Progressive revelation is the doctrine that God's self-disclosure to humanity unfolded gradually over centuries, in diverse manners, reaching its climax in Jesus Christ and being committed wholly to writing in the completed Scriptures. The Westminster Confession's opening words — "at sundry times, and in divers manners" — are drawn directly from Hebrews 1:1-2: "God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son." ^[raw/en/wcf-ch01-s01.md]
The writer of Hebrews contrasts two eras. In the past, God spoke in many pieces and in many ways — through prophets, priests, kings, visions, dreams, types, and shadows. Each was a true word from God, but none was complete. They were like pieces of a mosaic that only make sense when you see the whole picture.
The Confession describes this as God revealing Himself "at sundry times" (Greek polumeros — in many portions) and "in divers manners" (Greek polutropos — in many ways). This acknowledges both the variety of means God used and the incremental nature of His revelation. Abraham received promises, Moses received law, David received covenant promises, Isaiah received visions of glory — each revelation true, each partial, each pointing forward to something greater. ^[raw/en/wcf-ch01-s01.md]
In Christ, God has spoken His final and complete Word. Christ is not merely another prophet in a long line; He is the very Son, the radiance of God's glory and the exact imprint of His nature. To reject Him is to reject not just a messenger but the message itself.
The Confession teaches that after committing His revelation to writing, "those former ways of God's revealing his will unto his people being now ceased." The canon is closed, the revelation is complete, and the Spirit's work today is not to give new revelations but to illuminate the revelation already given. ^[raw/en/wcf-ch01-s01.md]
God committed His revelation to writing for several specific purposes: "for the better preserving and propagating of the truth, and for the more sure establishment and comfort of the Church against the corruption of the flesh, and the malice of Satan and of the world." ^[raw/en/wcf-ch01-s01.md]
Thomas Vincent explains why writing was necessary: "If the word revealed to holy men so many ages since, had been intrusted only unto the memories of men, by tradition to hand it down from one generation to another, yet the memories of men being weak and unfaithful, many truths, in all likelihood, would have been lost by this time."
This progressive character of revelation undergirds the canon. The canon grew over time as God added new revelations, but it is now complete. As A.A. Hodge notes, the word "now" in the Confession ("are now contained all the books") is significant — the canon was not always complete but is now closed.
The doctrine of progressive revelation also informs how Scripture interprets Scripture: earlier revelation must be understood in light of later revelation, and the clearer passages shed light on the more obscure ones, with Christ as the interpretive key to the whole.