Does God Speak to People Today?

A Question of "How"

Does God Speak to People Today?

A Question of “How”

Clarifying the Question

This is a great question and one that needs answering yet is one that is difficult to succinctly articulate. A clarification of the question is, “Does God speak directly to people as He did in the Bible?”

Understanding "Directly"

“Directly” can include God speaking to someone person to person as He did Moses in Exodus 3, with Samuel in 1 Samuel 3, or many other like accounts. It can include God using a dream to communicate a specific message to a specific person as He did with Joseph in Matthew 1. It could even refer to God speaking through an inspired prophet or other teacher as seen in Acts 12 or 1 Corinthians 14.

The Current State of Divine Communication

In respect to these direct manifestations of God to men, the answer is, “No. God does not speak to people today.” Let us briefly consider a few points.

1. The Sufficiency of Scripture

First, God does not need to instruct people directly today because His word has been revealed and preserved for us in its entirety in the Bible and the New Testament in particular. Paul wrote by inspiration that the Scriptures make the man of God complete and equip him for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Peter affirmed that God has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3). If these things are true, there is no need for direct revelation today. Everything we need to know and teach can be found in the Bible.

2. The Need for Miraculous Proof

Second, if God were giving divine instruction to an individual, that individual would need some means to prove the authority behind whatever instruction has been given. Biblically speaking, that proof would need to be manifested in the form of a miracle.

Biblical Examples of Miraculous Proof

When God sent Moses to Egypt to speak to His people, Moses asked a pertinent question, “Suppose they say, ‘The Lord has not appeared to you’” (Exodus 4:1). God responded by giving Moses two miraculous signs with the promise of a third (Exodus 4:2-9). When he and Aaron went to the people, the text records that they spoke the words, did the signs, and the people believed (Exodus 4:30-31). One might also consider Elijah and the prophets of Baal in 1 Kings 18.

Similarly, in Mark 16:15, Jesus gave the apostles the Great Commission to “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” These men would have needed some means to prove the divine origin of their message.  In verses 17 and 18, Jesus affirmed that miraculous signs would accompany them as proof of their divine authority. Verse 20 closes the book with this statement, “And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs.” Hebrews 2:1-4 gives a similar account of those who preached the gospel with the Lord bearing witness to their message with signs, wonders, and miracles.

Addressing a Common Misconception

Additionally, we should speak briefly of a poor argument against the idea of God speaking to people today. Specifically, it is often said, “If God speaks to people today, it makes him a respecter of persons because he doesn’t speak to everyone and He hasn’t spoken to me.” This argument is fallacious on a couple of counts. First, even when God was speaking directly to men in the days of the Bible, He did not speak directly to everyone. So the argument fails on that account alone. But second, the question is not “Did God speak directly to this person?”, but, “Where is the proof that God spoke to this person? Where is the miracle confirming this supposed direct revelation?” The proof is not in the claim, neither has it ever been in the claim. Paul said, “Truly the signs of an apostle were accomplished among you with all perseverance, in sign and wonders and mighty deeds” (2 Corunthians 12:12).

God's Communication Through Scripture

Finally, if by the question one is simply asking if God communicates in any way with man, then the answer would be, “Yes. God does communicate with man, but only through the inspired words as given and preserved in the Bible.” As Abel still “speaks” to us through the divine record of his actions, God still speaks to us today through the divinely inspired record of the Scriptures.

The Hebrews writer warned against refusing to hear or turning away from Him who speaks to us from heaven (Hebrews 12:25). The Lord is not speaking directly to us, but calling us through His word as found in the pages of holy writ and through those who faithfully proclaim it (cf 2 Thessalonians 2:14-15).

Author: Todd Clippard