You may know that the time frame between Malachi and the first book of the New Testament, Matthew probably, was around 400 years. So for those who were hungry for God who had been used to having prophets, judges, and kings who spoke with inspired authority from God there was quiet. No new Word from God through any means for 400 years. For us that would mean the last time we heard anything new was 1613. Shakespeare and Galileo were still alive, kicking, and doing their thing then.
That is a long time without a new Word. We have gone longer. Since the close of the canon of the New Testament it has been roughly 2012 years give or take a few months. That is 5+ times longer than those who followed God in 400 BC waited for Matthew to capture his thoughts on the King.
How does that strike you?
Hebrews 1:1 – 3 tells us that we have it better. How could that be? Nothing new from God in 2012 years? As I thought through that the other day I was overwhelmed with two implications.
First, God did not need to add to the revelation in the Bible because it is complete. All that we need to know about God is captured in those 66 books. That is a mind blower. It elevates significantly the importance of what is contained in the words recorded there. It explains the dedication of scholars throughout those 2013 years to dive deeply into the structure and vocabulary of the original languages.
Second, the incredible gift of the Holy Spirit. Prior to Acts 2 the Spirit was temporarily and selectively resident with a few people. After Acts 2, radical change. All those who have trusted Christ have the Spirit resident in them. That is significant in parallel with the first point. The Spirit is the ultimate author through His inspiration of the authors of all of the content in the 66 books we have. In John 16:13 – 14 Christ describes part of the Spirit’s role in our lives. He is to lead us into all truth. So when we open the Word of God to read or study we have the author with us to lead us in to understanding the truth. That is a relatively big deal.
So yes, we do have it better. We have the revelation of the nature and character of God complete and the Spirit who inspired us to lead us through it.
The insane thing is that we take that for granted.
How does that strike you?
Hebrews 1:1 – 3 tells us that we have it better. How could that be? Nothing new from God in 2012 years? As I thought through that the other day I was overwhelmed with two implications.
First, God did not need to add to the revelation in the Bible because it is complete. All that we need to know about God is captured in those 66 books. That is a mind blower. It elevates significantly the importance of what is contained in the words recorded there. It explains the dedication of scholars throughout those 2013 years to dive deeply into the structure and vocabulary of the original languages.
Second, the incredible gift of the Holy Spirit. Prior to Acts 2 the Spirit was temporarily and selectively resident with a few people. After Acts 2, radical change. All those who have trusted Christ have the Spirit resident in them. That is significant in parallel with the first point. The Spirit is the ultimate author through His inspiration of the authors of all of the content in the 66 books we have. In John 16:13 – 14 Christ describes part of the Spirit’s role in our lives. He is to lead us into all truth. So when we open the Word of God to read or study we have the author with us to lead us in to understanding the truth. That is a relatively big deal.
So yes, we do have it better. We have the revelation of the nature and character of God complete and the Spirit who inspired us to lead us through it.
The insane thing is that we take that for granted.
Excellent and profound commentary.
ReplyDeleteJohn F
Thank you
DeleteWell said, Mike. It should lead us to thankful worship of the God of Creation who has always (since Genesis 3, anyway) relentlessly pursued us to reveal His grace and goodness. We so casually hold in our hands a treasure the universe itself can barely contain.
ReplyDeleteThank you. I especially like your last sentence...
DeleteVery Interesting! Oh how much we take for granted! I never thought of it that way, and now I have even more reason to pick up my Bible. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThanks, I am grateful it was helpful
Delete