The Organic Unity of Revelation: Towards a Biblical, Historical, and Theological Understanding of the External and Internal Nature of Revelation

Abstract

Because of the neglect and dichotomization in evangelical theology, this dissertation provides an evangelical ressourcement for the external and internal reality of revelation. By using resources from Scripture, the history of the church, and systematic theology, it argues that revelation includes external and internal dimensions that are organically united in the triune God. This construal is clear within the Bible and church history, and its biblical and historical presence carries implications towards the construction of a systematic theology of revelation and a practical understanding within the church. The dissertation argues that revelation is external and internal, whether a revelation occurs objectively to the human person in the form of a disclosure of information (external) or subjectively to the human person in the form of an unveiling of perception (internal). The argument is developed by utilizing a biblical, historical, systematic, and practical theology of revelation. Accordingly, after a brief introduction to the contemporary scene in chapter 1, this dissertation addresses biblical theology in chapters 2 (Old Testament) and 3 (New Testament), historical theology in chapter 4, systematic theology in chapter 5, and practical theology in chapter 6.