Lesson 5 Gods Revelation Introduction By natural reason man can know God with certainty, on the basis of his

s works. But there is another order of knowledge, which man cannot possibly arrive at by his own powers: the order of divine Revelation. Through an utterly free decision, God has revealed himself and given himself to man. This he does by revealing the mystery, his plan of loving goodness, formed from all eternity in Christ, for the benefit of all men. God has fully revealed this plan by sending us his beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. (CCC, 50) Nature of Revelation Revelation may be defined as the communication of some truth by God to a rational creature through means which are beyond the ordinary course of nature. The truths revealed may be inaccessible to the human mind, mysteries, which even when revealed, the intellect of man is incapable of fully penetrating. But Revelation is not restricted to these. God may see fit to employ supernatural means to affirm truths, the discovery of which is not beyond the powers of reason. The essence of Revelation lies in the fact that it is the direct speech of God to man. How God has revealed Himself to us? God revealed to us in two ways: (1) Natural Revelation; and (2) Special Revelation. We saw that Natural Revelation is how God reveals Himself through nature and through what He has created. This means of revelation is seen and experienced by every human being. The second means of revelation is Special Revelation, which is seen and experienced by only some humans.

Natural Revelation The word natural speaks about nature, so the first way God has revealed himself is through nature, through what He has created. Since we cannot see God, to learn about Him we must see Him indirectly in what He has made. For example, if I am a being that God created, I can learn something about God by looking at myself. I see that I have the capacity to love, to reason and to be spiritual, so I can deduce that God loves, has the ability to reason and is spiritual. Similarly I can learn about God from nature. I see that the universe is orderly and not chaotic and this teaches me about Gods character. If God created the universe, I can deduce that He is a God of order and not chaos. Similarly, I can learn from nature that God loves beauty and variety. Natural revelation also works through the things God has created that I cannot see. Examples of this are my conscience and my mind. My conscience and my mind tell me that there is a God. There are main areas we can learn about through Natural Revelation.

2 Gods Existence. Natural Revelation is enough to convince us of Gods existence. The world around us and our own existence is enough to prove to us that there is a God. Gods Power. Natural Revelation is enough to convince us that God is powerful and that He created the universe. Looking at the universe is enough to convince us that someone extraordinarily powerful must have done the work of creation. Natural revelation is all that God would need to reveal about Himself in a perfect world. However, since our world is not perfect, we need more, we need Special Revelation. Special revelation tells us what Natural Revelation cannot. It tells us about Gods truth, mercy, grace and sacrifice. It tells us about how God relates to people. Special Revelation Special Revelation has been unfolded through history. It began with God revealing Himself to just one man, the first man. Then he revealed Himself to a family, then to a tribe, a nation, a race and then finally to the whole world. Special Revelation speaks about the same things as Natural Revelation, but does so in more detail. It also speaks of things that Natural Revelation does not and cannot. We learn further details about Gods existence and power and we learn more about His wrath, including the reasons behind it. There are several means God has used to reveal Himself in a special way. God speaking directly. God has spoken directly and clearly to people. God becoming Man. Several times in history God revealed Himself in human form. Above all, He sent His only-begotten Son, who is the light of the world, to dwell among men and to tell them about the inner life of God and His plan for the world. Jesus Christ completed and perfected revelation; He proved who He was by His words and His miracles, especially by His glorious resurrection from the dead. Prophecy. God spoke through the mouths of prophets. These men and women, when they prophesied, spoke Gods words with their voices. God revealed Himself in a beginning way to Abraham, Moses and the prophets and so adopted Israel as His own people. He taught them to look for the promised Savior and Messiah and in this way He set the stage for the arrival of the Gospel in Jesus Christ. Miracles. God used miracles to give authority to what people said. If a man claimed to be speaking on behalf of God, God sometimes allowed a miracle to be performed as proof that the words spoken were indeed His words. In a Nutshell

In sum we can say that God has initiated the revelation of Himself to men and women. This revelation is understandable to humankind and makes it possible to know God and grow in relationship with Him.