Summer in the Systematics – Bibliology (Part Nine): The Clarity of the Bible

Transcript

JRS 34
08/27/2023
Summer in the Systematics – Bibliology (Part Nine): The Clarity of the Bible
Selected Verses
Jesse Randolph

Alright, well, welcome back to “Summer in the Systematics.” We are up to session nine out of ten of our summer-long study in bibliology. You see on your screen here we have Bibliology this year and some have asked me if it is still your plan to teach ten years of Systematic Theology on Sunday nights in the summer and all I can say, Lord willing, that’s the plan. You see the years up here on your screen. That takes us out to 2031, eschatology. The rapture could happen by then but that’s the plan, Lord willing. We are, like I said, close to wrapping up this summertime study in bibliology. We’ll do this tonight, we’ll do this again next Sunday night, and then we’ll move into our regular evening programming into the fall as we look at the book of Jonah next.

So again, we’ll do this by way of review just to make sure we have the lay of the land, where we’ve gone and where we’re going. These are the topics we’ve covered so far in our summertime study. We’ve looked at “The Authority of the Bible.” That was our first lesson back in early June and that looked at the fact that the scriptures bear various marks of truly being from God and therefore are authoritative in the life of any believer. Then we looked at “The Inspiration of the Bible,” looking at the fact that all Scripture is inspired of, breathed out, by God. That it really has the imprimatur, the fingerprints, of God in heaven, that it is a God-given book, not a man-made book. Then we looked at “The Inerrancy of the Bible, referring to the fact that all Scripture is without error, it’s perfect. It’s given by God, and God is perfect, God cannot lie and He’s given us a perfect book, a perfect sixty-six books. Then we looked at “The Canonicity of the Bible” and that really looked more at the marks of canonicity, that was our main topic in that one. What are some of the standards, some of the tests, you look at to see whether a book of the Bible or a proposed book of the Bible has the marks again of those divine fingerprints. These are the standards that the early church councils and fathers looked at to determine whether a book truly was of God. Again, not to affirm it, not to say it is canonical, but to recognize it as canonical. That was the major distinction there. Then we looked at “The Canonization of the Bible” which really was the history of how the Scriptures, Old and New Testament, were recognized and affirmed by various individuals and councils. So we first had “The Canonization of the Old Testament,” and of course, “The Canonization of the New Testament.” Those were individual lessons. There we looked at the translation of the Bible and that included really a history of the translation of the English Bible going all the way back to Wycliffe and Tyndale and through the various centuries up to the present day. Then last week we looked at “Challenges to the Bible.” We looked at fanatical supporters and false translations, various challenges to the Bible, kind of a hodgepodge of topics we covered to see the ways that people have attacked or undermined the Scriptures over the years.

Tonight, we’re going to go in a bit of a different direction. In our previous lessons we’ve looked more at what the Bible is, how it came to be. Tonight though, and next week also, we’re going to look at some more practical topics. We’re going to look at topics related more to how we, as followers of Christ interact with the Bible, how we relate to the Bible, how we are shaped by the Bible. And tonight, we’ll start that by looking at the clarity of the Bible. As you can see, you have two points on your worksheet there and I’ll go ahead and give you the points as usual, ahead of time. First, we’re going to have “The Illumination of the Bible.” That’s your first heading. And then second, and you’ve got to share this word with all your friends after tonight, “The Perspicuity of the Bible,” “The Perspicuity of the Bible.” So we’re going to have “The Illumination of the Bible,” point one, and then “The Perspicuity of the Bible.” Those topics, as we’re going to see, are very closely intertwined. They are very much directly related to each other and they both relate to the believer’s ability to read the Bible, to understand the Bible, to relate to the Bible in various ways so that ultimately he or she can live in submission to the Bible.

So we’ll start with “The Illumination of the Bible,” our point one. And that word “illumination” in a vacuum is sort of a tricky word because outside of its biblical context it’s actually a word with very broad and very varied definitions. When you detach that word “illumination” from what we’re talking about tonight, the illumination of the Bible, you find that this word “illumination” can mean many different things. It’s potentially limitless in its nature in terms of what it can mean. You know, a person can talk about how the moon is illuminating on a pond in the middle of the night, at midnight, or something like that. A person can refer to the fact that their favorite poet really illuminated how they think about nature and beauty. Or a third person might say how getting married or having a child or moving to another city or moving to another church has been an illuminating experience. The reality is, apart from saving faith in Jesus Christ and the corresponding indwelling of the Holy Spirit and a commitment to a biblical worldview, illumination can be so broadly defined and so broadly applied that sooner or later it has no meaning at all.

In the realm of Christian theology, though, what we’re studying here tonight, this term ‘illumination” has a particular focus and a specific meaning. For our purposes tonight, we’re going to define this term “illumination” as follows: the supernatural help the Holy Spirit gives followers of Jesus Christ as they interact with the Scriptures, which allows them to approve, grow in their understanding of, and to apply the Scriptures. So, as we go through our study this evening of illumination and these various connected topics to this one, we’re going to keep coming back to this very basic definition: the supernatural help the Holy Spirit gives followers of Jesus Christ as they interact with the Scriptures, which allows them to approve, grow in their understanding of, and to apply the Scriptures.”

To get us started, though let’s begin as we should by seeing what the Scriptures themselves say about this matter of illumination. And it’s important to note here that the doctrine of illumination and all that it says about the believer’s relationship to Scripture is itself amply supported by Scripture. So, this is not a theological construct. This is a scripturally supported belief system. When we see illumination mentioned in the Scriptures it is referring to the illuminating ministry of the Holy Spirit in His work in the lives of God’s people. You go back to the Old Testament and you see various instances of this -- in Psalm 119 in particular. Psalm 119 especially has various instances of the psalmist praying that God would illuminate the Scriptures for him. Psalm 119: 12, “Teach me Your statutes.” This is a plea, I believe, he makes eight or nine times in Psalm 119 alone. Or Psalm 119:18, “Open my eyes, that I may behold wonderful things from Your law.” Or Psalm 119:27, “Make me understand the way of Your precepts, so I will meditate on Your wonders.” Or Psalm 119:34, “Give me understanding, that I may observe Your law and keep it with all my heart.” Psalm 119:73, “Give me understanding, that I may learn your commandments.” Psalm 119:125, “I am Your servant; give me understanding, that I may know Your testimonies.” Psalm 119:144, “Your testimonies are righteous forever; give me understanding that I may live.” One more, Psalm 119:169, “Let my cry come before You, O Lord; give me understanding according to Your word.” Each of those prayers from the psalmist showcases his desire to learn, to grow, in his understanding of and to apply ultimately the Scriptures. Here’s one more, Psalm 119:130. This is really not a petition or prayer, more as a declarative statement. “The unfolding of Your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple.” So these are just a scattering of examples of illumination being highlighted in the Old Testament, namely in Psalm 119, this idea of the Scriptures being illuminated, mentioned as light for those who are not fully enlightened at the time.

Then we come over to the New Testament context and we continue to see this illuminating work of the Holy Spirit reflected on the pages of Scripture. You recall that scene, for instance, in Luke 24, where on the road to Emmaus, our Lord, the resurrected Jesus (this is before He’s gone back to the Father in His ascension) He explains how the various Old Testament Scriptures pointed to Him. And Luke records, in Luke 24:45, that to His disciples, “He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.” Well, what the resurrected Lord did for His disciples there in that instance, the Holy Spirit now does for believers in the church age. That’s exactly what the Lord said actually would happen back in John 16 (verses 13-15) when He’s speaking to His disciples. This is before Pentecost of course, before the coming of the Spirit. It says, “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. He…” this is all a reference to the Holy Spirit, all the capital “H” He’s here, “He will glorify Me,” that’s meaning Christ, “for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you.” Now we see a number of very important aspects of this Spirit’s illuminating ministry in the life of the believer already ahead of time in this passage, John 16. We see that the Spirit guides, “He will guide you into all the truth.” We see that the Spirit reveals truth, “He will speak not on His own initiative, but whatever He hears.” And we see that the Spirit glorifies Christ, “He will glorify Me.”

Then we get into the New Testament epistles and the apostle Paul describes the illuminating ministry of the Holy Spirit in the lives of followers of Christ in even more detail in 1
Corinthians 2 (verses 12, 13). It says, “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words.” So to paraphrase that, the Spirit teaches believers. He gives believers the ability to know and understand truth. And He gives believers wisdom, not only understanding of truth but what they are to say in various situations. That’s the reference there at the end, “combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words.” And then in the same section here of 1 Corinthians 2, just a couple of verses later, Paul contrasts the Spirit-indwelt follower of Christ with the unregenerate person. The former, the follower of Christ, is the beneficiary of the Spirit’s ministry of illumination. The latter, the unregenerate person, is not. That’s what he is saying here in 1 Corinthians 2:14-15, “But a natural man,” that’s an unregenerate person, “does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one.”

In the words of J.I. Packer here, “to grasp spiritual truths requires spiritual receptiveness.” And what that’s getting at is to be spiritually receptive means to be spiritually alive, to be regenerated, to be saved. The unregenerate man, of course, remains dead in his sin, that’s Ephesians 2:1. And as it says again in 1 Corinthians 2:14, he, the unregenerate person, “does not accept the things of the Spirit of God.” And, as Chafer once noted, this is speaking of the unregenerate person in his still sin-darkened state, the unregenerate person, “though educated with all that the eye, the ear, and the reasoning power can impart, has not received the Spirit… and therefore all revelation,” speaking of special revelation here, “is ‘foolishness’ to him.” Or here’s John MacArthur who says, “The sobering reality is that it is possible to be familiar with the Bible and still fail to understand it… Anyone can memorize facts, listen to sermons, and gain some level of intellectual understanding about the basic points of biblical doctrine. But devoid of the Spirit’s power, God’s Word will never penetrate the sinful soul.” So the spiritually-dead person, in other words, is completely unable to welcome the things of the Spirit. And so if the message of the Scripture is ever to be received by that person, by that unregenerate person, he not only needs to be brought to life spiritually -- that’s the first thing that needs to happen, that happens when he is regenerated at conversion -- but his mind needs to be regenerated and also needs to be continually renewed. It brings to mind Romans 12:1-2 and that’s where the work of illumination, the regeneration, of the mind comes in.

So that’s just a little bit here about the Scriptural basis for the whole notion of and the doctrine of illumination. And as we said earlier, this is our definition again, illumination is the supernatural help the Holy Spirit gives followers of Jesus Christ as they interact with the Scriptures, which allows them to approve, grow in their understanding of, and to apply the Scriptures. Here’s another definition of illumination by Paul Enns. He says, its “the ministry of the Holy Spirit in enlightening the believer, enabling the believer to understand the word of God.” Now, when you study any aspect of theology first you give your broad definition of the term. That’s what we’ve done already. Then you provide your Scriptural basis for your theological assertion or your conclusion. That’s what we’ve done already. And then what you need to do is you need to handle some of the theological contours and the boundaries of your subject of study, the thing that’s under consideration. Which in our brief survey tonight we are about to do.

So, we’re going to take a little time now to go through what illumination is and then also what illumination is not. First, under the heading of what Illumination is, illumination is a Word-centered work of the Spirit, a Word-centered work of the Spirit. Illumination biblically speaking does not refer to the Spirit opening our eyes to the natural beauty of the world around us. It’s not a reference to increasing in our knowledge of literature, or mathematics, or science, or history. Instead, the Holy Spirit’s ministry of illumination is tied always to the Scripture. And it speaks specifically to the Spirit opening the eyes of the believer to the truth of the Bible. I appreciate what Martyn Lloyd-Jones here says, “we must never separate the Spirit from the Word.” That’s absolutely true. That’s not to say that the Word, in and of itself has no transforming power. We know the Word does have transforming power. However, the way God uses the Word to transform His people through that Word into greater and greater Christlikeness is through what we’re describing tonight and studying tonight, the illumination by the Spirit of the Word.

Second, it’s through His ministry of illumination that the Holy Spirit breeds in believers faith that the Scripture is what it claims to be. To borrow from 1 Thessalonians 2:13, it’s through illumination that we can see that the Scriptures are not the word of men, but what they really claim to be, the word of God. Here’s the old Puritan William Perkins who noted that the only proof that makes a person certain that the Scriptures are the Word of God is what he says is “the inward testimony of the Holy Ghost speaking in the Scriptures.” The Holy Spirit testifies to the fact that the Scriptures are in fact from God. The Holy Spirit we know is the “Spirit of truth,” [John 14:17] And look at what 1 John 5:6 says. “It is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth.”

And in the life of the believer, in the life of the follower of Christ, the Holy Spirit bears specific witness to the believer that the Scripture is from God, is truthful and is trustworthy. I don’t have time to get into the whole testimony right now. I think you can find it online somewhere but when I first got saved this was absolutely the Spirit’s work in me. I was a trained, skeptical lawyer who heard the Gospel, believed the Gospel, and within an instant completely understood and believed that the Scriptures are exactly what they claim to be, the very words of the living God. There was never a doubt in my mind that what I was holding in my hand was not some thrown together book cobbled together by men, but I just knew that this was from God. That’s the work of the Holy Spirit doing what we’re seeing here in the passages we are looking at.

Third, through His ministry of illumination the Holy Spirit develops and deepens the believer’s understanding of the Word of God. Now, the Scriptures have many negative examples of individuals who were at least on the surface familiar with God’s written words but who did not have God’s Word illumined for them by the Holy Spirit. An example of that would be Nicodemus. You recall this interaction between Jesus and Nicodemus. Jesus asks him this question, “Are you the teacher of Israel and do not understand these things?” [John 3:10] Underlying that is the fact that Nicodemus had not had the Scriptures illuminated for him. Then there is Jesus’ interaction with the Jewish leaders of His day, recorded in John 5:38, where He says, “You do not have His word abiding in you, for you do not believe Him whom He sent.” So they could put the Holy Book in front of themselves, they could read what it said on the page, but the Spirit wasn’t illuminating it for them. Or we can think of Stephen, who before his execution at the end of Acts 7, [verse 51], says this to his executioners. “You men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit; you are doing just as your fathers did.” Now surely the men who were about to throw stones at Stephen were familiar with the Scriptures. They had read the Scriptures. They knew what the Scriptures said but the Holy Spirit hadn’t illuminated the Scriptures because of their absence of belief.

So, in His work of illumination what the Holy Spirit does is He enlightens the minds of believers so they are better able to understand and comprehend the Scripture. In illumination, the Spirit, as Lewis Sperry Chafer notes, “enters the innermost recesses of the heart where impressions originate and there not only tells out the truth of transcendent magnitude, but causes the pupil actually to grasp the things thus revealed.” And here’s R.A. Torrey in a very, I think, helpful and pastoral tone, further describing what this ministry of illumination looks like. He says, “Not only is the Holy Spirit the Author of revelation, the written Word of God: He is also the Interpreter of what He has revealed. Any profound book is immeasurably more interesting and helpful when we have the author of the book right at hand to interpret it to us, and it is always our privilege to have the author of the Bible right at hand when we study it. The Holy Spirit is the Author of the Bible and He stands ready to interpret its meaning to every believer every time he opens the Book. To understand the Book, we must look to Him, then the darkest places become clear… It is not enough that we have the revelation of God before us in the written Word to study, we must also have the inward illumination of the Holy Spirit to enable us to apprehend it as we study.”

Fourth, the Holy Spirit’s ministry of illumination is anchored ultimately in His central function of testifying to Jesus Christ. John 15:26, Christ Himself said, “When the Helper,” the Holy Spirit, “comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me.” And what He does is He brings glory to Jesus Christ. That’s John 16:14, “He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you.” Charles Ryrie here notes, “The results of the teaching ministry of the Spirit are… Christ is glorified… If He is not glorified, then the Spirit has not been ministering. Note also that it is not the Spirit who is glorified or who is supposed to be glorified in a service where teaching goes on, but Christ.” In other words, the Holy Spirit’s ministry of illumination of the Scriptures in the life of a believer cannot be divorced from the Spirit’s chief ministry of testifying to and bringing glory to Jesus Christ.

Five, fifth, a key outworking of the Holy Spirit’s ministry of illumination will be to promote greater Christlikeness in believers as they interact with Scripture. As the Word of God is illumined by the Spirit of God to the people of God, followers of Jesus Christ are gradually conformed into greater and greater Christlikeness. In his work on the Holy Spirit, George Smeaton noted this link between the Holy Spirit’s role of illumination and the believer’s
growth in Christlikeness as they ingest, as they take in, the Word of God. He said, “This title of the Spirit is by no means limited to the inspiration of the Scriptures… the Scriptures themselves assert in the most emphatic way that in the whole work by which men are turned to God and sanctified, there is a further work of the Spirit by which the understanding is enlightened,” that’s illumination, “and the will inclined to obey the divine will, and the affections are eventually drawn to love, serve, and enjoy God.” So, to summarize, the Holy Spirit not only breathes out the Word, that’s inspiration, the Holy Spirit helps believers understand the Word, that’s illumination and then He gives them conviction about what they must do to grow into Christlikeness, that’s application. I think that was five things that illumination is.

We’re now going to look at what illumination is not. We’ve looked at some of the positive aspects of the Holy Spirit’s ministry of illumination. Now we’re going to look at the Holy Spirit’s ministry of illumination negatively, what does not entail. First, illumination cannot be confused with inspiration. Here’s MacArthur, he’s talking about inspiration here as being “that process,” this is inspiration, not illumination, “that process whereby God appointed and guided certain men to pen the words that we now see in our Bibles.” We studied that doctrine of inspiration at the beginning of the summer. And you’ll recall that the two main passages we go to as proof texts for inspiration are 2 Timothy 3:16, “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness.” And then 2 Peter 1:21, “for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.” Inspiration, in other words, describes divinely-appointed men at a specific point in time being moved along by the Holy Spirit to pen, humanly-speaking, the words of Scripture. That’s inspiration.

Illumination is different. Illumination is distinguishable. Here’s MacArthur again on illumination. He says that while, “the Spirit’s work of inspiration applied only to the human authors of Scripture, His ministry of illumination is given to all believers,” you and me. “Inspiration has given us the message inscribed on the pages of Scripture. Illumination inscribes that message on our hearts, enabling us to understand what it means…” Or here’s Spurgeon, “Through His ministry of inspiration, the Holy Spirit has given us the Word of God. And through His ministry of illumination, He has opened our eyes to understand and submit to biblical truth.”
So we just have to make sure that illumination and inspiration are not confused. They are distinct events and distinct ministries of the Spirit.

Another one is that we cannot confuse illumination with revelation. Revelation refers to that process by which biblical truth was given to the human biblical authors whereas with illumination, believers, us, we are able to arrive at the meaning of that revelation. Here’s Ryrie to say it much more artfully than I just did. “In reference to the Bible, revelation relates to its content or material,” revelation would be the sixty-six books of the Bible, “and illumination to the meaning of the record.” Revelation happened once when the biblical texts were given to the biblical authors to write out. Illumination, for the believer is ongoing whenever we open up the Scriptures, as we continue to seek the Spirit’s help in understanding and applying God’s Word. Here’s R.A. Torrey again on this topic of illumination, this is him distinguishing revelation and illumination. He says, “We must daily be taught by the Spirit to understand the Word. We cannot depend today on the fact that the Spirit taught us yesterday. Each new time that we come in contact with the Word, it must be in the power of the Spirit for that specific occasion. That the Holy Spirit once illumined our mind to grasp a certain truth is not enough. He must do it each time we confront that passage.”

Third, illumination in no way undermines the doctrine of the perspicuity, the clarity, of Scripture which we’ll get to in just a little bit. But for now it’s important to note that the Holy Spirit’s ministry of illumination has not been rendered necessary because the Scripture is somehow vague or confusing or difficult to understand. The problem always rests not with the Scripture, but with the person reading the Scripture. It rests with man. Here’s Francis Turretin, he says, “It is one thing to speak of the ignorance and blindness of people; another to speak of the obscurity of Scripture. The first is often taught in Scripture,” meaning ignorance and blindness of people, “But the second is not, nor can it be inferred legitimately from the first, any more than it can [be] inferred that the sun is hidden because it is not seen by the blind.” So with illumination the Holy Spirit does not make Scripture clearer as though it wasn’t clear before. Rather, the Spirit enlightens the person, quickening their human intellect so that he or she now has a better capacity to understand the Scripture.

Fourth, the Holy Spirit’s ministry of illumination does not eliminate the need for human teachers of Scripture. The same Spirit who has breathed out the Word as we just saw in 2 Timothy 3:16 and the same Spirit who illuminates the Word for believers, has established in that same Word that there would be gifted individuals in bodies of believers like this who would teach those believers. And they’re considered in Ephesians 4:11-12 gifts to the church, “And He gave.” “He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and” pastors and the like. And their involvement in the ministry of the Word, in teaching it, in explaining it, in no way interferes with or is inconsistent with the Holy Spirit’s role of illuminating the Scripture in the lives of individual believers. Now, on that point it is important to note that illumination does not mean that every Christian will always agree doctrinally. If that were the case we wouldn’t have denominations and distinctions among churches and fellowships that do or don’t exist. I mean we even know from Galatians 2 that Peter and Paul had sharp disagreement. Paul says he opposed Peter to his face in Galatians 2:11. That’s just the reality of what happens whenever you enter humanity into the equation of trying to understand God-given scripture. No human is perfect and even the best teachers will get it wrong sometimes. Hence, the sword’s crossing.

Fifth, illumination should not be confused for intelligence. A naturally intelligent person can read the words of Scripture; they can read the words on the page of the Bible. But if they don’t have the Spirit living in them their intelligence is no substitute for their need for illumination. Here’s Chafer again, he says, “There is not the slightest possibility that the most educated and brilliant mind can make one step of progress in the understanding of spiritual truth apart from the direct, supernatural teaching to the individual heart by the indwelling Spirit.” Or Rene Pache says, “The Bible cannot be understood simply by study or talent; you must count only on the influence of the Holy Spirit.” So if you’re a highly intelligent person or if you’re an advanced reader, that’s wonderful. But that’s not enough. You need, as we all need, the Spirit’s help of illumination to illuminate the Scriptures for you.

Sixth, and this one will be short, the Holy Spirit’s ministry of illumination does not mean that everything about God is knowable. Deuteronomy 29:29, “The secret things belong to the Lord our God.”
Seventh, the Holy Spirit’s ministry of illumination does not serve as a substitute for Christians devoting themselves to diligent Bible study methods. What does Paul tell Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:15? “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.” Here’s J. I. Packer on this subject, the need of Christians even with illumination to still study the Scriptures. “The Spirit is not given to make Bible study needless, but to make it effective… without the Spirit’s help there can be no grasp of the message of Scripture, no conviction of the truth of Scripture, and no faith in the God of Scripture. Without the Spirit, nothing is possible but spiritual blindness and unbelief… Our God-given textbook is a closed book till our God-given Teacher opens it to us.” So when a Christian is truly reliant upon the work of the Spirit in illuminating the context and the content and the meaning of the Scripture, the Spirit will allow that person to “behold,” as we saw in Psalm 119:18, “wonderful things” from the word.

So that’s a bit about what illumination is not and we looked at what illumination is earlier. Now let me give you a few more different odds and ends here about illumination just so we can tie a bow on this one. One of those is that God is completely sovereign in the process of illumination. He’s sovereign over everything, we know that. But He’s sovereign in the process of illumination in the same way that He is over whom He saves in the first place. He’s sovereign over whom He will illuminate His Scriptures to. And these passages I’m going to show you now, they’re not dealing with the Scriptures specifically but we do in these passages see God’s will being carried out sovereignly as He chooses whom He will reveal Himself to in several places in the Bible. Like
Matthew 11 [verse 25] here, it says “At that time Jesus said, ‘I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants,” just revealing God’s sovereign choice of who He’ll reveal Himself to and who He won’t. Another one here in Matthew 16 [verse 17], “And Jesus said to him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.’” Or Galatians 1:15-16, “But when God, who had set me apart,” Paul speaking here, “even from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace, was pleased to reveal His Son in me.” So this is just speaking to the fact that God wills who He will reveal Himself to as a general statement.

Another thought here, is that the Holy Spirit-wrought illumination of the Scriptures which all followers of Christ will experience at some level is really an extension of what the Lord Himself said in His various Gospel accounts which is that the sheep who belong to Him, the Good Shepherd, hear His voice and they know Him. John 10:27, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” Or Luke 14:35, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” This is the idea that the follower of Christ will follow His voice which now is mediated through His word.

Here’s another one, in the process of illumination or the ministry of illumination we emphasize the Holy Spirit in this, but it’s really a trinitarian endeavor. All three persons of the Godhead are involved. Here’s God the Father mentioned here, [2 Corinthians 4:6], “For God, who said, ‘Light shall shine out of darkness,’ is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” God the Son is involved. We already saw this on the road to Emmaus, [Luke 24:45], “Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.” And then of course, God the Holy Spirit is involved, [1 Corinthians 2;12-13], “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words.”

Here's another odd and end. Illumination should be a subject of prayer. We should be praying for illumination as the psalmist did. This is a great verse to simply slap on the inside of your Bible as you approach it each morning, [Psalm 119:18], “Open my eyes, that I may behold wonderful things from Your law.” Or Psalm 119:33 “Teach me, O Lord, the way of Your statutes, and I shall observe it to the end.” Or Psalm 119:34 “Give me understanding, that I may observe Your law and keep it with all my heart.” And God will answer these prayers for illumination. If you are a follower of Christ and He has put His Spirit in you, those things are synonymous. He will answer any prayer that you pray that involves you coming to a clearer understanding of His word.


Here’s a last stray observation on this matter of illumination. And it’s this: if you are habitually engaged in sin, even as a believer, and you’re wondering why you’re understanding of the Bible isn’t as clear as it used to be or why it’s not what it once was, that’s because it isn’t! Romans 8 [verse 4], says we as Christians are not to “walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” And “For those who are according to the flesh,” meaning those who are walking according to the flesh, “set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit,” [Romans 8:5]. And see, when you’re habitually engaged in sin, when you’re given over to sin, whether that be lust or anger or jealousy or covetousness, the Scripture is not going to make as much sense to you as it used to when your mind wasn’t blocked by that sin. It won’t be as clear to you as it ought to be or as it once was. And why? Gil Rugh was right, your sin has made you stupid. Through your sin, you have quenched the Spirit, the very Spirit who otherwise would be illuminating His Word for you. And now, borrowing from this morning’s message, you’re back to being a spiritual infant. You’re back to drinking milk and your overall understanding of Scripture of God’s Word, your overall spiritual progress, has been stunted. And it will be until and unless you repent.

Alright, that’s a fair amount of material about illumination, namely the illumination of the Bible. We’ve looked at what illumination is not. We’ve looked at what illumination is. Some other odds and ends. Before we leave this subject, though, I will just give you one more from J. I. Packer. He says, “God’s book does not yield up its secrets to those who will not be taught of the Spirit.” (Actually, we did this one too.) “Our God-given textbook is a closed book till our God-given Teacher opens it to us.” Repetition is the key to learning and the key to learning is repetition, right? Ok. Let’s move on to “The Perspicuity of the Bible.” That’s our second major topic for this evening, perspicuity. I have had to repeat that word in my mind a few hundred times of the last few days just to not botch it too many times up here. “The Perspicuity of the Bible.”

The perspicuity of Scripture, what’s that referring to? Well, we’ll lay out a couple of definitions here. Here’s one by Gregg Allison, he says, it’s “A property of Scripture whereby it is clear and thus comprehensible to all Christians who possess the normal acquired ability to read texts or understand oral communication (when Scripture is read to them). This clarity is true regardless of their gender, age, education, language, or cultural background, though it does not mean Scripture is necessarily easy to understand. This doctrine is affirmed in the context of the church, to which God has given pastors and teachers to assist members in better understanding Scripture.” I just want to make sure you caught something there in Allison’s definition which is that he uses both the terms “perspicuity” and “clarity” of Scripture and that’s because the terms are truly synonymous. So, if you refer to the perspicuity of the Bible and then you refer to the clarity of the Bible you are saying the same thing.

And of course, that’s caused countless theologians and theology students to wonder why would we use such an unclear word such as “perspicuity” to describe the clarity of Scripture? Can’t we just use the word “clarity”? I would agree. I appreciate that MacArthur and Mayhue do use that term “clarity” in their definition here. They say, “The clarity of Scripture refers to its accessibility. The knowledge of God contained in the Bible has been revealed in such a way that it can be sufficiently understood in and of itself by those who seek it. Stated negatively, the Bible is not a collection of mysterious writings that requires the assistance of some other knowledge to render it understandable. Scripture is so clear that it judges and illuminates everything else.” And here’s J.I. Packer who also opted for the more modern clear, “clarity” language as opposed to the “perspicuity.” He says, “The Scriptures are clear, and interpret themselves from within, and consequently… are able to stand above both the church and the Christian in corrective judgment and health-giving instruction… No Christian who uses the appointed means of grace for understanding the Bible… can fail to learn all that he needs to know for his spiritual welfare.”

So these are some definitions of the clarity, the perspicuity, of the Bible. But as Mark Thompson notes this generation suffers from a “strange combination of theological amnesia and an uncritical acquiescence in the least disciplined forms of postmodernism have made many Christians highly suspicious of hearing any sure or clear word from Scripture.” In other words, we just can’t believe that the Bible can be that clear or that straightforward. And that’s really too bad. And that’s really a sad indictment considering the fact that Scriptures themselves testifies internally and repeatedly to the clarity of the Bible. We find throughout the Scripture this idea of clarity, or perspicuity if you prefer, being referenced in the pages of Scripture themselves. We’re going to go through a few of these here.

That includes passages where the Scripture’s clarity is mentioned quite directly, often in reference to light or being enlightened or as the source of enlightenment. Like Psalm 19:8, “The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.” Or consider this very familiar passage, [Psalm 119:105], “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” Or this one, [Psalm 119:130], “The unfolding of Your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple.” Or here’s Solomon in Proverbs 6 [verse 6:23] saying, “For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching is light.” Or here’s Peter in 2 Peter 1:19 saying, “So we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts.” So we have these light, lamp, illumination references.

Then we also see the clarity of Scripture featured in places where exhortations to follow God’s commandments and precepts are given and the veracity, the clarity, of the precepts or the commandments is just assumed. Like here in Deuteronomy 30:11, “For this commandment which I command you today is not too difficult for you, nor is it out of reach.” It’s common sense. This is the command, I’ve given it to you, it’s not difficult so do it. This is a subtle reference to the clarity of Scripture.

We also see the clarity of Scripture found in the writings of the various prophets whose words were simply taken at face value, like in Isaiah 1:10, “Hear the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom; give ear to the instruction of our God, you people of Gomorrah.” You don’t have any objection to this, people saying hang on a second and what do you mean by that. What’s this Sodom you speak of? And what’s this Gomorrah? Or Jeremiah 2:4, “Hear the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel.” This is a clear command and a clear word.

We also see the clarity of Scripture featured in places where it’s made very clear that Scriptures are not intended only for the ivory tower, theological types, but for the common man. Deuteronomy 6:6-8, “These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up.” This is painting a picture of a very common household scene in Israel. Fathers, speak to your sons about the Lord, is what this is saying. No need for specialized theological training to do so.

Or look at these words from the book of Nehemiah. Nehemiah 8:1-3, “And all the people gathered as one man at the square which was in front of the Water Gate, and they asked Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses which the Lord had given to Israel. Then Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly of men, women and all who could listen with understanding, on the first day of the seventh month. He read from it before the square which was in front of the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of men and women, those who could understand; and all the people were attentive to the book of the law.” So this wasn’t a gathering of scholars, this wasn’t a colloquium. This was a gathering of ordinary people. And because the Scripture, in this case the Law, is inherently clear and perspicuous, they were able to understand it.

Or there’s the example of Timothy here, 2 Timothy 3:15. It’s Paul here, speaks of him [Timothy] having “from childhood… known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.” So he learned these things as a child. Again, it’s clear, perspicuous. I appreciate what John Milton, the English Puritan poet writes about the accessibility, the clarity of Scripture. He says, “The very essence of Truth is plainness and brightness. The Scriptures protest their own plainness and clarity, calling them to be instructed, not only the wise and learned, but the simple, the poor, the babes.” God’s Word, Psalm 19:7, makes “wise the simple.” Or, as we’ve already seen in Psalm 119:130, “The unfolding of Your words gives light; …gives understanding,” look at these last words, “to the simple.” Passages like that testify to the fact that the Scriptures are inherently clear. They can enlighten the simple. They are inherently perspicuous.

So the Bible is objectively clear, it is extrinsically perspicuous. I seriously want to hear stories of you guys sharing that word with your friends this week. Will you share those with me next Sunday night, please? And it is so, it is clear, because it derives from God who communicates truthfully, and He communicates clearly. The Bible is objectively clear because it derives from God. Its truths are accessible to those who seek them.

Now, like we just did with the doctrine of illumination, let’s pick up a few different odds and ends here as we consider this matter of the clarity of Scripture. First, it needs to be said that just because the Scriptures are clear, inherently clear, does not negate our responsibility to study it and to engage with it. It doesn’t help us as believers to know that the Scriptures are inherently clear and sitting on our nightstand for two years, right? Doesn’t change anything in us, doesn’t change anything in the Scriptures. No, we are required to work diligently to come to an understanding of it. Perspicuity speaks of Scripture’s quality; it doesn’t speak to our state. So, while Scripture is clear, that doesn’t mean our heads our clear, that our consciences are clear. But they need to be clear and they become clear the more time we spend in the Word. Again, 2 Timothy 2:15, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.”

The second one is, the second odd and end, is the clarity of Scripture should not be confused for the simplicity of Scripture. And by that, I mean that not every principle, not every doctrine, not every tenet of God’s Word is equally understandable to the average believer. Right? We know that even Peter in 2 Peter 3:15, in fact, it’s up here, says this of Paul’s writings, which he acknowledged as being “Scripture.” He says, “just as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you, as also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand.” So a Holy Spirit-moved author of Scripture, Peter, is acknowledging here that there are things hard to understand in other Scriptures. And so it is with us.

John Chrysostom, fourth century early church father, says, he’s speaking of the Scriptures here being like a river. The context here is speaking of the stream of biblical revelation being like a river and the quote here is “In one part,” of that river, “there are whirlpools;” difficulties, “and not in another.” Or Charles Hodge in the nineteenth century says, “It is not denied that the Scriptures contain many things hard to be understood.” So again, perspicuity or clarity does not mean simplicity or consistent ease of interpretation. There’s a reason I have on my bookshelves in my office several different encyclopedias of Bible difficulties. There really are hard sayings in the Bible. No, the clarity of Scripture means that understanding is possible. It doesn’t mean that it’s easy. When we say that the Scripture is clear or perspicuous we’re saying that truth is accessible to those who seek it and work to understand it.

A third one would be that the perspicuity, the clarity, of Scripture really ought to promote praise and prayer. Knowing that what we hold in our hands is a clear and timeless Word and knowing that we don’t have to go to a pope or a bishop or council to help us, to tell us what this means, or knowing that we don’t have to use some, you know, man-centered hermeneutic to come to the right or real understanding of Scripture, like a feminist hermeneutic or an African-American hermeneutic or a you-name-it hermeneutic. No, we read it for what it is. That’s a reason for praise. But it also ought to drive us to prayer, knowing that it’s clear. Again, Psalm 119:18 “Open my eyes, that I may behold wonderful things from Your law.” Knowing that it’s possible to understand fully what God has revealed here, that should bring us to prayer.

So, not only is the Bible divinely-inspired or God-breathed as we’ve seen, not only is it inerrant, not only is it infallible, not only is it sufficient, not only is it authoritative, the main idea here this evening is that it is a clear Word from God. As one commentator put it, we do not have a dark and cloudy book. It’s not opaque. It’s not outside of our reach. Instead, as Charles Hodge once said it very clearly, we have “a plain book.” “A plain book.” It’s accessible. It’s understandable. It’s clear. As John Owen says, “all necessary truth is plainly and clearly revealed in Scripture.” And we praise God for that.

As we wrap up this evening I’m going to bring up the name John Wesley who you’ve heard me cite a few times in different sermons. We have some theological differences with John Wesley. We wouldn’t say we agree with him across the board for sure, but there are some things he said especially in how he viewed bibliology, our topic, and how he revered the Word. And he got it wrong on some things, but there really are some great things he said about the Word and his reverence for it. So I’m going to give you a long quote of his here as we close. And what I want you to do, you know, Wesley was used mightily as he preached in the Evangelical Revival in England in the 1730s and 1740s. So he was a mighty preacher, very gifted, powerful, very well-known in the world at the time. But I want you to just note here as we read this how anchored his thoughts were in terms of his ministry, his preaching, his influence, his impact. How they were ultimately anchored in what we have talked about tonight, the clarity of Scripture, the perspicuity of Scripture.

I’ll just let Wesley speak. He says, “I want to know one thing—the way to heaven; how to land safe on that happy shore. God Himself was condescended to teach the way; for this very end He came from heaven. He hath written it down in a book. O give me that book! At any price, give me the book of God! I have it; here is knowledge enough for me. Let me be homo unius libri.” That means a man of one book. “Here then I am, far from the busy ways of men. I sit down alone; only God is here. In his presence I open, I read His book; for this end, to find the way to heaven. Is there a doubt concerning the meaning of what I read? Does anything appear dark or intricate? I lift up my heart to the Father of Lights: ‘Lord, is it not thy word, “If any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God”? Thou hast said, “If any be willing to do Thy will, he shall know.” I am willing to do, let me know, Thy will.’ I then search after and consider parallel passages of Scripture, ‘comparing spiritual things with spiritual.’ I meditate thereon with all the attention and earnestness of which my mind is capable. If any doubt still remains, I consult those who are experienced in the things of God; and then the writings whereby, being dead, they yet speak. And what I thus learn, that I teach.” And teach he did and an impact he had as many souls were saved under his ministry which again was anchored in his understanding of the clarity of the Bible.

Let’s pray. God, thank You, for delivering to us a timeless word, a perfect word, a sure word, and as we’ve seen tonight, a clear word. A word that is forever fixed in the heavens as Psalm 119:89 says. A word that we can trust and navigate and know that it comes from You. A word that is not murky or muddy or open to interpretation of the unbeliever. We know the unbeliever doesn’t have the Spirit in them. They cannot discern and process spiritual things as 1 Corinthians said. But we, with whatever level of intellect we have, whatever background we have, whatever experience we have, if we have trusted in Jesus Christ, we have the Spirit residing in us who helps us, who illuminates for us, Your word. So God, thank You, for being a God who has communicated with us so that we can understand Your will and Your ways, so that we can interact with and witness, our Savior in His life and His ministry and His death and His resurrection. We can see on the pages of Your holy word, Your pure word, the message of the Gospel, that being that of the cross, that being that we are sinners in need of great salvation. We owe a huge debt to You, a holy God. But because of the price paid at Calvary by our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, if we trust in Him and trust in His finished work, we might be forgiven and redeemed and renewed and have the hope of eternal life. So, God, thank You, again for who You are and what You have revealed to us. May we not be slack in taking in Your word, reading Your word, and living out Your word. We thank You for this evening, in Jesus’ name. Amen.