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illuminating work of the Spirit of God (salvation), and (b) he needs the proper method of interpretation
for without the right method of interpretation, one is left on a sea of uncertainty.

Need for Illumination

I Corinthians 2:11 For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man, which
is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God.

The Word of God provides light for our path (Ps. 119:11). But man is limited because he is a physical
being looking at spiritual thoughts. To fully understand the things of God, man must raise above his
limited natural abilities. According to the verse above, no one knows the thoughts of God except the
Spirit of God.” Our nature to sin renders us incapable of comprehending the truth of Scripture. We
must have a new mind, a spiritual mind, to understand the things of God. This means a special work of
God is needed to make the Scriptures understandable to the man. The work of illumination is necessary
to enable us to comprehend the Word of God (See Luke 24:44-45).

What is Illumination?

Illumination can be defined as “the special ministry of the Holy Spirit
whereby He enlightens men so they can comprehend the written
Word of God.” Illumination begins with the pre-salvation work of the
Spirit to bring demonstrable proof of the claims of the gospel that
people might trust in Christ (cf. John 1:9; 16:8-11; 2 Tim. 1:10; Heb.
6:4). Generally, illumination is used in reference to the ministry of the
Holy Spirit in enabling believers to understand the Scripture (Eph.
1:18; 3:9). This passage of Scripture best explains the importance of
illumination:

1 Corinthians 2:9-13 But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man
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imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”— these things God has revealed to us
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through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a
person's thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the
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thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the
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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. (ESV)

The doctrine of illumination must not be confused with revelation and inspiration. The following
differences need to be understood:

(1) Revelation refers to the content of God’s truth as it was revealed to the Old Testament and New
Testament authors of Scripture.

(2) Inspiration refers to the accurate transmission of that content to men, first verbally (as with the
prophets) and then in written form.

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