We move horizontally between the images, among the things of earth, understanding how they relate to each other, so that the whole picture and experience of the world can then lead us to God. God draws us into this web of creation so that we might know him through it. It’s how he reveals himself to us in a way that fits our frame.

What the Heavens Declare
Psalm 19 begins with one of the most famous verses in the Bible: “The heavens declare the glory of God.” The first half of the psalm celebrates God’s glory in nature—in the heavens (v. 1), in the sun’s course across the sky (vv. 4, 6), in the similarities between the sun and a warrior and a bridegroom (v. 5). This revelation has gone out to the entire world so that there is no place where God’s revelation is not heard (vv. 2–4). In other words, the psalm begins with a celebration of what theologians call “general revelation.” General revelation includes all the ways that God reveals himself in creation—in the ordinary course of nature and the general course of history. In other words, it’s not just the heavens that declare the glory of God.
Everything that God has made declares the glory of God. The apostle Paul tells us that God’s “invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made” (Rom. 1:20). In other words, made things make invisible attributes visible. Created things make eternal things perceivable. God’s own power and righteousness and beauty and wisdom and mercy are invisible attributes. We can’t see them directly. But when we see a tornado tear across the plains, we see his power. When we stand on a giant mountain, we feel the firmness and stability of his righteousness. When we watch the sun set over the Pacific Ocean, we see his beauty. When we witness the magnificent intricacy of the food chain—deer eating grass and then being eaten by lions—we see his inscrutable wisdom and mercy over all that he has made. Made things make invisible attributes visible.

How do Christians enjoy the good things of the earth while still enjoying the Creator? Scripture supports the wholehearted enjoyment of both. Here is a book for Christians struggling to enjoy the things of earth for the glory of God.

That’s what we mean by general revelation, and by its nature, it is pervasive and constant. It’s accessible to all men everywhere. “There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard” (Ps. 19:3). As C. S. Lewis said, “We may ignore, but we can nowhere evade the presence of God. The world is crowded with Him. He walks everywhere incognito.”1 Jonathan Edwards, an eighteenth-century American pastor and theologian, testified that he believed that the whole universe, heaven and earth, from top to bottom and front to back is filled with “images of divine things, as full as a language is of words.”2 By this, he meant that everything in creation is communication from God about God. God speaks to us everywhere and in everything.
Earthly Categories for Spiritual Things
General revelation works both directly and indirectly. It works directly by creating categories in our minds and hearts for knowing God. This is direct because we move straight from the made thing to God himself. How do the heavens declare the glory of God? Through their size and majesty. The vastness of the heavens points to the greatness of God. Or the beauty of a sunset gives us a visual picture of the beauty and holiness of God. Or the sun’s perpetual and constant shining images God’s constant and everlasting goodness. In each case, we move straight from the made thing to God himself. Our experience of the world gives us categories for knowing God and his word.
And not just God himself. General revelation gives us categories for knowing many aspects of the spiritual life. Consider Psalm 1.
Blessed is the manwho walks not in the counsel of the wicked,nor stands in the way of sinners,nor sits in the seat of scoffers;but his delight is in the law of the Lord,and on his law he meditates day and night.
He is like a treeplanted by streams of waterthat yields its fruit in its season,and its leaf does not wither.In all that he does, he prospers.The wicked are not so,but are like chaff that the wind drives away.(Psalm 1:1–4)
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The church’s deacons must identify, encourage, and promote the exercise of the gifts of men and women. They must acknowledge, with Paul, that aspects of the church’s diaconal ministry call for the contribution of the gifts, wisdom, and labor of believing women. And, as Luke and Paul routinely did, deacons must recognize and honor both men and women who selflessly and fruitfully minister to the needs of the saints. To aim for anything less would be unbiblical.

Does Scripture permit women to hold the office of deacon? In addressing this important question, we must bear a couple of things in mind. First, Reformed pastors and theologians, fully committed to the authority and inerrancy of Scripture, have disagreed about what the Bible teaches concerning women and the diaconate. This state of affairs calls for particular humility in discussing this question. Second, all sides recognize that women in some way have served in the diaconate in various periods of church history. Believers who argue for women in the diaconate, then, should not be automatically accused of sneaking the Trojan horse of modernity into the church.
We must be clear as to what the question is and is not. The question is not whether the Spirit gifts women to serve in the church. He manifestly does, a point the New Testament underscores by way of principle (1 Cor. 12:7; Eph. 4:7) and example (e.g., Rom. 16:1–5, 6, 12). The question is not whether women may actively participate in the church’s service ministries. The New Testament highlights the hospitality of the women mentioned in Luke 8:1–3, of John Mark’s mother (Acts 12:12), and of Lydia (Acts 16:14–15), even as it commends the charitable service of Dorcas (Acts 9:36). The question is whether the Bible permits women to serve in the office of deacon. The Bible opens the office of diaconate to men only.
The Case for Men Only
The diaconate is one of two ordinary offices the New Testament prescribes for the church. The diaconate is an office of “service both to the physical and spiritual needs of the people,” and the eldership is an office of ruling and teaching (The Book of Church Order of the Presbyterian Church in America, 7-2).
While deacons are not tasked with governing the church, they possess and exercise authority to carry out their calling of serving the church. We can see this point, for instance, in what is likely the establishment of the office of deacon in the church, Acts 6:1–6. The deacons take up from the apostles the work of daily distributing food to the church’s widows (Acts 6:1). The details of this kind of work find elaboration in 1 Timothy 5:1–16. Here, Paul’s instructions regarding diaconal ministry to widows assume spiritual authority on the part of the deacons. These deacons, after all, are charged with determining which widows qualified to receive the church’s benevolence. As officeholders in the church, deacons possess and exercise God-given authority to serve the congregation’s needs.
The New Testament limits the holding of office in the church to men. Paul writes to Timothy, “I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet” (1 Tim. 2:12). To be sure, the context of Paul’s statement is the church gathered in worship, and particularly the work of preaching (1 Tim. 2:8–15). Paul’s statement, however, is not limited to the preaching of the Word in public worship. Paul here forbids women from exercising authority in the church. The fact that proper household management—the due exercise of authority in the home—is a qualification for men seeking both the office of elder (1 Tim. 3:5) and also deacon (1 Tim. 3:12) indicates that Paul’s prohibition in 1 Timothy 2:12 concerns the offices of the church generally.
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Written by B.C. Newton |
Tuesday, September 6, 2022
Even as we rightly aim to destroy demonic ideologies, we should labor to make it known that Christ calls those ensnared within them to come in repentance of their sin and find life and joy in Him.

I have said once or twice that the Woke and LGBT ideology is a present manifestation of the spirit of the antichrist. And I double down on that belief, for time has only continued to unveil its beastliness.
Yet while the culture war continues to rage, I would like to very briefly ask my brothers and sisters in Christ to poke our heads above the fray of headlines and to consider the years ahead and how they might impact our actions today.
First, although society at large has apparently decided to treat 2 Timothy 3:1-7 as a list of aspirations, we should take comfort that every little horn is eventually cast down. Every Ashurbanipal is eventually slain. Every Nebuchadnezzar is eventually humbled. Every Antiochus is eventually disemboweled. Every Herod is eventually eaten with worms. The King of kings will not allow His glory and truth to be thrown to the ground and trampled forever. Therefore, every ruler or ideology that places itself directly against the Most High will be defeated. And that certainly goes for the Woke ideology that promotes as virtuous the slaughter of babies, the butchering and neutering of the children, and the mockery of marriage. Such a blatant rebellion against God’s will and design cannot stand forever.
We must believe that truth, difficult as it may be while in the midst of the beast’s reign. While drug traffickers being allowed to confess openly on social media without repercussions because they now belong to the sacred class and the exponential yearly increases of those who identify as being LGBT may make it seem like the contest of worldviews has already been decided, we should meditate on God’s Word and remember that this Babel shall also be brought down. Indeed, Wokeism must eventually be seen for the vanity that it truly is and for the societal regression that its “progress” is creating. And as the enchantment of the devil is broken, the body of Christ must be ready to do what our Lord Himself modeled: lead weary sinners to the Living Water.
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