Article 6: Getting Comfortable With Terms—Revelation, Inspiration, Illumination
When people discuss the Bible as “the Word of God,” they often invoke three theological terms—revelation, inspiration, and illumination—that appear intertwined yet carry distinct nuances. At first glance, these might seem like interchangeable or overly “academic” ideas. But historically, they have helped believers articulate precisely how Scripture came from God and how we come to understand it. In simpler terms:
- Revelation addresses what truths God discloses.
- Inspiration concerns how Scripture itself was produced, preserving those truths in written form.
- Illumination speaks to how individuals today grasp the meaning and power of that God-given text.
In this article, we will untangle these concepts, showing how they fit together in the wider tapestry of biblical authority. We will draw on Louis Gaussen’s explanations, particularly his emphasis on theopneustia in Theopneustia (chap. 3), connect them to Robert Preus’s commentary on 17th-century Lutheran Orthodoxy, and incorporate Richard Muller’s insights on how post-Reformation Reformed theologians distinguished these three terms. By the end, our hope is that readers—whether lay or academic—will see the clarity these distinctions can bring to their own encounter with Scripture, ensuring that “the living Word” is approached with reverence, confidence, and humility.
1. Why Definitions Matter
Christians throughout history have claimed that the Bible is unlike any other book. They speak of it as “God’s Word,” “holy letters,” or “prophetic Scripture.” But how, exactly, do we parse the supernatural dimension of Scripture’s production and reception? That is where revelation, inspiration, and illumination come in. Each term zeroes in on a different aspect of the process:
- Revelation: God unveiling truths humans could not know by mere reason.
- Inspiration: God ensuring that Scripture, the written record of these revelations, is accurately and wholly His Word.
- Illumination: God enlightening our minds, so that we can understand, appreciate, and be changed by Scripture.
Historically, confusion arises when we conflate these terms, using “inspiration” to mean any special insight, or “revelation” to describe personal experiences that are not part of Scripture. By distinguishing them, we preserve the integrity of how Scripture came to be and how it operates in the Church. As we walk through each concept, we will see how Gaussen, Preus, and Muller affirm the Church’s longstanding convictions in ways that are both theologically rigorous and pastorally fruitful.
2. Revelation: God’s Truth Disclosed
2.1 Defining Revelation
“Revelation” generally describes the act by which God makes known something previously hidden or unknowable by mere human faculties. Scripture repeatedly underscores that human reason, while valuable, cannot independently grasp God’s redemptive plan or the fullness of His character. Revelation, then, is God’s gracious unveiling of Himself—His nature, His will, His actions, and His purposes for humanity.
- General Revelation: This refers to the witness of creation (Ps. 19:1; Rom. 1:19–20), where God’s power and divine attributes are perceived in nature, and to the moral conscience He has imprinted in human hearts.
- Special Revelation: This includes redemptive truths about Christ, covenants, prophecies, and the gospel message—truths not discernible merely by studying nature. Special revelation is found concretely in Scripture, culminating in the person and work of Jesus Christ (Heb. 1:1–2).
2.2 Gaussen’s Perspective on Revelation
While Louis Gaussen mostly focuses on inspiration in Theopneustia, he presupposes revelation as the starting point—God must first disclose truths. Gaussen insists that if certain events (like Creation or the Fall) or certain doctrines (like justification by faith) are to be known at all, God must reveal them. For instance, we wouldn’t know the depth of original sin or the promise of a Redeemer if God had not supernaturally communicated those realities to chosen messengers. Gaussen sees revelation as the indispensable background to inspiration: there must be something to record, for there to be a God-breathed text.
2.3 Historical Recognition
Richard Muller traces how medieval theologians like Thomas Aquinas regarded revelation (divine disclosures) as the basis for sacra doctrina (holy teaching). Later, Reformation confessions reaffirmed that we know Christ’s work only through Scripture’s special revelation, not through natural philosophies or mere inference. Hence, “revelation” is a broad theological category describing the content God unveils, and it stands distinct from “inspiration,” which pertains to the process that produced Scripture in written form.
3. Inspiration: God’s Act in Producing Scripture
3.1 Defining Inspiration
If revelation denotes the truths disclosed, “inspiration” points to the special, miraculous work of the Holy Spirit by which God guided human authors to write Scripture exactly as He intended, making the final product wholly God’s Word. The classical term from 2 Timothy 3:16 is theopneustos (“God-breathed”), emphasizing that biblical writings—every word—are from the breath of God.
In simpler terms, revelation answers the question, “What truths did God disclose?” while inspiration addresses, “How did these truths become an authoritative, written record?” According to orthodox teaching, including the mainstream Reformation stance, Scripture is not simply a human reflection on divine events; it is the direct result of God’s overshadowing or superintending each biblical author so that their words truly are God’s words.
3.2 Gaussen’s Emphasis on Theopneustia
In Theopneustia, Gaussen devotes chapters to clarifying that theopneustia covers not only doctrinal statements but also historical narratives, genealogies, and every other genre. He underscores two core claims:
- Plenary Inspiration: The entire Bible (both Old and New Testaments) is from God, so no portion is excluded.
- Verbal Inspiration: The Holy Spirit superintended even the selection of words, so that while authors retained their style and individuality, the resulting text remains inerrant and fully divine.
Gaussen’s argument resonates with older confessions that treat Scripture as the final norm (norma normans). He underscores that if the text were partly human and partly divine in some uncertain sense, believers would never be sure which segments to trust. Instead, the impetus is a unified, God-breathed Scriptures that reflect the fullness of God’s revelation and the completeness of the Spirit’s superintendence.
3.3 Preus’s Commentary on 17th-Century Orthodoxy
Robert Preus in his surveys demonstrates how 17th-century Lutheran dogmaticians (e.g., Quenstedt, Calov) regarded inspiration as the culminating act by which God “sealed” the divine truths in canonical writings. They prized 2 Timothy 3:16 and 2 Peter 1:19–21 as textual cornerstones, paralleling Gaussen’s approach. For them, “inspiration” was no vague concept: it was the wellspring of Scripture’s infallibility and authority.
Muller’s study of Reformed scholastics (like Turretin, Voetius) finds an identical emphasis—by the Spirit’s overshadowing, the biblical text stands free from error, holding divine authority in a way no other text can claim. This robust assertion of inspiration, while historically refined in confessions, always anchored itself in the biblical usage of theopneustos.
4. Illumination: The Holy Spirit’s Work in Our Hearts
4.1 Defining Illumination
If revelation is God’s unveiling of truths (the “content”) and inspiration is God’s act in producing a faultless scriptural record, “illumination” addresses how readers or hearers today come to understand and believe those truths. In short, illumination is the continuing ministry of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of individuals—enabling them to grasp, internalize, and delight in God’s Word.
- Biblical Support: Passages like 1 Corinthians 2:14–16 teach that the “natural man” cannot receive the things of God without the Spirit. Luke 24:45 shows Jesus opening the disciples’ minds to understand the Scriptures. Ephesians 1:17–18 prays for the “eyes of the heart” to be enlightened.
4.2 Why Illumination is Distinct From Inspiration
Crucially, illumination does not produce new authoritative revelations (as “inspiration” did for the biblical authors). Nor does it involve rewriting Scripture in one’s mind. Rather, it’s the Spirit’s ongoing application of that once-for-all God-breathed text, so believers can perceive its truth and be conformed to Christ. Illumination is thus subjective (it happens within a believer’s experience), whereas revelation and inspiration are objective facts (God disclosing truths in history and preserving them in Scripture).
Louis Gaussen references this principle when he clarifies that theopneustia refers to the text’s production, not a continuing miraculous phenomenon in each Christian’s daily study. For Gaussen, the miracle of inspiration was completed with the closing of the canon, while the Spirit’s illumination continues in every generation. Robert Preus similarly notes that “the Holy Spirit’s inward testimony to the text” is how individuals come to unwavering conviction that the Bible is indeed God’s Word—yet that testimony does not add new words to Scripture.
4.3 Gaussen’s Theopneustia Chapter 3
In Theopneustia chap. 3, Gaussen systematically draws boundaries:
- Revelation: Some biblical authors received direct revelations (like Moses on Sinai, or prophets hearing “Thus says the Lord”).
- Inspiration: The Spirit guided them in writing those revelations down, preserving them free from error.
- Illumination: Each reader, in subsequent ages, relies on the Spirit to appreciate, interpret, and obey that Word.
Thus, no biblical writer, post-canon, experiences “inspiration” to produce new Scripture. Instead, believers experience the “light within” from the same Spirit who once breathed out the text, now helping them read it profitably.
5. Historical and Theological Significance
5.1 Maintaining Proper Distinctions
Richard Muller highlights how post-Reformation systems carefully delineated these three ideas to avoid confusion. They wanted to:
- Prevent illusions that “inspiration” continues for any modern teacher.
- Emphasize that knowledge of biblical truth arises not by raw scholarship alone but by spiritual insight (illumination).
- Affirm that “revelation,” while culminating in Christ, has been fully recorded in Scripture, the final authority.
From the medieval era’s acceptance of Scripture as divine to the Reformation’s more intense articulation of scriptural inspiration, these definitions guaranteed theological clarity. The Church recognized that God’s Word is given to humankind in an unrepeatable manner (inspiration), yet each generation must rely on the Spirit’s continuing “illumination” to embrace that Word.
5.2 Apologetic and Pastoral Impact
In the realm of apologetics, distinguishing these terms aids Christians in explaining how the Bible came to be, how it can be trusted, and why personal experience is not equal to Scripture. Pastors, meanwhile, often counsel congregants who say, “God revealed this to me!” Clarifying that new private “revelations” are not binding helps maintain the sufficiency of the biblical canon, while acknowledging that the Spirit can certainly illumine or apply those biblical truths in personal ways.
Similarly, when believers face academic questions about biblical historicity or textual reliability, pointing to the classical doctrine of inspiration can show that the Church is not naive but deeply grounded in the notion that the Holy Spirit superintended each biblical writer. Meanwhile, under “illumination,” believers also see how personal study, prayer, and the Spirit’s guidance converge to yield spiritual growth.
6. Practical Payoff for Individual Believers
6.1 Confidence in Scripture’s Divine Authorship
With revelation and inspiration, Christians see that God has not left them to guess at His nature or His plan for salvation. The Bible stands as a stable anchor of revealed truth, wholly reliable because the Spirit formed it. This fosters peace and assurance in a rapidly changing world.
6.2 Reliance on the Holy Spirit for Understanding
Illumination means we approach Scripture not as a mere intellectual exercise but as a spiritual discipline. We pray for the Spirit’s light each time we open the Bible, confident that the same Spirit who inspired the text can unravel its richness for us.
6.3 Avoiding Misplaced Claims
Misunderstandings sometimes arise when well-intentioned individuals claim “inspiration” for personal impressions or messages. By returning to the definitions hammered out in the Reformation and refined by theologians like Gaussen, the Church avoids equating private ideas with the canonical text. This protects against doctrinal chaos while leaving room for the Spirit’s personal leading.
6.4 Integrating Scholarship and Devotion
Because Scripture is God-breathed, we do not fear rigorous historical or literary study. Instead, we combine academic approaches with prayerful dependence on illumination. Gaussen himself recognized that historical research on manuscripts or languages can be a tool that the Spirit uses to clarify God’s Word. This synergy of scholarship and devotion reflects the classical stance advocated by both Lutheran Orthodoxy (Preus) and Reformed scholasticism (Muller).
7. Conclusion: Distinguishing Yet Integrating All Three
In summary, biblical authority stands on a threefold pillar:
- Revelation: God’s act of disclosing truths (especially redemptive) that human reason alone cannot discover.
- Inspiration: The Holy Spirit’s special work ensuring that the scriptural record of those truths is perfectly God-breathed, free from error, and fully authoritative.
- Illumination: The Spirit’s ongoing role in each believer’s mind and heart, enabling them to understand and apply Scripture’s message.
These distinctions are no mere academic trifles; they are the theological framework that has allowed the Church to hold Scripture in the highest regard while recognizing each believer’s need for spiritual guidance. Louis Gaussen—in Theopneustia, chap. 3—makes it plain that while inspiration was a unique phenomenon for biblical authors, illumination is an everyday reality for believers who open the Word. Robert Preus notes how 17th-century Lutheran confessional writings consistently saw the entire text as the product of inspiration, requiring that we depend on the Spirit’s illumination to receive it aright. Meanwhile, Richard Muller underscores that Reformed scholastics similarly insisted upon the finality of God’s special revelation in Scripture and the indispensable internal testimony of the Spirit for saving knowledge.
Walking away from these clarifications, believers can be confident that Scripture’s origin is thoroughly divine, its content fully reliable, and its application profoundly relevant. Rather than merging these ideas into a vague “God showed me,” we can glean a richer perspective: God revealed truth in history; God inspired the biblical text to record that truth infallibly; and God illuminates hearts so that each new generation might perceive, love, and obey what He has spoken. This synergy offers both intellectual coherence and vibrant spiritual life, anchoring our faith in a text that is at once God’s speech in ancient history and God’s address to us here and now.
