It came from the Holy Spirit:
“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.” (John 16:12-15)
This is the historic Gospel for Cantate Sunday, the 4th Sunday after Easter. You can check that in your TLH, p. 70. That is, last Sunday. All enlightenment comes from the Holy Spirit through Word and Sacrament.
The mistake so many make is to assume that everything comes at once. As if, when one comes to faith, the Holy Spirit flips the main circuit breaker in the house that is our heart and mind and suddenly all the lights come on. But that is not the way it worked for the apostles, nor for anyone else in the Bible, including Jesus Himself in His state of humiliation. It is more like this, that as we meditate upon the Word of God, living our baptisms (living lives of daily repentance, see the Small Catechism) and receiving the Sacrament, the Holy Spirit goes through the rooms of our house one by one, turning on a light here and a light there, as and when it pleases Him. (see John 3:8) And in our fallen state we often follow behind Him, turning off this or that light. But in the end it is the grace of God that wins out, and enough lights remain on to guide us in life and through life to eternal life.
In the case of Jesus, the same thing happened. With one exception. Because He had no sin, nor was His understanding clouded or diminished in any way, because He was untouched by original sin, when He meditated on God’s Word the lights the Holy Spirit turned on stayed on until all were burning brightly. This Man, when He began His earthly ministry, understood the Holy Scriptures as no one ever had before or since. He understood every verse, every phrase, every word, from beginning to end.
When He, at 12 years old, departed from Jerusalem knowing that He was the promised Messiah, Luke tells us: “And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.” (Luke 2:52) Great indeed is the mystery of godliness, that God was manifested in the flesh.
Luther’s understanding came from the Holy Spirit. All Christian understanding comes from the Holy Spirit; and the Holy Spirit works through the Word.
Would you agree for the Church this process started at Pentecost?
when one comes to faith
Could you say Born Again here or does that expression stay with baptism?
This is fun! What about Thomas,
John 20:24-29 (New International Version) Jesus Appears to Thomas 24 Now Thomas (also known as Didymus[a]), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” 26 A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” 28 Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
did he not come to faith due to a personal encounter with the Risen Lord Jesus Christ? Can this be a model for us today?