When God Speaks
By Micky Galloway

Lack of respect for Divine authority is at the root of every major problem that faces God's people. The word authority means the right to command or direct, to authorize a thing, to direct by authority. In spiritual matters, all authority belongs to God.

In Hebrews 1:1-2, the writer said, "God, having of old time spoken unto the fathers in the prophets by divers portions and in divers manners, hath at the end of these days spoken unto us in (His) Son." The fact that God speaks to us should impress any discerning mind. This passage clearly teaches that God speaks to us today through His Son. In Matthew 17:5, as Jesus was transfigured before Peter, James, and John, God the Father declared, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye Him." (cf. John 17:8) There was a time when God spoke through Moses, the great lawgiver, and through Elijah (representative of the prophets), but NOW God speaks through His beloved Son in the pages of the New Testament. We are not under the Old Testament (Jeremiah 31:31-34; cf. Hebrews 8:8ff; Ephesians 2:14-16; Colossians 2:14-16; Galatians 3:24-25).

Clearly, the New Testament is God's message to men today.

Christ chose His apostles and spoke through them (John 17:6-8, 14, 20-21; 1 John 1:1-3). Then He sent the Holy Spirit to guide them into all truth (John 14:26; 15:26-27; 16:13; Acts 2:1-4; 1 Corinthians 2:10-13). The apostles, therefore, were His witnesses and ambassadors (Luke 24:46-48; Acts 1:8; 2 Corinthians 5:18-20; Acts 1:21-22; 2 Peter 1:16). When the apostles spoke, they represented Christ, and we must receive their word as the word of Christ (Matthew 10:40; John 13:20; cf. John 12:48). Those who rejected the apostles rejected Christ, who sent them. "He that heareth you heareth me; and he that rejecteth you rejecteth me; and he that rejecteth me rejecteth Him that sent me." (Luke 10:16)

The apostles and other inspired men wrote the truth that the Holy Spirit revealed to them. Their collected writings are known as the New Testament. It is a Divine message, God's word. Paul wrote concerning those in Thessalonica, "And for this cause we also thank God without ceasing, that, when ye received from us the word of the message, (even the word) of God, ye accepted (it) not (as) the word of men, but, as it is in truth, the word of God, which also worketh in you that believe." (1 Thessalonians 2:13) It is a complete message.

Christ promised His apostles that the Holy Spirit would guide them into "all truth" (John 16:13; cf. 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:3). It is the final message. Jude wrote, in verse 3, "Beloved, while I was giving all diligence to write unto you of our common salvation, I was constrained to write unto you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered unto the saints." It is the only message of salvation. Paul wrote to the saints at Rome, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek." (Romans 1:16) It is also an understandable message.

As Paul wrote of the mystery revealed to the Ephesians, he said, "... I wrote before in few words, whereby, when ye read, ye can perceive my understanding in the mystery of Christ." He then commanded, "understand what the will of the Lord is" (Ephesians 3:1-3; 5:17). It would be strange that we are commanded to understand this mystery, if indeed the revelation is not understandable.

But HOW does God speak to us through Christ? Just HOW are we to understand this communication of Christ through the Scriptures? As long as we are speaking where the Bible speaks and remaining silent where the Bible is silent, we are "speaking the same thing, ... of the same mind, of the same judgment" (1 Corinthians 1:10; cf. 4:17; Philippians 3:16).

We could truthfully say that we come to understand Biblical authority in the same way that any rational person receives authorization from a superior. New-Testament authority is established in one of three ways.

  1. Command or precept involves a direct statement of instruction or direction.

  2. Approved example involves a practice in the New Testament conducted under the apostles' guidance as they received instruction from the Lord.

  3. Necessary inference relates to that which, though neither expressly stated nor specifically exemplified, is necessarily implied by the language. It is a forced conclusion. This is not to suggest that we should not examine the text and context. Clearly, there is need for studying the specific words, because the words used are inspired (cf. 1 Corinthians 2:10ff). The Sadducees were rebuked for not knowing the tense of the verb "I AM" (Matthew 22). In Galatians 3:16, Paul made a point concerning the singular use of the noun "seed," versus "seeds."

Jesus often instructed His disciples using direct statements. These took several forms--commands, prohibitions, declarative affirmations, etc. We do not have to make a rule about accepting those kinds of statements. Jesus made the rule, and His apostles confirmed it. John 14:15 says, "If you love me, keep my commandments." Jesus said that judgment rests on our acceptance of this hermeneutical rule. "He who rejects me, and does not receive my words, has that which judges him ... the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day." (John 12:48) The apostle Peter said, "Beloved, I now write to you this second epistle (in both of which I stir up your pure minds by way of reminder), that you may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Savior." (2 Peter 3:1-2)

The greater bone of contention in our day, relates to the authority of examples. Did Christ authoritatively instruct by illustration? Many appear inconsistent, claiming that we should do as Christ did; but, on the other hand, we are not bound, they say, to the examples He and His apostles provided for the church. Again, Jesus and the apostles set forth this rule. John stated, "He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked." (1 John 2:6) Paul said, "Brethren, be ye imitators together of me, and mark them that so walk even as ye have us for an ensample ... The things which ye both learned and received and heard and saw in me, these things do: and the God of peace shall be with you." (Philippians 3:17; 4:9) Partaking of the Lord's Supper on the first day of the week was not an option for the disciples in Troas (Acts 20:7). We are to follow their example.

Certainly, much truth is revealed by implication. This is not a man-made rule. The fact that action is authorized by necessary conclusions is illustrated in classic Bible examples. Jesus' baptism is one such example (cf. Matthew 3:16). We know, by necessary inference, that Jesus went down into the water, because you cannot come up out of the water without first having gone down into the water.

It is a forced conclusion. In Matthew 22:23-33, our Lord taught, by necessary inference, the resurrection of the dead. The Sadducees denied the resurrection, considering the dead to be annihilated. Jesus did not use a direct statement to refute that belief; rather, He quoted Exodus 3:6, 16: "I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." When God spoke these words to Moses, the three patriarchs named had been dead for some 400 years. Yet, Jesus concluded (necessarily) that God is not the God of the dead, but of the living." From the tense of the verb ("I am," not "I was"), Jesus drew the conclusion, necessarily, that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob lived so as to be resurrected.

The desire to break free of Biblical restraints has cultivated the soil for the planting of a new way to understand the Bible. However, it remains firm that in the matter of Biblical understanding and unity, we can know God's will only when He speaks. Only when people appreciate Scriptural authority and determine to reproduce the faith of its message in their lives, will they achieve and maintain the unity of the Spirit.

Brother Galloway did an excellent job of explaining why men need to hear God when He speaks. Sadly, many do not listen. Why? Let me offer some reasons for you to consider.

Some believe He is still speaking today. Just listen to the television preachers who claim, "God told me," "God spoke to me today," or "God put this in my heart today." They're all trying to convince us that God is speaking to us through them. If this is true, it's very confusing, because God seems to be giving each of them a different message! Oral Roberts, Robert Schuler, Benny Hinn, Rod Parsley, John Hagee, Paula White, Ken Copeland, and Paul Krause all speak different messages. The one thing they all seem to have in common is the need for money to support their ministries. God's word clearly says that "all truth," has been revealed (John 16:13; Galatians 1:8, 9). By the way, if you go back a few years, many of these evangelists were preaching different things on the same subjects; what does that mean? Does God become confused, making it necessary for Him to change His messages from one day to the next? The Bible doesn't support this theory (Hebrews 13:8).

Some don't like what God's word says. This is the overriding reason people do not want to listen to what God says-they don't like the message. Homosexuals say that the Bible's message concerning their lifestyles is full of hate. No, if the truth be understood, it's love. The Bible tells homosexuals to forsake their sin so God can save them. Read Romans 1:23-32 and 1 Corinthians 6:9-11. How could God have made His message any plainer? Shutting our ears to the truth doesn't change its legitimacy.

The same can be said about those who think abortion is acceptable because it gives women the right to choose. Never mind that God hates the shedding of innocent blood (Proverbs 6:19). How can we ever see murder in a positive light? During the recent election campaign, one of the candidates said, "Abortion is an emotional decision that should be made after a woman's clergy and doctor give her all her options." The only option that matters is God's, and He teaches that life is sacred and not to be taken lightly.

This same candidate said that the Bible could not be used to govern people because it's so radical that our military couldn't even carry out its teachings. If the truth be known, this man has probably never bothered to read and study the Bible and has no conviction about what it teaches or says. Simply reading a passage here or there does not make one a Bible student. We must hear everything God says. Some might not like it, but it's Divine truth that will judge us in the last day (John 12:48)-whether or not we like or agree with it! (KMG)


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