CA2 – How can God communicate with people?
© Jeff Stacey | Last updated: 11 May 2020
The Bible is about God. He is infinite and unique, spiritual and perfect, relational and generous, and purposeful [see 1A1]. But how can He communicate all this to mere people? How to make Himself known to people is a complex matter! He is infinitely greater than human understanding as derived from logic, science, philosophy, intuition or experiences. So a lot about Him can be expected to remain a mystery Job 11:7, Romans 11:33-34.
People can get some ideas of what God is like through things that provide parallels, reflections, similarities, images of Him. Thomas Aquinas called this “the principle of analogy”. These “pictures” of God can be seen in many ways, such as in the world of nature Psalm 19:1-3,4a. But these do not give people much clear understanding of Him or His purposes. Explanatory words are needed.
At this point assumptions about the Bible become vital. As the God-inspired record of His self-revelation throughout history, it is the only written source of reliable specific information about Him. It is now primarily through the Bible that He makes Himself known TO us Deuteronomy 29:29.
Yet how to express it all in writing would have created impossible challenges for the Bible’s authors. Only by God’s inspiration were they enabled to do so Ephesians 3:4-5.
Those compiling notes to explain the Bible also face such challenges! James 3:1, Titus 1:9. They too need insights into the Bible as given by the Holy Spirit 1Corinthians 2:12,13, especially through the writings of other Bible explainers, as well as some understanding of their intended readers Titus 1:10,11.