FULL DISCLOSURE

To sum up the last few entries, (1) I was awakened to God, (2) since then I have practiced the science of God by coming to know Him personally, and (3) I have benefited great in coming to know Him by studying the priceless record of God’s revelation to mankind.  This priceless record, the Bible, is composed of two main sections, the Old Testament and the New Testament.  The Old Testament was written before the birth of Christ, and its cannon (its list of accepted works), was largely set by the time of Christ.  It was spoken of by Christ and by the writers of the New Testament as being the authoritative record of God’s revelation to mankind.  The New Testament was written by the apostles (those who knew Christ personally and were witnesses of His life, death and resurrection), and others who were directly associated with the apostles.  The cannon of the New Testament was set within a few hundred years after Christ’s death.  

So, why, you may ask, are writings today not accepted as part of the Bible?  Why is the record set?  Learning continues in every other branch of science, and scientific literature is growing at a rapid rate, so again, why limit the Bible to just old literature, and why just this old literature?

The simple answer to this question is that God has made a full disclosure.  He did that by becoming a human being and living here on earth, in a flesh and blood form that we could see and directly learn from.  God fully disclosed Himself to us in the person of Jesus Christ.  Everything written in the Old Testament prepared for His arrival, and everything in the New Testament is a record of God’s full disclosure in Christ Jesus.  The author of Hebrews, one of the New Testament books, describes God’s full disclosure in this way, “Going through a long line of prophets God has been addressing our ancestors in different ways for centuries.  Recently he spoke to us directly through His Son… this Son perfectly mirrors God, and is stamped with God’s nature.” (Heb. 1:1-5, The Message). 

Jesus perfectly mirrored God’s nature.  He perfectly and completely spoke the truth about who and what God is, what His purposes are for human beings, and what the future holds.  And then Jesus did something really amazing.  He, God in the flesh, freely gave His life for us on the cross.  God, in horrific agony and pain, bridged the gap that separates us from Him.  This act of love was the culmination of His full disclosure.  It is a clear window into the heart of God