The Holy Spirit Illimunates

Illumination is “the ministry of the Spirit whereby He opens our minds to God’s Word and makes it come alive to us as God speaks through its pages.”

In John 14, Jesus previews the coming of the Spirit when He said, “²⁵ These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. ²⁶ But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you” (vs. 25-26).

The Spirit help helps us know what we need to know for further spiritual progression and a deeper understanding of God. Our Resident Teacher of Truth – the Holy Spirit and One who inspired men to record Scripture – dwells within us ready to enlighten our understanding and convict our hearts of His truth. He is our divine commentator.

We need the Spirit’s teaching. We know without Him we are blinded (I Corinthians 2:11-14). I am amazed how many books on “How to Study the Bible” don’t explain the importance of seeking guidance and help from the Holy Spirit. The Spirit illuminates the Bible. The Spirit is our best commentator when it comes to Bible study.

In one of the classic works on the Holy Spirit, The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit, Rene Pache writes, “When we read with good natural eyesight the contents of the Holy Book we can discover nothing without the aid of light which comes to us from without and lights the printed page. Similarly when, with the best will in the world we approach the sacred text our ignorance is such that, without the Holy Spirit’s illumination, we should understand nothing. Herein lies the reason why so many unbelievers or people with only a formal religion, have read the Bible and discovered nothing in it. … Let us, therefore, hold this conviction that if we lack understanding for any wholesome truth or any Scriptural passage whose apprehension is necessary to us, the Spirit will grant it to us, in accordance with out needs provided that we humbly accept His tutelage.” (pgs. 152-153)

For example, if you wanted an explanation of the imagery in The Lord of the Rings, would you talk to Peter Jackson, who directed the movies, or J.R.R. Tolkien who wrote the stories? You would go to the source. As Christians, we are not left in the dark by God; that is illumination’s guarantee. And that is what the Spirt does.

The Bible is evidence that the Spirit is always speaking and never silent. If you want to hear the Spirit speak, open your Bible and read it out loud.