seeing it is God who said, “Light will shine out of darkness,” who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
Parallel Translations
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seeing it is God who said, “Light will shine out of darkness,” who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
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For it is God that commauded the light to shyne out of darcknes which hath shyned in oure hertes for to geve the light of the knowledge of the glorie of God in the face of Iesus Christ.
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For God that commanded the light to shine out of darknesse, is he which hath shined in our hearts, to giue the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Iesus Christ.
Cross-references (29)
Passages linked to 2 Corinthians 4:6 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Isaiah 60:2 For, behold, darkness will cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but Yahweh will arise on you, and his glory shall be seen on you.
- Genesis 1:3 God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
- 1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, that you may proclaim the excellence of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
- 2 Peter 1:19 We have the more sure word of prophecy; and you do well that you heed it, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns, and the morning star arises in your hearts:
- Ephesians 5:8 For you were once darkness, but are now light in the Lord. Walk as children of light,
- 2 Corinthians 4:4 in whom the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that the light of the Good News of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should not dawn on them.
- Isaiah 40:5 Yahweh’s glory shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of Yahweh has spoken it.”
- Hebrews 1:3 His Son is the radiance of his glory, the very image of his substance, and upholding all things by the word of his power, who, when he had by himself purified us of our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high,
- 2 Corinthians 3:18 But we all, with unveiled face seeing the glory of the Lord as in a mirror, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord, the Spirit.
- Isaiah 45:7 I form the light and create darkness. I make peace and create calamity. I am Yahweh, who does all these things.
- Exodus 33:18-23 Moses said, “Please show me your glory.” He said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you, and will proclaim Yahweh’s name before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.” He said, “You cannot see my face, for man may not see me and live.” Yahweh also said, “Behold, there is a place by me, and you shall stand on the rock. It will happen, while my glory passes by, that I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and will cover you with my hand until I have passed by; then I will take away my hand, and you will see my back; but my face shall not be seen.”
- John 11:40 Jesus said to her, “Didn’t I tell you that if you believed, you would see God’s glory?”
- Colossians 1:15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.
- Acts 7:55-56 But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, looked up steadfastly into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, and said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!”
- Ephesians 1:17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him,
- Genesis 1:14-15 God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs to mark seasons, days, and years; and let them be for lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth;” and it was so.
- Exodus 34:5-7 Yahweh descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed Yahweh’s name. Yahweh passed by before him, and proclaimed, “Yahweh! Yahweh, a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness and truth, keeping loving kindness for thousands, forgiving iniquity and disobedience and sin; and who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, and on the children’s children, on the third and on the fourth generation.”
- Psalms 63:2 So I have seen you in the sanctuary, watching your power and your glory.
- Psalms 74:16 The day is yours, the night is also yours. You have prepared the light and the sun.
- Psalms 90:16 Let your work appear to your servants, your glory to their children.
- John 1:14 The Word became flesh, and lived among us. We saw his glory, such glory as of the one and only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth.
- John 14:9-10 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you such a long time, and do you not know me, Philip? He who has seen me has seen the Father. How do you say, ‘Show us the Father?’ Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? The words that I tell you, I speak not from myself; but the Father who lives in me does his works.
- Psalms 136:7-9 to him who made the great lights; for his loving kindness endures forever: the sun to rule by day; for his loving kindness endures forever; the moon and stars to rule by night; for his loving kindness endures forever:
- Isaiah 6:1-3 In the year that king Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up; and his train filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each one had six wings. With two he covered his face. With two he covered his feet. With two he flew. One called to another, and said, “Holy, holy, holy, is Yahweh of Armies! The whole earth is full of his glory!”
- John 12:41 Isaiah said these things when he saw his glory, and spoke of him.
- Philippians 2:6 who, existing in the form of God, didn’t consider equality with God a thing to be grasped,
- 1 Peter 1:12 To them it was revealed, that they served not to themselves, but to you, in these things, which now have been announced to you through those who preached the Good News to you by the Holy Spirit sent out from heaven; which things angels desire to look into.
- Isaiah 35:2 It will blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing. Lebanon’s glory will be given to it, the excellence of Carmel and Sharon. They will see Yahweh’s glory, the excellence of our God.
- Luke 10:22 Turning to the disciples, he said, “All things have been delivered to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is, except the Father, and who the Father is, except the Son, and he to whomever the Son desires to reveal him.”
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (17 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 6. God who commanded light to shine out of…
6. God who commanded light to shine out of darkness. I see that this passage may be explained in four different ways. In the first place thus: “God has commanded light to shine forth out of darkness: that is, by the ministry of men, who are in their own nature darkness, He has brought forward the light of His gospel into the world.” Secondly, thus: “God has made the light of the gospel to take the place of the law, which was wrapt up in dark shadows, and thus, He has brought light out of darkness.” Those that are fond of subtleties, would be prepared readily to receive expositions of that sort, but any one, who will examine the matter more closely, will perceive, that they do not correspond with the Apostle’s intention. The third exposition is that of Ambrose: “When all things were involved in darkness, God kindled up the light of His gospel. For mankind were sunk in the darkness of ignorance, when God on a sudden shone forth upon them by his gospel.” The fourth is that of Chrysostom, who is of opinion, that Paul alluded to the creation of the world, in this way: “God, who by his word created light, drawing it, as it were, out of the darkness — that same Being has now enlightened us in a spiritual manner, when we were buried in darkness.” This transition, from light that is visible and corporeal to what is spiritual, has more of elegance, and there is nothing forced in it. The preceding one, however, is not unsuitable. Let every one follow his own judgment.
Hath shined in our hearts. He speaks of a twofold illumination, which must be carefully observed — the one is that of the gospel, the other is secret, taking place in our hearts. For as God, the Creator of the world, pours forth upon us the brightness of the sun, and gives us eyes to receive it, so, as the Redeemer, in the person of his Son, He shines forth, indeed, upon us by His gospel, but, as we are blind, that would be in vain, if He did not at the same time enlighten our understandings by His Spirit. His meaning, therefore, is, that God has, by His Spirit, opened the eyes of our understandings, so as to make them capable of receiving the light of the gospel.
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In the face of Jesus Christ. In the same sense in which he had previously said that Christ is the image of the Father, (2 Corinthians 4:4) he now says, that the glory of God is manifested to us in his face. Here we have a remarkable passage, from which we learn that God is not to be sought out (Job 11:7) in His unsearchable height,
(for He dwells in light that is inaccessible, 1 Timothy 6:16,)
but is to be known by us, in so far as He manifests himself in Christ. Hence, whatever men desire to know respecting God, apart from Christ, is evanescent, for they wander out of the way. True, indeed, God in Christ appears in the first instance to be mean, but he appears at length to be glorious in the view of those, who hold on, so as to come from the cross to the resurrection. Again we see, that in the word person there is a reference made to us, because it is more advantageous for us to behold God, as He appears in His only-begotten Son, than to search out His secret essence.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Which made only with his word.
Which made only with his word.
That being lightened of God, we should in like sort give that light to others.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 6 For God, who commanded the light to shine…
6 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
Ver. 6. Hath shined] The first work of the Spirit in man’s heart is to beat out new windows there, and to let in light, Act 26:18. And then, Semper in sole sita est Rhodes, qui et calorem et colorera nobis impertit. Always in the sun was Rhodes placed which bestowed to us both warm and colour. (Aeneas Sylv.)
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain The Holy Ghost in the New Testament often compareth…
The Holy Ghost in the New Testament often compareth the work of the new creation by Jesus Christ, to the work of God in the old creation; intimating to us, that the latter is as great a work of providence and Divine power, as the former: Eph 4:24, the new man, after God, is said to be created in righteousness and true holiness. For as that is a creation which is a making of something out of nothing, (as God created the heavens and the earth), so the production of one thing out of another, which hath no fitness or aptitude to receive such a form, is also a true creation, and requireth an Almighty power. God made light to shine out of darkness, Gen 1:2,3; so (saith the apostle) he hath made Christ (who is the Light of the world) to shine into our hearts, to give us the true knowledge of God, and of his glory, the glory of his grace.
In the face of Jesus Christ; that is, by which we attain the clear and certain knowledge of God: as a man is distinctly known by or from his face, God is clearly and distinctly known only in and by Christ.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
William Burkitt 1703 · Public Domain Observe here, The faithful and humble acknowledgment which the…
Observe here, The faithful and humble acknowledgment which the apostle makes, how himself and his fellow-apostles came to preach Jesus Christ so convincingly to others; namely, That Almighty God, who at first, by his omnipotent word, produced light out of darkness, by no less efficacy and power brought him, a lost sinner, out of the darkness of pharisaism and sin, and shined into his and their hearts with a glorious light, to the intent that he and they should communicate and impart this divine light of the knowledge of God, which shineth in the face of CHrist, unto others.
Learn hence, That ministers must know Christ themselves, before they can make him known to others: Christ must be revealed in them, before he can be revealed by them: he must shine into their hearts by his Holy Spirit, and give them an experimental acquaintance, in their own souls, with what they deliver and make known to others. Every truth ought to be the transcript of our own experience, and be preached first to our hearts, and then to our hearers. Who can savingly enlighten others, that is in the darkness of ignorance or sin himself?
William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain For God, who commanded the light to shine out…
For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness,.... The causal particle for, shows these words to be also a reason of the foregoing; either why they so clearly beheld the glory of the Lord, Co2 4:18 or why they renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, Co2 4:2 or why their Gospel could not be hid, Co2 4:3 or why they did not preach themselves, but Christ, Co2 4:5 because God had
shined in their hearts; and in this light, they saw the glory of Christ; could not bear any secret, hidden, scandalous practices; and held forth the word of light and life to others; and seeing so much of their own weakness, sinfulness, and unworthiness, dared not to preach themselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; in which may be observed the character of the true God, as opposed to Satan, the god of this world, who is said to blind the minds of men, Co2 4:6 whereas the true God is represented as the author of "light", and as producing it by a word of "command", and that "out" of mere "darkness"; respect is here had to the creation of all things at the beginning, when "darkness was upon the face of the deep--and God said, let there be light and there was light", Gen 1:2. Now this character of God, as creating light in this wonderful manner, is prefaced to his giving spiritual light unto his people; because of the agreement there is between light corporeal and spiritual, in their nature and production; for as there was darkness upon the earth before there was light, so there is a natural darkness in the minds of men, before any spiritual light is infused into them; and as light was the first production out of the dark and unformed chaos, so light is the first thing that is struck into the soul in conversion; moreover, as light was the effect of almighty power, so is the spiritual illumination, or the opening of the eyes of the understandings of men, who are naturally born blind; and as light was a creation of that which was not before, so the work of grace on the soul is not an increase of, or an addition to, or an improvement of the light of nature, but it is a new light, created in the understanding; add to all this, that both corporeal and spiritual light are good, and both called "day"; the influence that God has over the hearts of men, and the effect he produces there are, he
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hath shined in our hearts. The hearts of men are like this dark terraqueous globe, having no light in them; God is as the sun, the fountain of light, which shines upon them and in them; so as to give them a true sight and sense of sin, and of their lost state and condition; so as to cause them to see the fulness and suitableness of Christ as a Saviour; so as to warm their affections, and draw out their desires after Christ, his ways, truths, ordinances, and people; and so as to give them light into the mysteries of the Gospel; particularly he so shines into the hearts of some, whom be makes ministers of the Gospel, as to give more light and knowledge into Gospel truths, than he does to others; and his end in doing this, is
to give: that is, that his ministering servants may give
the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ; men must be first made light in, and by the Lord, or they will never be fit and proper persons to hold forth the word of light, or to communicate light to others; God first shines into their hearts, and then they give light to others: by "the glory of God" is not meant the essential glory of God, or the perfections of his nature, though these are to be seen in the face, or person of Christ; but rather the glorious counsels of God, and scheme of salvation by Jesus Christ; or in other words, the glorious Gospel of God: and by "the knowledge" of it is designed, not a mere notional speculative knowledge of the Gospel, but an experimental one; a spiritual knowledge of the Gospel, of Christ in it, of God in Christ, and of an interest in God's salvation by Christ: now when the ministers of the word are said to give the light of this to men, or to enlighten them with this knowledge, it cannot be thought that they are the efficient causes, for such are only Jehovah, Father, Son, and Spirit; but only that they are instrumental, and are means in the hands of God, of bringing persons to see the fellowship of this mystery: all which is done, "in the face of Jesus Christ"; this denotes the clearness and perspicuity of their ministry, and of that knowledge which is communicated by it; see Co2 3:12 and also the authority by which they act; it is in the name and person of Christ, in which sense the phrase is used, Co2 2:10.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain For God hath shined in our hearts - The…
For God hath shined in our hearts - The hearts of all those whom the God of this world no longer blinds. God who is himself our light; not only the author of light, but also the fountain of it. To enlighten us with the knowledge of the glory of God - Of his glorious love, and of his glorious image. In the face of Jesus Christ - Which reflects his glory in another manner than the face of Moses did.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 6. For God, who commanded the light to…
Verse 6. For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness] The apostle refers here to Ge 1:3. For when God created the heavens and the earth DARKNESS was on the face of the deep; and God said, Let THERE BE LIGHT; and there was light. Thus he caused the light to shine out of darkness.
Hath shined in our hearts] He has given our hearts the glorious light of the Gospel, as he has given the world the glorious light of the sun. As sure, therefore, as God is the author of the light and the creator of the universe, so sure is he the author of the Gospel; it is no human invention; and is as far beyond the power of man's wisdom and might, as the creation of the world is beyond all created power, energy, and skill.
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The light of the knowledge] To give us that light, that we might enlighten others; this appears to me to be the design of the apostle's προς φωτισμον της γνωσεως της δοξης του Θεου, or, as Dr. Whitby paraphrases it, to give us, and enable us to give to others, the light of the knowledge of God through Christ.
In the face of Jesus Christ.] It is in and through Jesus that we can receive the Divine light, and it is in and by him that we can be made partakers of the Divine glory. The light mercy, holiness, and glory of God, are reflected upon and communicated to us through Jesus the Christ; and it is εν προσωπω, in the appearance and person of Jesus Christ that these blessings are communicated to us.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain For God, who commanded ... - The design of…
For God, who commanded ... - The design of this verse seems to be, to give a reason why Paul and his fellow-apostles did not preach themselves, but Jesus Christ the Lord, 2Co 4:5. That reason was, that their minds had been so illuminated by that God who had commanded the light to shine out of darkness, that they had discerned the glory of the divine perfections shining in and through the Redeemer, and they therefore gave themselves. to the work of making him known among people. The doctrines which they preached they had not derived from people in any form. They had not been elaborated by human reasoning or science, nor had they been imparted by tradition. They had been communicated directly by the source of all light - the true God - who had shined into the hearts that were once benighted by sin. Having been thus illuminated, they had felt themselves bound to go and make known to others the truths which God had imparted to them.
Who commanded the light ... - Gen 1:3. God caused it to shine by his simple command. He said, “let there be light, and there was light.” The fact that it was produced by “his saying so” is referred to here by Paul by his use of the phrase (ὁ εἰπὼν ho eipōn) “Who saying,” or speaking the light to shine from darkness. The passage in Genesis is adduced by Longinus as a striking instance of the sublime.
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Hath shined in our hearts - Margin, “It is he who hath.” This is more in accordance with the Greek, and the sense is, “The God who at the creation bade the light to shine out of darkness, is he who has shined into our hearts; or it is the same God who has illuminated us, who commanded the light to shine at the creation.” “Light” is every where in the Bible the emblem of knowledge, purity, and truth; as darkness is the emblem of ignorance, error, sin, and wretchedness. See note, Joh 1:4-5. And the sense here is, that God had removed this ignorance, and poured a flood of light and truth on their minds. This passage teaches, therefore, the following important truths in regard to Christians - since it is as applicable to all Christians, as it was to the apostles:
(1) That the mind is by nature ignorant and benighted - to an extent which may be properly compared with the darkness which prevailed before God commanded the light to shine. Indeed, the darkness which prevailed before the light was formed, was a most striking emblem of the darkness which exists in the mind of man before it is enlightened by revelation, and by the Holy Spirit. For:
In all minds by nature there is deep ignorance of God, of His Law, and His requirements; and,
(b) This is often greatly deepened by the course of life which people lead; by their education; or by their indulgence in sin, and by their plans of life; and especially by the indulgence of evil passions.
The tendency of man if left to himself is to plunge into deeper darkness, and to involve his mind more entirely in the obscurity of moral midnight. “Light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil,” Joh 3:19.
(2) This verse teaches the fact, that the minds of Christians are illuminated. They are enabled to see things as they are. This fact is often taught in the Scriptures; see 1Jo 2:20; 1Co 2:12-15. They have different views of things from their fellow-men, and different from what they once had. They perceive a beauty in religion which others do not see, and a glory in truth, and in the Saviour, and in the promises of the gospel, which they did not see before they were converted. This does not mean:
That they are superior in their powers of understanding to other people - for the reverse is often the fact; nor, That the effect of religion is at once to enlarge their own intellectual powers, and make them different from what they were before in this respect.
But it means that they have clear and consistent views; they look at things as they are; they perceive a beauty in religion and in the service of God which they did not before. They see a beauty in the Bible, and in the doctrines of the Bible, which they did not before, and which sinners do not see. The temperate man will see a beauty in temperance, and in an argument for temperance, which the drunkard will not; the benevolent man will see a beauty in benevolence which the churl will not: and so of honesty, truth, and chastity. And especially will a man who is reformed from intemperance, impurity, dishonesty, and avarice, see a beauty in a virtuous life which he did not before see. There is indeed no immediate and direct enlargement of the intellect; but there is an effect on the heart which produces an appropriate and indirect effect on the understanding.
It is at the same time true, that the practice of virtue, that a pure heart, and that the cultivation of piety all tend to regulate, strengthen, and expand the intellect, as the ways of vice and the indulgence of evil passions and propensities tend to enfeeble, paralyze, darken, and ruin the understanding; so that, other things being equal, the man of most decided virtue, and most calm and elevated piety, will be the man of the clearest and best regulated mind. His powers will be the most assiduously, carefully, and conscientiously cultivated and he will feel himself bound to make the most of them. The influence of piety in giving light to the mind is often strikingly manifested among unlettered and ignorant Christians. It often happens, as a matter of fact, that they have by far clearer, and more just and elevated views of truth than people of the most mighty intellects, and most highly cultivated by science and adorned with learning. but who have no piety; and a practical acquaintance with their own hearts, and a practical experience of the power of religion in the days of temptation and trial is a better enlightener of the mind on the subject of religion than all the learning of the schools.
(3) This verse teaches, that it is the “same God” who enlightens the mind of the Christian that commanded the light at first to shine. He is the source of all light. He formed the light in the natural world; he gives all light and truth on all subjects to the understanding; and he imparts all correct views of truth to the heart. Light is not originated by man; and man on the subject of religion no more creates the light which beams upon his benighted mind than he created the light of the sun when it first shed its beams over the darkened earth. “All truth is from the sempiternal source of light divine;” and it is no more the work of man to enlighten the mind. and dissipate the darkness from the soul of a benighted sinner, than it was of man to scatter the darkness that brooded over the creation, or than he can now turn the shades of midnight to noonday. All this work lies beyond the proper province of man; and is all to be traced to the agency of God - the great fountain of light.
(4) It is taught here that it is the “same power” that gives light to the mind of the Christian which at first commanded the light to shine out of darkness. It requires the exertion of the same Omnipotence; and the change is often as remarkable, and surprising. Nothing can be conceived to be more grand than the first creation of light - when by one word the whole solar system was in a blaze. And nothing in the moral world is more grand than when by a word God commands the light to beam on the soul of a benighted sinner. Night is at once changed to day; and all things are seen in a blaze of glory. The works of God appear different; the Word of God appears different; and a new aspect of beauty is diffused over all things. If it be asked in what way God thus imparts light to the mind, we may reply:
By his written and preached word. All spiritual and saving light to the minds of people has come through his revealed truth. Nor does the Spirit of God now give or reveal any light to the mind which is not to be found in the Word of God. and which is not imparted through that medium. God makes use of his providential dealings to give light to the minds of people. They are then, by sickness, disappointment, and pain, made to see the folly and vanity of the things of this world, and to see the necessity of a better portion. It is done especially and mainly by the influences of the Holy Spirit. It is directly by his agency that the heart becomes affected, and the mind enlightened.
It is his province in the world to prepare the heart to receive the truth; to dispose the mind to attend to it: to remove the obstructions which existed to its clear perception; to enable the mind clearly to see the beauty of truth, and of the plan of salvation through a Redeemer. And whatever may be the means which may be used, it is still true that it is only by the Spirit of God that people are ever brought to see the truth clearly and brightly. The same Spirit that inspired the prophets and apostles also illuminates the minds of people now, removes the darkness from their minds, and enables them clearly to discover the truth as it is in Jesus. See the notes, 1Co 2:10-15.
To give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God - This shows the “object,” or the “effect” of enlightening the mind. It is that Christians may behold the divine glory. The meaning is, that it is for the purpose of enlightening and instructing them concerning the knowledge of the glory of God - Bloomfield. Doddridge renders it, “the luster of the knowledge of God’s glory.” Tyndale, “to give the light of the knowledge of the glorious God.” The sense is, that the purpose of his shining into their hearts was to give light (πρὸς pros φωτισμὸν phōtismon) that is, unto the enlightening; and the purpose of that light was to acquaint them with the knowledge of the divine glory.
In the face of Jesus Christ - That is, that they might obtain the knowledge of the divine glory as it shines in the face of Jesus Christ; or as it is reflected on the face, or the person of the Redeemer. There is undoubted allusion here to what is said of Moses 2Co 3:13 when the divine glory was reflected on his face, and produced such a splendor and magnificence that the children of Israel could not steadfastly look upon it. The sense here is, that in the face or the person of Jesus Christ the glory of God shone clearly, and the divinity appeared without a veil. The divine perfections, as it were, illuminated him, as the face of Moses was illuminated; or they shone forth through him, and were seen in him. The word rendered “face” here (προσώπον prosōpon) may mean either face or person; see the note, 2Co 2:10. The sense is not materially affected which ever translation is preferred. It is, that the divine perfections shone in and through the Redeemer. This refers doubtless to the following truths:
That the glory of the divine “nature” is seen in him, since he is “the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person.” Heb 1:3. And it is in and through him that the glory of the divine perfections are made known, That the glory of the divine “attributes” are made known through him, since it is through him that the work of creation was accomplished Joh 1:3; Col 1:16; and it is by him that the mercy and goodness of God have been manifested to people.
(3)That the glory of the divine “moral character” is seen through him, since when on earth he manifested the embodied divine perfections; he showed what God is when incarnate; he lived as became the incarnate God - he was as pure and holy in human nature as God is in the heavens.
And there is not, that we know of, one of the divine attributes or perfections which has not at some period, or in some form, been evinced by Jesus Christ. If it be the prerogative of God to be eternal, he was eternal; Isa 9:6; Rev 1:8, Rev 1:18. If it be the prerogative of God to be the creator, he was also the creator Joh 1:3; if to be omniscient, he was omniscient Mat 11:27; Luk 10:22; if to be omnipresent, he is omnipresent Mat 18:20; if to be almighty, he was almighty Isa 9:6; if to raise the dead, to give life, he did it (Joh 5:21; Joh 12:43-44; if to still waves and tempests, he did it Mar 4:39; if to be full of benevolence, to be perfectly holy, to be without a moral stain or spot, then all this is found in Jesus Christ. And as the wax bears the perfect image of the seal - perfect not only in the outline, and in the general resemblance, but in the filling up - in all the lines, and features, and letters on the seal, so it is with the Redeemer. There is not one of the divine perfections which has not the counterpart in him, and if the glory of the divine character is seen at all, it will be seen in and through him.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain The light to shine out of darkness. He alludes…
The light to shine out of darkness. He alludes to what is related at the first creation, when God divided the light from darkness. (Genesis i. 4.) --- In the face of Christ Jesus, which may signify in the person of Christ, who was the true light enlightening every man, that comes into this world. (John i. 9.) (Witham)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain For--proof that we are true servants of Jesus unto…
For--proof that we are true servants of Jesus unto you.
commanded the light--Greek, "By speaking the word, commanded light" (Gen 1:3).
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hath shined--rather, as Greek, "is He who shined." (It is God) who commanded light, &c., that shined, &c., (Job 37:15): Himself our Light and Sun, as well as the Creator of light (Mal 4:2; Joh 8:12). The physical world answers to the spiritual.
in our hearts--in themselves dark.
to give the light--that is, to propagate to others the light, &c., which is in us (compare Note, see on Co2 4:4).
the glory of God--answering to "the glory of Christ" (see on Co2 4:4).
in the face of Jesus Christ--Some of the oldest manuscripts retain "Jesus." Others omit it. Christ is the manifestation of the glory of God, as His image (Joh 14:9). The allusion is still to the brightness on Moses' "face." The only true and full manifestation of God's brightness and glory is "in the face of Jesus" (Heb 1:3).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 6. For—To assign the reason why we are ready…
6. For—To assign the reason why we are ready thus to humble ourselves, God has wrought in our hearts an illumination as wonderful as his first speaking mundane light into existence. Out of darkness, such as was once in our hearts. An allusion to Gen_1:3.
Shined… God—Literally, God hath shined into our heart even to a radiation (into our hearts) of the knowledge of the glory of God. And that radiation into our hearts of the knowledge of the glory of God comes from the face of Jesus Christ, the image of God, appearing in the gospel.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 6. For God … shined] Literally, Because it is…
6. For God … shined] Literally, Because it is God Who shined, and therefore, if the doctrine of the ministers of Christ were not received by any, it was not because they exercised any concealment or reserve (ch. 2Co_3:13), much less on account of any adulteration of the pure word of God (2Co_4:2), but because the soul of the unbeliever deliberately refused to receive the light of God’s truth. Cf. Joh_1:5.
who commanded the light to shine out of darkness] First in the physical world (Gen_1:3) and then in the moral and spiritual world, in the person of Jesus Christ. Cf. Joh_1:4; Joh_3:19; Joh_8:12, &c.
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hath shined in our hearts] God makes use of human instrumentality in spreading the knowledge of His glory. Cf. ch. 2Co_2:15-16, 2Co_3:3; 2Co_3:6.
to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God] Literally, in order to the enlightenment: illumination, Rhemish. Knowledge is here spoken of rather as the effect of light than light itself. See note on 2Co_4:4.
in the face of Jesus Christ] The same word is used here as in ch. 2Co_2:10. See note on the words ‘image of God,’ above. “A notable place, whence we learn that God is not to be investigated in His unsearchable height, for He inhabits the light unapproachable (1Ti_6:16), but to be known as far as He reveals Himself in Christ … It is more useful for us to behold God as He appears in His Only-begotten Son, than to investigate His secret essence.” Calvin. There is another interpretation of these words. We may translate them ‘in the person of Christ,’ and then the sense is that Christ was Himself the revealer of the glory of God. Joh_1:14; Joh_1:18.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (6) For God, who commanded the light to shine…
(6) For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness.—Better, For it is God who commanded . . . that hath shined. The whole verse is in manifest antithesis to 2Co_4:4. The god of this world did his work of blinding; the true God called light out of darkness. Here there is obviously a reference to the history of the creation in Gen_1:3.
Hath shined.—The English tense is allowable, but the Greek is literally shone, as referring to a definite fact in the past life of the Apostle and other Christians at the very time of their conversion.
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In the face of Jesus Christ.—Some MSS. give “Christ Jesus,” others “Christ.” The clause is added as emphasising the fact that the glory of God is for us manifested only in the face (or, possibly, in the person, with a somewhat wider sense; see Note on 2Co_1:11) of Christ, as it was seen by the Israelites in the face of Moses. The word for “give light” is the same as that rendered “radiance” in 2Co_4:4.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Who commanded the light to shine out of darkness.…
Who commanded the light to shine out of darkness. The argument of the verse is that God, who created the material light (Gen_1:3) and who is the Father of lights (Jam_1:1) and sent his Son to be the Light of the world, (Joh_8:12) did not shine in our hearts for our sakes only, or that we might hide the light under a bushel for ourselves, but that we might transmit and reflect it. There is an implied comparison between the creation of light and the dawn of the gospel light, and each of these was meant for the good of all the world. The verse should be rendered, if we follow the best manuscripts, "Because it is God, who said, Light shall shine out of darkness, who shone in our hearts for the illumination of the knowledge of the glory of God." In the face of Jesus Christ. (see 2Co_2:10 2Co_3:7) Probably, however, there is a reference to the glory of God, not as reflected from the face of Christ, but as concentrated in and beaming from it. (Heb_1:2)
True soul light.
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God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." There are two lights in the soul. There is the light of nature. This light consists of those moral intuitions which Heaven implanted within us at first. These intuitions are good enough for angels, did for Adam before he fell; but now, through sin, they are so blunt and dim that the soul is in moral darkness: "The light that is in thee is darkness." The other light is that of the light of the gospel. This comes because the light of nature is all but gone out, and comes as essential to our spiritual well being. This is the light to which the passage refers, the new soul light. The words call attention to three facts concerning it.
I IT EMANATES FROM THE HIGHEST SOURCE. "God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts." The reference is here to the creation. (Gen_1:3) It reminds us:
1. Of antecedent darkness. The state of the soul before this light enters it is analogous to the state of the earth before God kindled the lights of the firmament. It was cold, chaotic, dead. In what a sad condition is the unregenerate soul!
2. Of almighty sovereignty. "Let there be light light be, and light was." The luminaries of the firmament were kindled by the free, uncontrolled, almighty power of God. So it is with real spiritual light. It comes because God wills it. Everywhere he "worketh according to the counsel of his own will.
II IT REVEALS THE GRANDEST SUBJECT. Light is a revealer. All the hues and forms, beauties and sublimities of the earth would be hid from us without the light. What does this soul light reveal? "The light of the knowledge of the glory of God." Gospel light entering the soul makes God visible as the eternal Reality, the Fountain of being, and the Source of all blessedness. Where this gospel light is not, the soul either ignores or denies him; or, at most, speculates about him, and at best has now and then flitting visions. But under the radiance of the gospel, God is the Reality of all realities, the Fountain of all existences, the Root of all the sciences. In this light they see God, and through him they see and interpret his universe.
III IT STREAMS THROUGH THE SUBLIMEST MEDIUM. "In the face of Jesus Christ." There is undoubted allusion here to what is said of (2Co_3:13) when the Divine glory was reflected on his face, and produced such a splendour and magnificence that the children of Israel could not steadfastly look upon it. The sense here is that, in the face or the person of Jesus Christ, the glory of God shone clearly, and the Divinity appeared without a veil. This light coming through Christ, "who is the image of the invisible God," is:
1. True light. He is the Truth.
2. Softened light. The soul could not stand the light coming directly from the infinite Source; it is too dazzling. Through the medium of Christ it comes so softened as to suit our weakness.
3. Quickening light. It falls on the soul like the sunbeam on the seed quickening into life.
The light of spiritual knowledge.
Nature is a parable by means of which the Creator and Lord of all is ever teaching us concerning himself and his will. All the vast forces and sublime objects of nature have their spiritual analogues. So is it, as appears from this passage, with light, which typifies the truth, the gospel of God. We learn
I WHENCE THE LIGHT COMES. Physical light comes from the sun, and the sun was kindled by the Creator. He said, "Let there be light, and there was light." So all intellectual and moral light is from the Father of lights. He is light, and in him is no darkness. "He clotheth himself with light as with a garment." Our souls find their full enlightenment and satisfaction in the revelation of his mind, which is as the rising of the sun upon our benighted nature.
II WHAT THE LIGHT IS. In the apostle"s view this is "the knowledge of the glory of God." If this be so, God is not the Unknown, the Unknowable. The glory of the Eternal is not so much in his power and wisdom as in his moral attributes, his holiness, and love. The revelation of the Divine character is as light to his intelligent creation. It is welcome, cheering, illuminating, reviving.
III WHERE THE LIGHT SHINES. "In the face of Jesus Christ." In our Lord"s resurrection this light shone visibly from his face, as it had done on the occasion of his transfiguration. But really and spiritually it is always streaming forth; for Christ is himself the "Emanation of his Father"s glory." Behold his face when teaching: the light of Divine knowledge is upon it. When pitying and healing the sufferer, the light of Divine compassion and love is there. When patiently enduring insult, upon it rests the lustre of majestic sweetness. When dying on the cross, the light of sacrificial victory is kindled on the features. When uttering his royal commands from heaven"s throne, "his countenance is as the sun shineth in his strength.
IV WHITHER THE LIGHT PENETRATES. "Into your hearts," says the apostle. As the sunbeams only awaken the sensation of light when they fall upon a receptive and sensitive eye, so the revelation of God"s character implies a receptive and responsive heart. Though light ever shines from Christ, multitudes have no benefit or enjoyment from it. When the heart turns like the sunflower to the light, then the day dawns within, and the whole spiritual nature comes to bask in the light of God.
V WHY THE LIGHT SHINES. In answer to this may be summed up the whole spiritual purpose and significance of the Christian revelation.
1. That we may perceive it. It is, alas! possible to hide from the light at noonday. But those who welcome the heavenly light rejoice in it, are guided by it, and know its power to inspire hope eternal.
2. That we may walk in it. "Walk ye in the light of the Lord;" "Walk in the light while ye have the light." For God"s truth is profitable to all men, having the faculty of directing those who will be led by it into paths of wisdom, peace, and life.
3. That we may reflect it. The light of God is not absorbed by the soul thatreceives it. It is shed upon those who are around. Christians are "the light of the world are "light bearers," through whose agency the earth is to be filled with the radiance of spiritual and immortal noon. T.
Light of the knowledge of Divine glory.
The Christianity of St. Paul was not a formulated religion, but the revelation or unveiling of God in his Son our Savior.
I THE GLORY OF GOD IN THE FACE OF JESUS CHRIST. In that face, turned so graciously on the sons of men, is not merely the glow of human sympathy and pity, but the ineffable glory of the most high God. There is no thought here of the comparison sometimes made between the Divine glory in creation and that glory in redemption. The contrast still in the apostle"s mind is between the Law and the gospel. He recalls the glory of God that once shone on the face of Moses as he descended from the holy mount; and he sets above it the glory in the face of Jesus Christ. The lustre on the prophet"s countenance was transient, and its effect on the people was only to agitate them and make them desirous to have it softened by a veil. But Christ is the permanent and gracious Image of God; and he reveals it, not to drive men away in terror, but to save them and change them into the same image.
II THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE GLORY OF GOD IN THE FACE OF JESUS CHRIST. Without this the salvation in the gospel profits us not. We can determine nothing about the benefit which may be derived from or through Christ by those who have had no opportunity to hear of him or know him. That will be as God sees meet. But to us who have the gospel, the blessing must come through spiritual knowledge. It knowledge of law and ordinances could save, Paul would have been saved while he was a Pharisee; but he entered not on a state of salvation till he gave up all for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ. Taught by his own experience, he commended this knowledge to others. It was his daily care and effort to spread abroad that knowledge. And its propagation in the early ages of Christianity seemed like a fulfilment of the ancient prophecy that "the knowledge of the glory of the Lord shall cover the earth as the waters cover the sea.
III THE LIGHT OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE GLORY OF GOD IN THE FACE OF JESUS CHRIST. God was light. The nations, estranged from him, sat in darkness. In Judaea there was a lamp for his Name, but it was dim. Pharisaic pride and Sadducean scepticism threatened to put it out. Then the true Light came into the world. And now, as Christ becomes known in the Spirit to this man or that, he lights up both mind and heart. There is to every believer a revelation of the Lord. It is a light above all other lights calm, pure, searching, gladdening. And the shedding abroad of the light of Christ and the love of God is always by the operation of the Holy Ghost. Thus "the excellency of the knowledge" of God in Christ is imparted by "the excellency of the power" of the Spirit. F.
Light from God and light on God.
The new Revised Version makes an important alteration in this verse, reading it thus: "Seeing it is God, that said, Light shall shine out of darkness, who shined in our hearts, to give the light or, "illumination" of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
I LIGHT FROM GOD IN CREATION, (Gen_1:3) The following points may be illustrated.
1. All material light, as a warming, life-giving, beautifying agent, is fromGod.
2. All moral light, as the intimation of what is good and right in therelationships of men, is from God.
3. All revelational light, as the unfolding of the mysteries belonging to God and his claim and mercy, must come directly from himself. On spiritual things man can have no knowledge, save as God is pleased freely to give it; and, on these higher themes, all light must be tempered to the capacity of those on whom it shines.
II LIGHT ON GOD IN CHRIST. Calvin says of this verse, "A notable place, whence we learn that God is not to be investigated in his unsearchable height, for he inhabits the light unapproachable, (1Ti_6:16) but to be known as far as he reveals himself in Christ It is more useful for us to behold God as he appears in his only begotten Son than to investigate his secret essence." The face of Christ is said to reveal the glory of God, as the shining of Moses" face told of the splendour about the mount where he had been with God. But the glory of God is his redemption work. That showed
(1) pity,
(2) love,
(3) wisdom,
(4) holy purpose;
and all these we find in the face of Jesus Christ. Illustrate the power of expression, and the power of revealing thought and heart, that are in the human face, and then show how the face of the Lord Jesus reveals to us the "heart of God." Before Christ came God was a half known, if not an unknown, God. And the incomplete conceptions of him involved, too often, imperfect and unworthy conceptions. We now know the "true God and eternal life" in the face of Jesus, his manifested Son or rather, his manifested Self. R.T.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain 6. For God, who commanded light to shine out…
6. For God, who commanded light to shine out of darkness. Gen. 1:3. Hath shined in our hearts. By bringing to the light of the gospel. The light of the knowledge, etc. Knowledge is light. The glory of God is revealed in his Son, who hath shown for the divine excellency, tenderness and love.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
J. W. McGarvey 1914 · Public Domain Seeing it is God, that said, Light shall shine…
Seeing it is God, that said, Light shall shine out of darkness [ Gen_1:3 ; Isa_60:1-2 ], who shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ . [From such passages as 1Co_2:6-7 ; 1Co_4:16 ; 1Co_11:1 ; 1Th_1:6 ; 1Th_2:4 ; 1Th_3:9 ; Gal_4:12 ; Phi_3:17 ; Paul might have been accused of preaching himself; but he had preached himself as a servant ( 1Co_9:19 ). Paul's rivals had preached themselves and had sought to make the preaching a contest between him and them. Paul declines this contest, and declares that it is his business to reflect the light of Christ which has shone in his heart; for God sent his Son to be the light of earth's darkness. The apostle here alludes to the glorified face of the Christ which appeared to him on the way to Damascus. After such a vision it was impossible that Paul could look upon himself as any other than a reflector of the true Light which was sent from God. It was also impossible that he should regard the face of Moses as comparable with it. Moreover, the prophecy spoke of but one light, and took no account of Moses.]
J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.