Illumination of the Holy Spirit

11 April 2008

Illumination of the Holy Spirit

But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. – John 14:26
God has promised that the Holy Spirit will illuminate all things, which have been said in Scripture, that He will teach them to us, and that He will bring them to our remembrance. He also says that He is not the author of confusion (1 Corinthians 14:33). But there are certain questions we must ask, pertaining to the illumination of the Holy Spirit, as are prescribed in this assignment; such questions as “What are the prerequisites to receiving illumination? What does illumination really look (or feel) like? What is the scriptural basis for illumination? Can you provide any testimony of having received illumination? How does illumination relate to academics, education, hard work and the study of the Bible?” Let us now delve into gaining some illumination of these inquiries.
First, we must address the matter of the first questions, “What are the prerequisites to receiving illumination?” Proverbs 9:10 tells us, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding,” so we must say that fear of the Lord is one prerequisite for receiving illumination. This is also documented in Proverbs 1:2-7 - To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding; To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity; To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion. A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels: To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction. Another prerequisite of gaining illumination through the Holy Spirit is that we must humble ourselves and ask for it, as before and after we read God’s Word, we must ask that He teach us to understand His will, and how to apply what we have read. Romans 1:21-22 tell us that those who are not totally dependant on God, and who consider themselves wise, with their own understanding are as fools. We must go to God empty handed, and ask that He teach us all things. Another prerequisite to receive the illumination of the Holy Spirit would be that we have to be godly in our daily walk. For this reason, much of the Bible was written in parables. Jesus said that He did not want those who do not have understanding though the Holy Spirit to be able to see or hear the things of the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 13:10-13). Also, Matthew 7:6 states that which is holy is not to be given over to those who would trample it. This is how we know that those who are not holy or godly cannot receive the illumination of the Holy Spirit. Finally, we must be constantly searching for things of the Spirit, in order to be illuminated. For example, we must be willing to show that we can go past the milk stage, and dig for more meat, as we become more willing to study. If one is not eager to study the things of God, then He is not willing to show them to Him. There must be an effort made. 2 Timothy 2:14-15 says, “Of these things put them in remembrance, charging them before the Lord that they strive not about words to no profit, but to the subverting of the hearers. Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 1 Corinthians 3:2 says, “I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?” So, we know that one must be willing to study, gain with their study and grow before they are shown more things, and with the carnality and ungodliness of man, growing isn’t possible. In conclusion, therefore, we can say that the prerequisites for obtaining illumination of the Holy Spirit are fear of the Lord, asking the Lord to reveal His holy things to us, humility, godliness and a demonstration of willingness to study.
Addressing the question of what illumination of the Holy Spirit looks or feels like can be a hard question to answer, but upon close study it becomes clear. First of all, since we know that the Holy Spirit teaches all things, I think that we can safely say that when reading the Holy Bible, when we come to great understanding of God’s Word, and we have that confirmation in knowing that we are comprehending what we read that is certainly a feeling of illumination of the Holy Spirit. Through experience, of reading the Bible before my conversion, I can say that as I read it, I found the Book totally confusing and boring. Our textbook, Grasping God’s Word, says that an unsaved person can read the Bible, in an educated manner, and can comprehend what it is saying for the most part, yet they become confused when it comes time to apply what they have read. Either through ignorance or rejection, this part stifles them, and they are at a loss. When a believer reads the Word of God, and they are able to understand it, through illumination of the Holy Spirit, they are anxious to apply what God has spoken to them, through human authors, and are anxious to obey His Words and commands. So, being illuminated with the Holy Spirit brings about a feeling of obedience, for if anyone loves God, and is illuminated with His Spirit, and then they will obey (1 Peter 4:17). Another feeling that illumination of the Holy Spirit brings us joy. In fact, since we are illuminated with the Holy Spirit, we must bear all the fruits of the Spirit, which are: joy, love, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Galatians 5:22 says that these are all one fruit, so the fruit of the Spirit must contain all of these elements, and if one is of the Spirit, then he or she must contain all of the evidences, and will be able to know that the Holy Spirit is working within them.
For scriptural basis for illumination, I return to my first paragraph, where I stated that Jesus said that He did not want what was holy given to those who weren’t sanctified by the Spirit, calling them, in essence unclean – swine and dogs, and also the way that He spoke in parables. For one to grasp the intended meaning of God’s Word he or she must be in the Spirit, while reading, or else what is read flies right over the reader’s head. Also, John 16:13 - Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come and Ephesians 1:16-19 - Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers; That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power provide scriptural basis for belief in illumination of the Holy Spirit.
As for my testimony for receiving illumination, there have just been so many times since I have become a Christian, that I have felt a deeper understanding of God’s Word, and sometimes if I do not understand something that I would like to know more clearly, I will pray earnestly before I go to bed for God to show me what the Scripture really means, and He will give me a dream, pertaining to my question, so that I can understand better. I believe this is done with His Spirit.
As far as how illumination works in academics, hard work and the study of the Bible, again I refer to my first paragraph where I said that one must be willing to study and apply what they learn. Studying the Bible does require hard work, whether it is done academically or on one’s own, and the person must provide evidence that they are going to be diligent in their studies for the illumination of the Spirit to work in them, for if one is a carnal Christian, then he or she is interested in carnal things, and not the things of God, but if one is of the Spirit, then their time will be taken to study and seek after the things of the Spirit, and the rewards will be immense. In an interview given by actor, Stephen Baldwin, one time, he said that since he had given his life over to the Lord, it had just been an awesome experience. Anyone who is of the Spirit should feel the same way, and the rewards that they receive by applying the illumination of the Spirit to academics, basking in hard work, and Biblical studies, should also be described as awesome, as one reaps with the same excitement that Stephen Baldwin has.

© 2010 Kimberly Padilla, A.A Religion