The Holy Spirit's Illumination of Scripture
by Alwyn York
The Lord Jesus said, “I thank You, Father,
Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and
prudent and have revealed them to babes” (Mt. 11:25).1 This expresses one of the mysteries
and yet one of the glories of the Christian faith. True understanding of the Word of God is not dependent upon or
even necessarily associated with what the world thinks of as learning or
intelligence. Those who are accounted
great minds by the world can be surprisingly clueless when it comes to the
understanding of Scripture. Witness
Lord Bertrand Russell, renowned twentieth century philosopher and logician,
attempting to function as an exegete of Scripture:
You will remember that Christ said, “Judge
not lest ye be judged.” That principle
I do not think you would find was popular in the law courts of Christian
countries. I known in my time quite a
number of judges who were very earnest Christians, and none of them felt they
were acting contrary to Christian principles in what they did.2
Even great familiarity with the Bible does
not guarantee understanding of it, as I can testify from my experience of
theological education at a liberal seminary.
My New Testament professor carried a Bible as well thumbed as that of a
believing Biblicist, but it had apparently done him little spiritual good. He told us of how he had become involved in
New Testament study, not out of any reverence for the inspired Word, but
because in college he had been introduced to the higher critical method of
Bible study, and he had discovered that the exercise of trying to determine the
origin of a saying in the gospels was intellectually stimulating. Trying to sift through what he saw as the
different levels of tradition to determine whether a saying was original to
Jesus or part of early church tradition or the invention of the gospel writer
was an enjoyable mental challenge for him.
He said that it gave him the same kind of satisfaction as solving a
crossword puzzle or figuring out the ending of a mystery novel. He gleefully described how he had squelched
a pious but naïve student who once asked him to begin a class with prayer. He was on his fourth marriage, as I
recall. His example illustrates how it
is possible to derive mental stimulation from the Bible and nothing else.
The wise and learned may get no benefit from
Scripture, while those who are unschooled may display powerful mastery. The Sanhedrin marvelled at Peter and John,
who were powerful and bold preachers although they were uneducated and
untrained (Acts 4:13). In this Peter
and John were part of a long line in which we might include John Bunyan, the
tinker of Bedford, William Carey, a cobbler who became a great linguist and
translator, and the uneducated shoe salesman D. L. Moody. The way that comprehension of Scripture is
not dependent upon worldly wisdom illustrates 1 Corinthians 2:14: “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.”
The necessity of the Spirit’s illumination
for the saving understanding of Holy Scripture is probably acknowledged in
principle by nearly all biblical Christians, and yet it is often ignored in
practice, or it is poorly understood.
Fred Klooster, a Calvin Seminary professor speaking on the role of the
Holy Spirit in the hermeneutic process at the International Council on Biblical
Inerrancy’s second Summit observed, “The illumination of the Holy Spirit is
regularly mentioned in theological literature; yet detailed discussion of this
subject is rare.”3 He
referred his hearers to a work of John Owen first published in 1678 as the most
detailed treatment of the subject.
Another speaker also mentioned Owen, along with William Whitaker’s Disputations
on the Holy Scripture from 1588, and contrasts the attention they devote to
it with the neglect of the subject in modern evangelical works on biblical
interpretation.4
The illumination of Scripture may be a neglected
subject today, but it is not really obscure or unimportant. I fear that a practical neglect of the need
for the Spirit’s illumination leads some in the evangelical world into a type
of rationalism. The title of a popular
apologetic work, Evidence That Demands a Verdict5, suggests
that it will present evidence so persuasive that anyone reading it would be
bound to become a Christian. The kind
of apologetics that expects that anyone will become a Christian if only he is
presented with the right evidence suggests a Pelagian understanding of
conversion underlying it. The desire to
show that Christian faith is reasonable, if not grounded upon an adequate
theological foundation, can lead to an undervaluing or even a practical denial
of the work of the Spirit in enabling understanding of spiritual truth.
But there are also dangers that emerge once
we begin to speak of the need for the Spirit to illumine. Trying to avoid
rationalism, we may end up with an approach to the Christian faith that
presents it as irrational subjectivism.
Some have argued that if it is the Spirit which gives understanding of
God’s Word, then scholarly helps, linguistic and grammatical study, and the
consultation of commentaries are unnecessary, even a form of intellectual
presumption. Perhaps every preacher at
some point will encounter an impatient hearer who declares, “Don’t give me
Greek or Hebrew or theology, just tell me what the Bible says!” There will be some who are so secure in the
conviction that what they believe is a Spirit-given interpretation of a passage
that they are immune to any instruction.
Some expect a special private revelation as they are reading the
Bible: “I was reading my Bible this
morning, and the Lord said to me…” The idea that the things of the Spirit are
spiritually discerned is a glorious and comforting thought, but like so much in
Scripture, it is something, which the ignorant can twist to their own
destruction.
1 Corinthians 2:14 has also been taken as a
charter for those who want to teach an esoteric method of interpreting
Scripture. The ancient Gnostics have
had many descendents down through the centuries. It is tempting to human pride to believe that the surface, straightforward
meaning of Scripture is only a device to conceal deeper truth from the
uninitiated. Kabbalists, Rosicrucians,
Swedenborgians, Freemasons, Theosophists and modern New Agers have all been
eager to give those who will listen a key to unlock what they see as the deeper
spiritual lessons of the sacred volume.
All this shows the importance of having a proper understanding of the
doctrine of illumination.
In what follows I want to
set forth biblical teaching on three subjects.
First we will consider the spiritual condition of unregenerate human
beings, and specify what sort of deficiency it is which the Spirit’s
illumination corrects. Secondly we will
examine the changes that occur at regeneration and the question of what new
capacities are given to understand Scripture that were not present before. Third I want to say something about the
continuing need for illumination in those who have experienced spiritual
rebirth. I will conclude by saying
something about the application of these truths in preaching.
The Incapacity of the
Unregenerate to Understand Scripture
My basic point about the incapacity of the
unregenerate man to comprehend the Scriptures can be simply stated. Unredeemed human beings are in a state of
darkness, a darkness that is moral rather than intellectual. Statements describing the state of the
unredeemed as being in darkness are plentiful in Scripture. Proverbs 4:19 declares, “The way of the
wicked is like darkness; they do not know what makes them stumble.” Psalm 82:5 says, “They do not know, nor do
they understand; they walk about in darkness.”
Ephesians 4:18 speaks of the Gentiles “having their understanding
darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that
is in them.” 2 Corinthians 3:14 says of
unbelieving Jews that their minds were blinded.
But despite being in a state of darkness,
there is much that an unredeemed person can understand about the
Scriptures. James Buchanan, a
nineteenth century Scottish theologian, says,
There can be no doubt that the Bible, like
any other book, may convey much instruction to an unrenewed man. When it is affirmed that a natural man
cannot know the things of God, it is not implied that the Bible is
unintelligibly written, or that he cannot understand the sense and meaning of
scriptural propositions, so as to be able to give a rational account of
them. He may investigate the literal
meaning of Scripture, and may attach a definite idea to many of its
statements—may be able to see their mutual relations—to reason upon them, and
even to expound them; and yet in the scriptural sense, he may be in darkness
notwithstanding.6
He goes on to say that, “The natural man is capable
of acquiring, by the use of his rational faculties, such an acquaintance with
the truths of God’s Word as is sufficient to make him responsible for his
treatment of it.”7 We have
all known people with much knowledge of Scripture, even some able to rationally
explain the tenets of Calvinistic theology, who, by their own admission, do not
believe any of it. The Bible is not
like some Delphic oracle, completely unintelligible except to those who are
supernaturally given an interpretation.
The inability of the unredeemed to comprehend the Bible is a
consequence of their moral condition.
Romans 1:21-22 describes the process:
“Although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were
thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were
darkened. Professing to be wise, they
became fools.” Paul says in 2
Corinthians 4:3, “But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who
are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe,
lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God,
should shine on them.” The Pharisees
were well versed in Scripture; they could quote chapter and verse to great effect. They did not need more information—they
needed to have the hostility of their hearts to the Son of God removed. As Edwin Palmer observes, “In Jesus’ parable
of the rich man and Lazarus, what the rich man’s brothers needed for their
conversion was not more knowledge or a proof by a man rising from the
dead. No, they had Moses and the
prophets. What they needed was a
spiritual awakening and illumination so they could believe what was already in
the Bible.”8
Apologetics does have value. In
a day and age when many are claiming that no intelligent rational person can
believe the literal truth of the Bible, it is worth showing that believing in
the Bible is not an irrational thing to do.
It is worth looking at evidences for Christianity and answering the
charges made by skeptics. But we still
need to remember that no one can be argued into faith in Christ. The scribes and Pharisees believed in the
literal truth of the Hebrew Scriptures—but still they rejected the Lord of
Glory and had Him crucified.
The New Capacity Given to
the Redeemed
The inability of the natural man to receive the things of God is not an
intellectual problem but a moral one.
So the change that occurs at regeneration operates on the heart and the
will, not on a person’s rational capacities.
The Holy Spirit does not enlighten a man by giving him a secret
revelation, some new knowledge. The
Holy Spirit enlightens a person, not by giving an added content of knowledge,
but by mysteriously operating on his heart so that he can see the revelation
already given. The image used in
Scripture is of removing a veil. In 2
Corinthians 3:15 Paul says of the unbelieving Jews, “But even to this day, when
Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart.”
He continues, “Nevertheless, when one turns to the Lord, the veil is
taken away” (2 Cor. 3:16). The truth
was there before them all the time, only they were prevented from seeing
it. The disciples on the road to Emmaus
portray the normal experience of a Christian.
Jesus drew near to them, “but their eyes were restrained, so that they
did not know Him” (Lk. 24:16). He
expounded to them all the Scriptures relating to Himself as they walked along,
but still they did not see. Finally as
they sat at the table with Him and He broke bread with them, “their eyes were
opened and they knew Him” (Lk. 24:31).
After their eyes have been opened, their previous incomprehension is a
matter of shame and amazement to them: “And they said to one another, ‘Did not
our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He
opened the Scriptures to us?’” (Lk. 24:32).
Their new comprehension was not the result of being given new
information. It was being enabled to
see and appreciate what was right before their eyes and they should have known
all along.
Jonathan Edwards’s sermon, “A Divine and Supernatural Light,
Immediately Imparted to the Soul by the Spirit of God, Shown to Be Both a
Scriptural and Rational Doctrine,”9
is a very helpful brief work on our subject. Here is how Edward describes the nature of the light that is
given: “It may be thus described: A
true sense of the divine excellency of the things revealed in the Word of God,
and a conviction of the truth and reality of them thence arising.”10 It is the capacity to appreciate the things
of God for their true worth that is given in regeneration. Edwards says that this spiritual light
“reveals no new doctrine, it suggests no new propositions to the mind, it
teaches no new thing of God, or Christ or another world not taught in the
Bible, but only gives a due apprehension of those things that are taught in the
Word of God.”11 The Spirit’s
work is to drive home to the heart and conscience what the mind understands.
I think James Buchanan gives a very helpful description of the nature
of the new capacity that is gained:
As it is difficult to convey an idea of
colour to the blind, or of music to the deaf, so it is difficult to describe to
a natural man the peculiar perceptions of one whose eyes have been opened by
the Spirit. And the difficulty is not
diminished but increased by the fact, that he has a kind of knowledge which is
common to him with the true believer, and which is too apt to be mistaken for
that which the Gospel requires. Perhaps
the nearest approach that we can make to an explanation may be by asking you to
conceive of a man who sees, but has no sense of beauty, or of a man who hears,
but has no sense of harmony; just such is the case of a natural man, who sees
the truth without perceiving its spiritual excellence, and on whose ear the
sound of the Gospel falls without awakening music in his soul. Saving knowledge is not a knowledge of the
dead letter or outward form of the Gospel, but a knowledge of the truth in “the
light, and lustre, and glory of it;” “gustful knowledge” (Thomas Halyburton),
which has in it a relish of the truth as excellent: “O taste and see that the
Lord is good.”12
Thus we can see that the scriptural doctrine
of illumination gives no encouragement at all to those who desire to find a
secret higher meaning in Scripture. It
is also no encouragement to those who look to the word of the Spirit to give
them a personal private revelation.
This is a tendency that I believe is rampant in the church today. Christians are encouraged in many quarters
to come to the Bible with the expectation that they will receive a personal
“word from the Lord.” I am afraid that
people mean more by this expression than finding a portion of Scripture that
has special relevance to one’s situation or condition in life. A mystical approach is encouraged which
deprecates the need for the work of understanding a passage in context and
applying all the other rules of sound interpretation. People today are all too quick to attribute their own personal
desires and inclinations to a special work of the Holy Spirit. A sound understanding of what the Bible
teaches about the Spirit’s illumination is important if Christians are to
attribute to the Holy Spirit the work that is truly His, and not give their personal
whims and leadings a divine status.
John Calvin and John Owen have both been
recognized as being to an eminent degree theologians of the Holy Spirit. Their work demonstrates that something often
said about Reformed Christians is precisely the opposite of the truth. It is not true that Reformed Christians
excel in the intellectual analysis of the Christian faith, but are in need of
the appreciation for the work of the Holy Spirit that others more
“Spirit-filled” can supply. Instead,
those who consider themselves “Spirit-filled” need the insights about the work
of the Spirit found in Reformed writers so that the work of the Spirit can be
seen in its scriptural glory and splendor rather than being associated with the
quirks of immature and impulsive followers of Christ.
A
sound understanding of the Spirit’s work of illumination will safeguard
Christians against two undesirable extremes.
If we understand the need for the Spirit’s enlightenment, we will not
expect too much from rational attempts to defend and explain the Bible. At the same time, if we understand the
nature of the enlightenment the Spirit gives, we will not undervalue the work
of interpretation and explanation of God’s Word. The Spirit makes it possible for our efforts to expound the Bible
to bear fruit, but His work does not eliminate the need for careful, logical
exegesis. In the design of God, the
Spirit and the human mind are meant to work together, each performing its own
proper function.
The Believer’s Continuing
Need for Illumination
Much of the discussion of the Holy Spirit’s
work of illuminating Scripture focuses on what occurs at the time of
regeneration. There is indeed a great
and momentous change that occurs then.
A soul that was blind is now enabled to see. The veil is lifted. A
person passes from darkness to light.
Such a great and categorical change is indeed worthy of attention. But the attention given to this aspect of
illumination should not make us forget that the Spirit’s illuminating work is
necessary throughout the life of a believer.
“Open my eyes, that I may see wondrous things from Your law,” (Ps.
119:18) is the prayer of a redeemed man.
Despite the blessings the Psalmist had already known, despite the fact
that he had an evident relish and delight in the Word of God, he knew that this
Word had treasures and depths yet to impart to him. Similarly it was for Christian believers in Ephesus that Paul
prayed that “the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may
know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His
inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power
toward us who believe” (Eph. 1:18-19).
Because of our contemporary society’s craving
for what is sensational and stimulating, Reformed Christians often bemoan the
extent to which our world is experience-oriented. Yet there is a kind of experience that is holy and blessed and
vital to our spiritual well being. Of
course there are some things in the Christian faith that we must simply take on
faith without any personal experience.
We were not there to see the Creation; the events surrounding the return
of the Lord Jesus Christ remain future.
We are completely dependent upon what the Bible tells us about
them. But there are spiritual truths
that the Spirit can impart to us here and now.
We are meant to taste and see that the Lord is good. If our spiritual experience is dull and
impoverished, is it any wonder that our people may begin to hanker after
teachers and fellowships that promise something more vivid and immediate? You who expound God’s Word week after week,
has Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians, referred to above (Eph. 1:18-19), been
answered in your own experience? What
have you felt, what have you known to the depths of your heart about the hope
to which we have been called, about the riches of the inheritance we have been
given, about the greatness of the power that the Lord is continually exerting
on behalf of His chosen ones? God has
caused His light to shine in the hearts of those who believe, but we still live
in a world in which we see as in a mirror, dimly. We still dwell in a world of pale shadows and dim
reflections. Our eyes have been opened,
but still darkness and shadows remain.
Surely it is by the express design of the
Author of Scripture that Psalm 119 is the longest of all the psalms in the
Bible. Having our eyes opened should
mean that we desire to see more and more.
This psalm portrays for us just how absorbing the desire for more light
from God’s Word can be. There is a
richness and depth in God’s revelation that is inexhaustible. Shame upon us if we ever feel that the Bible
is old hat, that in reading its pages we are simply treading down well-worn,
familiar paths. What a sense of joy and
gratitude it should give us to find new light on a passage that has always
perplexed us, or to have a teacher make us see a passage in a different light
that we have before. At the 1999 Banner
of Truth Conference, Hywel Jones spoke from the book of Job about Elihu as a
man of God. This was a new and startling
perspective for me—I had always seen this person in an unsympathetic way as an
arrogant young know-it-all. Mr. Jones
gave what was to me a new and yet ultimately convincing interpretation of this
individual as a true man of God speaking the Word of God. There was something exhilarating about
seeing what was a familiar portion of Scripture in a whole new light.
We do not know what further treasures the
Spirit of God might show us from the Word of God if we would but dig
deeper. Our Congregational forebear
John Robinson advised the Plymouth Pilgrims, “I am veryily perswaded, I am very
confident the Lord hath more truth yet to break forth out of his holy Word.”13 This was not an invitation for bold spirits
to take liberties with the Scriptures.
It was encouragement to those who loved the Word of God to seek greater
and greater light from it. We do not
believe, as many do today, that truth is ever changing. Our forefathers have discovered fixed
markers that we dare not venture beyond or change. But we can add new insights into the meaning of God’s Word. There are questions upon which further light
can be shed. There are topics for
investigation and development to which no one has yet given adequate
attention. The basic contours of
scriptural theology cannot be changed—but if that means that theology remains
static, it is only because we have succumbed to sloth. During my pastorate in New Lebanon, New York
I inherited much of the library of a layman who remained a keen student of
Scripture to the day he died, despite the infirmity that Parkinson’s disease
inflicted upon him. He kept on buying
new, serious commentaries, collections of meaty sermons, and substantial
volumes of theology even though he was suffering a dramatic physical
decline. He was a living illustration
of 2 Corinthians 4:16: “Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the
inward man is being renewed day by day.”
I hope I will remember his example if I am ever tempted to retire from
the study of the Word of God!
Preaching on Illumination
In these pages I have been considering what
some might consider an obscure topic in theology. In preparing this presentation I was encouraged to address the
application of this topic in preaching.
So in closing I want to address the question of what there is about the
Spirit’s illumination of Holy Scripture that can and should be preached. Fortunately in this matter I was not left to
my own devices, but am able to follow the lead of one who was a master in Israel. I have already mentioned Jonathan Edwards’s
sermon on “A Divine and Supernatural Light.”
For my conclusion I will simply restate what he presents as a “brief
improvement,” i.e. an application, of what he has said on the subject.14
In the first place, the doctrine of the
Spirit’s illumination should be an encouragement to ordinary people that they
can read the Bible with profit.
Contrary to what the Roman church claimed at the time of the
Reformation, we do not need some external human authority to present us with a
sound intepretation of the Bible. And
contrary to the fears of some people in the church, we do not need to have
advanced degrees in Bible and theology to be able to read and understand God’s
Word. Right understanding of the Bible
is not dependent upon what the world considers great learning. As the Lord Jesus said, the truths of
Scripture are often concealed from the wise and learned and revealed to
babes. With the aid of the Spirit, all
of God’s people can understand His Word.
So we should encourage the people—yes, you can read and understand the
Bible. It is not above you. It is not a confusing and obscure book of
puzzles which only a special priestly class can make sense of. This is a book that your Heavenly Father has
given for your benefit, and for which He has made special provision through His
Spirit for you to understand.
Second, the doctrine of the Spirit’s
illumination has an evangelistic use.
We can describe the kind of enlightenment that is necessary for a saving
knowledge of Scripture, and ask people to examine themselves as to whether this
kind of enlightenment has occurred in them.
Have they seen the truths of Scripture as more than mere objects of
intellectual knowledge? Have these
truths become glorious and precious in their sight? Have they perceived the moral perfection of Christ and the
holiness and righteousness of their Father Almighty? Have they seen how the sacrifice of the Lamb of God was an utter
necessity because of the horrible depravity of the human race and the
detestableness of sin in the sight of God?
When the Bible speaks of sin, do they see the applicability of what the
Bible says to their case? Do they know
what the Psalmist is talking about when he says the judgments of the Lord are
more desirable than gold and sweeter than honey (Ps. 19:9-10)? In preaching we can press home some
searching questions: Though you think
you know the Bible, how has what you read there affected you? Has this Word worked a transformation upon
your heart and your mind? Has the light
of the knowledge of the glory of God shined forth in your heart, or do you
remain in darkness?
The third and final “improvement” of this
doctrine that Edwards gives is simply an exhortation to seek this spiritual
light. He gives four incentives to this
seeking which should be powerful motivation indeed. First, it is the most excellent and divine wisdom to which any
created being can aspire. What is the
greatest of human learning compared to the knowledge of God? As Edwards says, “The least glimpse of the
glory of God in the face of Christ doth more exalt and enoble the soul, than
all the knowledge of those that have the greatest speculative understanding in
divinity without grace.”15
Second, it is the most sweet and joyful kind of knowledge; no other
knowledge can give such pleasure. “This
light gives a view of those things that are immensely the most exquisitely
beautiful, and capable of delighting the eye of the understanding.”16 No other knowledge can give such support in
affliction, such comfort and hope.
Third, this is a kind of knowledge that can transform us personally at
the deepest level. This knowledge
“changes the soul into an image of the same glory that is beheld,”17
and causes us to give ourselves wholly to Christ. Fourth and finally, this knowledge bears fruit in holiness of
life. No merely notional or speculative
understanding of the doctrines of religion will do this. It changes our hearts so that we give God
willing obedience, which will be evident in the things we do. Thus in speaking of illumination, we begin
by referring to something that occurs within the heart and mind, but this is
not just a speculative or even devotional exercise. The end result will be seen in the kind of life that we live. The Spirit’s illumination is not just a
topic for theological disputation. This
work of the Holy Spirit is necessary before anyone can have the kind of
understanding of Scripture that will really make a difference.
Thus the doctrine of illumination has an
important lesson to teach about the shape and direction that our preaching
should take. It is a reminder that our
preaching is not to be with “persuasive words of human wisdom, but in
demonstration of the Spirit and of power” (2 Cor. 2:4). The basic thrust of evangelistic preaching
is telling sinners that they need to repent.
We may preach with great eloquence, we may have unanswerable arguments,
but if we are preaching to the lost, we must remember that they are people
whose minds have been blinded by the god of this age. Our most eloquent appeals will make no impact unless a Sovereign
God causes His light to dawn upon their hearts. Our approach in preaching should not be to say merely that we are
offering something beneficial that you our hearer can and should take up at any
time. We have a more disquieting
message. We are to tell the lost, “You
are slaves. You are blind. You cannot even understand what we are
saying unless God in His mercy enables you.”
The Lord must illumine. Our
preaching can succeed only “in demonstration of the Spirit and of power” (1
Cor. 2:4). That must be the starting
point for preaching the Lord God will honor.
Presented to the Reformed
Congregational Fellowship, May 24, 2000.
Print Page
1All Scripture quotations are
from the New King James Version.
2Bertrand Russell, Why I
Am Not a Christian and Other Essays on Religion and Related Subjects (New
York: Simon & Schuster, 1957), p. 15.
3Fred H. Klooster, “The Role
of the Holy Spirit in the Hermeneutic Process,” in Hermeneutics, Inerrancy,
and the Bible, ed. Earl D. Radmacher and Robert D. Preus (Grand Rapids:
Zondervan, 1984), p. 451.
4Arthur W. Lindsley, “A
Response to The Role of the Holy Spirit in the Hermeneutic Process,” in Hermeneutics,
Inerrancy, and the Bible, ed. Earl D. Radmacher and Robert D. Preus (Grand
Rapids: Zondervan, 1984), pp. 491-492.
Whitaker’s Disputations have recently been reprinted by Soli
Deo Gloria.
5Josh McDowell, Evidence
That Demands a Verdict: Historical Evidences for the Christian Faith (San
Bernadino, CA: Campus Crusade for Christ, 1972).
6James Buchanan, The
Office and Work of the Holy Spirit (1843; reprint ed. London: Banner of
Truth, 1966), p. 52.
7Ibid., p. 53.
8Edwin H. Palmer, The
Person and Ministry of the Holy Spirit: The Traditional Calvinistic Perspective
(Grand Rapids: Baker, 1974), p. 59.
9Jonathan Edwards, The
Works of Jonathan Edwards, 2 vols. (1834; reprint ed. Edinburgh: Banner of
Truth, 1979), 2:12-17.
10Ibid., p. 14.
11Ibid., p. 13.
12Buchanan, Office and Work,
p. 54.
13John Robinson, quoted in
Cotton Mather, The Great Works of Christ in America, 2 vols. (Edinburgh:
Banner of Truth, 1979), 1:64.
14Edwards, Works, 2:17.
15Ibid.
16Ibid.
17Ibid.