The 14 Ways God Has Revealed Himself

Hebrews 1:1 tells us that God has spoken “in many portions and in many ways.” The purpose of this article is to survey the “many ways” in which God has revealed Himself to humankind.

Before we look at the fourteen ways in which God has revealed Himself, though, let’s briefly look at the meaning of “revelation.” The word “revelation” comes from the Greek word apokalupsis which means “disclosure” or “unveiling.” Revelation, thus, has to do with revealing, uncovering, or unveiling what previously was hidden. When used in a theological sense, “revelation” refers to God’s intentional manifestation of Himself and His plans.

There are at least fourteen means through which God has chosen to reveal Himself. The first three in our list come under the umbrella of what is known as “General Revelation.” General Revelation is revelation that God makes known to all peoples of all times. In other words, General Revelation is revelation everybody has access to. The last eleven (4–14) come under the umbrella of “Special Revelation.” Special revelation is specific revelation from God that is given to specific people at certain times in history. Not everyone has had access to Special Revelation.

What are these fourteen forms of revelation? Here they are:

1. Nature God has revealed certain truths about Himself through nature or the created order. Psalm 19:1-6 states, “The heavens are telling of the glory of God; and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.” Nature tells everyone about God’s glory and that everything is made by Him. Romans 1:18-21 declares, “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.” According to this text, nature reveals that God exists and that He is powerful. This testimony is so powerful that no person can claim that he or she knows nothing about God.

2. Providence God reveals Himself through His moment-by-moment control of the world. This is often referred to as “providence.” God’s providence can be seen in His gracious giving of sunshine and rain to everyone (Matt. 5:45), His providing of food, rain, and gladness for people (Acts 14:15-17), and His installation and removal of world rulers (Daniel 2:21). Providence is one of the ‘quiet’ ways in which God manifests himself. But as we look at history we can see the hand of God if we take the time to notice. The survival of the nation Israel is one such example of God’s providence in action.

3. Conscience God has revealed Himself to everyone through an internal sense of right and wrong. Romans 2:14-15 states that every person has the Law of God “written in their hearts.” This internal compass that alerts us to what is right and wrong points to the Ultimate Lawgiver who determines right and wrong.

4. The Lot The casting of lots, at times, communicated God’s will to man (Prov. 16:33). How was the replacement for Judas determined? You guessed it. The disciples cast lots and Matthias was chosen as the new “twelfth” apostle (Acts 1:21-26).

5. The Urim and Thummim The Urim and Thummim were those two precious and mysterious stones on the breastplate of the high priest. They were sometimes used to determine the will of God (Ex. 28:30; Num. 27:21; Deut. 33:8; 1 Sam. 28:6).

6. Dreams Dreams were often used by God to communicate information (Gen. 20:3; 31:11-13, 24; 40-41). God sent Jacob the dream of the ascending and descending angels on the latter (Gen. 28:10-15). God also gave King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon important dreams about the coming empires of human history. Daniel interpreted the dreams and the rest is—well, history (see Dan. 2).

7. Visions God often used visions to communicate important truths. Isaiah saw a vision of the Lord “sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted.” Ezekiel saw various visions (Ezek. 1:3). The apostle John saw glorious visions of the end-times while in exile on the island of Patmos (see Rev. 4–22). The recipients of visions were often overwhelmed by the glorious sights they were seeing.

8. Audible voice Sometimes when God wanted to get His messages across, He did so Himself by speaking audibly. When God wanted Samuel to be His prophet, He simply spoke to Samuel out loud (1 Sam. 3). No, it wasn’t what Samuel ate that night—it was really God. When God wanted Peter, James, and John to know that Jesus was truly God’s Son and that they should listen to Him, He simply told them in an audible voice (see Luke 9:35).

9. Theophanies A theophany is a manifestation of God. God, for example appeared before Moses in the form of the burning bush (Exod. 3:2-6). Before the incarnation of Christ, God sometimes manifested Himself as the Angel of the Lord to communicate His divine message to the people (Gen. 16:7-14; Ex. 3:2; 2 Sam. 24:16; Zech. 1:12).

10. Angels Angels, at times, were God’s special messengers. Remember when Joseph was getting ready to leave Mary after he found out she was pregnant? That’s right. An angel communicated to Joseph in a dream that Mary was with child through the power of the Holy Spirit. Angels proclaimed the birth of Jesus (Luke 2:10-11). Gabriel, in particular, appeared to be the special angelic messenger of God. He was the one who relayed important truths to Daniel (Dan. 9:20-21). He also told Mary that she would be the earthly mother of Jesus (Luke 1:26–38).

11. The Prophets The prophets of the Bible, who acted under direct inspiration from God, were a primary means through which God revealed His messages. Isaiah, Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Daniel, Joel, Zechariah, and others played a major role in revealing truths about God and His plans in the Old Testament. They focused particularly on warning the nation Israel and detailing the coming kingdom that would be established by God’s Messiah. The New Testament prophets played a foundational role in the establishment of the church (Eph. 2:20). They also revealed previously undisclosed truths about the “mystery of Christ” (Eph. 3:5).

12. Miracles and Supernatural Events God sometimes used miracles and supernatural events to reveal Himself. The Ten Plagues of Egypt showed Pharaoh and the Egyptians that the God of the Hebrews was truly God and that the ‘gods of Egypt’ were no match for Him (Exod. 7–11). Jesus did many ‘sign miracles’ to point the way to Him and His message.

13. Jesus Christ As great as the previous twelve forms of revelation were, the greatest form of revelation took place with the person of Jesus Christ. As Heb. 11:1–2 states, “God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son” (Heb. 11:1-2). Jesus Christ, the primary manifestation of God, reveals many things:

a. John 1:1 He is the “Word” because He is the complete revelation of the Father.

b. John 1:18 He reveals what the Father is like.

c. John 5:36-37 He reveals the Father’s compassion.

d. John 6:63; 14:10 He reveals that the Father gives eternal life through the Son.

e. Matthew 11:27 He reveals who will know the Father.

14. The Bible The Bible is God’s written revelation to humankind. Complied by various men under the guidance of the Holy Spirit (2 Pet. 1:21), the Bible is the very Word of God. Most of what we know about God, including the person and work of Jesus, is found in the Bible. It reveals all the doctrine, rebuke, correction and guidance that is needed for godly living (see 2 Tim. 3:16-17).

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