![]() ![]() God's Word is complete, and uniquely authoritative. There are no new "words of knowledge" that can be given equal standing with Scripture, or placed in de facto authority over Scripture. The illuminating work of the Holy Spirit does not give the believer special mystical insight on the Bible or beyond the teachings of the Bible. God's Spirit must enlighten human darkness - not as an addition to our wisdom, but as the absolutely essential source of the only true wisdom - first of all in order that we may be saved, and secondly so that we may understand His Word properly. Correct interpretation of the Bible is therefore impossible without the illuminating work of the Holy Spirit in the mind and heart of the believer. The things of God are revealed by the Holy Spirit, and do not come from the heart of man (1 Corinthians 2:9-13). In John 6:45, Jesus promises that those whom the Father draws to Himself "shall all be taught by God." Jesus is here quoting Isaiah 54:13, and this thought is also the force of Jeremiah 31:34, Micah 4:2, and Hebrews 8:10. Illumination is the means by which the Holy Spirit makes the Scriptures understandable to the believer (1 Corinthians 2:10). Illumination: God Alone Making Scripture Understandable This guarantees infallibility in all that Scripture teaches. The human writers investigated documents, gathered facts, and chose words (e.g., Luke 1:1-4, Acts 1:1-3) - but all under the direct guidance and supervision of the Holy Spirit, so that the products of their labors were the very words of the infallible God. The Holy Spirit's influence upon the secondary writers of the Bible was such that it gave their writings divine truthfulness, and in this way He constituted the Scriptures as the infallible and sufficient rule of faith and practice for mankind (Matthew 4:4, John 10:34-35, 2 Timothy 3:16ff, Romans 15:4, 2 Peter 3:15-16). ![]() The human writers did not work on their own initiative, but were moved by God to write His words (Hebrews 1:1, 2 Peter 1:19-21). The Scriptures are, literally, "God-breathed" (2 Timothy 3:16). Inspiration is the means by which God the Holy Spirit caused the Scriptures to be written by human beings. ![]() Inspiration: God Alone Breathing Out Scripture Christians need to ask the Holy Spirit to illuminate His inspired Word for us, to protect us from imposing our own agendas upon it. ![]()
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