Who Is God? (Progressive Revelation II)

Picture God having this conversation with himself.

“Look at the huge mess down there on earth. These humans have really fouled things up. It’s so ugly, I can’t stand it anymore. But what shall I do? I know. I’ll get even with King Saul. He has really ticked me off with his blatant disobedience. I think it’s time to torment him with some evil spirits. That will teach him a lesson. But what about all those evil Canaanites? Those people are particularly nasty and have really got me boiling mad. I think I’ll tell the Israelites to completely destroy them. That should be a lot of fun. But why should I stop there? I should just go ahead and wipe out the entire world. I mean, have you seen all their wickedness and violence? I’ll spare Noah and his family of course, but the rest have got to go. I just cannot put up with them anymore. Boy, how I wish I had never made them in the first place.”

Can you imagine God having those kinds of thoughts? I sure can’t. It’s not the God that Jesus revealed to all the world, and He certainly would have had ample opportunities to exact some severe punishment on all kinds of people who mistreated His son, if He had wanted to.

Instead, the God that Jesus revealed loves His enemies and shows kindness to them. The God that Jesus revealed didn’t turn away from sinners out of anger but turned toward them out of compassion. The God that Jesus revealed sought to heal, comfort, forgive, and restore people who were lost and broken.

So if God is not the stern, angry, wrathful God who couldn’t stand to look at sin and sinners, then what’s up with all the violent portrayals of Him that we find in the Old Testament? Well, that’s where progressive revelation comes in.

As the author of Hebrews explained, “In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe (Hebrews 1:1-2).” In other words, as we saw in last week’s article in His encounter with Moses at the burning bush and with Abraham as he was about to sacrifice Isaac, God did not reveal everything about Himself to the Old Testament saints. He revealed only portions at different times. It was only through Jesus that we find the fullest expression of God.

This point becomes even clearer in the same verses of Hebrews in the Amplified Bible. “God, having spoken to the fathers long ago in [the voices and writings of] the prophets in many separate revelations [each of which set forth a portion of the truth], and in many ways, has in these last day spoken [with finality] to us in [the person of One who is by His character and nature] His Son [namely Jesus], who He appointed heir and lawful owner of all things, through who also He created the universe [that is, the universe as a space-time-matter continuum].” Notice that it says that these separate revelations were a “portion of the truth” and that His final revelation of Himself was through Jesus. That’s why I have repeatedly made the point throughout this series that we must always turn to Jesus to see who God truly is.

This opening to Hebrews is a clear expression of progressive revelation, and there are numerous examples of it in the Bible besides what we looked at last week. Let’s take Exodus 20:5 as an example. We’re told that God is a jealous God who punishes the children for the sins of their parents to the third and fourth generation. But about a thousand years later, we learn that God does not punish the children for the sins of their parents. Instead, each person is responsible for their own sins. (Ezekiel 18:20) So which is it? Am I punished for the sins of my great-great-great grandparents or am I responsible for my own?

And that’s not the only example from the Law. In Deuteronomy 28:28, we’re told that one of the curses for disobedience was that God would strike people with blindness. Then we fast forward about 1,500 years to John 9. The disciples encounter a man born blind and they ask Jesus whether his condition was a result of his own sins or his parents’ sins. What would make them think to ask such a question? Obviously, they got it from Exodus 20:5 and Deuteronomy 28:28. The answer they got, however, was not what they would have expected. Jesus tells them that it’s neither the man’s sins nor his parents’ sins that caused the blindness.

Is Jesus going against what his Father said? If so, that’s not the only time. In Matthew 5:38-42, Jesus takes on the concept of an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. This idea of legalized retaliation came from the Law itself (Deuteronomy 19:21), and we’re told that the Law was given to Moses by God. But Jesus completely turns it upside down. Instead of getting revenge, Jesus tells us not to resist an evil person and to turn the other cheek.

And then we have the story of the woman caught in adultery in John 8. The Law prescribed the death of those caught in adultery (Deuteronomy 22). However, Jesus, who was the only sinless one in the story, not only did not stone her but didn’t condemn her either.

So again, was Jesus going against his Father? Not a chance. What we’re seeing in all this is more evidence of progressive revelation. What Jesus was doing was showing everyone who is Father really is. He was clearing up misconceptions and misunderstandings remaining from an earlier time when they only had a portion of the truth about who God is. Jesus was doing this by showing that his Father is not someone who wants to stone and condemn sinners but rather loves the world so much that He gave them His only Son (John 3:16). He was showing them that his Father is not someone who strikes sinners with blindness or diseases but rather desires to heal them and restore them (John 9:6, Mark 2:3-12, Luke 17:11-19). He was showing them that his Father is not someone who wants to put everyone to death for disobedience but rather wants to give them life and give it to them abundantly (John 10:10). And he’s definitely showing the world that his Father is not someone who wants revenge against His enemies but rather longs to forgive them unconditionally and without hesitation (Luke 23:34).

What Jesus is ultimately doing is revealing the full and complete truth about God. Moses revealed a God of law, but Jesus revealed a God of truth and grace (John 1:17). That’s the Father who loves us with all His heart. That’s the Father we’re drawn to and want to be close to. And that’s the Father we now know and love.

So if God is not a God of death, disease, and destruction, then who’s to blame for all the violence in the Old Testament? That’s what we’ll explore the next time.