The Holy Spirit: The Need for Illumination
But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. --1 Corinthians 2:14
The doctrine of the inability of the human mind and the need for divine illumination is so fully developed in the New Testament that it is nothing short of astonishing that we should have gone so far astray about the whole thing. Fundamentalism has stood aloof from the Liberal in self-conscious superiority and has on its own part fallen into error, the error of textualism, which is simply orthodoxy without the Holy Ghost. Everywhere among Conservatives we find persons who are Bible-taught but not Spirit-taught. They conceive truth to be something which they can grasp with the mind. If a man hold to the fundamentals of the Christian faith he is thought to possess divine truth. But it does not follow. There is no truth apart from the Spirit. The most brilliant intellect may be imbecilic when confronted with the mysteries of God. For a man to understand revealed truth requires an act of God equal to the original act which inspired the text....
Conservative Christians in this day are stumbling over this truth. We need to re-examine the whole thing. We need to learn that truth consists not in correct doctrine, but in correct doctrine plus the inward enlightenment of the Holy Spirit. We must declare again the mystery of wisdom from above. A re-preachment of this vital truth could result in a fresh breath from God upon a stale and suffocating orthodoxy.
The Pursuit of Man, 76-77,84.
Friday, February 04, 2011
Wow - do I think Tozer got this one right!
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7 comments:
Oftentimes when I'm reading through a section of my Bible that I had underlined or written notes next to--clearly something that spoke to me or was important at one point--and yet this time around it seems lifeless, or perhaps I can't even figure out why I underlined it or wrote those notes in the first place.
This sure points that even in a regenerate Christian as me (and I do say that with confidence), illumination is something we need day by day; it's not a once-for-all event. And yet even though days may pass without it, it seems to me that the Spirit graciously works in times and ways to accomplish the growth and guidance he desires for the saints.
I hear that, totally - especially when I put a date on it! Recently, I made a time line on a sticky note inside the back cover of my Bible of significant events over the last few years just so I could have a clue what might have been going through my mind at at any given point in time.
Yes, the Holy Spirit is gracious to grow us even when we don't realize He is doing so!
Yes. But one must also consider the Church, which though not infallible is called in Scripture, the pillar and foundation of the truth, since God revealed the truth in Jesus through the apostles and the prophets. Scripture, tradition, reason and experience must be considered together. Though Scripture of course always having priority. But not standing alone in how God's will in Jesus works out in life, even as Scripture itself indicates.
Ted,
I don't think the issue Susan is raising here is authority (a), but rather where true understanding and insight come from (b).
(a) It is clear from Scripture that there are "teachings" and even "traditions" passed down from one generation to the next (e.g., the "deposit" of 2Tim 1:13-14 and the Pastorals, or 2 Thess. 2:15). And while the history of the church's interpretation (e.g. the Creeds and catechisms) is an ally in faithful interpretation, all authority lies in Scripture alone. The Word of God in Jesus was revealed through the apostles' preaching, but it was first revealed to them by the Holy Spirit (John 16:12-15; 1 Cor. 2:6-16). This simple fact shows that the Word of Christ--the truth about God's mystery and God's own self-revelation in Jesus--is a reality external to the apostles, a body of doctrine revealed to them or taught them. Therefore they did not make binding interpretations per se, but heard God's interpretations of the OT confirmed and spoken by the Spirit. They merely served as comissioned conduits of that message. Therefore their authority is subservient to the Spirit.
(b)Without sounding too Barthian, I hope, the issue here is that Scripture apart from the Spirit, is dead. The apostolic Scriptures are true even apart from Spiritual illumination, but they are unable to produce faith. The key and power to understanding the Scripture belongs not to the Church's interpretations, but to the Spirit who wrote Scripture and revealed Jesus in the first place (1 Cor. 2:6-16).
Yes, Andrew, I agree with the point you make. But my problem is the idea that if we just let the Spirit lead us, we'll come up with the right interpretation of Scripture, of a passage say in regard to eschatology, etc. We need to be more humble and acknowledge that while the Spirit is giving insight, the Spirit is not just giving insight to me, or to a bunch of individuals who somehow are really in line with the Spirit. But to the church at large.
So much good in Barth. We're Barthian more than we realize!
"And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ..." (Eph. 3:17-18). Ah, I see -- you're simply getting at the "together with all the saints" part: that we grow in doctrinal stability and assurance, and in experiential knowledge of God, as we "speak the truth to one another in love" (4:15). I think this is very true. And we do need many others' viewpoints to straighten and guide our own. This is true, and I don't think it invalidates the clarity of Scripture or the role of the Spirit. Rather, the Spirit is the one who indwells and creates the body of Christ, the church, in the first place. And he also continually guides the church into truth so that she can guard the good deposit. "Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you--guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us" (2 Tim. 1:14).
Interesting that John Polkinghorne, a scientist himself as well as an Anglican Priest, in his most interesting books (or at least in one) makes a corollary between scientific peer review, and what goes on in Christian theology over the centuries. And sees a tie and kind of relationship between the two. I think Maalie may be acquainted with him. Not sure how this all works out theologically except to say that there does seem to be a parallel. I had to think of this since you and Susan are scientists, or into science.
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