|
|
Hebrew 1:1 says" God who at in sundry times and diverse manners spake unto the fathers by the prophets".
This shows that there was a communication between God and men in the Old Testament but it was only through the prophets. The communication between God and prophets too were in diverse manners. There was no unique way of communication. At a time God spoke to them through fire, through water,through the clouds, by a still small voice and even through a donkey. Throughout the Old Testament people could not approach God directly, they had to go through a medium (the prophets). During the time of Exodus, God only spoke with the Israelites through Moses as recorded in Exodus 19-20. God gave the Ten Commandments to Moses and he handed them down to the Israelites.
God spoke with the people through other prophets like Isaiah,Jeremiah, Samuel and a host of others. They communicated the mind of God back to the people.
But in John 5:37, Jesus talking about Jesus said "his voice you have never heard neither have you ever seen his form". This shows that all along people in the Old testament never actually saw God or heard his voice.At best what they saw was the form of a heavenly being and because his form was quite different from what they were use to as men; they termed it to be God.
This shows that something must have been at stake for God not to be able to communicate with the people directly. There was a fault somewhere and so there was no perfect revelation of the mind of God to the people(as they couldn’t hear him speak to them directly).
But through the coming of Jesus into the world, all that became history. Heb 1:2 says "but in these last days spoken to us by his son". Note that the word"spoken" shows the finality and authenticity of what he said. He spoke to us through His son who is also God Himself (Jn 1: 1). So because Jesus is also God, we can say that God has spoken to us directly, not through any imperfect medium or way but He has made known to us his perfect will. The completeness and perfection came when Christ paid the price and gave us redemption.Now, there is a sharp contrast between the communication in the Old Testament and that of the New Testament. The prophets and priests of old were mere human instruments and not comparable with the Son of God. Being the Son of God shows his uniqueness in that he possesses the very nature of God (Heb 1:3).
He is more superior to the mediums of communication in the Old Testament. Christ came and brought redemption through which God revealed himself complete to mankind. Jesus is not just the image of God; he is the absolute and exact replica of God’s being (John 14:10,Col 1:15). 2 Cor 4:4 says " Christ is the image of God ". There is a complete, a perfect, and a unique revelation and communication between God and man now because He has spoken by Himself.
His will has been done. Unlike the dispensation of the old, we are now in a new dispensation where God dwells, the heart of the man born-again (Rom 8:9). The permanent abode of God is in the heart of a Christian.
There is no longer a need for a medium or an intermediary between him (a Christian) and God. He can now approach God directly (Heb 10:19-21). He has a direct access to God.