We Need Divine Illumination

In today’s podcast, I want to examine the need for divine illumination.

The Bible can be a mysterious book, and because it can sometimes be mysterious and hard to understand, we need God to help us understand it. We need divine illumination.

In many ways, the stories in the Bible are easy enough for a child to understand, yet even to the most learned scholars, some things in the Bible remain a mystery. Just one example is the identity of the sons of God in Genesis 6:1-4. The identity of these sons of God continues to perplex Bible scholars to this day. This difficulty is just one of the Bible’s many unsolved mysteries.

The difficulty, however, is not so much with the Bible as it is with our own limited understanding. God says,

My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9).

We cannot fully understand God because he is infinite and we are finite, and because the Bible is God’s revelation, we need his Spirit to help us understand it. We need divine illumination.

The Apostle Paul says,

The word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God… we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God… None of the rulers of this age understood this (1 Corinthians 1:18; 2:7).

Paul says that the Gospel

is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case, the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God (2 Corinthians 4:3-4).

These verses say that unbelievers do not and cannot understand the message of the cross. The Bible is the only book in the world where you must know the author before you can understand his book.

It’s not just unbelievers who have a hard time understanding the Bible. Sometimes, even Jesus’ closest disciples did not understand him. For example, his disciples failed to understand him when he told them that he would be crucified and in three days rise from the dead.

The Bible says,

He was teaching his disciples, saying to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him. And when he is killed, after three days he will rise.” But they did not understand the saying, and were afraid to ask him (Mark 9:30-32).

At another time, Jesus told them again about his death and resurrection, yet they failed to understand. The Bible says,

And taking the twelve, he said to them, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. For he will be delivered over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon. And after flogging him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise.” But they understood none of these things. This saying was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said (Luke 18:31-34).

If Jesus’ disciples had a difficult time understanding his words, we should not get discouraged when we fail to understand them.

The fact that God’s word is sometimes hard to understand should also be a warning to us not to be dogmatic about our interpretation of the Bible. I’m not suggesting that we cannot be confident in our interpretation, but I am saying that we should be open to the possibility that our interpretation needs adjustment. We must approach the Bible with an inquisitive mind, a humble attitude, and an appeal to God for divine illumination.

Jesus referred to the need for divine illumination when Peter confessed that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus says, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven (Matthew 16:17).”

Another time God granted divine illumination to his disciples is when, after his resurrection, Jesus met two of his disciples on the road to Emmaus. Jesus said to them,

O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself (Luke 24:25-27).

Later, when Jesus appeared to his apostles after his resurrection, he said,

Everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, 46 and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem (Luke 24:44-47).

If Jesus had to explain the meaning of his words to his apostles, how much more do we need God to explain the Scriptures to us? We need God to give us illumination of his revelation.

Fortunately, Jesus has given us the Holy Spirit to help us understand the Scriptures.

Jesus says,

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… When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth (John 14:26; 16:13).

The Apostle Paul says,

These things God has revealed to us 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 thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we 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 (1 Corinthians 2:10-16).

Apparently, to fully understand the Bible, we need to be spiritual men and women. You need the Holy Spirit to fill you with divine wisdom, but such filling requires that you turn away from sin and seek God. The Apostle Paul says,

Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness… Therefore it says, “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 5:11, 14-15, 18).

If you are watching this podcast, then I assume you read your Bible. I hope that you read it every day because spiritual growth and maturity do not come automatically. To grow spiritually, you need to spend time in prayer and in God’s word.

Just like bodybuilders spend time in the gym to strengthen their physical bodies, you need to spend time in prayer and in God’s word to strengthen your soul.

The Apostle Paul prayed for the Christians in Ephesus that God would give them “the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened (Ephesians 1:17-18).” He prayed for the Christians in Colosse that they would be “filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding (Colossians 1:9).”

So, where do you start? What might be a good first step in receiving this spiritual wisdom? A good place to start is to say a simple prayer like the prayer of David in Psalm 119:18. David says, “Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law.”

Do you want to grow spiritually? Do you want to understand God’s word so that you can apply it to your everyday life? Pray and ask God to open your eyes.

Pray for divine illumination.