Though man knows of God’s existence through nature and conscience, man remains lost without God’s specific and special revelation of Himself through Scripture. Only through God’s specific and special revelation can man really know who God is, His Triune nature, and the salvation He offers to lost people. The task of deriving from Scripture alone a cohesive and consistent Biblical theology often proves to be a formidable task, however. Paul writes that man requires God-given aid in order to correctly interpret and understanding of the Bible , and that it is through work of the Holy Spirit that believers are enlightened to the truths of Scripture.
Although the doctrine of illumination appears quite straightforward to Protestant minds, historically the Church has not consistently affirmed the complete perspicuity of the revelation of God to all believers. Rather, a substantial segment of the Church has taught that illumination comes through a hierarchy of spiritual intellects whereby only a select few receive the direct divine self-revelation of God. In this view, those chosen few then are charged to teach and instruct believers on the truths of God, enabling those believers to have faith. Historically, numerous theologians have contributed to this view of illumination, yet Thomas Aquinas stands out as the major champion and author of the “illumination of the intellect.” Whereas Scripture emphasizes the work of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of all believers for the purposes of salvation and complete reconciliation of individuals to God, Aquinas limits that illumination to only a select few. These few illuminated believers receive real understanding and cognition of God, as the remaining mass of men, limited by their weak intellects, must rely solely on the teachings and instructions of the illumined for the truth of God. In his various writings, notably the Summa Theologica, Aquinas misappropriates the use and significance of the intellect in his doctrine of revelation.
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