#Bavinck2022 Chapter Three: General Revelation
This chapter is eleven pages long and its content is exceedingly rich. He builds off of chapter two, The Knowledge of God, by addressing the topic of revelation.
Bavinck begins the chapter by reminding us that all of God’s revelation (or self-disclosure) is voluntary on his part. God does not need to reveal Himself to us, He does not depend on us in any way, but He voluntarily chooses to condescend and reveal himself to us.
Broadly speaking, everything that God does reveals Himself to us. “God is the origin and He is also the content of His revelation.” (19) Not only that, revelation has its ultimate purpose not in man, but in God. Christ is the high-point of all of God’s revelation.
One major distinction Bavinck makes is between General and Special revelation. General revelation is God’s self-disclosure through the “normal” course of the world. Special revelation is God’s self-disclosure through extraordinary means like prophecy and miracles. Each especially reveals certain attributes of God and has their own purpose.
Something for you to file away from your mind are the “six evidences for the existence of God” that Bavinck references in this chapter. The arguments that he quickly runs through are worth taking some time to meditate on. Remember that their worth is not found only in their ability to convince an unbeliever of God’s existence. Rather, they exist for the “strengthening the faith and establishing the bond of connection between the revelation of God outside of man and the revelation of God in man.” (25)
An observation: Bavinck does a significant amount of Scripture-quoting and proof texting in this chapter. Were any of the passages familiar to you? If they weren’t, take a minute and review the specific references and try to get a feel for why they might be pertinent to a discussion of general revelation.
After reading this chapter you might find yourself thinking “What was this all about?” Here are just a few points from this chapter that you may want to commit to memory. Obviously, credit is due to Bavinck for the thought behind these points:
In theological terms, “Revelation” is God’s self-disclosure, how he makes Himself known.
There are two types of Revelation: 1) General Revelation and 2) Special Revelation
General Revelation is God’s self-disclosure through normal events, think “the heavens declare the glory of God” in Psalm 19.
Special Revelation is God’s self-disclosure through extraordinary events, like a miracle or a prophetic word.
Inside man, there is a “sense of Divinity” as Calvin called it. God not only reveals Himself outside of man, God also reveals Himself within every man. This revelation is due to man’s creation in the image and likeness of God.
There is much much more in this chapter, but if you can comprehend just these five points, you have made a great start! Our next chapter is on the value of general revelation, and I am excited to cover it with you.