Revelation: Scripture, Reason, and Tradition

Scripture focus

All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.

2 Timothy 3:16 KJV

At a glance

Summary of the chapter

Edwards's doctrine of revelation begins from his conviction that God is, in his own words, "a communicating being" who delights to share his happiness and being with creatures capable of knowing and loving him. Revelation is therefore not primarily a transfer of propositions but an overflow of divine self-giving, continuous with the inner life of the Trinity. Scripture is the fullest instance of this communication, but for Edwards it is one expression of a far larger, ongoing divine outreach toward the world.

This conviction shaped how Edwards read history. Rather than treating revelation as beginning with Moses, he argued God had spoken to humanity "from the beginning," first through direct instruction to figures like Noah and Abraham, then oral tradition, and finally written Scripture compiled from Moses to John. Against deists who wanted to ground true religion in universal reason alone, Edwards insisted that whatever fragments of truth appeared among other nations were borrowed, however corrupted, from this original revelation.

Reason and tradition, on this account, are not rivals to Scripture but companions that confirm and transmit it; nature itself is a lesser, general light alongside Scripture's greater, specific light. Edwards's chief aim was to defend the reasonableness of a God who speaks, against a philosophy content with a silent deity.

Key points

• Edwards described God as inherently "a communicating being," so revelation flows from God's nature, not merely his strategy for saving sinners.
• Revelation combines two channels: an original "light of nature" available to all, and a higher revealed light given through direct instruction and Scripture.
• Edwards traced revelation historically from Adam and Noah through Abraham's family to Moses and finally the apostle John, transmitted partly by oral tradition.
• Against deist claims that reason alone suffices, Edwards argued nearly every people had some access to revealed truth, however corrupted over time.
• To withhold revelation entirely, Edwards insisted, would be unreasonable in a God who created humanity to know and serve him.

A line worth remembering

'Tis unreasonable to think that God would always keep silence and never say anything to mankind.

McClymond & McDermott The Theology of Jonathan Edwards, ch. 9

Related Scripture

• Psalm 19:1-2
• Hebrews 1:1-2
• Romans 1:19-20
• John 1:9

For reflection and discussion

1. In what ways does thinking of revelation as God 'communicating himself' change how you read Scripture, compared to thinking of it as mere information?
2. How would you respond to someone who argues that reason alone, without Scripture, is enough to know God truly?
3. What difference does it make to believe that some knowledge of God has always been available to every people, however dimly?