One of the many ways God demonstrates His infinite grace toward men is the varied means He has used to communicate with us. Like smoke signals or the telegraph, some means of communication God once used have become obsolete. For example, in the past, God spoke to men through dreams and visions, through the direct visitation of angels, through signs and miracles, and through prophets with whom He had spoken audibly. He has ceased to use those methods to talk to us, but He still uses numerous other effective means of expression to impart His truth to us.

            The Universe. “The heavens are telling of the glory of God; and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words; their voice is not heard. Their line has gone out through all the earth, and their utterances to the end of the world” (Psa. 19:1-4). The existence of the universe, not to mention the nearly infinite complexities of the natural world, preach the existence of a creator God. Reason, revelation, science, and human experience combine to reveal that so great an “effect” as the universe demands a greater Cause, an omnipotent, omniscient, and infinite Being. The atheist and agnostic are utterly without excuse. God still speaks through creation.

            The Scripture. “But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God” (2 Pet. 1:20, 21). Peter explained that God addresses men through the written Word of God. Furthermore, we know that both testaments of Scripture are relevant today because Paul stated directly that “whatever was written in earlier times [i.e., the “Old Testament”] was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope” (Rom. 15:4). He reaffirmed the fact that every portion of the Bible remains relevant when he told Timothy that “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:16, 17). God still speaks through His written Word.

            The Son. “God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son . . . . And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power” (Heb. 1:1-3). God in human flesh, preaching, teaching, feeding, healing, resurrecting others, then Himself dying and rising from the dead speaks clearly, unequivocally, and with infinite grace to all who have ears to hear. If the message of creation leaves man without excuse (Rom. 1:20), how much more does the incarnation of the Son of God? Though the chief priests and Pharisees sent officers to arrest Jesus, they failed to do so because “Never has a man spoken the way this man speaks” (John 7:46). God still speaks through the incarnation of Christ.

            The Holy Spirit. “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come” (John 16:13). “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you” (John 14:26). The Holy Spirit speaks the Word of God, not audibly to the natural ear, nevertheless discernably to the attentive heart and mind. God still speaks through His eternal Spirit.

            With infinite grace, God still speaks to mankind. To all He speaks through creation. To many He also speaks through the Bible, through His Son, and through the Holy Spirit. As the writer of Hebrews exhorts us: “we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it” (2:1).