Does God Still Speak?

Wait - Does God still speak?

Could He? Of course! Does He? I would personally say no, and I believe He won’t until Christ returns. Now, this is a hot button issue, so let me clarify my perspective. Bear with me!

S O W H Y D O I S A Y T H A T ?

This week I’ve seen an unusual amount of posts from people discussing how they’ve heard from God about what is going to happen regarding this virus situation - and it didn’t all square together...like, at all. Many of us, me included, have grown up being taught the idea that God is always speaking, and is eager to speak if we’ll just listen. I didn’t realize this growing up, but not only were there several spans of hundreds of years in the Old Testament where there was absolute radio silence from God, Hebrews 1 gives us clues as to why this could also be the case now. It says in verse 1 and 2 that, “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.”

S O . . .

From this we can gather several things. The Old Testament was written by God speaking through the prophets, which all points to who? Christ. You can even find Jesus ALL the way back in Genesis! It’s amazing. Not only did He make the world and sustains it now, but once Jesus finally came to earth in human form, He was the ultimate version of God speaking. He was the reason the whole earth existed in the first place. He was the Word made flesh! He came not to abolish what had been written, but to perfectly fulfill it all - and He did. Scripture was elevated, quoted, and perfectly fulfilled by Jesus.

At this point, the perfect and final message that God ever had to say has now been said. It’s Christ Jesus. It’s the Gospel. Ever wonder why the Bible’s canon is now closed and we’re not just adding books to the Bible all the time? Well, Jesus empowered His Apostles to write about Him under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, completing the New Testament. Once the Apostle John died after writing the book of Revelation, the Bible was completed. Now it’s closed. God is done speaking.

Now, does God move, work, and guide through events and circumstances today? Absolutely! 100% He is still in control and working. The gospel is changing lives every day. I just believe He is not going to speak audibly again until Jesus comes back. Can the Holy Spirit within us press on us, convict us, and show us things in scripture? YES! That’s what He does - but He’ll never contradict His Word. If He ever does, it’s not Him. It’s you. Beware of any movement that considers itself to have modern day Apostles or Prophets who speak for God or give new revelation from Him. Scripture itself teaches us that this doesn’t happen anymore, but will appear to happen often by those who are wolves in sheep’s clothing. “God told me” should always be a red flag.

Ever feel like God is distant? Read the Psalms and refocus your heart on truth. Ever feel like maybe God doesn’t care about you? Refresh yourself in the book of John where Christ gave His perfectly righteous life for you.

I think too often we hope for God to speak to us directly while avoiding to read what He has already spoken. We get so obsessed with hearing from God in a personal way that we reject the vehicle that He has chosen to speak from. We don’t need a fresh word from God, we need THE Word OF God. If we wanna hear God speak, we need to read the Bible. It’s sufficient for life as normal and life in crisis. So toss away the Jesus Calling, turn off the Bethel videos, and crack open the Bible. THAT’S where we hear from the true and living God.