Don Stewart :: Is It Logical to Think That God Would Communicate to Humanity?

Is It Logical to Think That God Would Communicate to Humanity?

Why the Bible Is So Special – Question 16

Some people have ruled out the possibility of God communicating with humanity. They believe a revelation from a divine being to humankind is not even possible. However, the idea that God would communicate to humanity and leave behind a written record makes sense for the following reasons:

1. It Is Consistent with What We Know about God from His Creation: He Is a God of Wisdom and Purpose

The God who created the universe reveals Himself to be a God of wisdom and purpose. Since everything in the observable universe has been created for a purpose, this would certainly include His highest creation—humanity. If God created human beings for a purpose, it would be folly to assume that He would not reveal that purpose. Therefore, from what we know about God from His creation, it makes sense that He would give humanity some revelation of Himself.

2. God Is a Personal God Who Has the Ability to Communicate

The Bible reveals that the God who exists is a personal God; that is, He has the characteristics of personhood. He thinks, feels and can give and receive love. He also has the ability to communicate. The Bible says that God loves humanity. The most familiar verse in the Bible says:

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. (John 3:16 NKJV)

Since God loves His creation, the natural expectation is that He would reveal Himself to those whom He created.

3. It Is Not Too Difficult for Him to Do This

If God is all-powerful, He is certainly able to make His will know to humanity. There is nothing lacking in His character that would stop Him from communicating. Jeremiah records the Lord saying:

Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for Me? (Jeremiah 32:27 NKJV)

The answer to this question is, “No.” There is nothing too difficult for the Lord. He can do anything which is consistent with His holy character.

4. He Has Made Us with the Ability to Communicate with Each Other

The Bible says that God made humanity in His image and His likeness. We read the following in the first chapter of the Book of Genesis:

Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” (Genesis 1:26-28 NKJV)

The New Living Translation translates these verses in this manner:

Then God said, “Let us make people in our image, to be like ourselves. They will be masters over all life—the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the livestock, wild animals, and small animals.” So God created people in his own image; God patterned them after himself; male and female he created them. God blessed them and told them, “Multiply and fill the earth and subdue it. Be masters over the fish and birds and all the animals.” (Genesis 1:26-28 NLT)

Part of the likeness of God is the ability to give and receive communication. Since both God and human beings have the ability to communicate, it is perfectly logical to assume that God would communicate with us.

5. We Have a Communication from God: the Bible

With these factors considered, a final point to emphasize is that we do, in fact, have a written communication that claims to be from God. That communication, the Bible, shows us a God of love who has revealed Himself to the human race. The prophet Isaiah emphasized this fact:

Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth! For the LORD has spoken: “I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against Me; the ox knows its owner and the donkey its master’s crib; but Israel does not know, My people do not consider.” (Isaiah 1:2-3 NKJV)

The Bible says the Lord has indeed spoken.

Simon Peter recognized that Jesus had the words of eternal life. The Bible says:

Simon Peter answered him [Jesus], “Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life.” (John 6:68 NRSV)

Today, we find that the words of eternal life come down to us from God’s written communication to humanity; the Holy Scriptures. Without God’s divine revelation in the Bible, we are left to our own ideas about who God is and who we are. Any attempt to explain God is doomed to failure because each of us would merely project our own thoughts about who God is and come up with the type of God we think should exist. There would be no consensus of opinion and no basis of knowing whom, if anybody, was right in their opinions about God. With God’s divine revelation, as it is written in the Bible, there is no confusion surrounding God’s character, or His purpose for humanity. We are fortunate that God has revealed His words to us so that we do not have any confusion.

So to sum up, humanity needs a divine revelation from God, and God is able and willing to supply one. In fact, He has; the Bible. It is certainly reasonable to believe that a loving God would inform His creation about Himself as well as about who we are, so that we do not have to stumble in the darkness; His written Word lights our way.

Summary – Question 16
Is It Logical to Think That God Would Communicate with Humanity?

It is logical to think that God would communicate with humanity? The very nature of God makes it reasonable that God would make Himself known to His creation. Since He created humankind for a purpose, it makes sense that He would reveal that purpose. In addition, the God of the Bible is a personal God who loves those He has created. Consequently, we would expect Him to communicate to those whom He loves.

There is also the matter of God’s power. Since God is all-powerful, He is able to communicate to His creation. God has also made humankind with the ability to give and receive communication. All of these truths make a divine revelation possible. Therefore, a communication from God to humankind makes perfect sense and should logically be expected. Finally, we have that communication ? the Bible.