Mystery and Clarity: Understanding God Through the Created Order

As I look at this vast and scenic view from Hulugan Falls in Louisiana, Laguna, I started to contemplate how awesome and majestic God revealed Himself to us through natural and special revelation. This article talks about Cornelius Van Til’s view on natural theology.

The natural theology of the Westminster Standards focuses on the necessity of general revelation, especially as explained by Cornelius Van Til. It provides insight into the philosophical and theological foundation that supports the relationship between natural revelation and divine grace.

The necessity of general revelation before the fall is particularly convincing, as it shows that the natural world was designed to complement and test man’s obedience to God. The idea that the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil” had to appear as a normal part of creation in order for it to serve as a genuine test of obedience. It emphasizes the belief that the natural world and supernatural commands work in tandem to shape humanity’s understanding of God’s will.

The second aspect of the necessity of natural revelation after the fall seems to be more straightforward, highlighting how nature itself can point to God’s wrath, offering a sharp distinction to the redemptive grace available through special revelation. This presents an important theological principle: nature can reveal God’s judgment, but it also prepares the way for humans to understand and seek redemption.

Natural theology, as presented in the Westminster Standards, emphasizes the cooperation between natural revelation and the need for special revelation. This dual revelation helps us understand God’s will, both in the perfection of creation and in the fallen world that requires divine intervention for salvation.

Van Til provides a deep understanding of the authority of natural theology, particularly how it relates to God’s revelation through both nature and man’s conscience. The concept that all of created reality is essentially revelational and authoritative. Van Til connects the authority of natural revelation to the fact that humanity was created in God's image, which establishes a foundational analogical relationship between God’s thinking and acting and man’s own thinking and acting.

The idea that if humans reject their role as analogs of God, they create a false contrast between reason and faith. This idea helps us understand why, for Van Til, there is no true separation between natural and special revelation. Nature itself, and even human conscience, is always authoritative and revelational, pointing back to God’s original design and will.

Van Til’s concept of sufficiency is interesting because it doesn’t claim that natural revelation can save, but rather that it serves as the backdrop for special revelation, demonstrating God’s curse on creation and leaving humanity “without excuse.” The idea that nature cries for vengeance due to man’s abuse may seem strange but highlights the seriousness of sin and the consequence it has on creation.

The perspicuity of nature is a complex topic in Van Til’s foundation. He connects the clarity of God’s revelation in nature to the idea of God being “self-contained,” which is a challenging concept. The key idea seems to be that God’s revelation is clear, but it is still incomprehensible to humanity because God’s knowledge of Himself and the world is complete, while ours is limited. This reflects the doctrine of creation: humanity, made in God's image, has true but finite knowledge. We can know God’s revelation clearly, but we cannot understand it completely. This relationship between clarity and mystery reminds us that, while we can know God through His creation, there will always be aspects of God’s nature that remain beyond our full comprehension.

The idea of mystery also acknowledges that our understanding of God’s revelation is limited, but this does not negate its clarity. There is a humility in recognizing that, as finite creatures, we cannot fully take in the infinite nature of God’s revelation.

Van Til’s discussion of acceptance stresses the impact of sin on humanity’s ability to accept God’s revelation, both in nature and Scripture. The rejection of natural revelation and the Gospel is, for Van Til, an essential consequence of the sinful nature. The idea that true theism is only Christian theism defined through Christ is a total claim that ties all revelation back to the person and work of Jesus.

Overall, Van Til’s serious and somewhat challenging views on how natural revelation functions in relation to God’s self-revelation. It calls attention to the limits of human understanding, the authority and sufficiency of nature in revealing God, and the critical role of Christ in rightly understanding and accepting that revelation.