Illumination

Do you ever listen to the radio and you can't quite get the dial tuned to the right station? You get a bit (or a lot) of static in the background and the message/music just does not come through clearly? Sometimes, our spiritual walk is like that. This is where the doctrine of illumination comes into importance.

Definition - The Holy Spirit's work in enabling the believer to understand God's revelation.
Key Passage - 1 Corinthians 2:6-16
When Paul speaks of "foolishness" he is not referring to the understanding of the actual text, but the significance of the text (See Stein 65-75). It is only possible for the believer to understand the significance of the Bible through the illumination of the Holy Spirit.

Other Passages:

• Matthew 11:25-27 (parallel passage: Luke 10:21-24)
• Luke 24:13-45, especially v. 31-32
• John 14:26
• Ephesians 1:17-18
• Hebrews 6:4-6 (apart from other questions in the passage)

It is possible for a believer to be unknowledgable (not given illumination) - see Luke 18:34. It is also possible for God to open the mind of an unbeliever to receive His Word, but illumination is only for believers. An example of this is Lydia in Acts 16:14.

Illumination does not supercede or override our principles of hermeneutics. Rather, illumination and hermeneutics really go side-by-side. Our method of studying and interpreting Scripture must consider the history, grammar, structure, genre, etc. of the passage. But merely studying the passage to find the noun, verb, adjectives, and all that grammar stuff is not enough. If this is all we do, Scripture becomes just another book of study. We need the Holy Spirit to work in our life to help us to know and understand the truths of Scripture that our hermeneutics bring out. Even more importantly, we need the Holy Spirit to show us clearly how the passage applies to you and me.

Illustrations:

1) Suppose I asked 10 of you to exegete a specific passage of Scripture (Romans 8). I also found 10 Religious Studies at U of C to exegete this passage. Then, upon turning in the papers, I graded them. Do you think the grading would show a greater understanding of the grammar, style, message of the passage for PBC students or U of C students?

Assuming people of equal intelligence, I would suspect that the 10 PBC students and 10 U of C students would do equally well in terms of the skill of writing the paper and understanding the passage. However, as believers indwelt and illumined by the Holy Spirit, the significance of the meaning of the passage would be much greater to you than to 10 unsaved students at U of C. From your study, you would not only be able to explain the doctrines of what it means to live by the Spirit, but how this is actually lived out in daily life. The Holy Spirit would lead you to attitudes or action in your life you may need to change. The Holy Spirit would provide to you the assurance of His love and eternal presence with you (v. 30-39). For the unbeliever, these would just be words or concepts on a page. But with the work of the Holy Spirit illumining your heart, the believer is able to grasp the significance of the message. (See Stein, 65-75 for more illustrations)

2) The great theologian Rudolf Bultmann once taught a course on Romans that was simply amazing and incredible in terms of its exegesis. At the end of the course he claimed "but I don't believe it." That is the difference between an unbeliever and a believer illumined by the Holy Spirit.

3) Gordon Sinclair was a prominent Canadian news journalist on the CBC show FrontPage Challenge. On many occasions he discussed the Bible on his show, but he died adamant that the Bible was not truthful.

The Need for Illumination 

• An Infinite God and Finite People
  If God is truly God, then He is far beyond human comprehension. He is completely loving, completely just, completely perfect - concepts that none of us can really even fathom. For us as time-bound, human beings to have any understanding of the Infinite God whatsoever, we clearly need some additional help. The Holy Spirit's work of illumination presents the possibility of having not just an understanding of God, but actually a relationship with him. 
• Humanity's Depravity (Romans 1:18-32)
  Each individual person is completely depraved. As believers, we have been re-born, and are a new creation. However, we are still affected by our sinful nature while we live here on earth. Before salvation, people are completely unable in and of themselves to desire or achieve spiritual things. Only with God the Holy Spirit's work in convicting the world of sin, righteous, and judgment, can the unsaved have a desire for spiritual things. Once we have become a believer, the journey is not over. We still need to grow. And in order to understand the significance of a passage, what it means to you and me in daily life, the Holy Spirit must illuminate us, giving us an understanding of the meaning of the passage to you and I. 
• Satan's Deception (2 Corinthians 4:4)
  Do you ever think that when you having your devotions, Satan is trying to deceive you? That is the truth presented throughout Scripture. Satan does not want us to understand God's Word. After all, it will lead us to closer relationship to God. Thus, Satan works to deceive us. We cannot fight against Satan alone. But PTL, we don't have to. God the Holy Spirit can illumine us as we read the Scripture, opening our eyes and minds to the Truth. We need illumination so that we are not deceived by the evil one. 

How does Illumination Relate to Me? 

• Assurance of salvation (Romans 8:16; 1 John 5:6-13)
• Pray for maturity - for self and others (Colossians 1:9-10)
• Endure suffering (Hebrews 10:32)
• Doctrinal concerns (Philippians 3:15; 1 John 2:20ff)
• Preaching (Ephesians 4:7-11)

May the Holy Spirit illuminate your heart and mind as you search His Word so that you don't have any "static" as He speaks to you.

Bibliography
Millard J. Erickson. Christian Theology. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1985.
Robert H. Stein, Playing by the Rules. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1994.

This page was last updated October 20, 2000.
© Copyright 1999-2000 Prairie Bible Institute & Steven C. Ibbotson
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