Today, everyone wants to “hear” from God, and almost daily there is a new claim of “special revelation.” However, there are few things more dangerous to the mission of the church than “God told me” theology. In light of the claims made by many today, even those whom we would identify as evangelicals, we must make some biblical decisions about the validity of “special revelation” and about those who claim to receive it from God.
First, the canon is closed, and there is no need for special revelation. God does not need to give us special revelation, because he has already given us “everything we need for life and godliness” (2 Peter 1:3). To say otherwise is to reject the full sufficiency of Scripture.
Second, claims of special revelation are dangerous. These types of false claims have been the source of countless false prophecies and heresies throughout the history of the church. Once we jettison the Bible as the only source of special revelation, and we allow ourselves to affirm a “God told me” theology, we are at risk of introducing error into our lives and into the church.
Third, God does not need to give us special revelation to reaffirm what he has already told us to do in his word.
Fourth, if this is simply a matter of semantics, we must become more intentional about using appropriate language to describe our spiritual journeys. Clearly all of us desire to know, love and serve God. We desire a close intimacy with God the Father, Son and Spirit, and we desire to follow God with all of our hearts. God, in his infinite wisdom, has given us his Spirit and the word to accomplish these things in our lives. I affirm unashamedly the role of the Spirit in applying the truth of Scripture to our hearts, as he guides us into truth and convicts us of sin, righteousness and judgment. However, there is a huge difference between illumination and inspiration. One affirms the work of the Spirit, the other claims “special revelation” from God.
I challenge the church at large to think more carefully about the issues of illumination and inspiration. Claiming personal access to “special revelation” may be en vogue, but that doesn’t mean that it is legitimate. So, let’s focus on obeying the revealed truth of Scripture – God has already told us everything that he wants us to do!
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