Meditation – The Holy Spirit Gives Us Clarity
by Isaac Overton
Question 49: What is the doctrine of the clarity of scripture?
Answer: The doctrine of the clarity of scripture teaches us that the Holy Spirit has made all things necessary to be known, believed, and observed for salvation to be clearly visible in scripture so that anyone, in the due use of ordinary means, may sufficiently understand them.
I can remember quite clearly the point in my life at which I became aware of my need for glasses. I was sitting in the back row of my Year 12 geography class (circa 2003). It’s odd, I can’t remember my teacher’s name, but I can remember quite clearly what he looked like. I think his name might have been Mr Clark. He was a friendly, gentle man in his fifties. He looked quite a lot like the actor Stephen Fry. Unfortunately for me, I found geography very boring at the time. I wonder what possessed me to choose it as a subject? I’m sure that there must be an interesting way of studying it, but I do digress. I was sitting in the back row of my geography class, valiantly attempting to will myself to pay attention and take notes, and I noticed that it was quite hard to make out what my teacher was writing on the white board. His writing was quite blurry, and it was hard work to focus on it and make out what he had written. After a couple of weeks pretending that I didn’t have a problem, I reluctantly went to the optometrist, got tested and – sure enough – I needed glasses.
Putting on my new pair of glasses for the first time, unlike my geography class, was a very enjoyable experience! I can remember marvelling at my newfound ability to be able to read number plates from a great distance as I drove my family Toyota Tarago to college. Clarity! Wonderful clarity!! Precision of sight! It is a marvel indeed! Only those who have lost it can know the sense of wonder once it is restored!
The scriptures often speak of spiritual faculties borrowing from the imagery of physical faculties. Indeed, I think that faith itself might be fairly defined as spiritual sight. Perhaps you’ve had 20/20 vision all your life, and you don’t know the joys of a new pair of glasses, but I’m sure you can relate to the experience of gaining spiritual clarity on some previously obscure problem in your life. I can remember the wonder I felt upon reading A.W. Pink’s “The Sovereignty of God.” As he led me through passage upon passage, the clear understanding I gained of God’s sovereignty had an eye-opening effect on my spiritual life. Perhaps you have experienced something similar at some point. This brings us to the doctrine of the clarity of scripture.
The Westminster Confession of Faith (1.VII) articulates this doctrine clearly for us, and I have lifted much of my own answer from here: “All things in Scripture are not alike plain in themselves, nor alike clear unto nor alike clear unto all: yet those things which are necessary to be known, believed, and observed for salvation, are so clearly propounded, and opened in some place of Scripture or other, that not only the learned, but the unlearned, in a due use of the ordinary means, may attain unto a sufficient understanding of them.”
We see that these things are true at various points in scripture, notably in 2 Timothy 3:14-15, in which Paul says to Timothy: “But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it (15) and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” Even as a child, young Timothy was able to clearly learn all that he needed to learn to make him wise for salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. This is an example to us, and shows us that all people – even children – are able to learn what is necessary to be known, believed, and observed for salvation.
Psalm 19:8 also testifies that “the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes”. The radiant clarity of the scriptures are universally sufficient to enlighten the eyes of anyone and everyone. Of course, the Spirit must illumine our darkened hearts to see this clarity, but that is a question we’ll get to soon enough. Psalm 119:105 likewise testifies: “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” The word of God is by nature a beam of light to the human soul. Light is the essence of visual clarity, without it we can see nothing. So it is with God’s word spiritually, his word alone affords us spiritual clarity.
Scripture not just a pair of glasses, it is a new pair of eyes to one born blind. It is light shining in the dark. The Holy Spirit has wonderfully imbued every word of scripture with divine, perfect, clarity. As a reflection of the perfect mind of God, of course, there is an infinite storehouse of wisdom and treasure which we can never exhaust. We will always be discovering new wonders in God’s Holy Word! However, all things necessary to be known, believed, and observed for salvation are clearly visible in scripture so that anyone, in the due use of ordinary means, may sufficiently understand them. Through his ministry of the Holy Spirit, the Lord has been abundantly good to us, has he not? His word can be understood! For our part, let us not neglect the due use of ordinary means. If you leave your Bible closed, it’s clarity will do you no good at all. Take up, read and study God’s Holy Word, and that with great diligence.
SDG.