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Knowledge Received Through God’s Word
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the revelation of Christ. I believe in Jesus because He is to me a
divine Savior. I believe the Bible because I have found it to be the
voice of God to my soul.”
Any man or woman who has gained a knowledge of God and
His Word through personal experience is prepared to engage in the
study of natural science. Of Christ it is written, “In Him was life,
and the life was the light of men.”
John 1:4
. Before the entrance
of sin, Adam and Eve in Eden were surrounded with a clear and
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beautiful light, the light of God. This light illuminated everything
that they approached. There was nothing to obscure their perception
of the character or the works of God. But when they yielded to the
tempter, the light departed from them. In losing the garments of
holiness, they lost the light that had illuminated nature. No longer
could they read it aright. They could not discern the character of
God in His works.
So today human beings cannot of themselves read aright the
teaching of nature. Unless guided by divine wisdom, they exalt
nature and the laws of nature above nature’s God. This is why mere
human ideas in regard to science so often contradict the teaching of
God’s Word. But for those who receive the light of the life of Christ,
nature is again illuminated. In the light shining from the cross, we
can rightly interpret nature’s teaching.
Those who have a knowledge of God and His Word through
personal experience have a settled faith in the divinity of the Holy
Scriptures. They have proved that God’s Word is truth, and they
know that truth can never contradict itself. They do not test the
Bible by human ideas of science; they bring these ideas to the test
of the unerring standard. They know that in true science there can
be nothing contrary to the teaching of the Word. Since both have
the same Author, a correct understanding of both will prove them to
be in harmony. Whatever in so-called scientific teaching contradicts
the testimony of God’s Word is mere human guesswork.
To students with this outlook, scientific research will open vast
fields of thought and information. As they contemplate the things of
nature, they receive a new perception of truth. The book of nature
and the written Word shed light upon each other. Both make them
better acquainted with God by teaching them of His character and
of the laws through which He works.