LIGHT OF KNOWLEDGE (1)

“For it is the GOD who commanded LIGHT to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our HEARTS to give the LIGHT of the KNOWLEDGE of the glory of God…” – 2 Corinthians 4:6a

In this Fifth Month of our Year of Divine Light and Life, we shall engage with the LIGHT of KNOWLEDGE: “For it is the GOD who commanded LIGHT to 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” (2 Cor. 4:6). Christ is our Light: “In Him was Life, and the Life was the LIGHT of men” (Jh.1:4). The Light of Knowledge overrules the darkness of blindness, deception, and ignorance: “And the LIGHT shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it” (Jh.1:5).

In today’s meditation scripture, the apostle was alluding partly to the Creation of the world, when at God’s command – “Let there be LIGHT” – light burst forth for the very first time (Gen.1:3). Perhaps he also recalled Isaiah’s prophecy where the emergence of the Messiah meant that “the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light” (Isa.9:2). At a personal level, Paul obviously remembered his own encounter with the light from heaven on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:3). Whenever God intervened, spiritual and mental fog cleared. Everything became brilliant and bright. Though often far less striking, it is the same for every Believer in Christ – God “has shone in our hearts” (v.6).

The Almighty comes with luminous intensity and clarity by beaming into our hearts the Light of the Knowledge of His Glory. Through the Light of His Glorious Gospel, God reveals Jesus as Saviour and Lord. This knowledge reflects “the Face of Jesus Christ”! The face represents the whole person. In coming to terms with all that the Son of God is, we become acquainted with the Almighty Himself! Unlike other kinds of knowledge, the Knowledge of God or of His Glory, is not learnt mentally. It is sourced from His Word and validated by His Spirit.

This Knowledge is given – as Light – to us, by the same God, Who said in the beginning “Let there be Light”! It is comparable to the first light the world ever saw! However, we receive this light in vessels of clay. As limited humans, we’re totally unable to sustain the light, but by His Mercy. The Light of Knowledge that comes from God is about Himself, creation, humanity, the world, evil, eternity, and all things. He alone can share with us from the abundance of His Perfect Knowledge (Job 37:16).

It’s time to engage the Light of Knowledge for a Life of indomitable Triumph: “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed” (vv.7-9).