthwhile.
REFERENCES
1 John 4:24, Eastern text (Philadelphia; A. }. Holman, 1940).
2 John Gates, Life and Thought of Kierkegaard (London: Hodder and Stoughton, I960), p. 91.
3 E. J. Carnell, An Introduction to Christian Apologetics (Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1948), p. 157.
4 G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, I960), pp. 92, 93,
5 Albert Schweitzer, The Mystery of the Kingdom of God, p. 43,
6 Bernard Ramm, Protestant Christian Evidences (Chicago: Moody Press, 1953), p. 251.
7. Ellen G. White, Steps to Christ, p. 105.
8. ______, The Desire of Ages, p. 347.
