Word and Spirit
May 20, 2009
The Spirit and the Word are inseparable. Scripture cannot be understood without the illumination of the Spirit by virtue of the fact that Scripture is God-breathed (2 Tim. 3:16). And the Spirit does not speak in new revelations but speaks through the inspired Word of God. Francis Turretin once wrote,
He [the Holy Spirit] is not given to us in order to introduce new revelations, but to impress the written word on our hearts; so that here the word must never be separated from the Spirit (Is. 59:21). The former works objectively, the latter efficiently; the former strikes the ears from without, the latter opens the heart within. The Spirit is the teacher; Scripture is the doctrine which he teaches us (Institutes of Elenctic Theology, 1:59).
May 22, 2009 at 1:52 pm
Great quote!
Do you know if there are any extant records of Turretin’s views on the Spirit’s illuminating work after Christ’s ascension, but prior to the closing of the canon (i.e. roughly between 33 A.D. and 98 A.D.)?
Thanks so much!
In Christ,
CD
May 22, 2009 at 1:58 pm
Maybe I should clarify my prior comment a bit.
I realize the canon wasn’t “officially” closed by any church council in or around 98 A.D., my thinking when I posted the comment was that this was around the time the Apostle John penned his final three epistles which today are recognized as the last authoritative writings contained in the closed canon.
So my focus is more upon Turretin’s thoughts of the Spirit’s illuminating work within early church believers during the Apostolic era and prior to the recognized canon.
In Christ,
CD
May 22, 2009 at 3:36 pm
Greetings, CD. I don’t know for sure if Turretin addresses your question specifically, but you would find Book 1, Topic 2 on Holy Scripture helpful.
As far as Scripture, I would look at a couple of passages concerning the spirit and illumination in the OT canon (Acts 17:11; Romans 1:1-7, 16:25-27; 2 Tim. 3:14-15), the proclaimed apostolic word concerning the Gospel message (1 Cor. 1-2; 1 Thess. 1:4-6, 2:13), and the NT letters already received as Scripture (1 Tim. 5:18; 2 Tim. 3:16-17). That’s just a quick sampling that came to mind.
Hope that helps,
VV