Bible Study In Tanay-Batangasan

The Difference Between Explanation And Revelation
By Bishop Emi Domingo

The difference between explanation and revelation is this: explanation comes from human understanding, but revelation comes from God Himself. Explanation can inform the mind, but only revelation can transform the heart.

In Greek thought, the idea of explanation relates to words like hermēneia or hermēneuō—which means “to interpret,” “to explain,” or “to translate.” Ito ay proseso ng pagpapaliwanag gamit ang human reasoning, study, language, at analysis. At kayang gawin ito ng natural mind.

Pero ang revelation sa Greek is apokalypsis—which means “unveiling,” “uncovering,” or “removing the veil.” Hindi ito simpleng explanation lamang; ito ay supernatural opening of the eyes by God Himself. Ang explanation ay galing sa isip ng tao; ang revelation ay pagtanggal ng belo ng Diyos upang makita mo si Cristo at ang Kanyang finished work.

Kaya napakalaki ng difference. Ang explanation puwedeng marinig lang ng tenga, pero ang revelation tumatama sa puso at bumabago ng buhay.

Sabi ni Apostle Paul: “For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation (apokalypsis) of Jesus Christ” (Galatians 1:12). Hindi niya natutunan ang grace merely through study, debate, or intellectual explanation. The gospel of grace was unveiled to him by Christ Himself.

Ito ang dahilan kung bakit may mga tao na kahit paulit-ulit makarinig ng preaching about grace, forgiveness, righteousness, at finished work of Christ, hindi pa rin nila makita ang beauty nito. Why? Because grace is not merely explained—it must be revealed by the Holy Spirit.

1 Corinthians 2:10 says, “these things God has revealed to us through His Spirit.” Then verse 14 says, “The natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God… because they are spiritually discerned.” Meaning, hindi sapat ang mataas na IQ, maraming books, Greek knowledge, o nagmamahusay na explanation kung walang revelation from God.

Ganito rin sa pagka-Diyos ni Jesu-Cristo. Maraming kayang magbigay ng theological explanation tungkol kay Jesus, pero sinabi ni Jesus kay Peter: “Flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 16:17). Hindi naging tama si Peter dahil magaling siyang mag-analyze; naging tama siya dahil nireveal ng Ama sa kanya kung sino talaga si Cristo.

At ito pa ang isang napakahalagang bagay: kapag ang isang tao ay na-convince lamang dahil sa galing ng explanation, kadalasan ang kapurihan ay napupunta sa nagpaliwanag. Parang ang dating ay, “Ang galing magsalita,” “Ang husay magturo,” o “Ang talino magpaliwanag.” Pero kapag revelation ang nangyari, all the glory goes to God alone—dahil malinaw na hindi ito gawa ng talino ng tao kundi gawa ng Holy Spirit na nagtanggal ng belo sa puso ng tao.

Kaya sinabi ni Paul: “My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power” (1 Corinthians 2:4–5). Ayaw ni Paul na ang faith ng tao ay naka-base sa husay ng explanation; gusto niya na ito ay naka-angkla sa revelation and power of God.

You can explain mysteries, but you cannot manufacture revelation. You may explain grace beautifully, but unless the Holy Spirit opens the eyes of the heart, people may still reject or misunderstand it. That is why the message of the cross is “foolishness” to some (1 Corinthians 1:18), while to those whose eyes are opened, it becomes “the power of God.”

Explanation may impress the mind, but revelation transforms the heart—and gives all glory to God alone.

The Ten Commandments have zero to do with Christian living. Trust Jesus, not Moses. It's the new way of grace from start to finish.

1. Dead to Moses. Married to Jesus. (Romans 7:4)
“Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God.”
Point: You don’t bear fruit by dating Moses. You bear fruit by being joined to Jesus.

2. The New Way Is Spirit, Not Stone. (Romans 7:6)
“But now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter.”
Point: Christian living is not oldness of letter. It’s newness of the Spirit.

3. The Law Arouses Sinful Passions. (Romans 7:5)
“For while we were in the flesh, the sinful passions, which were aroused by the Law, were at work in the members of our body to bear fruit for death.”
Point: The law doesn’t calm sin down. It wakes sin up.

4. The Law Came In So Sin Would Increase. (Romans 5:20)
“The Law came in so that the transgression would increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more.”
Point: God did not give the law as the Christian growth plan. Paul says it came in so sin would increase. That’s not my special take; that’s Romans.

5. “You Shall Not Covet” Is the Context. (Romans 7:7–8)
“What shall we say then? Is the Law sin? May it never be! On the contrary, I would not have come to know sin except through the Law; for I would not have known about coveting if the Law had not said, ‘You shall not covet.’ But sin, taking opportunity through the commandment, produced in me coveting of every kind; for apart from the Law sin is dead.”
Point: Paul’s example is not shellfish, fabrics, or ceremonies. It’s coveting: one of the Ten commandments. Yes, the moral law. So “apart from the Law sin is dead” includes the Ten Commandments.

6. Tablets of Stone = Ministry of Death. (2 Corinthians 3:7–9)
“But if the ministry of death, in letters engraved on stones, came with glory, so that the sons of Israel could not look intently at the face of Moses because of the glory of his face, fading as it was, how will the ministry of the Spirit fail to be even more with glory? For if the ministry of condemnation has glory, much more does the ministry of righteousness abound in glory.”
Point: “Engraved on stones” can only mean the Ten Commandments. Paul calls them the ministry of death and condemnation. The Spirit’s ministry is a whole new ministry.

7. Sin’s Power Source Is Law. (1 Corinthians 15:56)
“The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.”
Point: Want sin empowered? Put people under law. Want sin dethroned? Put them under grace.

8. Sin Won’t Master You Under Grace. (Romans 6:14)
“For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.”
Point: Paul does not say, “Sin won’t master you because you’re under the Ten Commandments.” He says the opposite: Not under law, but under grace.

9. The Law Was a Tutor (Galatians 3:24–25)
“Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.”
Point: The tutor got you to Jesus. Now stop inviting the tutor on the honeymoon. Flirting with Moses is cheating on Jesus.

10. Led by the Spirit Means Not Under Law. (Galatians 5:18)
“But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law.”
Point: Spirit-led and law-led are not synonyms. Paul makes them opposites.

Some define repentance as repeated ritual apologies for the same mistakes. But true biblical repentance is a grace-produced change of mind that leads to life change. (Bishop Emi Domingo)