General and special acts through which God
revealed Himself to man.
Acts. There are two kinds of acts through which God reveals Himself to man.
General. General revelation pertains to such an indirect act as implicitly knowing God according to His Spirit which resides in Christians (1 Cor. 3:16) who are His handiwork (Eph. 2:10) (Daniel J. Trier and Walter A. Elwell 2008, 747-748).
Special. Special revelation pertains to acts that make man’s knowledge of God explicit such as when God communicated with man directly through the burning bush (Exod. 3:2) and Jesus Christ (Gal. 1:2) (Trier and Elwell 2008, 747-748).
Characteristics. In addition to the two kinds or revelation identified above, it is important to note the four characteristics of Scripture: Authority, Clarity, Necessity, and Sufficiency (Wayne Grudem 1994, 73-140). Moreover, it might also be important to note than an expanded definition of revelation should take Grudem’s entire Doctrine of The Word of God (47-140) into consideration. While the defining characteristics might be considered to be essential to arriving at a more comprehensive definition of ‘revelation,’ any consideration given to adding the additional elements would substantively contribute to the comprehensiveness of such a definition.
Authority.
Clarity.
Grudem, Wayne. 1994. Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Theology. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
Trier, Daniel J. and Walter A. Elwell. 2008. Introducing Theological Interpretation of Scripture: Recovering a Christian Practice. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic.
All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16).