The Bible is clear that man is not merely handicapped in his struggle to understand the Bible, as well all other spiritual matters. Nor do he merely misunderstand them, he understands them in a depraved fashion. Because he is a morally wicked creature by nature, it is his natural inclination to seek to bend and twist his surroundings to please his own inclinations. This includes his perceptions of the spiritual world. It is not so much that man is unable to perceive the spiritual world, but this another area of the creation that he twists and distorts, sometimes unknowingly and sometimes deliberately, into an image that serves his own purposes.
This tendency does not necessarily stop when we become believers, but rather is one that must be guarded against and overcome as we seek to grow and learn about our Lord. Hence the need for Illumination. As people emerging into a dark room, we have need of light, and God’s Spirit, as He allows us to understands His Word provides that illumination.
The Issue of Illumination
This brings up the issue of illumination and the effect that sin has on our ability to perceive truth. Illumination refers to God’s work in the lives of believers to make us able to believe and understand the words of the Bible. Because the Bible is God-breathed and therefore in an entirely different dimension from other literature, it is necessary that man receives God-given help in understanding the Bible (1 Cor. 2:11). Additionally, the unregenerate man’s sin-darkened mind cannot apprehend spiritual truths (1 Cor. 2:14). The work of illumination then is necessary to enable man to comprehend the Word of God (cf. Luke 24:44–45). Illumination can thus be defined as “the ministry of the Holy Spirit whereby He enlightens those who are in a right relationship with Him to comprehend the written Word of God.”[4]
This does not mean the Spirit gives us new revelation – rather He applies to our lives the truths contained in His existing revelation. Illumination rests firmly on two other truths, Revelation and Inspiration. These two ideas speak of the fact that spiritual truth is received from outside of ourselves, from the hand of God. It is revealed and it comes from the mouth of God and is thus inspired and authoritative.
Illumination thus depends on prior revelation, and it must be differentiated from it. You and I are not prophets or apostles and thus cannot expect God’s direct special revelation in our lives. Those revelatory gifts and offices ceased with the giving of the final book of the Bible, the Book of Revelation. Instead we have the privilege of looking to His full and final revelation in the Scripture and having assurance that the Spirit will illumine those words for us. Many Christians confuse these. When they suddenly come to understand a deep truth in Scripture, they may believe that God has spoken to them, seemingly indicating a type of revelation. What has happened, though, is that God has illumined their hearts to understand a truth from His word.
We see many examples of God’s illumination in the Bible. King David, in writing Psalm 119 asked the Lord
“Give me understanding, that I may observe your Law.”
In the twenty fourth chapter of Luke Jesus, when appearing to the disciples after His resurrection,
“…opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures.”
Following His ascension, He sent the Holy Spirit to be our guide and to illumine the Scriptures for us. Paul referred to this many times, often praying that his readers would experience it. Perhaps the clearest example is in Ephesians 1:17-18 where we read
“…that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints…”
Today we continue to experience the privilege of having the Holy Spirit work through us to bring light to the Scriptures.
Illumination is what separates believers from unbelievers when we read the Bible. An unbeliever may read the word and view it merely as a religious or historical document, much like I would read the Koran or the Book of Mormon. They may even recognize it as a document that comes from the One True and Living God, but apart from regeneration and the presence of God’s Holy Spirit, they are helpless to truly understand its meaning.
This, by the way, implies that the meaning of the Scripture is greater than the grammar and structure of the words that make it up. This is tender ground to tread on and we must be careful to be sure that we say what we really mean and do not mistakenly denigrate the Bible. The grammtico-historical method of interpretation rests heavily on the meanings of words and on the relations of one word to another grammatically. This does not mean that these meanings and their relationship to one another is the sum of the Bible’s message. To understand the meaning of these passages, illumination is required.
So when a Christian reads the Bible, the Spirit guides him to see not merely history and religion, but the very words of God. And even more important, He allows the person to apply the great truths of the Bible to his life. He initiates change through the words of the Scripture. Being a Christian, then, is a necessary prerequisite for the Spirit’s illumination.
[1] Morgan, R. J. (2000). Nelson's complete book of stories, illustrations, and quotes (electronic ed.) (772). Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers.
[2] Federer, W. J. (2001). Great Quotations : A Collection of Passages, Phrases, and Quotations Influencing Early and Modern World History Referenced according to their Sources in Literature, Memoirs, Letters, Governmental Documents, Speeches, Charters, Court Decisions and Constitutions. St. Louis, MO: AmeriSearch.
[3] Federer, W. J. (2001). Great Quotations : A Collection of Passages, Phrases, and Quotations Influencing Early and Modern World History Referenced according to their Sources in Literature, Memoirs, Letters, Governmental Documents, Speeches, Charters, Court Decisions and Constitutions. St. Louis, MO: AmeriSearch.
[4] Enns, P. P. (1997, c1989). The Moody handbook of theology (175). Chicago, Ill.: Moody Press.
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