How does God make himself known to us

Paraphrasing Robert McAfee Brown (1955), let me enumerate five answers to the question.

First of all, God makes himself known to us through historical events. God makes himself known right where the people are - in the midst of their difficulties and doubts, in the midst of their struggles and sorrows, in the midst of their agonies and ecstacies. In the Old Testament, God made himself known particularly in the history of the Hebrew people. There were three significant events in the history of the Hebrew people wherein God clearly made himself known. These events were: Exodus from Egyptian slavery, the Babylonian captivity, and the restoration to their homeland. Through these events, God's liberating, judging, and redeeming acts were demonstrated. Thus, God made himself known to the Hebrew people within the arena of human history.

Secondly, God makes himself known to us through human persons. What we read in the Bible are not merely recital of events in human history but a particular interpretation of history. For instance, the crossing of the "Red Sea" is communicated to us by persons whose belief in God causes them to understand that event in a very special, meaningful way. Moses was granted special insight into that event and interpreted it in accordance to God's will and purpose (Deuteronomy 34:10-12). People like Moses, Amos, Isaiah, Jeremiah, etc., are called prophets because their main function is to be spokespersons of God rather than foretellers of the future. They convey God's will to the people and they speak with divine authority. They point to the liberating acts of God. Thus, they reveal to us a caring, compassionate and concerned God who is aware of the afflictions and sufferings of the people (Exodus 3:7-10). The prophets spoke of a God of justice (Amos 5:24), a God of mercy and steadfast love (Hosea 6:4-6), and a God who is holy, high and lifted up, someone other than us (Isaiah 6:1-5). Therefore, much of our awareness and knowledge of God is shared by the testimony of the prophets. Through them, God made himself known to us.

Thirdly, God made himself known to us completely through the life of one human being-Jesus of Nazareth-who is called the Messiah. The entire Old Testament looked forward to the coming of the Messiah. The Messiah comes from God to show the people who God is and what he demands of them. In other words, through the events of the life of Jesus, the Messiah, the revelation of God was made more fully than it had been before. The Old Testament waited for the "fullness of time" or kairos when these things shall come to pass. The New Testament claims that these things have been fulfilled. God made himself known fully and completely in the events clustered around the life of Jesus who is called the Christ. This claim was a momentous significance. This means that when the Bible speaks of God it does not just talk about God; it shows us God at work through a human life. God enters into a fellowship with us, taking the limitation of a human person, even suffering and dying as the ultimate expression of God's love for us.

Fourthly, God makes himself known to us through the life of a community of faith. In our time, this community is the Christian Church. The Church is comprised of people who accept the claim that Jesus is the Messiah. In and through the life of this community, God continues to be active, revealing himself through the liberation of his people from all forms of enslavement. The early Christians often referred to themselves as the "new Israel" in contrast with the "old Israel." The old Israel was a nation called out, set apart, through whom God revealed himself. The Israelites came to see that they must be "a light to the nations" (Isaiah 42:6). In the New Testament, this is precisely the claim of the Church. The early Christians tried to spread the good news of what God had done in Jesus of Nazareth to all people throughout the face of the earth. Since the "old Israel" as a community of faith refused to accept Jesus as the promised Messiah, the "new Israel" which is the Christian Church carried on the task of being "a light to the nations." A perusal of the "Acts of the Apostles," for instance, will show us how in the life of the Christian community the power and presence of the living God continued to be manifested in new, unexpected ways. Since God is alive and not dead, his work does not cease at any point in time, but continues through the lives of those who belong to the community of faith which is embodied in the Christian Church today.

Finally, we all know these things because they are recorded in the pages of the Bible. Therefore, in the fifth place, God makes himself known to us through the Bible because by reading and studying it we find God confronting us. However, we must carefully differentiate what we read in the Bible between God and the statements about God. The words in the Bible have come out of the historical events which the Bible describes, and these words have been gathered together, written down, pieced together, and translated by human persons. We believe that these people were moved by the power and the spirit of God in a special way. But in spite of the power and spirit of God at work in them, their humanity was never erased. We can hear the words of human beings side by side with the words of God within the Bible.

Let me illustrate to make this point clear. Imagine yourself having brought a new cassette of Freddie Aguilar's song (or perhaps a new CD of POD's or Britney Spear's songs). As you play the tape (or CD), you can hear not only the voice of Freddie Aguilar (or of Sonny or Britney) but also the background music. There are other noises and souds, too. This does not mean that we fail to hear the voice of Freddie Aguilar (or, again, of Sonny or Britney) but simply that we must be careful to distinguish between the voice belonging to Freddie Aguilar (or Sonny or Britney) and the background noises and sounds of the tape. So it is with the Bible. We are always faced with the responsibility of distinguishing between the sounds of God's voice and those that are the result of human situations in which men and women have contributed their words.

Nevertheless, to use Robert McAfee Brown's analogy, the Bible is a "special delivery" letter with your name and address on it. Therefore, take it and open it. Read it with care! Not only once, twice but many times; for in it you will find an invitation, an urgent call to live a meaningful, abundant and liberated life-right here and now!

from God's Liberating Acts, by Melanio L. Aoanan, Quezon City, Philippines, pp.xii-xv

In summary:

God makes himself known to us…

1. …through historical events.
2. …through human persons.
3. …completely through the life of one human being-Jesus
>>>>of Nazareth-who is called the Messiah.
4. …through the life of a community of faith.
5. …through the Bible because by reading and studying it
>>>>we find God confronting us.