The following comes from Lou Going (at the time of writing, pastor of Whitefield Christian Church in Whitefield, New Hampshire; MDiv, Westminster Theological Seminary):
The Inward Witness and Illumination of the Holy Spirit
The
Scriptures not only attests to its God-breathed character, and hence to its
authority, but it possesses in itself objective evidence to support its claims
to be God's true word. This is summed up well in the Savoy
Declaration—Berkshire Amendment.
We
may be moved and induced by the testimony of the Church to an high and reverent
esteem of the Holy Scripture, and the heavenliness of the matter, the efficacy
of the doctrine, the majesty of the style, the consent of all the parts, the
scope of the whole, (which is to give all glory to God), the full discovery it
makes of the only way of man's salvation, the many other incomparable
excellencies, and the entire perfection thereof, are arguments whereby it doth
abundantly evidence itself to be the Word of God; yet, notwithstanding, our
full persuasion and assurance of the infallible truth, and divine authority
thereof, is from the inward work of the Holy Spirit, bearing witness by and
with the word in our hearts. (SD-BA 1:5)
The
objective "evidence" that the Bible is the Word of God consists in
what the Declaration calls, "the heavenliness of the matter and efficacy
of the doctrine, the majesty of the style, the consent of all its parts, the
scope of the whole (which is to give glory to God), the full discovery it makes
of the only way of man's salvation and the many other incomparable excellencies
and the entire perfection thereof." All of this is contained in the Bible
and provides reasons for our faith in its trustworthiness and justification for
submission to its authority. As such, it is God's revelation, and hence His
communication to the world.
Yet
we need more if the objective self-attestation of the God-breathed Scriptures
is to be understood with the full assurance of faith. We need that objective
revelation subjectively opened to our minds and our hearts. The complete
process of God revealing truth is when our minds and hearts by the Holy Spirit
are illumined so as to receive the Bible as God's true and authoritative word.
This is what the Declaration calls "our full persuasion and assurance of
the infallible and divine authority" of the Bible.
Paul
speaks of this subjective witness-bearing work of the Holy Spirit in 1
Corinthians 2:
But
we impart a secret hidden and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before
the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if
they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But, as it is
written, "What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man
imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him"—these things God
has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even
the depths of God. For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that
person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except
the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the
Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by
God. (1 Cor. 2:7-12 ESV)
Paul
writes of a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which the Scriptures declared, and
quotes Isaiah 64:4, "What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart
imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him." This is a
reference to the gospel. These things God has revealed to us through the
Spirit. Note that the gospel, which has been objectively revealed in Christ and
preserved in the Scriptures that attest to Christ, is subjectively revealed by
the Spirit so "that we might understand the things freely given us by
God." The Holy Spirit who inspired the human authors is the one who
enables us to receive what they have written. There is a difference, but not a
separation, between the Holy Spirit's inspiration of the Scriptures and His
inward testimony or illumination of one's mind and heart. The illumination of
the Holy Spirit is not to be understood as additional content or evidence that
goes beyond Scripture but His aid in making one receptive to the Scriptures and
their teaching.
So,
the Spirit does not present more evidence or argument to us. His role is not to
add another piece of evidence, another argument to the case for faith. Rather,
he witnesses to the evidence for the truth that is objectively present in
Scripture. He witnesses to what is certainly true. His role is to cause faith.
His role is to take away our blindness so that we can rightly see Scripture’s
self-attestation and be convinced by it. He enables us to see the evidence for
what it is: God’s clear and certain revelation of himself. He makes us accept
Scripture’s self-attestation. So, the work of the Spirit is the cause of faith;
the self-witness of the Scripture is the reason for faith. We need both to be
assured of the truth of Scripture. It is in this way that God comes with his
personal words to attest them to our minds and heart. (John Frame, Systematic
Theology: An Introduction to Christian Belief [Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R
Publishing, 2013], 678-679)
There
is no conflict between the Bible and the Holy Spirit. He who inspired the Bible
now illumines the believer’s mind to receive the objective self-attestation of
the Bible. This is how God speaks to people. There is no new content added to
the Bible. Nevertheless, there is true and saving understanding of the Bible
apart from the internal testimony and illumination of the Holy Spirit. (Lou
Going, “The God-Breathed Character of the Bible: Affirming the Plenary
Inspiration of the Scriptures,” in Standing on the Promises: Essays in Honor
of Stephen C. Brown and Wesley A. Ross, ed. Andrew J. Rice [Bloomington,
Ind.: WestBow Press, 2019], 66-68)
The above has been added to
