0502. GOD-SHINE
GOD-SHINE
"God hath shined in our hearts" (2Co_4:6).
When the blessed sunshine breaks out from behind the thick clouds of darkness, there is no mistaking the fact that a great change has taken place. This is just such a change as takes place in the benighted soul of man when the light of the knowledge of God breaks through the darkness.
I. The Source of this Shining. "God hath shined." This light is not of man’s kindling. Out of the darkness within no such light could ever be produced. Only He who could "command the light to shine out of darkness" could cause such a light to shine in the sin-darkened hearts of men. The light of the knowledge of God is the light of God Himself. It is a definite and direct act of the infinite mercy and goodness of God upon the individual soul. "God hath shined.. God, who is Light, and in whom is no darkness at all, is still shining through His Son Jesus Christ, by His Word.
II. The Place of this Shining. "God hath shined in our hearts." The brightest thing in Heaven is the darkest place on earth. This God-shine in the heart brings with it a double revelation. It shows by way of contrast how dark the heart by nature was, and how hopeless it was for it in itself to create such a soul-satisfying light. It is also a revelation of the character and presence of God in the heart. This is not so much a light created by God, as it is the light of the presence of God in the heart. Into every dark crevice of the soul this shining has come. It is the nature of light to cast its influence over everything that is anywhere within its reach. In shining into the heart this light enters into every act and deed of the life, into every thought and feeling and motive of the soul’s activities. God hath shined His light, and wisdom has come to take the place of our darkness and ignorance. The god of this world had blinded the mind, but the God of Heaven hath shined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of God (2Co_4:4).
III. The Purpose of this Shining. "To give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God, in the face of Jesus Christ." This shining of God, in His glorious grace, upon and in the heart, gives us to know something of that glory that has come to God in and through His Son Jesus Christ. God hath shined in our hearts in answer to the atoning death of His Son, by which His Holy Name has been glorified. This shining assures us of much more than the existence of God, it is the manifestation of His glory-the glory of His saving grace-in the face or character of Jesus Christ. As all the colours of nature are in one single ray of pure white light, so all the attributes of God are perfectly harmonised and embodied in this revelation of Himself. Knowledge is light, but the knowledge of the glory of God which is radiant on the face of Jesus Christ; is the brightest and most effectual light that ever pierced the darkness of a human heart. It is a light that transforms the whole inner man, and that adorns with the beauty of the Lord; it is the dawning of that great eternal day upon the soul, which will never be followed by the darkness of night but which will brighten as the hours and years go by, until the perfect day of perfect likeness, face to face. God hath shined. Walk in the light and ye shall not stumble.
Autor: James Smith