The Perspicuous Word: How the Clarity of Scripture Makes It A Means of Grace to Believers

A foundational question of the Christian religion this: does scripture make itself clear enough for the layperson to understand its message, or does it need interpretive intervention from the church? Furthermore, how does a proper understanding of the perspicuity of the scriptures help the Bible to function to Christians as a means of grace, if it does at all? Roman Catholicism holds that scripture is not clear enough to be understood accurately by the layperson—the skill and authority of the church is needed to rightly understand what the Bible means.(1) Opposing Rome, Reformation theology argues that scripture is perspicuous, or clear. While not everything in scripture is perfectly clear and accessible, “all things necessary to salvation” and holy living “are propounded in plain words in the scriptures,” understandable regardless of how “learned” the readers are.(2) The Reformation tradition also believes that because scripture does not require the mediation of the church to be understood, it functions as a means of grace to every believer. While some understand the mediation of the church to be necessary to communicate grace to the believer, scripture is perfectly perspicuous in all things necessary for both salvation and godliness, making it a means of grace both in issues of salvation and of personal piety and godliness.

We will first provide a working definition of the perspicuity of scripture, followed by a brief argument for the Reformed understanding of it. By defining the terms, we will set boundaries around what we aim to cover and what will contribute to the discussion on the means of grace. Following this, we will explore how the perspicuity of scripture makes it a means of grace. First, we will define what means of grace are. Second, we will argue positively from the word of God for scripture as a means of grace. Third, we will examine how the perspicuity of scripture becomes part of the necessity for qualifying scripture as a means of grace. Finally, the conclusion will articulate application for personal piety and show implications for the life of the church.

The Doctrine of Scriptural Perspicuity

The traditional Reformed definition of the perspicuity of scripture is found in the Westminster Confession of Faith (WCF):

All things in Scripture are not alike plain in themselves, nor alike clear unto all: yet those things which are necessary to be known, believed, and observed for salvation, are so clearly propounded, and opened in some place of Scripture or another, that not only the learned, but the unlearned, in a due use of the ordinary means, may attain unto a sufficient understanding of them.(3)

Waters helpfully breaks down this definition into three parts: The range of scripture’s perspicuity, who the recipients of this are, and what are the ordinary means used to gain access to what scripture propounds.(4) This will serve as our outline for this section.

Concerning the range, not all parts of scripture are equally clear. The psalmist tells us that in one sense the scriptures are clearly understandable and bring clarity to us: “The unfolding of your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple” (Psalm 119:130). Other passages provide difficulty not easily surmounted: “There are some things in [the scriptures] that are hard to understand” (2 Peter 3:16). Although scripture is difficult in places, what is needed for salvation and piety is clear enough to the reader. The apostle Paul quotes the word of God to Israel in Deuteronomy 30 as evidence for scripture’s clarity unto salvation: “‘The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart’ (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:6–9). We do not need to wonder how salvation works because the word of God tells us. We also do not need to wonder how we ought to live piously, for the scriptures direct us with unmistakable clarity. The scriptures are “a lamp to our feet and a light to our path” (Psalm 119:105). This is seen when they give us simple instructions, such as “do not be anxious about anything” (Philippians 4:6), “praying at all times” (Ephesians 6:18), “abstain from sexual immorality” (1 Thessalonians 4:3), and many others.

Regarding the audience of scripture’s perspicuity, the things necessary to salvation and godliness are clear to everyone. Only the difficult things are not universally accessible. While it might seem needless to address, this issue underpins the entire doctrine of scriptural perspicuity. Roman Catholicism holds that scripture can only be understood accurately by the church, the agent through which the believer comes to understand its meaning.(5) On the things necessary to salvation and godliness, however, the Christian can rest assured that scripture is clear enough for anyone to comprehend its meaning. The WCF definition says that even “the unlearned” can “attain to a sufficient understanding” of the things necessary for salvation and piety. Deuteronomy 30:11–14 is a key text here:

For this commandment that I command you today is not too hard for you, neither is it far off. It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend to heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ But the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it.

Notice that the commandment of the Lord, representing the word of God at large, is said by God to be “near” to them and given in such a way “so that you can do it.” The scriptures are understandable to all mankind so that living them out is not outside of their grasp.(6) They are not unclear and incomprehensible but are something man can understand.

Understanding the things scripture clearly propounds is not simply immediate comprehension but is accomplished through the “due use of ordinary means.” These are attending to the public preaching and reading of the word, personal reading of the word, and seeking God in prayer. In 1 Timothy 4:13–15, Paul says, “devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching... that all may see your progress.” We are told also that continual meditation upon the scriptures brings understanding (Psalm 1:2–3) and to be “praying at all times in the Spirit” (Ephesians 6:18). Drawing from the clarity of scripture requires that one attend to these things in expectation of his or her growth.

While some things in scripture are complex, challenging, and only known by some, what is necessary to be saved and to develop personal godliness is laid out so plainly in scripture that anyone can understand. One must simply give himself to personal study of the scriptures, prayer, and attending to preaching. It is here that the believer will grow in holiness and the sinner will be brought to salvation.

The Perspicuity of Scripture as a Means of Grace

Before exploring how scripture is a means of grace to the believer, it will be helpful to define what means of grace are. When God communicates or gives grace to the believer, he is not restricted by anything, for he is God; notwithstanding, he has chosen to ordinarily use established means in so doing. These are what we refer to as the means of grace. Berkhof defines means of grace as “objective channels which Christ has instituted in the Church, and to which He ordinarily binds Himself in the communication of His grace,” and the proper means of grace are the scriptures and sacraments (baptism and the Lord’s Supper).(7) The scriptures and sacraments are such means, tangible ways for the believer to draw from the wells of the grace of God on his pilgrimage.

The language Berkhof uses of “instituted in the church” as opposed to “mediated by the church” is of utmost importance. This is a crucial distinction between Protestantism and Catholicism and is the ground for their differences in the doctrine of scriptural perspicuity. Catholicism believes that the layperson cannot arrive at a sufficient understanding of salvation and godliness just by reading the Bible and listening to preaching.(8) Because of this, the layperson should not read scripture. The word of God is dependent on the church, and thus interpretations belong to the church. Reformation theology, however, believes that while the preaching of scripture in the church is the tool God uses most often to accomplish salvation in people (see Romans 10:5–13), the perspicuity of scripture is inherent within itself and does not require the church to interpret it for the things of salvation and godliness.(9) The statement from WCF 7.1 says that anyone can arrive at a “sufficient understanding” of salvation and godliness through “a due use of the ordinary means,” preaching being among them. Thus, the means of grace are “instituted in the church.” The scriptures therefore function as a means of grace through the preaching done in the church but stand unaided in their perspicuity.

Now that scripture has been shown to be a means of grace, it begs the question: how does scriptural perspicuity allow it to function as a means of grace? We will approach this question by examining how the scriptures function as means of grace in the areas of salvation and godliness, the areas in which scripture is said to be most perspicuous. We will begin with perspicuity unto salvation and then treat perspicuity unto godliness.

Scriptural perspicuity is first a means of grace to salvation. The primary grace God communicates to mankind is the gospel, the grace of salvation. Peter writes that those in Christ “have been born again... through the living and abiding word of God” (1 Peter 1:23). Commenting on this verse, Davidson writes that although the work of salvation is performed by the Spirit, “the means of being born again is the ‘word of God.’”(10) This is in accordance with Paul’s teaching in Romans 10 about salvation by hearing the word. The scriptures are a means of grace, and one of the graces given through them is conversion, the ultimate gift of grace. If the scriptures were not perspicuous about the things of salvation, to where could man go for a sure path to reconciliation with God? Catholicism would have man believe that the church is the answer, but “no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 3:11). The word of Christ, the scriptures, are that upon which the church must be built.

Scriptural perspicuity also functions as a means of grace unto godliness and piety. In Psalm 1, the man described is one whose “delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night” (Psalm 1:2). This man, feeding upon the means of grace, then grows and bears the fruit of personal holiness and piety: “He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers” (Psalm 1:3). A similar connection is made in 1 Timothy 4:13, 15: “Devote yourself to the public reading of scripture, to exhortation, to teaching... Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress.” The word of God produces spiritual progress. This is the perspicuity of the word functioning as a means of grace; those in Christ are given the spiritual food of grace through these means.(11) It then goes on to bear the fruit of godliness and piety in the life of the Christian. Again, Catholicism would have men believe that they need to turn not to their Bibles but to the church for growth. The word of God, however, says that it is sufficiently clear to form and shape believers, and even the church must be subservient to it: “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12).

Conclusions for Personal Piety and Ecclesiastical Life

These truths have multiple implications for personal piety and ecclesiastical life. Regarding the individual, continual reading and mediation upon the word is paramount to his progress as a Christian pilgrim. Although Psalm 1 has already been mentioned, it bears relevance here, for repeated meditation upon the scriptures is a primary means of personal spiritual growth. Commenting upon Psalm 1, Spurgeon writes, “The man who delights in God’s word, being taught by it, bringeth forth patience in the time of suffering, faith in the day of trial, and holy joy in the hour of prosperity.”(12) Such fruit will come to the man who heeds the clear word. This parallels the example of the psalmist: “My eyes are awake before the watches of the night, that I may meditate on your promise” (Psalm 119:148). Joshua is commanded by the Lord to not let the word of God depart from his mouth (Joshua 1:8), and believers would do well to heed this command just the same. Isaiah even promises the blessing of peace to the one who meditates on the Lord: “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you” (Isaiah 26:3). God has given us, his children, a crystal-clear light shining amid the darkness of this world to guide us through this life, and it would behoove us to hearken to it.(13)

For the church, prioritizing or neglecting the word of God will determine the health of a congregation. After rebuking the Corinthians for their preoccupations with secondary issues and lack of godliness, Paul says that he “decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2). Paul directed their preoccupation as a church to the incarnate Word, not their own concerns. Paul directed Timothy to place special priority on preaching, teaching, and public scripture reading (1 Timothy 4:13–15), for “the unfolding of your words gives light” (Psalm 119:105). Paul also directed church congregants to sing “psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs,” and that this was a way of letting “the word of Christ dwell in [them] richly” (Colossians 4:16). Because the perspicuous scriptures are a means of grace to the church, particularly through preaching, the health of the church will correlate directly with her preoccupation with the word of God.

In conclusion, the word of God is indeed perspicuous. Nowhere does it claim to be without depth or challenge, but it is sufficiently understandable on issues of salvation and the requirements for living a holy life. Something that makes it perspicuous is that it is a means of grace, a way God ordinarily communicates grace to his children. As such, it is something all people must heed for salvation and all believers must heed for personal godliness. The clarity of the word is for our good, ultimately, something Paul summed up well in Romans 15:4, “whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”

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Endnotes

1. Herman Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2008), 1:475.

2. William Whitaker, A Disputation on Holy Scripture: Against the Papists, Especially Bellarmine and Stapleton (London, 1610), 364.

3. Westminster Confession of Faith, 7.1.

4. Guy Prentiss Waters, For the Mouth of the Lord Has Spoken: The Doctrine of Scripture, Reformed, Exegetical, and Doctrinal Studies (Glasgow: Mentor, Christian Focus Publications, 2020), 203–206.

5. Bavinck, Dogmatics, 1:481.

6. Waters, For the Mouth of the Lord Has Spoken, 208.

7. Louis Berkhof, Systematic Theology, 2nd ed. (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 2021), 631.

8. Bavinck, Dogmatics, 1:475.

9. Whitaker, Disputation on Holy Scripture, 361.

10. J. Ryan Davidson, Green Pastures: A Primer on the Ordinary Means of Grace (Palmdale, CA: Reformed Baptist Academic Press, 2019), 34.

11. Davidson, Green Pastures, 35.

12. Charles Haddon Spurgeon, The Treasury of David (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Academic, 1990), 1:2.

13. William Bridge, The Works of William Bridge (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 2022), 1:408.

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Submitted to Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary in 2024.