How does God communicate with human beings? The Bible tells us that "Long
ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, but in
these last days he has spoken to us by a Son" (Hebrews 1:1, 2, NRSV). Jesus
Christ was God's ultimate revelation to the human race. His person, His message,
and His ministry demonstrated clearly and persuasively that Divinity wished to
communicate with humanity.
Christ Himself informed His followers that the Holy Spirit would act as His
representative in continuing to communicate the divine message through His
messengers. Jesus said that the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, "will teach you
everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you." "He will
guide you into all the truth" (John 14:26; 16:13 NRSV).
God's communication system involves a combination of divine and human
characteristics that makes the prophetic message unique. The relationship
between the divine message (perfect, infallible, eternal) and the human
messenger (imperfect, fallible, mortal) is not always perceived in proper
perspective. Some, emphasizing the divine, are troubled by apparent
discrepancies or by language that reveals the humanness of the messenger.
Others, emphasizing the human, attempt to define what is inspired and what is
not, thus minimizing the authority of God's message.
The two exhibits in "Ellen G. White's
Understanding of How God Speaks" represent Ellen G. White's own
understanding of the way God communicates through His prophets. These are
followed in this section by an article on "The
Dynamics of Inspiration."
The Reference Library offers additional information regarding such questions as, "What is meant by the terms inspiration
and revelation?" "Do true prophets ever err?" "What
are we to make of inspired writers borrowing the language of uninspired sources?"
"What about unfulfilled predictions of genuine prophets?" See
"Inspiration/Revelation: What It Is and How It
Works."