Reasons for Scriptural Faith pt. 1

The Reason of Faith;

or,

The Grounds Whereon the Scripture is Believed to be the Word of God with Faith Divine and Supernatural.

I think it is interesting that the same things have always plagued the church. There is nothing new under the sun. John Owen is writing this book because of his concern that people were having when questions arose about their faith in the Scriptures. They were unable to answer the sceptics and found that they were unable to escape the doubt it created in their minds. Owen calls them "ensnaring questions". The reason he says that they could not escape the ensnaring quesitons was the fact that they did not have a right understanding of the foundations that their faith rest upon, which is the authority of Scripture. This is the same thing that is faced today in Christianity. Most people want to reason with unbelievers but all to often they fall prey to questionable and skeptical extra biblical proofs. I see this as a real problem because if someone is smart enough they can talk you out of your faith, or at least cast some serious doubt. John Owen's probing question is one that still stands today: 

Wherefore do you believe the Scripture to be the word of God?

Owen approaches the subject here by pointing to the Holy Ghost as the one who illuminates the minds of men. I would not have even thought about using this as a grounds for faith in the Scriptures. In fact I have always said that we just believe the Scriptures because they are the words of God. Of course I was overlooking the fact that the one who reveals spiritual truth is the illuminator himself the Holy Spirit. I overlooked the fact that belief in the Scripture or authority of Scripture was a supernatural spritual revelation. Here is the qoute by Owen on Illumination:

"For by illumination in general, as it denotes an effect wrought in the minds of men, I understand that supernatural knowledge that any hath or may have of the mind and will of God, as revealed unto him by supernatural means, for the law of his faith, life, and obedience (book 4, pg. 7)."

Spiritual truths are just not any truth but as Owen puts it:

"Supernatural revelation is the only objective cause and means of supernatural illumination (ibid)."

This really made me think, and I had to re-read it several times to see if I even agreed with it. Upon further examination I understood what Owen was saying.  The Spirit teaches us the deep things of God, spiritual truth that the world does not understand nor can understand. Why? because they are spiritual. That is the key to grasping and accepting the spiritual truth about believing God's word to be what it says because it is supernatural revelation. That is the reason there is such a disconnect between unbelievers and believers. One says, "I believe this set of truths and guidelines for life", while the other sees it to be nothing at all.

Owen then moves on to make distinguishments between God's natural revelation of Himself (and something I had never thought of), supernatural revelation about natural things.

"There is natural knowledge of supernatural things, and that both theoretical and practical, Rom. 1:19, 2:14,15; and there may be a supernatural knowledge of natural things, 1 Kings 4:31-34; Exodus 31:2-6.

But unto this supernatural illumination it is required both that its object be things only supernaturally revealed... and that it be wrought in us by a supernaturall efficiency, or the immediate efficacy of the Spirit of God (book 4, pg 7-8)"

Owen closes this thought, with our sufficiency resting in revelation from God:

The various supernatural revelations that God hath made of himself, his mind and will, from first to last, are the sole and adequate object of supernatural illumination.