“[Jesus Christ] was crucified, died, and was buried; He descended to hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended to heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty.” It is difficult to speak of the ascension of Christ without also touching on the debate over the descending of Christ. Christ went to the prison of spirits to proclaim the truth of the Gospel (1Pet. 3:18-20) so that Jesus may preach to those who are already dead (1Pet. 4:6). Christ was not abandoned there to decay as if He was being punished for sin (Ps. 16:10; Acts 2:31) because He lived without sin and was therefore there to accomplish the purpose of filling all places with His glory (Eph. 4:10). While scripture does not put forth enough evidence to solidify this doctrine, it also does put forth enough to allow for it as a plausible option.

His ascension was a fulfillment of what He prophesied; Jesus foretold of His ascension into heaven (Jo. 6:62; 14:2; 12; 16:5; 10; 28; 20:17). After Jesus resurrected, He spoke with a wide variety of people before ascending into heaven. First Jesus appeared to Mary (Jo. 20:11-28), then to both Mary and Mary Magdalene (Matt. 28:9-10), then to Cleopas and another man on the way to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-22), then to Peter (Luke 24:34; 1Cor. 15:5). Second, Jesus appeared to Thomas and the disciple (Jo. 20:26; 31; 1Cor. 15:5), then again to the disciples (Jo. 21:1-5), then again to the disciples (Matt. 28:16-20), then to over 500 followers at the same time (1Cor. 15:6), then to James (7), then to the apostles (8).

After resurrecting, Jesus came to be with His disciples (Jo. 20:17; Mark 16:19), gave them final instructions (Matt 28:16-20), blessed them (Luke 24:50), and while blessing them He ascended into heaven (Acts 1:9; Jo. 20:17; Luke 24:51) to sit at the right hand of the Father (Acts 2:33; Jo. 17:5; Mark 16:19) with authority over all (1Pet. 3:22). Jesus descended far below, and ascended high above (through heaven [Heb. 4:14]) in order to fill all places with the glory of God (Acts 9:3; 5). All that was done was orchestrated by God the Father (Eph. 1:20; 1Tim. 3:16; Heb. 1:3; 4:14; 9:24; 1Pet. 2:23).

Jesus Christ died (1Pet. 3:18; Rev. 5:9), which fulfilled God’s purpose for the Son (Mark 10:45; Matt. 20:28). Christ died publicly (Matt. 27:29; 39; 50; Mark 15:11; 20; 29; Luke 23:27; 36; 48; Jo. 19-20), so that God could demonstrate His righteousness through the propitiation of Christ (Rom. 3:25; 1Jo. 2:2; 4:10). Forgiveness of sins is the subtracting, or putting away, of sins so that they are no longer held against us. In the final moments of Christ’s life He cried out loudly, yielding up His Spirit into God’s hands (Matt. 27:50; Jo. 19:30) and breathed His last breath (Mark 15:37; Luke 23:46). The validity of Christ’s death is found in the Roman soldiers first observing that He was already dead (Jo. 19:33), and then piercing His side with a spear from which blood and water released from His body (Jo. 19:34). 

The resurrection is the most important feature of truth to grasp, because without the resurrection, faith is obsolete (Rom. 10:9; 1Cor. 15:17). Before He even went to Jerusalem, Jesus prophesied not just His death, but also His resurrection (Matt. 16:21), and even went so far as to prophesy what He would do after resurrecting (Mark 14:28). Jesus prayed not to die, but died anyway; after He died though, God raised Him to life (Heb. 5:7). After resurrecting, Jesus appeared to a large amount of individuals in varied locations, fulfilling what He prophesied He would do after resurrecting (1Cor. 15:5-8).

The proof of the resurrection is found in a two-fold declaration. First, the stone was rolled away (Matt. 28:2; Mark 16:4; Luke 24:2; Jo. 20:1), which showed Jesus’ body was not in the tomb (Matt. 28:6; Mark 16:6; Luke 16:3; Jo. 10:6). Second, the Angels of the Lord declared Christ had risen (Matt. 28:2; 6; Mark 16:6; Luke 16:4; Jo. 20:12) to Mary and to others (Matt. 28:1; Mark 16:1; Luke 24:10; Jo. 10:1; 6). The proof of Jesus’ Lordship is solidified in His resurrection; because it confirms what He said about whom He is, and validates His other prophesies about the future. If any one of the Roman soldiers guarding the tomb by royal decree (Matt. 27:60; 65; Matt. 28:14), who had been paid off by the chief priests (Matt. 28:12) and assured of their pardoning from the governor (Matt. 28:14), had the truth that contradicted the Messiah-narrative then why remain quiet and not expose it? The exposé of this flaw would have killed the Messiah-narrative within a generation.

Since Jesus is fully God (Col. 2:9), the attributes of God equally apply to Jesus (Heb. 1:8; 13:8; Jo. 1:18). Therefore, Jesus did not sin (2Cor. 5:21; Heb. 4:15; 6:18; 9:14; 1Pet. 2:22). Experiencing temptation is not sin, because Jesus was tempted in all things believers are tempted in (Heb. 4:15). Moreover, Jesus was led into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit to be tempted by Satan (Matt. 4:1). Satan was unsuccessful during his temptation of Jesus (Luke 4:13) which further affirms Jesus’ sinless life.

Since the Holy Spirit led Jesus to be tempted by Satan (Matt. 4:1), God is not aiding Satan to do something that contradicts the nature of God; God does not tempt anyone (Jam. 1:13). God led Jesus into the temptation from Satan to accomplish the purpose of further proving Jesus’ full deity by His sinless life beyond the sign given through His Virgin Birth (Is. 7:14) and the miracles performed during His life (Luke 5:12-14; Matt. 8:14-15; Mark 4:25-41; Jo. 6:1-16-21; Jo. 21:25). Since Jesus had enough knowledge to refuse evil and choose good (Is. 7:15), Jesus was then able to sin but did not sin, and this ability to know everything (Jo. 16:30; 21:17) is attributed to His fully divine nature.

Jesus is both fully God and fully man. Since Jesus did not leave earth into a divine form (Acts 1:9), but rather came to earth in human form (1Jo. 4:2; Col. 2:9; 1Tim. 3:16), there is an implied eternality of Christ’s deity (Heb. 13:8), which also existed while He was in human form (Jo. 1:14; Phil. 2:6; 1Tim 2:5). In His fullness of humanity, Jesus felt sadness (Jo. 11:33-34), betrayal (Jo. 13:21), taste (Jo. 19:30), thirst (Jo. 4:6-7), hunger (Matt. 4:2), compassion (Matt 9:36), He cried (Jo. 11:35; Luke 19:41), people touched and grabbed Him (Matt. 9:25; Mark 1:31; Luke 4:40; Jo. 9:1), and He grew in wisdom (Luke 2:52). In His fullness of deity, Jesus raises the dead to life (Jo. 10:18), is omniscient (Jo. 16:29-30; Jo. 21:17), omnipotent (Matt. 8:26-27), shows Himself as the Christ through means of miracles (Jo. 20:31; Jo. 2:11), and has divine authority (Mark 1:27; 4:40-41). In another sense, since God cannot be tempted (Jam. 1:13), the fact that Satan tempted Jesus (Luke 4:6-7; 13) indicates that Jesus at least had a human nature capable of being tempted, and perhaps why Jesus succeeded in not sinning is because of the coupling together of His fullness of humanity and His fullness of deity.

The Holy Spirit and Mary’s conception played a role in Jesus’ fullness of deity and fullness of humanity; they verified and confirmed His fullness of deity and humanity. Since Jesus was born of a sinful woman (Luke 2:7), He inherited a sinful nature; however, because the other member of Jesus’ conception was the Holy Spirit (Matt. 1:20; Luke 1:35), the Spirit in its fullness of deity, corrected the defilements that would have been passed on by Mary, causing Jesus to obtain the fullness of humanity. Jesus was fully man in the sense that He was more man than Mary was, because unlike us, God the Holy Spirit filled the holes that exist because of sin. While Mary did not give Jesus His fullness of deity, through means of the miraculous Virgin Birth, Mary was the means through which God sent a sign that His Chosen One had arrived (Is. 7:14).

After Mary and Joseph were married (Matt. 1:16; 19), but before they had sex (Matt. 1:18; Luke 1:27; 34), Mary became pregnant (Matt. 1:18). An angel appeared to both Mary (Luke 1:26-38) and Joseph (Matt. 1:20-23) separately to announce that the Holy Spirit conceived the baby (Matt. 1:20; Luke 1:35) and that the baby would be the Son of God (Luke 1:32; 35). Mary and Joseph did not have sex until after the child was born (Matt. 1:25). Per the instructions of the angel, the child was named Jesus (Matt. 1:21; Luke 1:31). The Virgin Birth serves as a miraculous sign from God that the Chosen One had arrived (Is. 7:14). Mary and Joseph raised Jesus on earth (Luke 2:48). Both Mary and His adoptive father Joseph are descendents of David (Luke 3:31; Matt. 1:6; 16), from which the King was prophesied to emerge (Luke 1:32; Jo. 7:42; 2Sam. 7:12; 1Chron 17:11; Ps. 89:3-4; 35-36; 132:11; Is. 9:7; Jer. 23:5).

In Peter’s first letter, he differs between the moral will of God and the sovereign will of God. By moral will, Peter refers to something to be pursued and lived up to. On the other hand, the will of God is the state of affairs that he sovereignly brings about. God’s moral will is most prominently noted in His desire for all to be saved (Ezek. 18:23). From this, God’s moral will is expanded to include a desire for all to do what is right (1Pet. 2:15; 4:19), and live in freedom from lust and other sins (1Pet. 4:2). It is because of all this that God allows His people to suffer if it is for doing what is right (1Pet. 3:17), even to the point of death for the sake of who He is (Acts. 21:14). When God allows evil to occur through His permissive will, He does not necessarily always do it with pleasure, but sometimes with displeasure (Ps. 78:31; 81:11-12).

God’s sovereign will centers on His purpose (Rom. 9:11), which brings good pleasure to Him and will be accomplished (Is. 46:9-11). Because of this, God’s sovereign will cannot be changed (Job 42:2; Prov. 19:21). If not directly predestined, decreed, or purposed, God will use His moving hand of providence, which in its supremacy cannot be stopped (Dan. 4:35), to work all things out for His good (Num. 23:19; Matt. 10:29). Man does not have the final say in anything that occurs (Jer. 10:23; Rom. 9:16) because God has the final say in all that occurs (Prov. 16:33; Am. 3:6; Matt. 10:29); whatever God wants to do is done (Ps. 115:3), and whatever God wants to occur occurs (Prov. 21:1; Rom. 9:18). God’s sovereign will is so exhaustive that God directs all the paths of man (Prov. 16:9), so much so that no one is allowed to live (Jam. 4:15), or speak (Lam. 3:37-38) except by the allowance of God.

God’s providence is God’s preservation of creation, the provision of needs, the working all things out to accomplish His sovereign purpose, and the control over history. God preserves creation by means of controlling nature and its processes (Ps. 147:8; 17; Job 37; Am. 5:8; 9:6). God preserves creation by providing for and satisfying the needs of all people (Matt. 5:45; Acts 17:24-25), most notably through the provision of food (Job 38:39-41; Ps. 104:14; 21; 147:9; Matt. 6:26). Just as He gives the provision of life (Gen. 2:7; 1Sam. 2:6; Job 1:21; 1Cor. 8:6; Jam. 4:15), He can take that provision of life away (Gen. 2:17; 1Sam. 1:27; Job 1:21; 12:10; Ps. 102:23; 104:29-30; Dan. 5:23). God preserves creation by working all things out to accomplish His sovereign, good purpose through His moving hand (Num. 23:19; Is. 55:10-11; Dan. 4:35; Rom. 8:28; 1Tim. 4:10), such as where we are located in the world (1Cor. 16:7) and even when and where we teach the Gospel (Heb. 6:3).

God also preserves creation by sovereignly controlling history (Dan. 2:21). The page that separates Malachi and Matthew represents 400 silent years. Like in a theater production, God was the stage-crew, setting the stage at intermission for what was to come in Act II. Three key things occurred in those 400 years: 1) Alexander the Great, son of Philip of Macedon, decreed the entire kingdom speak a unified language, Koine-Greek; 2) military peace ensued; and 3) an improved transportation system. These three providential circumstances made the vast and rapid growth of the Church after the resurrection of Jesus possible. These events meant the New Testament was in a language that all the people could understand which stands in stark contrast to the Jewish tradition of the Old Testament. Moreover, the movement of the New Testament’s message was able to spread farther and faster.

God chose all who would be saved through faith in Jesus Christ before creation took place (Eph. 1:4; Tit. 1:1). Those who have been chosen cannot be stolen from God (Jo. 10:27-30), and their belief will accomplish God’s predestined purpose (Jo. 13:18). God will deliver His Chosen People from sinful earthly judges (Luke 18:7) because no earthly judge will be the final authority over God’s Chosen People (Rom. 8:33). There will be false prophets who will try to deceive God’s Chosen People, but because God’s Chosen People cannot be stolen, if the false prophets are successful, God’s Chosen People will lose their saltiness (Mark 13:22; cf. Matt. 5:13). God the Son chose us so we would bear fruit, suitable for Him to prune (Jo. 15:16; 19). At the rapture, alive believers will be taken to heaven from earth (Matt. 24:31).

Predestination identifies a point prior to creation from which God has purposed certain things to occur. These things namely include that Jesus would be crucified, and delivered by Pontius Pilate, so that all people, Jews and Gentiles, could be justified and glorified before God (Acts 4:27-28; Rom. 8:29-30). God chose before creation which people would hear His voice and receive eternal life (Jo. 10:27-30; Eph. 1:5) and become His heirs (Eph. 1:11). God called specific people to receive mercy before that very reception of mercy occurs (1Pet. 2:9). Moreover, God wrote in a book how many days each of us would be alive (Ps. 139:16). Does predestination thus make the historical narrative obsolete? Much like an employer who creates objectives for employees, the predetermined purpose of the employees by the employer does not outweigh the work the employees do to such an extent that the work is obsolete.

The goodness of God is defined as God’s love, God’s faithfulness, and God’s holiness; all other attributes of God’s goodness fall under those three umbrellas. The umbrella of God’s love encompasses God’s intimate care for creation and God’s grace. God is defined by love (1Jo. 4:8; 16; 2Cor. 13:11), shows His love not just to those who seek Him (Ps. 73:1), but is so abundant in love (Ps. 57:10; 86:15) that it abounds also to generations that follow the faithful servant (Ex. 34:6; Deut. 5:10). This love fuels God’s graciousness (Ex. 34:6), which exhibits itself in the gift of salvation through Christ (Rom. 6:23), given out of compassion (Ex. 2:7-8), and love (Jo. 3:16).

The umbrella of God’s faithfulness encompasses God’s keeping of promises and God’s standard of absolute truth. Despite our unfaithfulness, God is faithful (2Tim. 2:13; 1Thess. 5:24), and keeps His promises (Deut. 7:9). While there are promises all throughout the Bible, all promises and covenants point forward or backward to Christ because Christ solidifies God’s faithfulness (1Cor. 1:9). God promised eternal salvation before existence (Tit. 1:2), and gave us the Spirit to seal that promise, which proves He is faithful (2Cor. 1:18; 22; 1Pet. 4:19). God in His nature is absolute truth (1Thess. 1:9; 2Cor. 4:2; Jer. 10:10; Jo. 17:3; Num. 23:19; Jam. 1:13; Rev. 3:7; 6:10; Tit. 1:2; 1Sam. 15:29), and absolute truth pours out from God (Ex. 34:6; Jo. 17:17; Ps. 57:10). It is through the gift of salvation through Christ that we are able to understand the absolute truth of God (1Jo. 5:20).

The umbrella of God’s holiness encompasses God’s perfection (Matt. 5:48) and God’s justness (Gen. 18:25). Not only is God holy (Ex. 3:5; Lev. 11:44-45; 19:2; Ps. 99:9; Rev. 3:7; 6:10; 15:4), but God is the holiest of anything that might even be considered holy (1Sam. 2:2; Ex. 15:11), so much so that even His name is holy (Is. 57:15; Ps. 99:3). Because God is perfect, He cannot approve of evil; God sees wickedness, but not with favor unless it accomplishes His purpose (Hab. 1:13), but even so, it is not the wickedness that brings Him favor, but rather the accomplishment of His purpose (Eph. 1:5; Col. 1:10). God does not pervert justice (Job 34:12), but rather is justice (2Cor. 6:16; Deut. 7:10; Gen. 18:25; Rev. 12:19), therefore He delights in exercising justice because it is who He is (Jer. 9:24). God is patient before the Day of Judgment (Rev. 6:10) but will judge the earth (Ps. 58:11) heavily punishing the unrepentant (1Thess. 1:10). 

The greatness of God is defined as God’s eternality, God’s supremacy, and most prominently God’s sovereignty; all other attributes of God’s greatness fall under those three umbrellas. God’s greatness includes His eternality, which refers to His immortality, His invisibleness, and His desire for exclusive worship (1Tim. 1:17; 6:15-16; Jo. 1:18; 4:24). God’s eternality includes His preexistence (Gen. 1:1; Is. 44:6; Jude 25; Ps. 90:1-2; Jo. 8:58), His continued existence for the remainder of eternity (Ps. 102:12; 27; 147:5; Rev. 1:8; 21:6; 22:13), and His unchanging nature (2Tim. 2:13; Heb. 6:17; 13:8; Jer. 4:28; Job 42:2; Mal. 3:6; Prov. 19:21; Ps. 102:26-27; Ezek. 24:14; Zech. 8:14; Lam. 3:22-23).

God’s greatness includes His supremacy. God is self-sufficient and does not need anything that His creation has to offer (Acts 17:25). God’s purpose is supreme to any other purpose or will. His purpose will be accomplished and nothing can escape it (Jer. 10:10). Everything that occurs, whether part of God’s purpose or not, is allowed to occur by Him (Matt. 10:29; Phil 2:13) to such an extent that even life is derivative from God; God gave even His own divine Son life on earth (Jo. 5:26).

God’s greatness includes His sovereignty, which includes His omnipotence, omniscience, omnipresence, and transcendence. Nothing is impossible for God (Matt. 19:26; Luke 1:37) or too difficult for God’s power (Gen. 18:14; Acts 26:8), which is surpassing in greatness (Eph. 1:19); God can do all things (Job 42:1). God’s understanding has no limits (Ps. 147:5); He knows all the laws of nature that He put into place (Job 37:16), what we will say before we speak it (Ps. 139:4), and even how many hairs are on our heads (Matt. 10:30). We cannot flee from the presence of God’s Spirit (Ps. 139:7; Jer. 23:23; Matt. 28:20). While God is present in this world by Spirit, His thoughts are not of this world (Is. 55:8), His being is over all (Eph. 4:6), and is above the stature of all gods and creation (Ps. 97:9). Moreover, God sees everything we do and think (Job 28:24; 1Jo. 3:20; Heb. 4:1; 13; Prov. 15:3).

The trinity refers to the one God (Deut. 6:4; Jam. 2:19; Jo. 10:30; Gal. 3:20) described by three distinct and equal persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Father is fully God (Heb. 1:9; Jo. 1:18; Job 38-41). The Son is fully God (1Cor 8:6; Heb 1:8). The Holy Spirit is fully God (Acts 5:3-4; Jo. 14:26; Matt. 12:31). The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit together are fully God (Jo. 14:10; Is. 48:16; 2Cor 12:14). Each of the three is neither of the other two (Heb. 1:8-9; Jo. 17:21), and all three existed together before the foundation of creation and will continue to exist for all eternity (Is. 48:16; Heb. 1:10; Jo. 8:58).

The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit each have distinct roles. The Father is the Creator (1Pet. 4:19), the sovereign ruler over all people (Matt. 5:45) and provider of all things to all people (Acts 17:24-25), and is He who raises the dead to life (Jo. 5:21). The Son explains the Father (Jo. 1:18), accomplishes the Father’s sovereign purpose (Jo. 4:34), builds the Church (Acts 2:47), sanctifies individuals so they may be part of the Church (1Cor. 1:2), prays on behalf of believers (Heb. 7:25), will be the eternal judge (Ps. 2:7-12), and now serves as King forever (Matt. 27:11; Heb. 13:8). The Holy Spirit is the divine helper (Jo. 14:26) to the Father and Son (Jo. 15:26). Despite their distinctions, they intrinsically interconnect (Jo. 14:10; 17:20) so much so that honoring one and dishonoring another is a self-defeating concept (Matt. 12:31; Jo. 5:23).

Western culture has taken the form of a postmodern era centered on denouncing absolute truth. If the Bible is erroneous, then it therefore cannot be the source of absolute truth. If God is true (Rom. 3:4), if God does not lie (Num. 23:19; Heb. 6:18), and if the scriptures were breathed out by God (2Tim. 3:16), then the scriptures are true (Jo. 17:17). Scripture was never willed by man (2Pet. 1:21), but willed by and breathed out from God (2Tim. 3:16) with words taught by the Spirit (1Cor. 2:12). If scripture cannot be broken (Jo. 10:35), and God’s word is truth (Jo. 17:17), then scripture is the true Word of God (1Thess. 2:13).

There are several instances of alleged errors that are argued against inerrancy, that of the dimensions in Second Chronicles 4:2, and that of the differences that exist within the Gospels. While many arguments deal with seeming contradictions within the synoptic Gospels, the differences do not equate to contradictions. For instance, in Acts 20:35, Paul states that Jesus said it is better to give than to receive, but Jesus, in the four Gospels, does not utter that phrase. The Gospels also report that they did not include all that Jesus said and did (Jo. 21:25), therefore Paul is not contradicting Christ, but opening us up to more of Christ’s teachings.

Matthew 27:44 and Mark 15:32 tell of two thieves beside Christ who mocked Him, but in Luke 23:39-40 there was only one. Some argue that this implies a contradiction, but with context, one thief repented of sin and was saved, which implies that He no longer mocked Christ bringing the total number of mocking thieves from two to one. There are differences because there are four separate perspectives, but there are no contradictions. In Second Chronicles 4:2, there is a seeming mathematical error regarding the usage of pi as 3.0 rather than 3.14159. The mathematical error is not erroneous though because in the context of the event, and the context of the writing, the understanding of mathematics was correct as was understood, and since the Holy Spirit used the personalities of the biblical authors to write the Bible, this is no error at all.

Illumination is when the Holy Spirit teaches, criticizes, corrects, or trains an individual in accordance to scripture (1Cor. 2:13-14; Jo. 14:26; 16:12-15), as well as when the Holy Spirit empowers an individual to teach, criticize, correct, or train others in accordance to scripture (Acts 1:8). Since through culture we are unable to come to know the things of the Spirit, it is through the empowerment of the Spirit that we can know what God has given the Spirit to teach to us (1Cor. 2:13-14). As members of humanity, we are unable to know God without one of two means: the teachings of Christ (Luke 24:45); and empowerment of the Spirit (1Cor. 2:11).

A function of the Holy Spirit is to convict all individuals of sin (Jo. 16:8; 1Cor. 12:13) before they believe (Jo. 16:9) and the elect individuals after they believe (10), but does not live within an individual until after the point that they become a believer (Jo. 14:17). God will intentionally send (1Cor. 6:19), upon Jesus’ request, the Holy Spirit to guide us in understanding scripture and speak to us about Jesus (Jo. 14:16; 15:26). The Holy Spirit anoints individuals (1Jo. 2:20) and through that anointing individuals are expected to obey what is taught to them (27), for a purpose of the Spirit is to shape us into righteousness (2Cor. 3:18; Eph. 2:22).

The Canon refers to the sixty-six books of the Bible, and is the Spirit-breathed, specially revealed, Word of God (2Tim. 3:16). In a Postmodern Church Age growing toward the minimization of absolute truth, it is vital to affirm that all sixty-six books are equally the Word of God. The Old Testament authors were led by the Spirit in their writing of scripture (Acts 4:25). All prophecies given from God through prophets and messengers of God spoke with words given to them by the Holy Spirit (1Pet. 1:11; 2Pet. 1:21). Just the same, the Holy Spirit moved in the New Testament authors to pen the exact words God wanted penned, including the deep philosophical writings of the Epistles having not come from the minds of men, but rather of the Holy Spirit (2Pet. 3:15).

Recognizing scripture as physically penned by men but supremely the Word of God is reason for celebration (1Thess. 2:13). In the Old Testament this writing carried great authority (2Kin. 14:6; 2Chron. 23:18; Ezra 3:2; Neh. 10:34). Also, due to the extents of preservation such as the warnings against additions or removals of the canon (Rev. 22:18), the observable fact that translations over time have remained 100% accurate in message is valid. The only errors that exist are minor grammatical changes that occurred as linguistics evolved as an art form. It is then logical to assert that the Bible we can purchase at a store is a copy of the inspired, infallible, and inerrant Word of God translated to English.

Special revelation is the means in which God employs to display Himself to individuals on a personal basis. Special revelation is different from generation revelation in that not all humanity receives special revelation. God is therefore justified in condemning individuals who reject special revelation because they are held accountable to what was specially revealed to them (Rom. 1:32; Prov. 8:34, 36; Matt. 5:19). The most obvious special revelation was when the Word was manifested through Jesus Christ as an explanation of God the Father (Jo. 1:14, 18; Heb. 1:1-3). Therefore, those who reject Christ have rejected God and will be punished justly for it (14:10).

Special revelation is presented in various forms, such as miraculous events such as the Red Sea dividing to such an extent that the ground was completely dry (Ex. 14:21). Special revelation is given through divine speech, such as scripture, which has a clear purpose of instructing, rebuking, correcting, and training individuals into a life of righteousness (2Tim. 3:16). Scripture additionally reveals the specific things about all God created that God intended to reveal to us by means of the Holy Spirit giving the various human authors the exact words God wanted penned (2Pet. 1:21). Special revelation is given through encounters with an Angel of the Lord, such as when the Angel of the Lord appeared to Hagar (Gen. 16:7) and through the experience with the Angel, Hagar declared her faith in God and obediently returned home (vs. 13). Lastly, special revelation is given through the Holy Spirit, such as with Simeon knowing the Christ was upon him (Luke 2:26). It is through special revelation that the foundations of general revelation can grow into salvific faith.

General revelation is the means through history and creation by which God discloses truth about Himself to man that man would not otherwise conclude. All humanity has been subject to general revelation and is without excuse if in their unrighteousness is dealt with by God in accordance to their sin (Rom. 1:18) because God has shown who He is to all individuals (Rom. 1:19; Ps. 19:4). His invisible attributes, His eternal power, and divine nature are all revealed through all aspects of creation (Ps. 19:1), and have been revealed since creation (Rom. 1:20a). Therefore, God is justified in condemning individuals to Hell who rejected the knowledge (Ps. 19:2) of what He revealed to them about Himself (Rom. 1:20b).

The purpose of general revelation is to show God as the Creator (Acts 14:15; Gal 4:8) and sovereign ruler over all people (Matt. 5:45). Some people are given more general revelation than others are, because some are in environments where more revelation is necessary to build the foundation toward a conclusion of faith (Acts 14:15-18), in accordance to God’s foreknowledge of their acceptance of that general revelation (1Cor. 14:26). This foundation is set so that when special revelation is given, the individual may see the general revelation as God showing Himself to us (Rom. 1-3).