God's Hidden Nature and Partial Revelation Explained
God's Hidden Nature and Partial Revelation
The concept of God's hidden nature and partial revelation is rooted in biblical teachings that describe God as mysterious and beyond human comprehension. The apostle Paul writes about "the mystery that was hidden for ages and generations but is now revealed to His saints" [1]. This mystery is closely tied to the person and work of Jesus Christ, who is described as the manifestation of God's wisdom and love.
The Bible acknowledges that God's ways are not always understandable, with Job lamenting, "Why is light given to a man whose way is hidden, whom God has hedged in?" [3]. This sentiment is echoed in various biblical passages that highlight the limitations of human understanding in grasping God's nature and purposes. According to Easton's Bible Dictionary, "God has been pleased in various ways and at different times to make a supernatural revelation of himself and his purposes and plans" [5].
The incarnation of Jesus Christ is a central aspect of God's revelation. The apostle Paul describes Jesus as "the mystery of godliness" [2]. This mystery encompasses the union of divine and human natures in Jesus, a concept that is considered profound and beyond human comprehension. John Gill interprets this mystery as "the incarnation of Christ, his birth of a virgin, the union of the two natures, divine and human, in his person" [10].
Different Christian traditions have grappled with the implications of God's hidden nature and partial revelation. The Baptist/Reformed tradition, represented by John Gill, emphasizes the mysterious nature of God's purposes and the limitations of human understanding. Gill notes that "there are many secret things in nature, which cannot be found out" and that God's ways are often beyond human comprehension [7].
In contrast, the Methodist/Wesleyan tradition, as represented by Adam Clarke, highlights the possibility of gaining knowledge of God's nature through faith and revelation. Clarke suggests that Rahab's confession of faith in Joshua 2:11 demonstrates "considerable light and information" about God's nature, which she may have gained through her exposure to the Israelites [8].
The Presbyterian tradition, as represented by Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, emphasizes the importance of understanding the mystery of godliness in the context of Christ's person and work. They interpret 1 Timothy 3:16 as setting forth "the whole dignity of Christ's person" and highlighting the significance of His manifestation in the flesh [6].
The tension between God's hiddenness and revelation is a recurring theme in biblical theology. According to John Gill, God "hideth himself from the Gentile world for some hundreds of years" but now makes Himself known through the Gospel [9]. This dynamic underscores the complex relationship between God's sovereignty and human understanding.
The biblical concept of mystery is closely tied to the idea of God's hidden nature. Paul writes about "the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory" [4]. This mystery is not just a lack of knowledge but a profound and complex reality that is beyond human comprehension.
Sources
- Colossians “Colossians 1:26 (BSB) — the mystery that was hidden for ages and generations but is now revealed to His saints.”
- I Timothy “I Timothy 3:16 (Geneva1599) — And without controuersie, great is the mysterie of godlinesse, which is, God is manifested in the flesh, iustified in the Spirit, seene of Angels, preached vnto the Gentiles, beleeued on in the world, and receiued vp in glorie.”
- Job “Why is light given to a man whose way is hidden, whom God has hedged in? -- Job 3:23”
- King James Version “[KJV] 1 Corinthians 2:7 — But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:”
- Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Revelation — An uncovering, a bringing to light of that which had been previously wholly hidden or only obscurely seen. God has been pleased in various ways and at different times (Heb. 1:1) to make a supernatural revelation of himself and his purposes and plans, which, under the guidance of his Spirit, has been committed to writing. (See WORD OF [532]GOD.) The Scriptures are not merely the "record" of revelation; they are the revelation itself in a written form, in order to the accurate presevation and propagation of the truth. Revelation and inspiration differ. Rev”
- 1 Timothy (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on 1 Timothy 3:16: And--following up Ti1 3:15 : The pillar of the truth is the Church in which thou art required to minister; "AND (that thou mayest know how grand is that truth which the Church so upholds) confessedly (so the Greek for 'without controversy') great is the mystery of godliness: (namely), HE WHO (so the oldest manuscripts and versions read for 'God') was manifested in (the) flesh (He who) was justified in the Spirit," &c. There is set before us the whole dignity of Christ's person. If He were not essentially superhuman (Tit 2:13), how could the apostle ”
- Deuteronomy (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Deuteronomy 29:28: The secret things belong unto the Lord our God,.... Respecting the people of Israel, and the providential dealings of God with them, and especially the final rejection of them; with respect to which, the apostle's exclamation agrees with this, Rom 11:33; and though the Lord had revealed many things which should befall them, there were others still secret with him, and the reasons of others; and particularly the times and seasons of their accomplishment, which he retains in his own power, Act 1:6. There are many secret things in nature, which cannot be found out ”
- Joshua (Methodist/Wesleyan) “Adam Clarke on Joshua 2:11: He is God in heaven above, and to earth beneath - This confession of the true God is amazingly full, and argues considerable light and information. As if she had said, "I know your God to be omnipotent and omnipresent:" and in consequence of this faith she hid the spies, and risked her own life in doing it. But how had she this clear knowledge of the Divine nature? 1. Possibly the knowledge of the true God was general in the earth at this time, though connected with much superstition and idolatry; the people believing that there was a god for every district, and for”
- Isaiah (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Isaiah 45:15: Verily thou art a God that hideth thyself,.... Who hid himself from the Gentile world for some hundreds of years, who had no knowledge of the true God, lived without him in the world, and whose times of ignorance God overlooked, and suffered them to walk in their own ways; though now he would make himself known by his Gospel sent among them, and blessed for the conversion of them. He is also a God that hides himself from his own people at times, withdraws his gracious presence, and withholds the communication of his love and grace. These seem to be the words of the p”
- 1 Timothy (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on 1 Timothy 3:16: And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness,.... What follows is so, the incarnation of Christ, his birth of a virgin, the union of the two natures, divine and human, in his person; this is a mystery, which though revealed, and so to be believed, is not to be discerned nor accounted for, nor the modus of it to be comprehended by reason: and it is a great one, next, if not equal, to the doctrine of a trinity of persons in the divine essence; and is a mystery of godliness, which tends to encourage internal and external religion, powerful and practical g”