Reformational thinking about divine illumination would do well to return to its catholic posture wherein the operation of Word and Spirit renders human mental work operative rather than optional . . .

Here our approach to the order of Christian theology cuts across some common claims regarding the supposed distinction between biblical theology and systematic theology. When done according to the discipline of the gospel, systematic theology follows the canon’s own order. It does so with greater resolve than most biblical theology, inasmuch as it realizes that the Bible begins with theology proper (“In the beginning God . . .”). Redemptive history must be rooted in God’s own character; its salvific missions flow from the inner divine processions of Son and Spirit. Biblical theology can easily sound like nothing more than ancient history precisely because it lacks a doctrine of God to provide a metaphysical framework for its narrative.

“Knowledge of God” by Michael Allen in Christian Dogmatics: Reformed Theology for the Church Catholic, edited by Michael Allen, and Scott R. Swain (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2016), 26.