Of the Holy Scripture, I:1

Although the light of nature, and the works of creation and providence do so far manifest the goodness, wisdom, and power of God, as to leave men unexcusable; yet are they not sufficient to give that knowledge of God, and of his will, which is necessary unto salvation. Therefore it pleased the Lord, at sundry times, and in diverse manners, to reveal himself, and to declare that his will unto the church; and afterwards, for the better preserving and propagating of the truth, and for the more sure establishment and comfort of the church against the corruptions of the flesh, and the malice of Satan and of the world, to commit the same unto writing: which makes the holy Scripture to be most necessary; those former ways of God's revealing his will unto his people now being ceased.

The Westminster Confession of Faith is an expression, as I have previously stated, of Reformed Protestant Christianity, which above all else strives to be thoroughly and completely biblical, searching out the whole counsel of God and submitting to it as the final authority for matters of faith and practice. Thus the starting--and ending--point for those who wrote the Confession and those who follow in its tradition is: What do the Scriptures say? Therefore, it is exceedingly fitting that the first subject taken up by the Confession is that of revelation.

In the first paragraph, the Confession makes several statements:

1. God has not hidden himself from men, though he surely could have done so had he willed it. God has sufficiently revealed himself through creation and his ongoing work of providence that men may understand not only that there is a God, but that he is a good, wise, and powerful God. This is called general or natural revelation. It is available to all men everywhere. It is a manifestation of God's grace. Men may not claim that God has left them without sufficient evidence of this. That they frequently do so, suppressing the truth, is testimony of their own unrighteousness. By rejecting this grace they heap condemnation upon themselves.

2. However, such evidence does not suffice to provide information about God's work of salvation. God has therefore in various and "diverse" ways revealed himself to men in history and especially so to his "called-out ones," which the Confession terms his church, a term applicable to all his people whether of the Old or New Testaments. This is his special revelation; he gave it by speaking directly to his people, through the giving of his law, through interaction with judges and kings, by means of prophets and apostles, and ultimately and most completely by his Son, Jesus Christ, God in the flesh.

3. God caused this special revelation of himself to be written down, that the truth may be preserved and propagated, that in such form it may more surely establish and strengthen his people against the opposing forces of the world, the flesh, and the devil. We do a great disservice to ourselves when we ignore this written revelation or take it for granted.

4. Finally, the Confession states that the former ways by which God has revealed himself have ceased because his revelation is complete in what has been written down. The Scriptures have, so far, proven no need of amendment.

Tomorrow: The canon of Scripture.