Light Shining Into Darkness

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 ESV).

Back at the very beginning of time, “God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light (Genesis 1:3).” From the empty darkness, God commanded the light to shine out, and the light obeyed his command. It was the first step, if we can call it that, in his creation of the universe out of nothingness.

But there’s another work of creation, too. It’s not accomplished by God calling light out of darkness; but rather, by God shining himself into darkness. He creates by shining into hearts that are dark, or, as the text said two verses earlier, into minds that are blinded (2 Corinthians 4:4). It’s a new creation that starts when God shines in to give light; not the light of daylight, but the light of knowledge. It’s the first step, if we can call it that, in the creation of spiritual life out of the nothingness of dark hearts.

What is the knowledge that arises from God shining in? It’s “the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” God’s creative light discloses who Jesus is, showing that his glory is God’s glory, or to put it another way, showing that Jesus reveals God’s glory to us.

Jesus is God with a face that can be seen. No one can see the Father’s face and live (Exodus 33:17-23), but in his incarnation, the Son makes the Father known to us (John 1:18). The Son displays the Father’s glory in his healings and miracles, and especially when he is lifted up on the cross (John 12:27-28), where we see so much of who God is. It’s there that the power, wisdom, goodness, love, graciousness, mercy, justice, and holiness of God—and more—are revealed together. In the cross we see the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

It isn’t a surprise, then, that when we line up the parallel statement in verse 4 with this verse, we have, side by side, “the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” with “the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” The display of God’s glory in the death of his incarnate Son is the very center of the good news.

Do you see the the power and wisdom and love of God in Christ’s death on the cross? Do you see the beauty of Jesus? Do you see the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ? Do you know and love the gospel? If you do, it’s because God’s new creation has begun in your heart. It’s because “God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in [your] heart to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”

Round the Sphere Again

On the meaning of the cross

It Demonstrates Love and Justice (Update, March 11: and Wisdom)
Quoting Sinclair Ferguson at Pure Church.

• God’s love
  

  When we think of Christ dying on the cross we are shown the lengths to which God’s love goes in order to win us back to himself.

• God’s justice

  Sometimes when we explain the message of the gospel to others we say something like this: ‘God has laid aside his justice.  He no longer deals with us as sinners; he forgets our sin, and accepts us.’  But when we say this we distort the biblical teaching.

• Update, March 11: God’s Wisdom

It Doesn’t Just Make Salvation Possible
But actually saves, effectually, particularly, and perfectly. (Kevin DeYoung)

It Was to Secure Forgiveness for Others
Lorraine Boettner on the significance of Christ’s death.

And There’s More
There’s no better time to read a book on the meaning of the cross than in the days leading up to the commemoration of Christ’s death and resurrection. Here are two that I’ve reviewed and recommended previously.

• The Atonement: Its Meaning and Significance by Leon Morris.
  

  I have a very short list of books that I’d put in the must-read category for every Christian, and this book is on it. Of course, there are many excellent books and many important books, but what sets The Atonement apart from many other worthwhile books is that I can recommend it to you and know that no matter who you are, you’ll learn something valuable from it, and at the same time, you won’t find it too difficult. 

  Read the whole review.


• Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die by John Piper.
  

  What John Piper has done in this book is take fifty of the results of Christ’s death given in scripture and listed them for us as fifty reasons why Jesus came to die. … I’d call Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die an introductory level book—there’s nothing difficult in it—and yet I’d say almost everyone will learn a thing of two from it. And who among us doesn’t need a reminder of the infinite wisdom of God in the cross of Christ? Read the whole review.
  

Scandalous: The Cross and Resurrection of Jesus (RE: Lit)There’s also a new book on the cross of Christ by D. A. Carson. I haven’t read yet, but I’m betting Scandalous would make good pre-Easter reading, too. Update: John Bird recommends it.

From Crossway.blog. 

Christians around the world are preparing to celebrate one of the year’s biggest holidays—and as author D. A. Carson writes, one of history’s biggest scandals. Nearly two thousand years ago, a Galilean hung on a cross, died, and rose from the dead three days later. In the midst of an event that may seem familiar, Scandalous: The Cross and Resurrection of Jesus introduces the ironies and scandal involved, and its implications for those who follow Jesus.

They are letting us preview all of chapter 1 (pdf).