Principle 17
HERMENEUTICS
PRINCIPLE 17
Recognize the Fact of Progressive Revelation
Imagine yourself walking through a deep forest. Trees of all different sizes surround you. Some young, some old. The younger trees are not of “lower quality” compared to the older trees. However, the younger trees are not fully developed. Full development comes with time.
Similarly, the full revelation of God’s truth communicated through Scripture has come gradually, with time. The Bible wasn’t written in one day. The “whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27) was unfolded gradually. We know more of God’s truth today than Noah, Abraham, or Moses did. Abraham didn’t know anything about the Church, because that truth had not yet been revealed. It’s not that we’re more spiritual or have more faith than God’s people in ancient times. We simply have access to more of God’s revelation.
When we say that God progressively revealed His truth, we’re talking about quantity of truth, not quality. The truth revealed to Noah in his day wasn’t inferior to the truth known by the apostles — but Noah knew less, because some truths had not yet been revealed. We now have more truth, or fuller truth, because God has progressively revealed more of His mind to us. We have more Scripture than the saints in the Old Testament saints. Like the trees in the forest, the content of truth that God has disclosed to man has grown as God has progressively revealed His mind through Scripture.
(As a side note, be very careful not to confuse this principle of “Progressive Revelation” with the false teachings of so-called “Progressive Theology.” - or with another school of thought known as “Progressive Dispensationalism.”)
Now let’s look at some examples.
Acts 17:30 and John 1:17
Acts 17 includes the record of Paul preaching at Athens. In verse 30 he told the Athenian philosophers that there were times of ignorance in the past, but now further truth has been revealed with the coming of Christ.
John 1:17 says, “For the law was given through Moses, but God’s unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ.” Obviously, this verse doesn’t mean that there was no grace and truth in Old Testament times. Rather, with progressive revelation and the coming of Christ, grace has been fully realized. More truth has been unfolded. We should recognize the fact of progressive revelation when we interpret Scripture.
Genesis 1:26 and Isaiah 48:16
Think about the doctrine of the Trinity. If we only read the Old Testament, we might not understand that the one God exists in three Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Since we have the further revelation and clear teaching in the New Testament, we can understand this doctrine. The Old Testament didn’t teach a different doctrine about God than the New Testament. In fact, there are hints of the doctrine of the Trinity in the Old Testament verses such as Genesis 1:26 and Isaiah 48:16. The Old Testament paved the way for the revelation of the doctrine of the Trinity in the New Testament. God progressively revealed the truth of the Trinity.
Maybe you’re wondering, how did God progressively reveal His truth to man? For this question, an understanding of “dispensations” will be helpful. Dispensations can be considered stages of progressive revelation. Here’s a helpful timeline of God’s dispensations:
A dispensation is a distinguishable period of divine purposes or administration with respect to mankind. In each dispensation, mankind is tested in a distinctive way, and God’s particular purpose is accomplished. If we didn’t recognize progressive revelation and distinguish between dispensations, we’d still be bringing lambs to the altar as a means of faith and obedience towards God.
Since God’s character eternally remains the same, certain basic relationships between God and mankind remain the same from dispensation to dispensation. For example, throughout all the dispensations, God always displays both holiness and love toward man. In return, He expects man to respond with faith, love, and obedience.
Yet each dispensation also possesses one or more unique characteristics, such as human innocence in the first dispensation. Sometimes a characteristic begins in one dispensation and continues in every dispensation thereafter, such as human sin and conscience, which initiated the second dispensation and continued in every dispensation thereafter.
Dispensations are related to the principle of progressive revelation, and dispensations can be considered stages of progressive revelation. In each dispensation, God is testing man in a particular way because of further revelation that has been revealed.
Let’s look at several examples in which recognizing the dispensations and the fact of progressive revelation will help us in our interpretation of Scripture.
Matthew 10:5-6 and Matthew 28:18-20
In Matthew 10, Jesus sent the disciples out to proclaim that the kingdom of heaven was “at hand.” They weren’t supposed to offer the kingdom to the Gentiles or Samaritans, only to “the lost sheep of the house of Israel” - that is, the Jewish people. Compare that to the Great Commission of Matthew 28, where the disciples were told to go into all the world and make disciples of all nations. Why the difference?
A major factor is to realize there was a change from one dispensation to another. Matthew 10 was given, before the Lord’s death and resurrection - during the “Dispensation of Law.” An offer of the kingdom was made to Israel, but Israel rejected the offer of the kingdom and crucified the King. The Lord’s death ushered in the “Dispensation of Grace,” under which the Great Commission to preach the gospel to the entire world was given (Matthew 28). To properly interpret Scripture, we should recognize the fact of progressive revelation with an understanding of the different dispensations.
Psalm 51:11
“Do not banish me from your presence, and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me.”
After David’s sin with Bathsheba, he prayed those words, “Don’t take Your Holy Spirit from me.” Does this mean that God may take His Holy Spirit away from a believer today? No, because of the fact of progressive revelation.
In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit came upon different believers at different times, especially to aid that believer in his or her service for God. David lived before the time when the Holy Spirit indwells all believers. Since Pentecost, the Holy Spirit indwells every individual Christian (see 2 Corinthians 1:22). We don’t need to pray, “Lord, don’t take Your Holy Spirit from me,” as David did. The Holy Spirit permanently indwells believers today.
Luke 7:28
“I tell you, of all who have ever lived, none is greater than John. Yet even the least person in the Kingdom of God is greater than he is!”
The Lord was speaking about John the Baptist in this passage. We understand that John was a great prophet, but what did the Lord mean when He said, “Yet even the least person in the Kingdom of God is greater than he is!”?
Current day Christians are “greater” than John the Baptist, the forerunner of the Messiah, because we have further revelation, and thus we have greater position of privilege in the kingdom. John the Baptist was part of the Old Testament covenant community under the Dispensation of Law. Believers today are under the Dispensation of Grace. John was not part of the body and bride of Christ. John did not have the completed New Testament Scriptures. We have more revelation and a much greater position than John - or any prophet before him. Therefore we’re greater in the kingdom of heaven.
Ezra 10:10-12
“Then Ezra the priest stood and said to them: “You have committed a terrible sin. By marrying pagan women, you have increased Israel’s guilt. So now confess your sin to the Lord, the God of your ancestors, and do what he demands. Separate yourselves from the people of the land and from these pagan women.” Then the whole assembly raised their voices and answered, “Yes, you are right; we must do as you say!”
The ministry of Ezra took place after the Jews had returned to Jerusalem from their captivity in Babylon. God brought Ezra back to Jerusalem to lead a spiritual revival, and to address some serious problems that had developed among the Jewish people. Ezra 9:1-4 tells us that some of the men had taken wives from the pagan areas surrounding Jerusalem. After a period of repentance and confession, the people reached a conclusion before God about what to do. The solution: divorce!
Now you may be thinking, “Wait a minute! Doesn’t the Bible teach that divorce is wrong, even if you’re married to an unbeliever?” That’s taught in 1 Corinthians 7:12-13.
So how do we harmonize Ezra 10 with 1 Corinthians 7? By remembering the Principle of Progressive Revelation.
God didn’t condone divorce in the Old Testament, and Ezra 10 doesn’t teach that. God has always hated divorce (Malachi 2:16). However, in this Old Testament situation, the need for religious purity in light of God’s law demanded separation from the foreign wives who were still practicing pagan religions.
When we come to the New Testament, God still forbids the “unequal yoke” of a believer with an unbeliever. (2 Corinthians 6:14). If a believer does marry an unbeliever, however, the New Testament clearly teaches that divorce is not the solution to the problem. Unless we recognize the fact of progressive revelation, it’s impossible to harmonize Ezra 10 and 1 Corinthians 7.