2 Corinthians 4:6
Thoughts from Dayna Spaulding
Dive Deeper
For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
2 Corinthians 4:6
Behind the Scenes
To completely understand where Paul is going with this, we need to look back at the previous chapter. In Chapter 3, Paul is talking about/to those who “had a veil over their face” and were not seeing the real glory of God because only through Christ is the veil taken away. These were unbelievers who had not seen Jesus as the Christ. In 2 Corinthians 4:4 it says, “In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”
In order to see the light – to have that veil lifted – those unbelievers needed to turn to Jesus and see and acknowledge Him as the Christ. THEN they could see the real glory of God. And as believers, we have His light – the same light created out of nothing to fill the darkness in creation – shine right into our hearts. And WHY do we have that light? To radiate it out to others. To know the Glory of God, so we can share it with others. And HOW do we know it and what it should look like? Because we have Jesus incarnate to model.
Make it Real
You see, the God of the Universe – who created light with a simple word — shines in our hearts to KNOW the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Do you see how very personal this is? Do you see that we as individuals receive the light into our very souls to KNOW our God?
I love how Paul uses Light and knowledge together here. Because secrets and lies and sin hide in the dark, but when we expose those things to light, we gain knowledge and understanding. We erase misunderstanding and misconception. We see things for how they really are.
BUT, this light is not just any 60 watt bulb. It’s not even a full-spectrum happy light. NO! This is the light of the knowledge…of the GLORY OF GOD. You see, when we hold things up against this light, we see things for how they truly are. We see that we are made in the image of God, that our neighbors are made in the image of God, that the people of foreign nations we are warring against are made in the image of God. It’s like using a flashlight versus having the sunshine full bright. We want the FULL-BRIGHT sunshine. We want HIM.
It’s also not a cold, distant, detached light. This light is in “the face of Jesus Christ”. This is an up-close, personal light made for relationship. Without the light of a personal savior, of our Christ, things get distorted. Things get out of whack. When we try to shine our own light on our world, we get shadows and blind spots. Our light is not sufficient to fill in all the gaps. We were not made to BE light but to SHINE light. We were created to shine HIS light to a lost and broken world. To show the hope of our Savior and God.
I am overwhelmed that God would allow me to represent Him. To be His light to the world. I am oh so broken, and yet He shines into me so I can shine into others. That He dwells in me and gives me power to move mountains in His name. And His power dwells in you too if you have called on the name of Jesus to save you. His glory, His power, His very Spirit takes up residence in you. Where do you need the “light of the knowledge of the glory of God” to shine truth in your life? Where can you turn that light in the world to dispel darkness. Again, we were made to shine that light!
Colleen McGeorge
ACF Devo Team
End in Prayer
Father God, words can’t even come close to expressing my gratitude that You shine Your light into this broken mess that I am. With You and Your light, I can move forward in confidence of what you have called me to. I can know Your glory and Your love. I can shine Your light for others to see and receive your love. Thank You for letting me be a part of all that You do.