“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.”
2 Corinthians 4:6
In the beginning, God spoke into absolute darkness and commanded, “Let there be light.” In an instant, the first sunrise exploded across the universe, separating day from night and establishing the cycle of day and night that governs our world to this moment. But God’s work with light didn’t end at creation. The same divine power that shattered the initial darkness has done something even more profound – He has given His light a place to live within our hearts.
The words used in this verse employ language that would have electrified Jewish readers. The phrase “Let light shine out of the darkness” recalls language used in Genesis 1:3 and then Paul adds the phrase “made his light shine”. The word being used for shine is “lampo”, the word used for lightning. That light of Christ isn’t just light, it is a bolt of bright light that changes everything in an instant. Paul is illustrating that God’s work in our hearts is a new creation, part of the very same action that brought the universe into being. The same creative energy of God that summoned the sun, moon, stars, planets, earth, sky, water, plants, animals, and people into existence is actively at work in each of us now.
Darkness wasn’t just the absence of light, it was chaos. When God said, “Let there be light,” He wasn’t just creating light; He was claiming sovereign rule over chaos itself. When Paul says that God “made his light shine in our hearts,” he is proclaiming that the same victory over chaos that occurred at creation is occurring in us.
At Christmas, we celebrate the moment when the light of God took human form. The Word became flesh, and the Light of the World entered our darkness. Not as a distant star out of our reach, but as Emmanuel, God with us.
By looking at Christ, we see the full radiance of God’s glory and through the Holy Spirit, the same light dwells within us. This light is transformational. It changes everything, not just our attitude, but our very being. We are no longer defined by our failures, or past, or our limitations. We are not sinners trying to be godly – we are new creations in whom God’s light actually dwells. In God’s light we see ourselves as beloved children, fearfully and wonderfully made, chosen and loved. The light reveals our true identity as bearers of divine light.
God’s light within us illuminates the image of God in every person we meet. It allows us to look beyond external differences, past hurts, and present conflicts to see the inherent value and worth of every soul. God’s light equips us to love as God loves – unconditionally and sacrificially.
Even in our worst moments, the light of God in us provides us perspective. We can face uncertainty with expectation, trials with tranquility, and loss with the assurance that light pushes out darkness.
The phrase “knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ” is profoundly true. The word knowledge does not refer only to intellectual acquaintance, but to an intimate, experiential knowledge of God. When we look at the face of Christ, we are not merely seeing God’s character unveiled, we are basking in the very same divine light that one day will transfigure our own faces. Moses’ face radiated after he encountered God, but that glory faded. The glory we receive in Christ becomes increasingly more glorious. The light within us is a foretaste of what is to come. We are not seeking glory but instead are carrying it now.
This Christmas, as we light up trees and place candles in our windows, let us not overlook the fact that the finest light is not the one we plus in or light with a match. The identical light that entered the world in Bethlehem dwells in us. The incarnation was not an act in history alone – it is a current reality. Christ does not simply dwell in heaven; He dwells in each of us, and His light shines through.
If this is the truth (and the Bible says it is) why then do we tend to live as though we are still stumbling around in the dark? The problem is not “get more of God” but to reveal more of the God who lives within us. It is not a matter of bringing in the light from without but of stripping away the things that block the light already ablaze within.