As human beings, we are intoxicated with a high opinion of our own discernment. We think we can understand divine things, even though we are completely ignorant of them. Therefore, the best way to demonstrate our spiritual blindness won’t be made through logical arguments but by Scripture.

One of the clearest passages that speak to our condition is from the Gospel of John:

“In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it” (John 1:4-5)

John implies that the human soul is, in fact, illuminated with a beam of divine light. No person is left utterly devoid of some small spark, although it is not enough to enable a person to comprehend God. How so? Because its ability with reference to the knowledge of God can be considered mere blindess. When the Holy Spirit describes people under the condition of darkness, he is saying that people are devoid of all spiritual intelligence. Due to the human condition, John describes believers when they embrace Christ as being, “born, not of blood, nor the will of the flesh, nor the will of man, but of God” (John 1:13). In other words, the flesh (human nature) has no capacity to know God, unless illuminated by the Holy Spirit. In a similar way, Jesus points out that when Peter acknowledged him as the Savior, it was only due to a special revelation from the Father (Matthew 16:17).

“Blogging the Institutes” is my on-going attempt to paraphrase John Calvin’s work, the Institutes of the Christian Religion. You can find out more about the series in the Introduction. For all the posts in this series, check out the Master List.