ODJ: illumination
January 17, 2011
For His Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets (v.10).
READ: 1 Corinthians 2:6-16
It’s glossy and features the pics of people like Bono, Angelina Jolie, the Dalai Lama, and Che Guevara. If you glanced at the cover you might mistake it for a fashion magazine. What is it? A New Testament called The Bible Illuminated. The publishers, however, admit that they don’t “support a specific faith.” Many of the images of celebrities and well-known people are positioned next to specific verses to make political or social statements. The photos don’t “illuminate” the text. Instead, they mislead and confuse the reader. I’m grateful for the illumination that the Holy Spirit brings, so that we can truly understand God’s Word (1 Corinthians 2:10). He “shows us God’s deep secrets” as we read and study it. Like a lens that allows us to see what once was blurry and undefined, God’s Spirit helps us grasp the truths in Scripture that nonbelievers can’t possibly understand. To them it’s foolishness (1:18). As the Holy Spirit illumines God’s Word for us, we move from false and distorted views to the clarity of what the Bible’s authors are actually communicating (2 Peter 1:21). Then, after the Holy Spirit has opened our eyes to what the Word is saying, we can pray that He will also help us take it to heart and obey it. Now, when a particular passage of the Bible is highly confusing or hard to understand, it’s good to do two things: (1) Seek out helpful insights from godly commentators and theologians who have studied the Scriptures and experienced the Spirit’s illuminating ways; (2) pray for the Spirit to shed His light on the verses in question. For “we have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us” (1 Corinthians 2:12). Now that’s illumination! —Tom Felten
How have you viewed Scripture through the wrong lens? How does the Holy Spirit open your eyes to the truths found in the Bible?
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