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In order to answer this question, it is necessary to realize that the perspicuity of any message can be viewed from two perspectives: (1) that of the message as it has come from the speaker, and (2) that of the message as it is heard by the listener. Since language always involves two parties, both parties must be playing the same language-game in order for communication to be successful.3 The author of Scripture is also the creator of language. Furthermore, as the omniscient God who chose to reveal himself and his will to man, he knew thoroughly all the rules of the language-game. God is not a cheater. Although his revelation may have been selective, the truth he chose to reveal was disclosed according to the rules of the language-games known by the writers of Scripture.4 The message itself, then, was clear. From this perspective, the perspicuity of Scripture means that there is no way whereby the message could have been improved. It was true and it was clear. To say otherwise is to put a limitation either on God's ability to deliver a message or on his ability to choose the appropriate persons to record the message. From the perspective of the listener, however, Scripture may not be clear. It is this perspective from which most people answer when asked if Scripture is clear. A negative response does not denigrate the quality of the message. Rather, it calls us to recognize that there are factors which can distort or prevent one's understanding of an otherwise clear message. Although these factors can vary, one element with which everyone must deal is linguistic. In reading Scripture, the language-game that we must play is not the same language-game used when Scripture was written, even though the message was intended for us as much as it was for the original recipients.5 We are all dependent upon translations, and every translation is itself the result of interpretation.6 The Hebrew scholar, John Sailhamer, writes: [It] must be recognized that the task of translating the Bible is itself a theological one. Before any text can be translated, it must be understood and interpreted. No matter how distasteful the idea may be to us, the process of understanding a text or a passage and then translating it is latent with theological decisions. It is not an exaggeration to say that a translation is already a rudimentary biblical theology. Translations range from very literal to extreme paraphrases, but in every case they are a reflection both of the original and the theological decisions of the translators.7 Martin Luther, who was largely responsible for giving form to the doctrine of perspicuity, also saw more than one perspective for scriptural perspicuity. He defined three categories of perspicuity: grammatical, spiritual, and essential. Grammatical perspicuity relates to the use of language itself. Anyone of average intelligence can understand the sentences of Scripture even though he or she chooses not to believe them. Spiritual clarity means that only those who have accepted God's grace in Jesus Christ can understand the spiritual concepts.8 Essential clarity "refers to the understanding of the mysteries of the faith, of which St. Paul speaks in 1 Cor.13:9-12. The Bible thus is grammatically clear to all men of sound mind; it is spiritually clear to all who believe in Christ; it is essentially clear to the saints in heaven, who see God face to face."9 It is this last category, essential clarity, that characterizes the nature of Scripture as it came from God. In the perfection of heaven, all barriers to understanding God's revelation will be removed. We can therefore say that Scripture is clear (1) because perspicuity describes the very nature of the message as it came from God; and (2) because it is indeed possible for all people, and for believers in particular, to understand that message. From this latter perspective, the doctrine of perspicuity is not absolute but qualified. As stated earlier, "Scripture is comprehensible enough so that, with the aid of the Holy Spirit and by using a sound hermeneutic that allows Scripture to interpret itself, anyone who desires to do so can understand God's message." If we break this statement into its parts, several limitations to perspicuity from the listener's perspective are immediately apparent.

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