The Creator Speaks

Memory Text:

“God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds” (Hebrews 1:1, 2, NKJV).

“And God said…” Those three words, so simple yet so profound, reveal an important facet of who God is: He is a God who speaks.

He wishes to communicate. He wants to say something.

As we start another series of studies focusing on the Gift of Prophecy, we would do well to consider that God is a God who wants to say something.

Fasten your seatbelts as we start another fascinating series! I am excited for this one!

God Speaks

I don’t know your definition of paradise, but for me, it would look something like Switzerland. That’s my dream destination. Seeing it in videos, it’s like heaven on earth.

We don’t know what Eden was like. But considering that Switzerland is already beautiful in a world marred by sin, how much more beautiful must Eden have been! It must have been like Switzerland, but so much better!

To cap that off, Adam and Eve experienced face-to-face communion with God.

“Often as they walked in the garden in the cool of the day they heard the voice of God, and face to face held communion with the Eternal.”¹

They had it all! A nice place, a nice relationship, a nice job, etc. Everything we have been dreaming of, they had!

But sin stemmed from discontent. The serpent tempted them to want more, and they gave in.

As a result, they were driven out of paradise.

Genesis 3:24 NKJV

So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.

They were driven out of a place like Switzerland because they disobeyed.

Most of what they had enjoyed was now taken away—most especially, face-to-face communion with their Maker.

Isaiah 59:2 NKJV

But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear.

It wasn’t God who stopped communicating with us. Our iniquities, our sins, disrupted face-to-face communion with God. Sin was the culprit. The God–man relationship was the victim.

God Seeks

Whenever we are in the middle of a conflict, we want the offending party to make the first move; we want him to say sorry. But those who are married know that this isn’t always the case. Sometimes, you make the first move. You initiate reconciliation—not to imply that what the other party did was right or all right, but because the relationship was more important.

Sometimes, it’s not about who is right but about wanting to be right together.

We see in this story of salvation that, though humanity was at fault, God made the first move!

Genesis 3:8–9 NKJV

And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. [9] Then the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?”

“…they heard the sound of the Lord God walking.” How was that possible? How is it that they already knew it was God walking? How? Because they had heard those footsteps before. They were familiar with the sound. They had heard it before when they were walking with the Lord. But now, they were hiding from Him. Sin disrupted the relationship. God was walking back to restore it. Then came the question.

“Where are you?” As Christians, we know that God is all-knowing. Then why bother asking where they are? He already knew! It must be that the question is not an inquiry but an expression of longing, a desire to be with them once again. “Where are you? I’m here. Where are you? I want to be with you.”

As we start this series on the gift of prophecy, we will soon talk about how God reveals things to His prophets, how prophets communicate, and why and how the ministry of Ellen White is valid. It is important to understand that all of this is part of God’s plan to once again speak to broken humanity. He spoke in time past and still wants to speak to each one of us today.

“God has made the first advance. While you were in rebellion against Him, He went forth to seek you.”²

God Sends

Hebrews 1:1–2 NKJV

God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, [2] has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds;

God speaks, God seeks, and God sends. He keeps on communicating.

In various ways, He is speaking. Through the things of nature, He is speaking.

“This most elegant system of the sun, planets, and comets could not have arisen without the design and dominion of an intelligent and powerful being. . . . He rules all things, not as the world soul but as the lord of all.”³

Through dreams, He speaks. Through the events of human life, He impresses His messages upon us. But the clearest revelation He sent through messengers came through the prophets. Prophets are basically God’s messengers. They speak on behalf of God. Some of these prophets wrote books that later became part of the Bible; we call them canonical prophets. Others have recorded writings that were not included in the Bible; we call them non-canonical prophets. We will learn more about these concepts as we proceed. But the point is that God spoke through prophets.

But God didn’t stop there; He sent His only Son—the ultimate revelation of who God is.

Conclusion

God spoke in Creation.

He spoke, He speaks, and He is still speaking.

Man enjoyed face-to-face communion with God before, but sin disrupted it. But God wouldn’t let us go. He sought us. And long after the fall, He continues to send messengers called prophets. He even gave His only begotten Son. Why? Because He wants to speak to us. To you. To all of us.

Are we listening?

Discussion Questions

1. Why is it so difficult to be content in life?
2. When there are quarrels in the family, in the church, or even among our friends, what is one practical step toward reconciliation?
3. What is one thing you will implement in your life to be more attentive to God’s voice?

Notes

1. Ellen G. White, Education (Mountain View, CA: Pacific Press, 1903), 21.
2. Ellen G. White, Christ’s Object Lessons (Washington, DC: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1900), 189.
3. Isaac Newton, The Principia: Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy, trans. I. Bernard Cohen and Anne Whitman, assisted by Julia Budenz (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1999), 940–41.