Revelation of God — R. Edward Miller

Lord, we thank you that we have your word. We thank you that we can Study the Lord with all our studying Without your Holy Spirit to guide us direct us into truth and Lord. Let your spirit Bring enlightenment and help comfort.

Let it bring Lord a release of your grace and your mercy so that we can understand and know. And that the God of all gods we can come more and more to the knowledge of him for to know him is life eternal.

Revelation Through the Patriarchs and Moses

I ask in the name of Jesus. And I thank you for it. Amen. The revelation of God came through many centuries. Millennia at first To the patriarchs He revealed himself to some at least and how many we don't know.

There's some they're named before Noah spoke to them. How much revelation they've God they had because they were in converse many of them with Abraham with Adam. That was not written down that was not given to us then after Noah, there was no more revelation from God Until Abraham.

And that was a long time. I had no Bible. And Abraham didn't write down anything and the revelation of God was reduced. Maybe I shouldn't use the word reduced but was limited to nature the works of God.

You find that in Romans 1 20 The things of God are clearly understood by the things which are made. So they weren't left without witness they weren't left without testimony and Evidently there was a Decadence there was a fall from the knowledge of God.

Who is God? What is God and until Abraham? We have no knowledge in fact actually till Moses because Moses wrote about Abraham and he got it I presume or by special revelation or by the older people telling what happened to the younger people he grew up with the knowledge of Abraham and The beginning of their nation and how it happened at least a few of the details and in as the revelation in developed Moses was one of the great revelators, but that Moses nation of God was limited and Throughout the century from then on the revelation increased here a little there a little and God said that's the way I'll speak isn't he and And The first knowledge of God we have through Moses Was the encounter that Moses had with God himself was the holiness of God, wasn't it?

That was the first revelation and that was built much upon and With it there was given another revelation but it never took hold in the minds of the people and it never took hold in the minds of Most people even up to this day.

Except a few individuals. There was a second revelation beside the holiness of God, but that was what really Moses laid hold out because he saw it operating first. He was introduced to the holiness of God.

And that showed him his own heart in it leprosy then. He was introduced to the judgments of God and he saw how terrible they were didn't he. He saw that how the whole Egyptian nation was destroyed because of their sin because of that what they had done against God and Moses that was raised up and made a prince of the nation was the one that destroyed the nation or God did through him and So much so that when Israel sinned and was delivered and came out and made their golden calf.

Moses did not know if God could forgive sin. You see his prayer was if you can forgive this sin and if not. See, he didn't know much about forgiveness. Did he he knew about judgment? He knew about holiness.

He knew the demands. He knew that the how should I say the highness of God the bigness of God. He had a revelation of God that was tremendous to God himself, but only in that area. You know, he was a creator, you know, all things were made by him.

He knew that that as he was there on the Mount 40 days with God, he saw that the I say the immensity of God and in that immensity and that Shall I say the perfection and the holiness of God that together?

Was really the major point of his revelation of God. But he felt something was lacking and so he said God show me your glory. Didn't he? He we've been up there in a mount for 40 days. He'd been up there in the presence of God talking with God face to face and yet he had this strange prayer.

Show me your glory. Hadn't he seen it hadn't he seen it already hadn't he been in it. Hadn't he known it he experienced something tremendous. He was in the presence of God, but he did not Know the glory of God.

So he asked for it Show me your glory and God granted the prayer didn't he? He thought I you can't see it all. Much is going to be hidden, but you'll see the reflection of it. You'll see the afterglow.

I'll pass by and and you'll see it and So God passed by and he declared his glory and what did he declare? It was a strange thing. He declared ability of God to forgive sin and he declared why it was.

Did he have mercy? So that when he showed him his glory he showed him the cross he didn't see it in clarity. But he saw the mercies of God and He saw that he was could forgive sin and forgive sin by the thousands.

But he still would keep keep his holiness. He would still keep the judgment. He would not forgive certain sins. But he would forgive sin and He would keep his holiness. And he said this is my glory. He said I'm sure prayer.

I'll show you my glory now. He didn't see it clearly, but he showed there was a ability for God to be holy and merciful and That can only come through the cross. Are you following me yet? And that was a tremendous revelation, but they never laid hold of it.

The Jewish nation never laid hold of it. But you see individuals for instance, one of them is David. When David sinned there was no there was no forgiveness for that sin, there was no offering. There's no sacrifice that would be accepted by God.

They were taken out in stone. Is that right? Nevertheless David found forgiveness. How did he do it? Not only in the revelation to Moses of mercy. But into the revelation of Abraham there came another gleam of light justification by faith.

Abraham was justified by faith. Not by his works. You see I mean There is another there's another ray of light that came through that that illuminated something different than the the rule of law. That there was a mercy that there was something greater.

But even as Paul said the law is the schoolmaster that takes us to Christ. We will never really know grace even as an individual. We will never know grace until we've labored and fought and been defeated under the law.

We will never know the magnitude of grace. We will never know the greatness of it. We will never know how much we needed grace. Until we've come to an end of ourselves and we quit we said God I can't keep the law.

Because we really think we're good. I mean all the world thinks that all the world thinks that we're give us the right environment or the right government or the right friends and neighbors and We'll shine and we still believe that we say to God Lord, forgive me.

I'll never do it again. We believe that. Oh, yes, you will. As long as you believe it you will God will see to it. No man forsake you. I won't Said Peter a bad thing to say what happened come to the end of law to be we have to come to the end of Ourselves.

We have to come to the end of believing our own righteousness if it takes a whole lifetime. You'll still have to do it. He has to bring us to that place. I know as Paul said within me there is no good so that no one can boast.

No one can say Three-fourths of my life. I needed Christ to save me but there's one quarter I Did it and that's why the heavy emphasis on law and on holiness and only little by little came little gleams.

That there was something more and then the Holy Spirit when it came with time to David. David reached back into the promises to to Abraham and he didn't go through the law of Moses. In fact, it says he was afraid to go up to the brazen alder and he never did.

He brought the ark to his place, but he never brought the altar you remember that. Because the revelation of God it started where it has to start. With Moses and it carried on and there was little gleams a little more gleams a few more gleams.

There's humor, but they never caught them really as an understanding of God and his ways. Even till the day that Jesus Christ came. He came and let me say it strangely, but he revealed another God and yet it was the same God.

He revealed a father God. That's why they couldn't understand him. That's why they killed him. You're blaspheming. You're tearing down the religion that Moses gave it. So Moses gave you the law. You want the law?

Jesus Christ Reveals the Father God

All right. He gave it to you. I mean he gave it to us. Matthew 5 6 7 try to keep it. Even your thoughts try and do it. Just try. You can't keep the first six verses or ten. I guess it is. Let alone the rest of it.

God wants us to know we can't. God wants us to realize that he had another way. But he also wants us to know that that way is is glorious. It's wonderful. It is a fulfilling of the law. He doesn't accept us as sinners and let's just say sinners and so we work to get out of it.

But it's not going to come that way. He is made unto us righteousness. He is our righteousness. He who knew no sin became sin that we might what? Become the righteousness of God that perfect glorious high holiness and Therefore they couldn't receive him.

He came to their mind with another God and yet he is God which we'll see in a minute and. So the book of John is the one book of all of them that really begins to reveal this real God the God of holiness and the God of mercy the God of love and The God of judgment.

John the Revelator. This was the last book in the Bible ever written. In this book John had already seen the fall of Jerusalem and the fall of Jerusalem. To the Jews was one horrible horrible horrible revelation.

How could God destroy how could God destroy his own leaders? How could God destroy his own temple? In other words the thinking people say well We don't know this God. We thought he if we kept the Sacrifices and the temple and everything we were we were free.

We're home free and now God wipes it all out. Are the disciples? You see they were steeped in the fact all the disciples at first that the gospel isn't for the Gentiles. It was only for the Jew the Jewish nation.

They expected Christ to come and stuff. It doesn't accept the Jewish nation as as governors of the world didn't say. Even though they walk with Christ and he told them things but they couldn't hear it little by little food through Peter.

With Cornelius Came the first little tiny ray of light that wow God loves a few Gentile and it was a hard thing for them to swallow and the rest of the disciples. They were Peter. What in the world you're doing going down there and having dinner with Cornelius Gentile.

He said well, what do I do? He said the Holy Spirit came on like he did on us now what? What was I to say then God trapped him forced him into a a little bit bigger Idea plus the vision he had remember the sheep came down.

He was told to eat those unclean animals and that was a horrible thing for them. They were so locked in That even though rays of light came. Even though rays of you'll find it in Jeremiah. You'll find it I say you'll find it in so many books of the Bible.

But there were just little rays right in the middle of the passage of judgment for instance Jeremiah come out with a beautiful word. But it's all gone again back to the old and That's the way they live to Christ King.

Not only that Even though Christ came They still reverted and we still revert to that concept of God. It's so hard to break over and realize he knew we couldn't he didn't expect it. He set up the cross before he created man, and he did something and so he made us righteousness.

Not by our own works not by our own righteousness, but by faith in him we can never do. We try and we try and we try to fulfill not only the law of the Old Testament the law of the New Testament. Because remember they were still under the law and the law is right.

It isn't that the law is wrong. It isn't that view of God is wrong. It's absolutely right, but it has to be joined with another view it has to be joined with a wider view. The spirit of God will lead us into all truth not part truth and All truth is there is a God that's bigger than we ever thought.

There is a God that has a love beyond our knowledge of what love is. There is a law. There is a God that created us in his own image with a purpose of make us into his. Into his image and he will not be frustrated.

He's doing it now. Second Corinthians 318. Beholding the glory of the Lord. We are changed by the Holy Spirit into his image. Is that right? He didn't finish it in Genesis. He's still finishing it. He's still working it out.

And I wouldn't be a bit surprised. I wouldn't be a bit surprised if you take about a hundred thousand years to finish that job. Give or take a few thousand, but he's going to finish it up. And that's all what she's hurry.

All right. I know there is no hurry. I Remember this. I think I remember I did or not the Chinese brother pastor that. Get to thinking about some of these things. He said God To you how long is a thousand years.

God says. One minute God how much is a million dollars to you? One one God, how about giving me a penny just one little penny just one. Yes. Then I will just a minute the immensity of God. What's his hurry?

You've got plenty of time. But he's gonna finish this do it work and it's going to be a wonderful work. We find they've joined that revelation of God in the Psalms for instance. Mercy and truth have kissed each other.

How could you do that? The truth is I'm a sinner and God condemns the sinner and then mercy you see it under the law. They knew no mercy. There's only judgment and God is still at God of judgment. And I still preach the law because with the law that's going to bring us to mercy.

But there has to come an understanding that there is a God bigger Than we ever realized and there is a plan of salvation. Much much more than we ever believed. Is it not written without holiness? No man shall see the Lord.

But where you gonna find holiness then? Only in God himself. But it is given unto us and we in turn. Begin to work it out in the body of this flesh. We won't go into that now the revelation of God. I'm sure there's much more we'll yet learn.

Revelation in John’s Gospel

I'm sure there's revelation upon revelation upon revelation that go on for the next billion years. Give or take a few billion. But this is a revelation that's brought to us and the you'll find it but in the book of John it shines.

You see he was an old man when he wrote this book a hundred or more. He'd been through all the development of the church and he'd been through the cross and he'd been through the resurrection. He had talked to Jesus after the resurrection he was there for 40 days.

We don't know what was said. I wish I did but I see I see reflections. I see things coming. I said no, he didn't get that from Moses. He didn't get that from the psalm from David and nothing was written in the other Gospels about it at all.

Where'd he get it? What do you get the first verse? Where'd he get that? You don't find it any other place. There's a lot of things in the book of John that aren't in any other gospel, but in that book.

There are revelation upon revelation. From the John who is called the revelator of an area of a of a God. An area in God and understanding of God that is so much greater Than they knew before. Because revelation is it's like like a flower and phony just more and more and more and more.

It's not ended. Here is it it's a basis. I mean everything when you see a revelation you'll find it. Oh There it is way back there in Moses or Jeremiah or someplace else, but you never realized it until Light came and showed it to you.

I don't know how David knew to go back to Abrahamic Covenant. Somehow the light came. Because there's no hope for him in the law. Well, he's a bachelor, but have to be taken out in stone the revelation of God that's what what John is concerned with his whole book is concerned with revealing God.

But the God that's been revealed to man in his fullness and not one part of reveal to Moses. Or a small part revealed to any other this other men that wrote. Because they didn't know as much as God showed Moses of his power to forgive and still remain holy at the same time and he didn't know anything about About the cross.

He didn't know anything about Jesus Christ. He knew there's gonna come a Messiah. But he didn't know it wasn't revealed to him yet. I know later it was because when he came down on Mount Mount Olives and talked no amount of Transfiguration and talked with Jesus they talked about his death didn't they?

So then he knew about it, but before he didn't. You see revelation is line upon line and precept upon precept here a little and there a little that's the way it is and That's the way it has to be. And God is not in a hurry and he works his works regardless of how much we know as.

As it is we have a whole Bible. We don't know that much. When we get over there, we're gonna know a lot more it says we'll know even as we are known. But this is enough this will get us through and for all the ages they had enough.

If they just if they just lean into that they'd have enough. He had the blood on the altar and he accepted that didn't he? He that was that was enough. We all have enough Way back there, but it has been increased and God wants us to know.

There is there is a largeness. There is a greatness of God. Jesus Christ is a revealer of God and So we're going to look at it. John 1 1 in the beginning was the word and the word was with God and The word is Matthew and Mark and Luke.

Very related Gospels, in fact many things are almost word-for-word in Matthew and in Mark, but now we have a different gospel. This is not the same as the other four. It starts out different. It reaches back to the beginning, doesn't it?

Genesis. In the beginning what in the beginning the great mystery in the beginning there was something there already. In other words the beginning was not the beginning you understand. In the beginning God created God made something not something begin, but there was something before the beginning and that was God the immensity the eternity.

When was the beginning? Well, they tell us so all the way from 16 to 15 billion years and If I understand it, right. The seventh day God raised rested the first day the second day the third day the fourth day the sixth day fifth day and sixth day.

That was a week. So God's week is between six and fifteen billion years long. That's a long week, isn't it? Then he rested the seventh day. I Don't know when he began resting possibly after he made man know how long that was either.

Because a lot happened before before the fall on Eden Eden, but we don't know what happened. One thing we know Adam learned to know the nature and gives names to all the animals and that took more than seven days in it.

Of our days and so he rested. How long is he going to rest? I don't know. Maybe he'll maybe he'll his nap will last a couple a Couple hundred thousand years or maybe a billion years. I don't know. I Have an interesting thought so my wondering is not how long it's gonna last is what's he gonna do next week?

We'll be in on that won't we Won't be on the last one. We'll be in on it on this next one. We know that we are in the last days strange enough. John said that we're in the last days you see when God made the earth and the earth is about six billion years old if the scientists are right and they may somewhat.

Right, and we read in in the book of Job that when God made The earth the morning stars sang together and the sons of God rejoiced. Is that right? So they were here when God made the earth. They were already created.

They watched him do it. Watch the watch them begin to form it and form it and form it and work on it and work on it and work on It. What's to make the different creatures? Watch the fall of Satan all that happened before we got where the last days.

The Incarnation as the Full Revelation of God

The last days of this week John reaches all the way back to the beginning he's talking about God. This God that's so immense. This God is so great. This God that's so in control. This God that was there in the beginning.

He said well, look at the mess. We're in sure. I know. But he's big enough to let there be a mess and then control it. Just like a just like a weaver can make a mess on one side a beautiful tapestry on the other.

But they're always in control. I think God how much of a mess it appears. It's always in control. God's in control. He's gone. He's big. When I first begin to realize the revelation of the bigness of God it it scared me.

I didn't like it. Until it grew and grew until I realized he's so big. That he'd become little he's so big. That he doesn't have to use huge bricks to make his worth with he used a little Adam in fact.

He's got a number on every one of your hairs. He knows which one were lost. That's what John wants to get across in the beginning. The world was the word. The word is Christ and he goes back to beginning because The word was already there.

He wants us to understand that Jesus Christ. He wasn't to really understand is gone and all that he did was God. God was in Christ. Reconciling the world to himself. It wasn't that Jesus a lamb a special sacrifice.

A special creation was made so that somebody could die for us all that wasn't it. God was in Christ. Let him study in the world. This was God at work and all that Jesus did because Jesus was God and he wants to make that so sure in us that Jesus Christ is gone.

He is the word. He chose that word no one else used that word. Why did he choose it? Because of what it means it's been badly translated in the Spanish word. Spanish Bible it doesn't use words. It's translated from the Latin the Latin used the word bourbon or verb.

But that isn't in the original original is logo. It's hollow go in the beginning was the word. Well, I woke over there in beginning and what did I what did I read. In the first and God said let there be light.

Is that right? God said word wasn't it? There was a word. The beginning was the word he was already there. He spoke. He is the revelation of God the word reveals everything about God. He is the word that's why it's called the log off because the log off the word log off is a word that means a Complete it's a total expression and that's different.

It's a total expression of God in other words. If I if I speak of the log off I'm including art I'm including Engineering. I'm including any form you can use to express something singing dancing. Anything everything he's a total expression of God that's why he said that he said to to Philip if you've seen me, what do you say?

You've seen the father in other words, not only his words that he spoke but his actions his action. He spoke some some very legal words in the Five six seven chapters of Matthew, but his actions weren't that way.

For instance, there was the there was the adulterous woman. What do you say about adultery? Even to think of it wasn't it? It's committed adultery. But when the adulterous woman said what did he do? What were his actions to find a way out for wasn't it to find a way out.

You see he revealed God. He said you've seen me you've seen the father. You see the how I react to certain things. The disciples said it's late send them home. But he said he had compassion on the most do and said they don't need to go home yet.

They've been with me three days. They're hungry. They might faint on the way. So it created food for them. That was a father in action. That doesn't sound like Moses God in action. Does it you see what I mean?

Doesn't sound at all like the God of Moses and That's why they got so angry because it wasn't the God that Moses revealed he only revealed a part of it. But Jesus came to reveal all of it. I should say all of it that we can stand on this earth at this time.

I'm sure there's more but I'm sure also what more comes will come through him. Because he's a total expression of God in the beginning was the world. The expression of God was there from the beginning when any angel was made.

He would find God through Jesus Christ. He is the expression of God. He is the word and it's a very lovely little word. We pass it by so easily, but it's a very important little word. Is the word W a s why already?

Existing before God made one angel. Before God weighed what heaven there was also already the word. To reveal to express God to all of his work and that's why we read without him. Nothing was made. He was a creator and we read that his work Will reveal God Was without excuse for the things of God are revealed to the things which he made Romans 1 20.

Everything he's made it to reveal God. That's why I've said before that's why he could pick up any any Illustration and in his parables and say the king of heaven is like this. It can have like this like a tree like a like a fisherman like a woman making bread like this.

Yes, that's the king of heaven. Everything in one way or another will reveal. We don't have eyes to see it. After Jesus said it then we take then we did the theologian grab it and argue over for the next thousand years.

What did he mean. But that's the way he made it. He's the expression of God. We will not know God except through Jesus Christ. No man cometh unto the father except by Me, is that right? What do you say?

That's the only way we're going ever going to know God and so we find that that God is he is he how should I say the purpose of this book is to help us to realize God to know God and He was writing it because at that time Arianism and other other false doctrines and heresies were arising in the church and Inspired him I guess would be the word To write down what he knew about God and there's no author That could have ever written that gives us more Security and realized he had more authority to say what he did than anyone else.

He was the closest one to Jesus Christ. Wasn't he he had the ear of Jesus Christ. Even Peter recognized that when he wanted to know something a little bit a little bit. So I say private he asked John to ask and so I can trust the authorship.

Because I realized that it was written to show us that Jesus Christ is gone. And he is eternal and he is divine and he was already there before God created. It wasn't a special creation of God. It was God in flesh.

Christ’s Teaching, Compassion, and the Fatherhood of God

So we go on in the gospel of John. We have some things are eliminated. We have many of the teachings of God Christ that are are not in gospel of John like the Sermon on the Mount. Many of his teachings he says nothing about but we do have in the gospel of John Nicodemus.

That beautiful third chapter. We have the fourth chapter the woman of the well Samaritan woman we have so much. We have things in the gospel of John, especially chapter 14 15 16 17 The revelation of God and the Holy Spirit and so on that you don't find any of the gospel.

There's nothing said about them. He's talking. He's deliberately speaking of God and Jesus Christ as God and then he came and Perhaps the the thing that was most shattering to the Jews and their and their mosaic understanding was the fatherhood of God.

Is my father. My father and your father Is a fatherhood of God. Teach us to pray our father. Which art in heaven? They couldn't they couldn't receive that they could only see him as a very angry powerful deity and Through that they saw all deities as powerful and angry.

They were afraid of their deity. All the gods they made they would have to supplicate them and they would have to to appease and Giving all kinds of ways. Building temples for them trying to earn a little a little shall I say.

The word I can't think of. We're trying to to earn kudos. Trying to earn position trying to earn value. We're trying to to placate God. They only had an angry God. But he came with another God. He came with the God that was always there.

But they'd lost sight of him. They they'd forgotten even though that there's shining lights all through the Old Testament beautiful little verse here or a passage here or like or like the word in in 23rd Psalm with everybody seems to love the Lord is my shepherd.

He takes it. They still couldn't see That God was who he really is. God was their father. God was a shepherd. He was a good shepherd. And it just shocked them. It just shocked them and so they they re they rejected The teaching of Christ they rejected his place.

They didn't want him. Nevertheless, whether they reject him or not in the beginning was the word He was always there to go on actually it's more than that. The word ha goes with it means he the word. That special one Psalm 33 6 by the word of the Lord where the heavens made and all the hosts of them by the the Creator word verbs 8 27 to 30.

You read it again. I won't read it to you, but he revealed by his works and his words. He revealed the mind of God. That's why it interpreted the law. He went ahead and interpreted the law. He knew what God was in mind.

After all, he was the one that wrote the law. He knew what it really meant. He said man was made for the Sabbath. I Mean Sabbath was was made for man. Didn't he the Sabbath wasn't to rule man. Man was to rule wasn't he?

Well, they're angry because he healed on the Saturday. But won't you pull your ox out of the ditch when he falls in on the Sabbath? Don't you have circumcision on the Sabbath because the eighth day he revealed the mind of God.

In many ways and that just flew them. Because they had their best theologians through centuries. Arguing and discussing and trying to find the very dots and tittles of the law and then we go on. He reveals the nature of God.

He found the nature the nature of compassion there God wasn't compassionate. There God was frightening. The God was cruel. Because their God is cruel their their law is cruel because it's not been balanced.

They haven't been showed the glory. They've only been showed the holiness. And they can't live it. And they fight themselves and fight with everybody else because of that. Not only that, you know, he shows the nature of God.

He shows the attributes of God. God is like this. God is like this. He said he kept saying this is what God is like. God is like you think. You've seen me. You've seen the father look through all of his actions.

He went to a wedding. They ran out of wine. They were his friend. They were going to be greatly embarrassed and despair them the shame and The embarrassed it makes him wine. He showed so often that God cares.

Even today when we have going through one trouble another God, don't you care? What the disciples say on the boat. Care is thou not that we perish. Don't you care? He showed you see me study the book of John get to know that God the God that he revealed the God that he is.

Got to know it. But to know him. He cares. He stopped the storm, but he didn't keep it from starting. Did he he let Peter walk on the water, but he didn't stop the wind from blowing. He just rescued Peter in spite of it.

You see see him. You've seen me. You've seen the father. I Will show you God. I have come to show you God. I've come to declare him to you. The word was God in the beginning was the word and Then we go to word was with God.

Let's go to one more script before you go there first. Timothy 316. Without controversy great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifested flesh Justified in the spirit seen of angels preached to the Gentiles believed on in the world and received up in the glory.

I'm speaking of Jesus Christ. That's God. And let me add one thing. Belief in Jesus Christ is not unbelief in God. I want to say that again. To believe in Jesus Christ as God is not is not to have unbelief.

In the God of the Old Testament Jehovah and I'll say one more thing where they do you might not know this. Jehovah and Jesus Christ are the same. Once him revealing himself in the Old Testament one after reveals himself in the news.

He was with God and The word was with God. They were always together. They were eternally together in the beginning was the word and the word was with God way in the beginning. They were already there.