The Bible is clear that Spirit-filled illuminated preaching takes place in two parts
- One, the Holy Spirit illumines the preacher's heart as he studies and meditates upon his biblical text, resulting in personal convictions and deep abiding affections over the Word.
- Two, once illumined, the preacher now conveys these truths to his hearers, while maintaining a deep reliance upon the text he is preaching, in hopes that the Spirit of God will likewise illumine the hearts of his hearers through the agency of the Word of God preached.
Jeffrey Crotts draws out this seemingly forgotten, misplaced doctrine called illumination and applies it to the preacher, by defining it from Scripture with testimonies of men from church history woven through declaring its immense value. You will find a developed synthesized biblical theology of illumination, focusing on four main categories of illumination found in 2 Corinthians 4:1-6: Condemnation, Communication, Conversion, and Convictions, all illustrated by men like Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Owen, and Jonathan Edwards, along with present-day definitions and scholarship.
Preachers who long for illumination during their personal study and preaching should plan to be enriched as they read to apply this bible-soaked, historically documented work on the priceless doctrine we call illumination.