Why did God choose man as the messenger for his word?

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The Holy Ghost within man (and woman) is the one who spreads the word through born again Christians.
But, yes, man can teach falsehood through the flesh. And there are more instances of that than you can shake a stick at.
 
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oi_antz

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Is there a reason why God decided to use men (and women) to spread his word?
I think you have not really understood how God speaks. He is spirit, so we recognise when He speaks to us, by the spirit - He is holy. The Holy Spirit testifies of the truth to all of us, yet we all wander in life, to prefer sinful ways, so we make it our way of life to resist the message of The Holy Spirit. Jesus said to Nicodemus "you study the scriptures diligently because you think that you have life in them, yet the scriptures testify of me and you refuse to come to me that you may have life!".

Only one man can be said to be The Word of God - that is Jesus Christ. Yet, The Word of God has also been with us all through time. John 1 shows the writer's view that the Word of God was the life that is observed, in the light of mankind. What is this "light"? Light is a pretty powerful, popular concept in Christianity - the opposite to darkness, it is where things are shown for what they are. The darkness on the other hand is where things are hidden. Ephesians 5:13 describes it like this:

Now all the things that are being exposed are made evident by the light, for everything that is being made evident is light.

.. Yet, you are asking something different. You are asking why you only get information about God from humans. I suggest, that those humans are making statements about God, because they have a faith in God. In that way, they are acting as witnesses toward you regarding their own knowledge of God. Yet, each one of those who has established that faith, has come to receive from God the living water. What those who haven't established faith have done, is taken a sip of water that comes from other men. Jesus said "whoever drinks the water that I give to them will never thirst, but rather it will well up to become a spring of everlasting life."
Isn't man prone to mistakes, bias, forgetfulness, exaggeration ...?
Yes! You should never go toward your destiny with God expecting to blame another person for what they told you about Him. Rather, test everything, and live blameless in His opinion of you.
Is this method not a recipe for confusion and ultimately a tainted message?
Yes, it is. Don't go after a blind faith, but ask Him for that living water.

FYI: experience shows, that our own shame prevents us from reaching out to Him. Yet, He grieves for us, and only desires more than anything, that we will ask for His help. Then no matter where we are, He will accept us, inform us what we must change immediately, and then go ahead with us through our whole life as He leads us to the green pasture.

Psalms 23 - I pray that you will receive this.
 
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Hospes

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Is there a reason why God decided to use men (and women) to spread his word?

Isn't man prone to mistakes, bias, forgetfulness, exaggeration ...?
Is this method not a recipe for confusion and ultimately a tainted message?
One way God's greatness is manifested in him using weak and faulty people to further his purposes.

No on would think very highly of you if you crossed the Atlantic in a airliner. If you crossed the Atlantic in a hot-air balloon, people would be impressed. For you to cross the Atlantic in a canoe, you'd be thought to belong to a class all your own. God desires us to think he is in a class all his own, so he uses us - his canoes :) - to accomplish his will.

Hope this helps.
 
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TheyCallMeDave

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God wants man to be part of his agenda to spread the Gospel message to the world. We do the speaking and God does the pulling on the persons soul for him to move closer to himself. If people are willing to be used by God for his purposes, he is only too pleased to be a part of the action . We can avoid error by sticking with the Bible for ultimate truth .
 
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Gumph

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The Holy Ghost within man (and woman) is the one who spreads the word through born again Christians.
But, yes, man can teach falsehood through the flesh. And there are more instances of that than you can shake a stick at.

But why does he use humans (born again Christians). You seem to be agreeing that its a dodgy mechanism, but I'm pretty sure that is not your intention.

I think you have not really understood how God speaks. He is spirit, so we recognise when He speaks to us, by the spirit - He is holy. The Holy Spirit testifies of the truth to all of us,

I'm sorry, I am not familiar with this means of communication. Does this mean he has never spoken to me?

.. Yet, you are asking something different. You are asking why you only get information about God from humans. I suggest, that those humans are making statements about God, because they have a faith in God. In that way, they are acting as witnesses toward you regarding their own knowledge of God.

This seems to be saying that humans are witnesses of sort. If so I agree, but is that not an unreliable method of information transfer. Should we not be a witness ourselves rather than the jury listening to other witnesses?

Yes! You should never go toward your destiny with God expecting to blame another person for what they told you about Him. Rather, test everything, and live blameless in His opinion of you.

Test what? Test how? Some examples perhaps?

Yes, it is. Don't go after a blind faith, but ask Him for that living water.

I'm afraid that it seems I have been less fortunate than most here. He doesn't seem to have replied ... yet.

One way God's greatness is manifested in him using weak and faulty people to further his purposes.

Please explain further. Other than perhaps being able to relate to the speaker in some way, this appears to be a recipe for misinformation.

No on would think very highly of you if you crossed the Atlantic in a airliner. If you crossed the Atlantic in a hot-air balloon, people would be impressed. For you to cross the Atlantic in a canoe, you'd be thought to belong to a class all your own. God desires us to think he is in a class all his own, so he uses us - his canoes :) - to accomplish his will.

Sorry but I think the analogy is not getting the message across. It seems to be saying God prefers to make things difficult and challenging, so that success appears more impressive. I'm not sure how it explains that this is a safe way of getting information across untainted and clear.

God wants man to be part of his agenda to spread the Gospel message to the world. We do the speaking and God does the pulling on the persons soul for him to move closer to himself. If people are willing to be used by God for his purposes, he is only too pleased to be a part of the action . We can avoid error by sticking with the Bible for ultimate truth .

But any idea why he chooses man?

I was under the impression that the Bible too is produced by men. I understand that some believe the message inside is the word of God, but ultimately it appears to be a message heard by men, retold by men, written down by men, and translated by men. Does all this not create the opportunity for the problems suggested in the OP?
 
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My Shalom

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Is there a reason why God decided to use men (and women) to spread his word?

Isn't man prone to mistakes, bias, forgetfulness, exaggeration ...?
Is this method not a recipe for confusion and ultimately a tainted message?
Look at nature and all that exists in the universe we're able to see thanks to Hubble.
Scripture tells us proof of God exists in all of nature so that humans are without excuse in not knowing God exists.

When nature doesn't convince to this very day, I'd say God decided in his wisdom that the only way people would believe it is to see it pronounced by fellow human beings that he exists.
And still many don't believe. They can't explain the source of all that exists but they're happy to pronounce with certainty it can never be anything mere humans label; God.
But God knew that would be the case even still and I think that's why he inspired man to include Psalm 14:1 in his word.
 
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Hospes

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Please explain further. Other than perhaps being able to relate to the speaker in some way, this appears to be a recipe for misinformation.
My guess is you are incorrectly thinking God is passively dependent on the message being given correctly and not taking into account Him being active in the mind/heart of the person hearing the message. Christians believe delivering the Good News - i.e. Gospel - accurately is very important, but what is infinitely more important is that God participates in changing the mind/heart of the hearer. I know numerous people that heard a pretty bad presentation of the Gospel and yet God used it to reconcile them to Himself. Later, they grew in their understanding, and as they did, they more fully experienced the benefits of accepting the Gospel.

Sorry but I think the analogy is not getting the message across. It seems to be saying God prefers to make things difficult and challenging, so that success appears more impressive. I'm not sure how it explains that this is a safe way of getting information across untainted and clear.
You are right in God using us to make himself more "impressive". I hope what I wrote above helps in understanding him being that much more impressive in reconciling people to himself even with a faulty/incomplete message.
 
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Dirk1540

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Is there a reason why God decided to use men (and women) to spread his word?

Isn't man prone to mistakes, bias, forgetfulness, exaggeration ...?
Is this method not a recipe for confusion and ultimately a tainted message?

Human nature itself is a recipe for confusion and deceit, history proves that it is. But I also think that history proves that ALL sacredly held beliefs will be twisted on purpose to manipulate. For centuries people love to say that 'Religion is the root of evil, just look at the world!' Wrong, it's more accurate to say for the majority of human history most people were religious, therefore religion dominated history as the tool of choice to twist people around. Today way more people are secular, so masses of these people are now twisted by 'Global warming' guilt trips, by evolution, by their secular reasons that abortion is simply a woman's choice, by the atheist mindset that in the end nothing matters, etc. Denesh D'Souza is great at explaining how killing in the name of atheism far exceeded killing in the name of God in the past century.

CS Lewis makes great points when he talks about 'Mere Christianity.' That the most important things in the Bible are the things that are most clear and the things that are reported over & over & over. As opposed to cults that build a whole faith on an obscure passage. So if you go beyond mere Christianity is the message tainted since it was written by human intermediaries? I want to say yes and no. If you dig below mere Christianity it becomes a very involved study, tons of historical contexts that can be misinterpreted if you don't have accurate resources. But even more than that the authors of the Bible were free to pour their rhetorical style into the texts, which can absolutely come across as exaggeration. To get a good understanding of this read the book 'Did God Really Command Genocide' by Paul Copan. It explains how authors were free to pour their strong emotions into the texts via hyperbole and exaggeration, yet they had to stay true to God's core revelation of information. Very interesting read!

So back to the question 'Is it prone to be tainted?' Yes and it is. But the entire world is a tainted, twisted, half truthed lie. CNN is a lie. Fox News is a twisted lie. Politicians are all liars. The whole world is a lie! Jesus was very vocal about this, the father of lies is the Devil, and the world is his domain.
 
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oi_antz

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I'm sorry, I am not familiar with this means of communication. Does this mean he has never spoken to me?
Unlikely. It is highly likely though (based on pattern of typical human natures) that you do not want to accept a truth that you know is stated in the bible. Such a person's solution is found in learning to be comfortable with the truth that is in the bible, or ignoring it.
This seems to be saying that humans are witnesses of sort. If so I agree, but is that not an unreliable method of information transfer. Should we not be a witness ourselves rather than the jury listening to other witnesses?
Yes, and that is God's preference. This is why He allowed Jesus to go to the cross, because it gave us the opportunity to come to Him, and it gave us visible evidence that this is what He most wants.
Test what? Test how? Some examples perhaps?
Test what someone says. If it makes sense, and your conscience approves of it, then it is acceptable truth. If it doesn't make sense, or your conscience does not approve of it, then it is not acceptable truth. In those cases, make sure your understanding is reliable, though a conscience is always reliable. Even if a conscience is suppressed or ignored, it says what is true.

Some examples might be:

Jesus has God's purpose as His first priority.
That purpose desires a harmonious world where life without end is possible.
You are invited to participate in that vision.
You need to make some changes in order to participate harmoniously in it.
I'm afraid that it seems I have been less fortunate than most here. He doesn't seem to have replied ... yet.
I am wondering whether perhaps you've not gone all the way. What do you reckon? Did you really say to Him that you'll do 180° and confess your faith?
 
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ToBeLoved

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Is there a reason why God decided to use men (and women) to spread his word?

Isn't man prone to mistakes, bias, forgetfulness, exaggeration ...?
Is this method not a recipe for confusion and ultimately a tainted message?
To answer your question, God has always chosen imperfect people and through teaching of the spiritual things of God taught us to be like Himself.

This is true with the disciples who were fishermen. Back then fishermen was a job of uneducated people. It was a skill that was passed down from fathers to sons as well as boats. A man stayed with his family in the family business (using that term broadly) even after he married. These men were uneducated by society's standards and is considered an entry-level job and skillset.

But these are the men that Jesus chose. The Word tells us that God the things that the world would not choose to show that spirituality is not the same, no where near the world's consideration of what is wise. As a matter of fact, most people that consider themselves very wise or wealthy have no interest in spiritual things because they think to highly of themselves and/or their wealth.
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Timothy+6:10&version=ESV
1 Timothy 6:10

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.

1 Corinthians 1:27

26 For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; 27but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, 28 and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are,

What God wants from each of His Children is for us to become more and more like Him. This is called sanctification. That others may see Christ-like qualities in us and desire the same thing we have, which is Christ.

Now as human beings we do fail at this to some extent. All of us. But God does not expect perfection. He expects us to be our best.

So yes, we are not perfect to spread His Message, but no one is. Only Christ was.
 
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Gumph

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In the end you are free to believe what you want.
But that is how He chooses to operate, although He is ever involved regardless.
A believer by himself can do nothing. So, you see, it's Christ who does the work through us.

We are not really free to believe what we want, because if Christianity is correct, the non-believers are going to be in for a terrible time. There do seem to be very serious consequences.

Believers are doing something all the time. They have helped build a huge religion. I understand the Christians believe he works through believers. I would like to know why? It seems so grossly inefficient and prone to error.

Scripture tells us proof of God exists in all of nature so that humans are without excuse in not knowing God exists.

Huh? How is that proof. It possibly shows that there is/was a creator. It does not seem to indicate that the creator is still here or has any requirements of us. In any event, its once again relying on the man witnessed, man told, man written and man translated scriptures. How is this a sensible means of communication by an all powerful superior being?

When nature doesn't convince to this very day, I'd say God decided in his wisdom that the only way people would believe it is to see it pronounced by fellow human beings that he exists.
And still many don't believe. They can't explain the source of all that exists but they're happy to pronounce with certainty it can never be anything mere humans label; God.
But God knew that would be the case even still and I think that's why he inspired man to include Psalm 14:1 in his word.

The only way we would believe? Surely not? Its an extremely error prone method. Why not something fantastical, super natural or simply hard wired into our brains?

Is he not trusting his word and message with sinners?
 
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Gumph

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My guess is you are incorrectly thinking God is passively dependent on the message being given correctly and not taking into account Him being active in the mind/heart of the person hearing the message. Christians believe delivering the Good News - i.e. Gospel - accurately is very important, but what is infinitely more important is that God participates in changing the mind/heart of the hearer. I know numerous people that heard a pretty bad presentation of the Gospel and yet God used it to reconcile them to Himself. Later, they grew in their understanding, and as they did, they more fully experienced the benefits of accepting the Gospel.

Why not just send the message directly to hearer. What purpose does the fallible intermediary serve?

You are right in God using us to make himself more "impressive". I hope what I wrote above helps in understanding him being that much more impressive in reconciling people to himself even with a faulty/incomplete message.

No sorry, I have not understood the point, but thank you for trying.
 
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Gumph

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So back to the question 'Is it prone to be tainted?' Yes and it is. But the entire world is a tainted, twisted, half truthed lie. CNN is a lie. Fox News is a twisted lie. Politicians are all liars. The whole world is a lie! Jesus was very vocal about this, the father of lies is the Devil, and the world is his domain.

You have painted a very bleak picture of lies, deceit and manipulation. Its a pity he did not come up with a better method. How can we trust the messages we have received so far. Which are true, which are false, which are hyperbole, which are not meant to be taken literally?
 
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Gumph

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Unlikely. It is highly likely though (based on pattern of typical human natures) that you do not want to accept a truth that you know is stated in the bible. Such a person's solution is found in learning to be comfortable with the truth that is in the bible, or ignoring it.

That is challenging because of all the doubt surrounding "truth" and "know". I am concerned about the ability of the messengers to deliver an accurate message, be it intentional or not.

Yes, and that is God's preference. This is why He allowed Jesus to go to the cross, because it gave us the opportunity to come to Him, and it gave us visible evidence that this is what He most wants.

This does not resolve the issue at all. I am not a witness, neither is anyone on this planet now. We are still relying on the witness testimonies of other fallible men.

Test what someone says. If it makes sense, and your conscience approves of it, then it is acceptable truth.

I agree with all the above, except would leave off the last word.

Some examples might be:

Jesus has God's purpose as His first priority.
That purpose desires a harmonious world where life without end is possible.
You are invited to participate in that vision.
You need to make some changes in order to participate harmoniously in it.

I'm not really sure how you expect me to run tests on any of the above. In addition I am not sure how this deals with error prone messengers.

I am wondering whether perhaps you've not gone all the way. What do you reckon? Did you really say to Him that you'll do 180° and confess your faith?

No I didn't because I don't really know what it means. Why does he require a specific format for a question before he is prepared to reply?
 
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Gumph

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To answer your question, God has always chosen imperfect people and through teaching of the spiritual things of God taught us to be like Himself.

But why not use a more reliable method?
How many people have been sent down the wrong path due to an unclear message?

This is true with the disciples who were fishermen. Back then fishermen was a job of uneducated people.

I am not sure how the status of his messengers makes any difference. Rich / poor / young / old, humans are prone to bias and error. So why use them?

I could possibly argue that using uneducated fisherman would increase the margin of error, but that become irrelevant, as even the most educated can err. Then bias plays its role too.

So yes, we are not perfect to spread His Message, but no one is. Only Christ was.

So why use us? Rather go direct surely?
 
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oi_antz

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That is challenging because of all the doubt surrounding "truth" and "know". I am concerned about the ability of the messengers to deliver an accurate message, be it intentional or not.
Thanks. Can you give more details why? I suspect that you've some concerns about the accuracy of a message. Can you describe what those concerns are, so that I can understand why you are concerned?
This does not resolve the issue at all. I am not a witness, neither is anyone on this planet now. We are still relying on the witness testimonies of other fallible men.
I think we might have cross-talk going on.. That you and I are describing some different things. This should be clarified by detail requested above. Also, once we agree what truth is, you will see what I have meant.
I agree with all the above, except would leave off the last word.
I don't know why, please explain to me.
I'm not really sure how you expect me to run tests on any of the above. In addition I am not sure how this deals with error prone messengers.
I should rather be wondering why I expected you to do so. Also, I do not know why you have suggested that error prone messengers would complicate these tests. Perhaps this will have been clarified by above details too, or you could explain this to me too.
No I didn't because I don't really know what it means. Why does he require a specific format for a question before he is prepared to reply?
I am not sure that He does. I only suggested it because I expect probably He will want you to come to Him humbly and with the right motivation (that is, rather than to be saved for your sake you would seek salvation for His sake - consider John 12:25).
 
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mmksparbud

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Is there a reason why God decided to use men (and women) to spread his word?

Isn't man prone to mistakes, bias, forgetfulness, exaggeration ...?
Is this method not a recipe for confusion and ultimately a tainted message?

But why does he use humans (born again Christians). You seem to be agreeing that its a dodgy mechanism, but I'm pretty sure that is not your intention


It seems as though you think He should have used Non-human messengers---such as angels--to deliver His message. That this would ensure that everyone knows the exact same truth. After all, that would be very impressive. However, He gave the first message Himself, face to face, no go-between, Adam and Eve. Having been given free will, we do not respond like robots and we can decide what to believe. They still chose to believe a lie. Sin can not live in the presence of a Holy God. Had He continued to stand face to face in their presence, they would have died---He then veiled Himself. He was still audible, but even that, He had to veil, for our own protection. He has used His messengers, angels, that is what the word means, messenger. We can't even stand in their presence without them veiling themselves a little ( we've been laid prostrate when seeing one.) sometimes in the form of man himself. God has dealt with us as we have responded to Him. Face to face, audible, messengers, audibly giving His instructions (Like to Moses), through dreams and visions, and having rejected everything, He speaks through His Holy Spirit, to our minds, our hearts. He is persistent in trying to reach us, is He not?---Now, we must go on faith, no longer direct open communication is possible (and have us live). As we practice that faith, as we learn to be like Him, He is able to come closer to us., and that Holy Spirit becomes clearer and stronger. We have a very strong will, and we can override Him, preferring our own way. The less we do that, the clearer He gets.
 
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ToBeLoved

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But why not use a more reliable method?
How many people have been sent down the wrong path due to an unclear message?

I am not sure how the status of his messengers makes any difference. Rich / poor / young / old, humans are prone to bias and error. So why use them?

I could possibly argue that using uneducated fisherman would increase the margin of error, but that become irrelevant, as even the most educated can err. Then bias plays its role too.

So why use us? Rather go direct surely?
The Christian is the one who brings the gospel (that Jesus Christ died for the sins of all mankind and all can come to Him for the forgiveness of sins) message and we are the ones who initially tell people about Him.

For in that truth, there is little margin of error.

The Word of God is the Bible, which is the most popular and published book of all time. Most people have access to God's Word for teaching and will find a church after they become Christians.

What we do is tell them why they need a Savior.
 
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