February 18, 2022 – Friday
2 Corinthians 4:5-6 NIV
5 For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.
6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.
Comment.
Yesterday, we covered 2 Corinthians 4:3-4 (which you can find here) and said we would cover verses 5-6 the next day. The next day is here and we are going to take a close look at verses 5 and 6 today.
First, let’s look at verse 5, For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. Anyone who knows the story of how Jesus met with Paul on his way to Damascus (see Acts 9) knows Paul is not preaching his message. No, he has been and continues to preach Jesus Christ as Lord. Paul’s focus is always on Jesus and himself as a servant of Jesus. Look how Paul describes himself in the introduction to Romans 1:1a, Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus; to 1 and 2 Corinthians 1:1, Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God; to Galatians 1:1, Paul, an apostle—sent not from men nor by a man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father; etc. Paul was Jesus’ servant out to do the will of Jesus and His Father.
Next verse 6, For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. God said, Let light shine out of darkness, which tells us the same God who created light in our world/universe can overcome the blinding darkness of Satan and fill our hearts with spiritual light. As noted yesterday, Satan can blind, but we need to remember always God created Satan and His ability to bring light is much greater than Satan’s miniscule ability to blind in comparison. How does God do this? By mad[ing] his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. God does this all the time and the most dramatic example in the Bible is that of Paul’s conversion – again see Acts 9.
When God does this and we accept it we end up with the light of the knowledge of God’s glory, which permits us to look at Jesus and see God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. An incredible glory that shines with God’s love for us through Christ’s death on the cross for our sins. Our sins. And it is our sins that put Jesus on the cross. We must never forget that intrinsic fact. He died for us. Us. What are we expected to do with the blinding light of God’s love? Share it.
If we do not we become like the man Guzik describes here, Imagine a man in a sunny room who enjoys the sunshine so much he wants to keep it all to himself. He says, “I’ll shut the curtains so that none of this light gets out!” and puts himself back into darkness. When we try to hoard up the light within ourselves, we will certainly lose it. Share it. We did not deserve it in the first place, and it is arrogant to try to keep it for ourselves alone.
This is where it is good to close with the next verse expressing this idea, But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. God is the potter and we are the clay.
Prayer: Father God, You love knows no bounds. Help us to always share Your incredible love for all of mankind if they will only accept the light and love You wish to share with all of us. – In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
RileyD, nwJ
Riley D. Driver – Pastor
Calvary Chapel of Dayton
in Beavercreek