iBible

Personal Illumination: Finally, we arrive at the place where believers read the Bible today, and we must admit that the authenticity of history and the authority of Scripture is not enough to for modern readers to “get” the message. We know this because too many biblical scholars are incredulous agnostics and ardent opponents of the faith. The Scriptures which are “living and active” (Heb. 4:12), must be accompanied by the work of the Spirit in order to be believed. This is process of Spririt-wrought instruction is called illumination.

On the road to Emmaus with two of his disciples, Jesus had to open their eyes in order for them to see all things concerning himself in Scriptures (Luke 24:27, 31), and today Jesus is still opening blinded eyes. Without this spiritual illumination, no one can see to repent and believe (like Lydia in Acts 16). This is the work of regeneration (John 3:3-8) that overcomes the faith-denying blindness of sin and Satan (2 Cor. 4:4). When Paul speaks about this in relation to understanding the Scriptures in 1 Corinthians 2:10-16, he says, “The natural person does no accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned” (v. 14). However, “[Christians] have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual” (v. 12-13).

Consequently, the final stop in God’s process of life-giving revelation is that of personal saving faith accomplished by a divine illumination of our souls. Paul captures this re-creative vision in 2 Corinthians 4:6 when he says, “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” In this way, illumination comes full circle. God who originated the world with a command for light to burst forth from darkness, performs the same miracle in every regenerated soul. At the sound of his voice, we who have ears to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ experience the resurrecting, illuminating experience of new creation (like Lazarus in John 11). The result of this monergistic illumination is that all who have eyes of faith to see will place faith in the message of the gospel which has gone into and is now going to the ends of the earth (cf. Rom 10:13-18). Moreover, walking in this light produces overwhelming joy in the revealed message that was initiated in heaven, sent to earth through divine intervention, inscripturated through years of inspired men preaching and recording the words of God, and deposited in hearts as the illumination of God himself (cf. James 1:18). This leads to one final “I”.

Incredible: Rumination on this process of revelation must result in praise and adoration. Remove anyone of these steps and the gospel would be neutered. Its potency would be lost. Apart from God’s redemptive intervention in space and time, there would be no historic foundation for the faith once delivered to the saints (Jude 3); without the Spirit’s work in the Old Testament (2 Pet. 1:19-21) and the New (cf. 1 Thess 1:5; 2:13; 2 Pet. 3:16; 1 John 4:6; Rev. 22:18-19), there would be no sure word in which we could believe; and without the active work of the Spirit illuminating darkened minds, there would be no regenerative vision that induce cries of “Abba, Father.” For only as the Triune God has planned, personalized, and implanted truth in the hearts of believers, is the effect of the gospel sure to bring about salvation to all those for whom Christ died.

Indeed, the message of Jesus Christand God’s method of revelation is incredible! Accordingly, the responsibility of the church to guard this deposit is immense. From all angles, detractors who would limit the Bible’s inspiration, inerrancy, or its authority must be repudiated (cf. Tit. 1:10-16). For if the Scriptures lose their veracity or their infallibility, then the good news they impart is, at best, damaged and, at worst, destroyed. Tampering with or denying the doctrine of Scripture imperils the gospel and all those who believe it. This is the work of Satan and has been seen in every age of the church. Like all those generations who have shed blood for the Bible’s preservation, we too must fight to protect it—its history, its inspiration, its transmission, and its illumination. Only then can forthcoming generations join with us and praise God for his iBible–inspired, inscripturated, infallible, inerrant, illuminated, and incredible!

Sola Deo Gloria, dss.

In a informational age, where “data smog” threatens to pollute the air we breathe, where iPods, iPhones, and iGoogle have become part and parcel of daily living, and where keeping up with the Jones requires 24-hour instant information, it is salubrious to be still and know that our Lord is still God (Ps. 46:10) and that His Word remains fixed in the heavens (Ps. 119:89). Yet, God’s Word is not a static, concrete fixture of law, suspended in time and space; it is living and active (Heb. 4:12), it has taken on flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14), and as we will consider over the next three days, it has come to God’s people over an extended period of time that has been marked by a number of progressive steps. By means of nmenonic device, these stages included: general illumination (i.e. general revelation), historical intervention, divine inspiration, and Spirit-wrought inscripturation, transmission of information, and personal illumination. Taking these “I” steps together, you might say that God has given us his own iBible. Let us consider together the amazing process by which God has given us his Word:

Illumination (in General): In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth (Gen. 1:1). With the power of his voice he breathed life into being (Ps. 33:6; cf. Gen. 2:7) and with the command of his voice he spoke light into existence (Gen. 1:3ff). In a very real sense, the first day began with a massive burst of light, a grand illumination. From this moment in time until now God has illuminating his world with his glory and has been making himself known (cf. Rev. 22:5). He maintains the existence of all things by the power of His Word (Heb. 1:3), and in his creation he has made his divine nature and infinite power known (Rom. 1:18-20). As Psalm 19 says: “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaim his handiwork; day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge; there is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard.” In other words, God’s general revelation, or general “illumination,” has transcended the cosmos.

Intervention (in History): Throughout the Scriptures, the God of the Bible is a God who reveals Himself. This is seen in his creation (Ps 19:1-7) and in his written Word (Ps 19:8ff); this is evident in the Imago Dei and in the mystery of marriage. In every area of life and in each stage of creation he gives more light to view ponder his nature and understand His work in the world. As the author of Hebrews says, “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his son, who he appointed heir of all things, through whom also he created the world (Heb. 1:1-2)” This progressive revelation can be seen in the way that each stage of Scripture offers are more complete picture of who the Triune God is:

Pentateuch: The God who is (Ex. 3:14)
History: The God who acts in love on behalf of his people (Ex. 34; Deut. 7)
Psalms: The God who reigns and deserves all worship (Ps. 93, 97, 99)
Prophets: The God who keeps his Word; the Covenantal God (Jer. 31; Ezek. 36)
Gospels: The God who is with us (Matt. 1:23)
Epistles: The God of Glory seen in the face of Jesus Christ (Eph. 1:1-14)
Revelation: The Creator and Redeemer God; the Alpha and Omega (Rev. 1:8)

(For a more complete discussion of theocentric revelational see Timothy George’s chapter on God in Theology for the Church, edited by Danny Akin [Nashville: B & H Academic, 2007]).

Perhaps today is the day to be still and once again know that he is God, to turn off the iPod and pick up God’s inspired Word. If that is hard, as it so often is, there is all the more reason and need to once again hear the voice of God in his eternal Word. Or perhaps, instead of opposing one against the other, download God’s Word on you iPod. Listen to it as you go, drive, workout, or whatever. In any case, wherever the word finds you, may we together make sure that we find the Word; may we have ears to hear what the Spirit of Christ is saying in God’s holy book.

Sola Deo Gloria, dss.