Illumination, Need of
The Holy Spirit enables believers to truly perceive and experience spiritual truths.
Now, were we in a room hung with the finest paintings, and adorned with the most exquisite statues, we could not see one of them, if all light were excluded. The Spirit's light is the same to the mind that outward light is to the bodily eyes. The most correct and lively description of the sun cannot convey either the light, the warmth, the cheerfulness, or the fruitfulness, which the actual shining of that luminary conveys; neither can the most labored and accurate dissertation on grace and spiritual things impart a true idea of them, without an experience of the work of the Spirit upon the heart. The Holy Spirit must shine upon your graces, or you will not be able to see them; and your works must shine upon your faith, or your neighbors will not be able to see it.
— Toplady
