On previous sessions of Christianity Clarified, consideration has been given to the inspiration of Scripture. We have discovered that it means “God-breathed”, as Paul wrote to Timothy. We noted that this inspiration was verbal; that is, the very words of Scripture were inspired of God, and, added to that is the concept that inspiration was “plenary”, meaning “full, or complete” throughout the Word of God in both its Testaments. Today we focus on the “illumination” of Scripture. What, precisely, does this mean? It means the Scriptures, because they are inspired by God, possess within themselves, that is, within the actual text of Scripture, the ability to enlighten or illumine the reader. This ability the Bible has to open, or unfold, itself to the reader is built into the very words as part of the dynamic of being inspired by God. In reality, one is illumined by reading any information. Even from your daily newspaper, you are enlightened by merely reading today’s obituary column to see who passed on. That, however, is merely information. Divine illumination has to do with the imparting of enlightenment and information about God Himself and the spiritual content He inspired in His Word.
It also appears that illumination from God’s Word is related to the attitude, or disposition, of the one reading it. A mind that is closed to the things of God will not likely receive much from His Word by reading it. God does not force enlightenment on those not wanting it. Illumination from the Scripture is reserved for those who are open to it. An attitude of receptivity and a submissive spirit to God paves the way for divine illumination to occur. This is reflected in Isaiah 6, Matthew 13, Luke 8, John 12, and Acts 28. It simply sets forth the principle of divine illumination and the prerequisite for receiving enlightenment from God. The principle is closed minds need not apply. Christ said in Matthew 13 that spiritual truth, that is, information from God, is reserved only for fit candidates to receive it. When asked by His disciples why He spoke to the multitudes in parables, He invoked this principle of “conditional illumination”. He told them His parables did two things: they revealed or illumined truth to those who were open to it, and they concealed truth and hid it to those who were not open to it. Everybody heard the same words as Jesus spoke those parables, but the truth of them was revealed only to those willing to receive it.
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