THE DOCTRINE OF
THE
CLARITY OF SCRIPTURE
(The Divine Perspicuity of
Holy Scripture)
by
John Theodore Mueller TH. D
1934
When we say that Holy
Scripture is perspicuous, or clear, we mean that it sets forth all
doctrines of
salvation in words so simple and plain that they can be understood by
all
persons of average intelligence. The Lutheran dogmatician
Baier expresses this thought as follows:
"Any
man acquainted with the language, possessed of a common judgment, and
paying
due attention to the words may learn the true sense of the words… and
embrace
the fundamental doctrines." The perspicuity of Scripture is definitely
taught in clear passages: Ps. 119:105, 130; 19:7, 8; 2Pet.
Keeping in mind that Holy
Scripture is a clear book, the Christian exegete must scrupulously
refrain from
foisting upon its sacred text his own subjective views (eisegesis) and regard it as his
sole function to exhibit the true meaning of God's clear Word (exegesis: the leading forth of the sense
of Scripture); in other words, he must allow Scripture to interpret
itself. (Scriptura Scripturam inter pretatur; Scriptura
sua luce
radiat.) Negatively the function of the
Christian
exegete may be described as the removal of all textual difficulties by
proper
grammatical instruction and of all misinterpretations by erring
expositors;
positively, as the exhibition of the true sense of the text (manductio ad nudam Scripturam) in the light of its context and
parallel
passages.
Hence a true Christian exegete
must possess the following qualifications: a) He must regard the whole
Bible as
the inerrant Word of God; b) he must treat Holy Scripture as a book
which is
clear in itself; c) he must conscientiously point out the real sense of
the
text; and d) he must be able to refute the erroneous human opinions
which false
teachers or misguided orthodox theologians have foisted upon the text.
With regard to the perspicuity
of Holy Scripture we may yet observe the following points
:
—
a. Holy Scripture is
preeminently clear with respect to those things that are necessary for
salvation. We readily admit that Scripture contains passages which are
more or
less obscure not only to the average Christian, but also the Christian
theologian. But this fact does not disprove the doctrine of the
perspicuity of
the Bible. The passages which in themselves are obscure do not set
forth
fundamental articles of the Christian faith, but pertain, as our dogmaticians have said, commonly to "onomastic, chronological, topographical,
allegorical,
typical, or prophetical matters" (Quenstedt).
Of
the passages which propound doctrines some are less clear than others
or, as
Gerhard remarks: "What is obscurely expressed in one passage is more
clearly explained in others," and in all such cases the more obscure
must
be intepreted in the light of the clear (sedes doctrinae; analogia
fidei). But also
this fact does not disprove the doctrine of Biblical perspicuity. In
his
exposition on Ps. 37 Luther comments very aptly: "But if any one of
them
(the papists) should trouble you and say: ‘You must have the
interpretation of
the Fathers, since Scripture is obscure,” then you must reply: 'It is
not true.
There is no clearer book upon earth than is Holy Writ, which in
comparison with
all <page 140> other books is like the sun in its relation to all
other
lights.’ They say such things only because they want to lead us away
from Scripture
and elevate themselves to the position of masters over us in order that
we
might believe their dream sermons,… For that
is indeed
true: Some passages in Scripture are obscure, but in these you find
nothing but
what is found in other places and in clear and plain passages. Then
came the
heretics and explained the obscure passages according to their own reasonings, and with these they combated the
clear passages
and foundation of faith. So the Fathers fought them with the clear
passages,
and with them they shed light upon the obscure, proving in this way
that what
is said obscurely in some passages is set forth clearly in others. Do
not
permit yourselves to be led out of, and away from, Scripture, no matter
how
hard they [the papists] may try. For if you step out of Scripture, you
are
lost; then they will lead you just as they wish. But if you remain in
Scripture,
you have won the victory and you will regard their raging in no other
way than
when the crag of the sea smiles at the waves and billows. All their
writings
are nothing else than waves that rock to and fro. Be assured and
certain that
there is nothing clearer than the sun, I mean, Holy Scripture. If a
cloud
drifts before it, nothing else than the same clear sun is nevertheless
behind
it. If then you find an obscure passage in Scripture, do not be
alarmed, for
surely the same truth is set forth in it which in another place is
taught
plainly. So if you cannot understand the obscure, then cling to the
clear." (St. L., V, 334ff.) These defiant statements of Luther reecho
the
clear truths which Holy Scripture itself teaches concerning its
perspicuity,
Ps. 119:105; 2Pet. 1:19f. (Cf. also Luther's defense of the perspicuity
of
Scripture in his famous work De Servo Arbitrio.
St.L.,
XVIII, 1681 ff.)
b. The perspicuity of
Scripture must not be identified with comprehensibility of its
mysteries of
faith (perspicuitas rerum). The
very doctrines which we must believe for our salvation, for instance,
the
incarnation of Christ, the Holy Trinity, the personal union of the two
natures
in Christ, the atonement through Christ's vicarious suffering and
death, etc.,
will always remain unintelligible to human reason (res
inevidentes). But these incomprehensible
mysteries of
our faith are set forth in words so intelligible (perspicuitas verborum)
that every person of ordinary
intelligence who understands human speech can receive them into his
mind (apprehensio
simplex) and through the supernatural
<page 141>
operation of
the Holy Ghost can apprehend them also spiritually (apprehensio spirituals sive practica).
For this reason our Lutheran dogmaticians
have called
the perspicuity of Scripture a claritas verborum, or claritas externa, or, etc. On this point Gerhard
quotes Luther
(1, 26), who writes: "If you speak of the internal clearness, no man
understands a single iota in the Scriptures by the natural powers of
his mind
unless he has the Spirit of God; for all men [by nature] have obscure
hearts.
The Holy Spirit is required for the understanding of the whole of
Scripture and
of all its parts. If you refer to the external clearness of Scripture,
there is
nothing that is left obscure or ambiguous, but all things brought to
light in
the Word are perfectly clear." (Doctr. Theol.,
p. 73.) The whole doctrine of the clearness of Scripture may be summed
up as
follows: Scripture is clear externally (claritas verborum) to all men of
sound minds, internally (claritas spiritudlis)
only to believers, and essentially (claritas rerum, the understanding of
the mysteries of the faith)
only to the saints in heaven, 1Cor. 13, 12.
From all this it is obvious to
whom Holy Scripture must remain an obscure book, namely, to all —
a. Who understand neither
human speech in general nor
Scriptural speech in particular;
b. Who are so filled with
prejudice that they refuse to give
the words of Scripture honest
consideration;
c. Who foolishly endeavor to
comprehend the divine mysteries
by means of their blind reason;
d. Who are filled with enmity
against the divine truths which Scripture teaches, Ps.
"Blind unbelief" has also
suggested the objections which have
been preferred against the perspicuity of Holy Scripture. Among these
we may
note the following : —
a. The institution of the holy
ministry. Answer: Christ did indeed institute the
public ministry, not,
however, to render the Bible clear, but to preach the Gospel, which the
Bible
propounds so clearly, Mark 16:15-16; Matt. 28:19, 20, and by this means
to guide
men to heaven, Heb. 13:17; Ezek. 3:18.
b. The dissensions and factions
within the visible Christian <page
142> Church. Answer: These, alas! exist, but only
because men insist on rejecting the clear doctrines of Scripture, John
8, 31.
32; 1 Tim. 6, 3 f .
c. Obscure passages occur in
Scripture. Answer: Such passages do not disprove
the perspicuity of Scripture
since the doctrines of salvation are taught with great clarity.
d. The unintelligible mysteries
of the faith. Answer: These mysteries are indeed
beyond the grasp of human
reason, but they are taught in language so plain that it is
intelligible even
to a normal child.
e. Special passages of Scripture
allegedly admit its obscurity.
Passages such as 2 Pet. 3, 16 and 1Cor. 13, 12 have been pointed out by
those
who deny the perspicuity of Scripture. Answer:
St. Peter declares that among the things which
In 1Cor. 13, 12
The perspicuity of Scripture
is denied both by the papists ("The Scriptures are not of themselves
clear
and intelligible even in matters of the highest importance." Cardinal
Gibbons, The Faith of Our Fathers, p. 111)
and the
enthusiasts. The papists claim that the Scriptures must be interpreted
by the
Church, or the Pope, while the enthusiasts assert that they must be
expounded
by means of the "inner light." In the last analysis both papists and
enthusiasts resort to human reason to expound Scripture, just as modern
rationalists do, who aver that the Bible must be interpreted in the
light of
modern intelligence. In all three cases the charge against God’s holy
and clear
Book of salvation is prompted by deliberate opposition to the blessed
Gospel of
Christ, 1Cor. 1:22, 23.
[Note:
From “Christian Dogmatics,” by John
Theodore Mueller
TH. D., professor of
Systematic Theology, Concordia
Seminary, St. Louis, Mo. Copyright 1934 by Concordia publishing house.]
DISCLAIMER
The preceding article is a sample and advertisement for the book,
"Christian Dogmatics" by John Theodore
Mueller. It is provided for educational purposes only and cannot be
reproduced
without permission of the copyright holder.