⁶For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

One of the simplest concepts in Scripture is that of seeing the light—that is, simple in terms of syntax and basic word meanings, but profound in its depth of truth. Light shines “out of” darkness. While it is true that the light of God’s Word shone into the world when Christ came, the emphasis here is that the light was in the world, shining from within. The light Paul speaks of here is that which is reflective, that which is energized by the outsource of light, so that it becomes an insource of light. God’s enlightening works within us.

So while the knowledge of God is evident from His creation (Rom. 1:20) and the light of that knowledge shone into the hearts of everyone (Rom 1:21), the light did not reflect back in everyone, that is, it did not shine out of the darkness of their heart. It did not take root. The analogy Paul uses is the creation story of light. It was in the midst of darkness that God created the sun and stars. God created that which was apart from Himself, to shine from within the nothingness that was formless and void (Genesis 1:1–5). That pictures for us how God works in the lives of individuals who come to faith.

God’s desire—notice this very carefully—is not simply to give us eternal life, as great as that is for us. Nor is the end game that we would be saved from all of our suffering here through the hope of eternal rest. Those things are truth, but they are side benefits, not the main thing. No. God’s goal is to give to us “the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.” That is huge. That is God’s ultimate goal in saving us. That is what He wants to unveil in His image bearers, the ones created to be like Him.

God wants us to know Him, not just with head knowledge but with personal, intimate, deep heart-knowledge. He shines His light into our “hearts,” not just our “minds”—thus we are talking not just of cognitive understanding, but a genuine knowing Him. Could this be what it means that the patriarch Abraham was “called the friend of God” (James 2:23), after being confronted in Mesopotamia at the beginning of his journey to Canaan by “[t]he God of glory” (Acts 7:2)? God wants to show us His glory, all that He is, in increasing fullness. And this comes, as it were, by face-timing with Jesus Christ.

Thus in order to grow in our knowledge of God in all His glory, we must spend time knowing the Lord Jesus Christ and “Him crucified.”

Lord Jesus, I desire to know You better as I look into Your wonderful face.