God's Revelation: Foundation and Principle God makes Himself known to

of Christian Life us. Yet in our everyday

experience, we meet not only
love, friendship, the good and
 Christian life is based on the conviction the beautiful, but also suffering,
that God has spoken to us and that the temptation and evil.
central truths of our Faith are given in this  All creation has become
revelation. affected by sin __ “sin entered
 The Christian Scriptures attest that “in the world, and with sin death”
times past God spoke in varied ways to (Rom 5:12). The “natural signs”
our fathers through the prophets; in this, of the Creator have thus
the final age, He has spoken to us through become disfigured by pollution,
His Son” (Heb 1:1-2). exploitation, injustice,
 But how does this idea of “revelation” oppression, and suffering.
relate to ordinary Filipino life? The answer  So God chose to reveal
is in our personal relationships. So in our Himself in a second, more
family relationships and friendships we intimate way, by entering into
reveal our personal selves to others, and the history of the human race
openly receive their self-giving to us. This He had created.
is what uplifts the Filipino.
 the first one to know us, the first one to II. IN SCRIPTURE (THROUGH
show us recognition and reach out to SALVATION HISTORY)
establish a personal relationship with us  The Bible records God’s
__ to become our kakilala __ is God. Only entering into a special
in relation to God do we become our full covenant relationship with His
selves. Only in coming to know God do we chosen people, the race of
grow to the full stature of our true selves. Abraham, the people of Israel.
(Biblical Signs)
God reveals himself:  God revealed Himself in
stages. In the Old Testament,
 Creation God revealed Himself through
 Scripture biblical signs made up of both
 Church deeds and words.
 Other religions  Today, through His inspired
word in the Old Testament,
I. CREATION God still reveals Himself to us,
 first way God reveals Himself and inspires us to respond to
to us is through creation. His covenant.
 God creates the whole world  Yet, even God’s revelation in
for us, to support us in life and history was weakened by the
reveals Himself to us through infidelities and hardness of
His handiwork. “Since the heart of His Chosen People.
creation of the world. . . God’s But God so loved the world,
eternal power and divinity have that in the fullness of time, He
become visible, recognized sent His only Son to be our
through the things He has Savior, like us in all things
made” (Rom 1:20). except sin
 Our Fourth Eucharistic Prayer  Jesus Christ “completed and
clearly expresses this perfected God’s revelation by
recognition of God’s Self- words and works, signs and
revelation through creation. miracles, but above all by his
death and glorious resurrection
(Natural Signs) from the dead” (DV 4).
 For us Filipinos, then, the world (the word made flesh)
and everything in it are natural
signs of God __ the initial way
  Thus the Risen Christ,  God makes Himself known to
prefigured in the Old Testament us through the ecclesial signs
and proclaimed by the of the Church’s proclamation of
apostles, is the unique, the Creed and in her moral
irrevocable and definitive teachings and commitment to
revelation of God. service.
IV. IN OTHER RELIGIONS
III. THE CHURCH  The Church, in her prophetic
 Jesus himself had gathered mission of “reading the signs of
around him a group of disciples the times and of interpreting
who would form the nucleus of them in the light of the Gospel”
his Church. In this Church, the (GS 4), discerns the seeds of
“Good News” of Jesus Christ the Word in the history and
would be proclaimed and culture of all men of good will.
spread to the ends of the earth  Thus, even non-Christians
by the power of the Holy Spirit, “who do not know the Gospel
sent down upon the apostles at of Christ or his Church, but
Pentecost (cf. Acts 1:8). who nevertheless seek God
 “What was handed on by the with a sincere heart, and,
apostles comprises everything moved by grace, try in their
that serves to make the People actions to do His will as they
of God live their lives in know it through the dictates of
holiness and increase their their conscience, may achieve
faith. In this way the Church in eternal salvation” (LG 16).
her doctrine, life and worship,  This makes possible
perpetuates and transmits to “openness in understanding
every generation all that she the religious convictions of
herself is, all that she believes” others. [For] ‘dialogue based
(DV 8; cf. CCC 77-79). on hope and love will bear fruit
 PCP II summarizes this by in the Spirit (by interreligious
stating that Sacred Scripture dialogue)
and the living tradition of the
Church transmit to us the JESUS CHRIST: Agent, Content and Goal of
teachings of Jesus” (PCP II Revelation
65).  Nevertheless, we Catholics must “witness
to [our] own faith and way of life” in the
(Liturgical/Ecclesial Signs) Catholic Church which “proclaims, and is
 God continues to manifest duty-bound to proclaim, without fail, Christ
Himself today through the Holy who is the way, the truth and the life.”
Spirit in the Church. He is  Jesus Christ is “himself both the mediator
present in the Church’s and the fullness of all Revelation.”
preaching the truth of  PCP II puts it sharply: “We are followers of
Scripture, in its witness of Christ, his disciples. We trace his
loving service, and through the footsteps in our times, to utter his word to
celebration of its Christ-given others. To love with his love. To live with
Sacraments. his life . . . To cease following him is to
 Christ’s revelation in the betray our very identity”
Church is “the new and  Filipino Catholics, therefore, recognize in
definitive covenant [which] will Jesus Christ the goal, the content, and the
never pass away. No new agent of God’s Self-revelation.
public revelation is to be
expected before the glorious 1) Goal
manifestation of our Lord, 2) Content
Jesus Christ 3) Agent
 we encounter the Risen Christ
in the Sacraments.
A. GOAL “the Scriptures, taken together with
 As goal, Jesus is “the key, the sacred Tradition, as the supreme
center and the purpose of the rule of her faith.” For they present
whole of man’s history” (GS 10), in “God’s own Word in an unalterable
whose image we all are to be form, and make the voice of the
conformed (cf. Rom 8:29). Holy Spirit sound again and again
 For it is through the Risen Christ in the words of the prophets and
that we shall share the Trinitarian apostles” (DV 21).
divine life of Father, Son and Holy
Spirit. WHERE WE FIND GOD’s
REVELATION:
B. CONTENT A. Sacred Scripture and Tradition
 But Christ is not only the goal of  The Sacred Scriptures,
God’s revelation, He is also its collected in the Bible, are
content, the Revealed One. the inspired record of how
 In himself, Jesus reveals both God dealt with His people,
God and ourselves. “Christ, the and how they responded
new Adam, in the very revelation of to, remembered, and
the mystery of the Father and of interpreted that experience.
His love, fully reveals man to The Scriptures arose, then,
himself and brings to light his most as the expression of the
high calling” (GS 22). people’s experience of
 Our Faith centers on Christ God, and as a response to
precisely because we believe we their needs.
“are called to union with him, who  the Scriptures form “The
is the light of the world, from whom Book of the People of God”
we go forth, through whom we live, the book of the Church.
and towards whom our whole life is The Bible was written by
directed” (LG 3). persons from the people of
C. AGENT God, for the people of God,
 Christ is also its agent, the about the God-experience
mediator (cf. DV 2). “God is one. of the people of God”
One also is the mediator between (NCDP 131).
God and men, the man Christ  The Scriptures, then, are
Jesus, who gave himself as a never to be separated from
ransom for all” (1 Tim 2:5-6). the people of God whose
 Christ is revealer through his part life and history (Tradition)
in creation, through his becoming formed the context of their
man, through his hidden and public writing and development.
life, and especially through his This is best shown in the
passion, death and resurrection. three stages of how the
After his resurrection, the Risen Gospels were formed.
Christ continues his revelation by
sending us his Holy Spirit, the (Three Stages of How Gospels were formed)
Spirit of truth (cf. DV 4). 1.) The Life and Teaching of Jesus Christ
 through his Church, the people of  Jesus, while he lived among us,
God, united in his name. “The one really did and taught for our eternal
mediator, Christ, established and salvation, until the day he was
ever sustains here on earth his taken up.
holy Church, the community of 2.) Oral Tradition
faith, hope and charity, as a visible  After Jesus’ Ascension, the
organization through which he apostles handed on to their
communicates truth and grace to hearers what Jesus had said and
all men” (LG 8). done.
 The Church herself receives
Christ’s revelation. She regards 3.) The written Gospels
  “The sacred authors, in writing the their wills, that they put down in writing
four Gospels, selected certain what God wanted written.
elements that had been handed on  Biblical inspiration, then, is a charism
orally or already in written form, referring to the special divine activity,
others they synthesized or communicated to individual authors,
explained in view of the situation of editors, and compilers belonging to the
their churches, while preserving community, for the sake of the
the form of proclamation. But community. It produced the sacred
always in such a way that they texts both of the Old Testament and
have told us the honest truth about the New. These texts ground the
Jesus” apostolic Church which remains
 This shows how the written uniquely authoritative for us and for all
Gospels grew out of oral tradition, generations of Christians.
and were composed in view of the  But the Holy Spirit’s work in Scripture
concrete “people of God” of the touches more than its human authors:
early Christian communities. in some fashion it also touches both
Through His inspired Word in the proclaimers and the hearers of the
Scripture, God continues to reveal word. “In the sacred books the Father
Himself to us today. who is in heaven comes lovingly to
 Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture, meet His children, and talks with them”
then, are bound closely together. . . (DV 21). Scripture thus supports and
flowing out from the same divine well invigorates the Church (cf. CCC 131-
spring, moving towards the same goal and 33).
making up a single sacred deposit of the  It strengthens our faith, offers food for
Word of God (cf. DV 9, 10). our souls, and remains a pure and
 Tradition can be taken either as the lasting fount for our spiritual lives.
process by which divine revelation, Through the Spirit “God’s word is living
coming from Jesus Christ through the and effective” (Heb 4:12). But we
apostles, is communicated and unfolded realize that what was written in the
in the community of the Church, or as the Spirit must be proclaimed and heard in
content of the revelation so the Spirit.
communicated.
 Thus, the living Tradition of the Church, C. The Canon of Scriptures
which includes the inspired word of God in  Because of disputes, the
Sacred Scripture, is the channel through Church found it necessary
which God’s self-revelation comes to to make a definitive list, a
us. “canon” of the books which
have been truly inspired by
B. Biblical Inspiration God and thus have God for
their author (cf. CCC 120).
 The Sacred Scriptures are said to be The Canon of Scripture is
“inspired” in a special sense not just as divided into the books
some artist or author may be “inspired” written before Jesus’ life
to paint or compose. Rather, biblical (the Old Testament) and
inspiration means that the sacred and those written after (the New
canonical books of the Old and New Testament).
Testaments, whole and entire, were  Guided by the Holy Spirit,
written under the inspiration of the the Church determined the
Holy Spirit, so that we can call God inspired and normative NT
their “author” and the Bible “the Word books in terms of their
of God” apostolic origin, coherence
 God chose certain human authors, with the essential Gospel
who as true authors made full use of message, and constant use
their human powers and faculties, yet in the Church’s liturgy.
were so guided by the Holy Spirit who  After a long development,
so enlightened their minds and moved the Church finally accepted
 as inspired, sacred, and  St. Paul tells us that “all Scripture is
canonical, the 46 books of inspired by God and is useful for teaching
the Old Testament and the __ for reproof, correction, and training in
27 books of the New holiness so that the man of God may be
Testament that we find in fully competent and equipped for every
our Catholic Bible. goodwork” (2 Tim 3:16-17).

D. Inerrant Saving Truth  For the Filipino Catholic, the answer is

 Since all of Scripture was clear. “The task of giving an authentic
written, compiled and interpretation of the Word of God has
edited under the inspiration been entrusted to the living teaching office
of the Holy Spirit, “we must of the Church alone” (DV 10).
acknowledge that the
books of Scripture, firmly, FOUR FACTORS IN INTERPRETING
faithfully and without error, SCRIPTURE:
teach that truth which God, 1) The inspired human author’s intention
for the sake of our 2) The text itself
salvation, wished to see 3) The reader of the text
confided to the Sacred 4) The common horizon
Scriptures.”
 But we must recognize that HUMAN AUTHOR
the Bible is a collection of  Common sense tells us to find out
historical accounts, what the inspired human author
doctrinal teachings, poems, had in mind when interpreting a
parables, ethical text. This involves some basic idea
exhortations, apocalyptic of the social, economic, and
visions, and many other religious conditions of the authors
forms. It was written over a in their particular historical
period of more than a situations (cf. DV 12; CCC 110).
thousand years, separated
from us by almost twenty THE TEXT ITSELF
centuries. Therefore, it is.  We have to look at its literary form
not easy to determine (e.g., historical narratives,
precisely what is the prophetic oracles, poems or
“saving truth” which God parables) which the author is using
wills to impart to us through (cf. DV 12.)
a particular book or text of  In addition, the text must be
Scripture. viewed within the unity of the
 Christian Faith is not a ‘religion of the whole Bible (cf. CCC 112). Both
Book.’ Christianity is the religion of the Old and New Testaments are read
Word of God, ‘not a written word unable by Christians in the light of the
to speak, but the incarnate and living Risen Crucified Christ. The New
Word.’ So that the Scriptures do not Testament’s own use of Old
remain a dead letter, it is necessary that Testament events, persons and
Christ, the eternal Word of the living God, things as “types” foreshadowing its
by the Holy Spirit, opens our minds to own, exemplifies this dynamic
understand them (CCC 108) unity of the two Testaments. For
example, Adam and Melchisedek
are types of Christ (cf. Heb 6:20-
28); the flood foreshadows
Baptism (cf. 1 Pt 3:20-21); manna
in the desert is the “type” of the
Eucharist (cf. Jn 6:48-51, CCC
128-30).
INTERPRETING SCRIPTURE  Something of the history of the
text’s interpretations, especially its
 use in the Church’s liturgy, can be God, Sacred Tradition, Sacred
very helpful. Scripture and the teaching
office (Magisterium) of the
THE READERS/HEARERS Church are so connected and
associated that one of them
 Every Filipino Catholic wants to cannot stand without the
know what the Scripture means “to others. Working together, each
me/us.” At the same time we in its own way under the action
recognize that the Bible brings its of the one Holy Spirit, they all
own culture of meanings and contribute effectively to our
framework of attitudes that help salvation” (DV 10).
form, reform and transform us, the
readers, into the image of Christ. INTEGRATION
We must let the Bible “form” us,  The danger is that all this
even while conscious that we are “doctrine” about Revelation and
reading it in the light of our own its sources in Scripture and
contemporary experience. Tradition will remain only as
 In seeking what the Scripture text “head knowledge,” left behind
means “for me/us,” we need to in our daily living. But God is
consider the witness offered in the touching us, calling us to relate
lives of holy men and women in to Him in thought, word and
the Church through the centuries. deed. It is in and through our
Any authentic interpretation of the daily life-experiences our
text for the Christian community everyday dealings in family,
today must be in continuity and work and recreation __ as well
harmonize with this tradition of as in prayer and the
meaning that has grown out of the Sacraments, that God is close
text’s impact on Christian to us.
communities through the ages (cf.  Scripture and Tradition illumine
DV 21; CCC 131-33). our experiences in two ways:
1) by showing us how to
COMMON HORIZON act as disciples of Jesus
 which first unites all the Christ, and
books of the Bible into a 2) by helping us discern
basic unity, and second, links God’s action in our daily
together the context of the lives.
Scriptural text and its tradition
with our present reading Showing us how to act as
context today. This horizon is believers in Jesus Christ” is the
the new and eternal covenant goal of Catholic moral
God has established with us in teaching.
His Incarnate Son, Jesus
Christ. In interpreting Scripture, The Filipino Catholic’s conscience
we seek the truth that God is gradually formed through
wishes to communicate to us Scripture and the Church’s living
today, through Scripture. In this tradition. We are drawn to the
we are guided by the living lifestyle of a son/daughter of the
teaching office of the Church heavenly Father, following Jesus
which “exercises its authority in Christ, the Incarnate Son,
the name of Jesus Christ, not strengthened and inspired by the
as superior to the Word of God, indwelling Spirit, and living in the
but as its servant” (DV 10). Church, Christ’s own community.

 Thus we see that “in the The Commandments of God and Christ’s
supremely wise arrangement of Beatitudes do not impose burdensome
obligations that restrict our genuine freedom. presence among us and His saving purpose for
Rather, they reveal and protect our inalienable us.
dignity as human persons by specifying the
moral duties of each and everyone. God’s call How important is Jesus Christ in God’s
to justice and honesty creates our authentic Revelation?
freedom. For Christians, it is Jesus who is:
 the Revealer of God our Father,
“To discern God’s action in our daily lives” himself the Image and Word of God; and
demands a spiritual sensitivity that comes  the Final Goal of God’s revelation, our
only from authentic Christian prayer and ultimate destiny
worship. This means that our personal prayer is
grounded in God’s revelation in Scripture and the How does Christ reveal God to us today?
Church’s living tradition. Only then are we sure to  Christ reveals God to us primarily
worship “in Spirit and in truth” (Jn 4:24). All the through the Church, its Sacred
typical Filipino devotions and forms of religiosity Scripture and living Tradition, through
must ultimately be viewed in the light of the which the Holy Spirit comes to us.
Gospel. For Jesus Christ taught us to pray “Our
Father” (cf. Mt 6:9-13) and gave us the sacrament To whom does God reveal Himself?
of his love to be our sacrificial worship of his  God “wants all men to be saved and
Father in the Holy Spirit. come to know the truth” (1 Tim 2:4), and
in ways both hidden and clear, calls all to
Summary Christ, who is the goal, the object, and
What is “Revelation”? the agent of God’s Self-revelation, and
 Revelation is God’s personal loving “the real light which enlightens every man”
communication to us of who He is and His (Jn 1:9).
plan to save us all in His love. It is God’s
reaching out to us in friendship, so we get How are we to understand God’s inspired Word in
to know and love Him. Scripture?
 Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit,
How does God reveal Himself? Scripture grew from the life, worship,
God reveals Himself in: and teaching of the early Church. So,
 Creating us and everything we see, hear the Church is its authentic interpreter,
and touch __ from the beginning till now under the active help of the same Holy
[natural signs]; Spirit.
 His words and deeds in Sacred Scripture’s
record of salvation history, completed and What do we mean by the Bible’s inerrant saving
perfected in His Son-made-man, Jesus truth?
Christ [Biblical signs];  Through the Holy Spirit’s charism of
 His continuing presence by the Holy Spirit inspiration, the human authors of the
in His people, the Church; [ecclesial Bible set down faithfully and without error
signs]; the truth God wished to convey for our
 The prayer and sacramental worship, salvation (cf. DV 11; 2 Tim 3:16-17)
doctrine, and moral service of the Church;
[liturgical signs]; How do we Catholics get to know Sacred
 His interior presence (Grace) in our Scripture/the Bible?
conscience and in all the events of our  Catholics hear the Bible proclaimed at
daily lives, world events, recognized in every Mass. Readings from both Old and
the “signs of the times.” New Testaments are carefully selected
and arranged according to the Church’s
How can the Infinite, Pure Spirit, God, liturgical year.
communicate Himself to us in this life?  In addition, parishes sponsor Bible study
 God reveals Himself to us through the groups and encourage a Catholic Bible
deeds He performed in history and the in every home for family reading and
words which prayer.
proclaim the deeds and clarify their true meaning
(cf. DV 2.). These words and deeds show God’s
How were the Gospels formed?
 The Gospels were formed in three stages:
first, Jesus’ own teaching in his earthly Traditionally four ‘senses’ of Scripture have
lifetime; been distinguished:
 second, the oral tradition in which the  literal: the meaning intended by the
apostles passed on what Jesus had said original author, providing the basis for all
and done; and other senses;
 third, the putting into writing of the  allegorical: a point-by-point interpretation
Gospels that we have till this day. of the text’s series of actions as symbolic
of a meaning metaphorically implied but
How do we Catholics interpret Scripture? not expressly stated;
 In interpreting Sacred Scripture, we  moral: the meaning for our instruction, “as
search out: a lesson to us” (1 Cor 10:11);
(1) the human author’s meaning;  anagogic: the mystical meaning,
(2) the context of the text in relation to interpreted in the light of its eternal
the whole Bible; significance.
(3) within our own search for meaning; The four senses were summarized: the literal,
(4) under the guidance of the Holy teaches what happened; the allegorical, what
Spirit through the authentic is to be believed; the moral, what is to be
interpretation of the Magisterium, the done, the anagogic, towards what we must
teaching Church. strain (cf. CCC 115-19).

How important is Sacred Scripture in our daily

lives? Divine Revelation (Powerpoint Lesson)
God continues to speak to us personally
through His inspired Word in Scripture, Divine Revelation:
thereby:  God has chosen to reveal himself and his
 helping us to understand the true plan for humanity.
meaning of the daily happenings in our  Jesus is the fullness of Divine Revelation.
lives,  Scripture and Tradition transmit Divine
 guiding our moral behavior toward Revelation to us.
authentic freedom and loving service of
others, and Salvation History
 drawing us into prayerful union with  Salvation history tells us how God’s
Christ, our Way, our Truth, and our Life, in saving hand has been at work in human
his Church. (Christ – The Way, Truth, history.
and Life)  It is the pattern of events in which God
revealed his plan to save the human race
How has the Bible come to us? from bondage to sin and death.
 “Bible” comes from the Greek word
“Biblia”, meaning “books.” So the Bible Salvation History Begins
is really a collection of “books.” The  God invited Adam and Eve to intimate
content was first passed on by oral communion with him.
tradition over a long period of time before  They turned away from God, making sin
it was put in written form. universally present in the world.
 The Old Testament was composed in  Their sin is called Original Sin.
Hebrew and translated into Greek around
the 2nd and 3rd centuries before Christ. Salvation History Continues
The New Testament was composed in  God revealed his will and plan to Adam,
Greek during the 2nd half of the 1st Eve, Abraham, and Moses.
century A.D  The tendency to sin, a result of Original
(Old Testament – Hebrew, Sin, always stood in the way.
New Testament – Greek)  God called the prophets to speak his
Word and to announce salvation.
 WRITTEN NOTES
Chist: The Fullness of Revelation CFC – Catechism for Filipino Catholics
 Scripture reveals that Jesus is the Son of Love of God:
God. 1.) Faithful – in no doubts
 He is the transforming Word who created 2.) Unconditional – does not have any
the universe. condition.
 He revealed himself in Scripture. 3.) Eternal – God did not abandon Adam and
 He humbled himself to take on our Eve even though they’ve sin. He still
humanity. guided them.

Full of Grace and Truth The Sin of Adam and Eve

 When we study the life of Jesus, we come  Ate the forbidden fruit (turned away from
to know the fullness of salvation. God)
 By developing a relationship with Jesus,  First sin which broke the original
we come to know his offer of free grace. covenant.

The Church Covenant

 Jesus commanded the Apostles to tell all  A loving relationship between God and His
nations about the salvation of God. people.
 Sacred Tradition is the process of handing  People respond to faith.
on the truths Jesus taught.
 The Apostles passed on their authority to Jesus Christ (heart of revelation)
their successors, the bishops.  Ultimate revelation
 The synthesis
Sacred Tradition  Embodied of Jesus Christ (fullness of
 Tradition helps us to understand the God’s love)
Revelation found in Scripture.  Jesus also provided us the greatest
 Through Tradition the Church proclaims commandments:
redemption. 1) Love God
 In this work, the Church is guided 2) Love neighbors as you love yourself.
by the Holy Spirit.
2 Basic Sources of our faith:
Scripture and Tradition (The Two Pillars) 1) Scripture
 God discloses the truths of Revelation 2) Tradition – includes teachings.
through both Scripture and Tradition.
 Scripture is the written, inspired Word of For Hebrews, the first 5 books of the bible =
God. Torah/The Law:
 Tradition is the living transmission of the 1) Genesis
Word of God. 2) Exodus
3) Leviticus
Sacred Tradition 4) Deuteronomy
 It began with the preaching of the 5) Numbers
Apostles.
 It was written down in Sacred Scripture. Main Objective
 It continues to be handed down and lived  Announce the Good News and that is
out in the Church. “God is love.”

The Vocation of All Jesus Baptism

 By virtue of our Baptism, we are all called  Baptized by John the Baptist (to make
to treasure our faith. faith active, a way to fully accept)
 We are also called to share the treasure of  The relevance of baptism, communion,
our faith. confirmation – activate faith as believers.
 The Church must proclaim the Good
News she has heard.