How Does God Speak to People Today?
by Marsha Iddings
John 9:29 "We know that God spoke to Moses; as for this fellow, we do not know where He is from."
God spoke to Moses. He spoke to Abraham and many others in the Old and New Testaments. Does God speak to people today in the same way He did in Bible times?
There are many who would say yes, God speaks directly to His people today like He did in Bible times.
This seems like dangerous ground to me. 2 Timothy tells us that the Scriptures are sufficient to tell us what we need to know for salvation, and it is beneficial for doctrine, reproof, correction and instruction in righteousness to make us complete and thoroughly equipped for every good work.
2 Timothy 3:15-17 and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.
If God tells us through the Apostle Paul that the Scriptures are able to do all this for God's people, then it seems to me the implication is that the Scriptures are sufficient for life and practice. To expect that God is going to "speak" to us outside of His Word, then is to say that what He has provided for us in the Bible is incomplete.
I was wrestling with this idea that God would "speak" to his people today when I remembered a message given by Darlene Rose telling about her experiences in WW II in the Japanese prison camps. Repeatedly she says, "And then God spoke to me..." So I listened to it again to find out what it was that God spoke to her. It was scripture that God brought to her mind that He used to speak to her. Repeatedly, God answered her by bringing the words of Scripture to her heart and mind when she most needed it. Yes, God spoke to her, but it was through His word that she had memorized or that He had brought to her memory from the past.
God will guide us through various means in our life. He may bring specific circumstances into our lives that move us in certain directions. He may use something someone has said to us to give us direction in some aspect of our lives, but God "speaks" to his people through His written revealed Word, the Bible. Listening to Darlene Rose's story brought home to me the importance of having portions of God's Word memorized and the importance of studying the Bible diligently, so when the time comes that you need to hear God's voice, the Holy Spirit can bring those things back to your memory.
I fear that many want to hear God speak to them, but they are not willing to dig deep into the Bible to know what God has to say to them. They are much like the Pharisees in Matthew 12:38 who said to Jesus, "Master, we would see a sign from thee." Jesus answered, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign." They want some exciting "revelation" from God to tell them what they should do when God has already told us what we are to be doing. Check out Romans 12:1-2; Ephesians 6:5-7; 1Thessalonians 4:3 ;1Thessalonians 5:18;1Peter 2:15;1Peter 3:17;1Peter 4:19;1 Corinthians 10:31 and many others to find out what God wants you to be doing.
The Bible is sufficient. God has given us everything we need for faith and practice. He speaks to us plainly through the apostles and prophets that He has ordained to write his Holy Word down for us. We just need to apply ourselves, read it and memorize key passages so that when we most need God to speak to us we will hear Him.
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