Editorial by Pastor Malcolm Macqueen
“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.” II Corinthians 4:6
There have been certain inventions over the centuries which have revolutionised society and ushered in a New Age of social advancement and development. The wheel, for example, was invented by the Mesopotamians around 3500 B.C, and used in the creation of pottery. About 300 years after that, the wheel was put on a chariot and the rest is history. The earliest known nail dates back to Ancient Egypt, about 3400 B.C. Screws on the other hand have been around since Ancient Greek times in the 1st or 2nd century B.C.
The printing press was invented in 1439 by the German Johannes Gutenberg. This is considered one of the greatest inventions of all time and in many ways laid the foundation for our modern age. This revolutionized the spread of knowledge and religion as previously books were generally hand-written. The light bulb is also arguably one of the most game-changing inventions ever created. Invented by Joseph Swan and further refined by Thomas Edison in 1879, the light bulb operated on a fairly simple principle of an electrical current flowing through a filament, heating it up until it glowed, inside a vacuum (the bulb) so that the glow lasted. It profoundly changed the way people lived, worked and functioned from then on.
It is interesting to read the opening verses of Genesis when God said on the 1st day, in Genesis chapter 1:3, “Let there be light and there was light.” This was not the two great lights, the sun and the moon, which He created on the 4th day. The light that God spoke into being on the 1st day instantly brought to an end two things: the state of the earth, which until that time was formless and empty, as well as bringing to an end the total darkness which dominated the earth.
In the New Testament scripture, II Corinthians 4:6, the Apostle Paul takes his readers back to the beginning of Creation in Genesis chapter 1 to draw a parallel with the Creation which God spoke into being then, to the opportunity of mankind being re-created through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Let us consider 4 aspects this verse highlights:
- The Voice. “For God, who commanded the light ….” II Cor. 4:6
Because the Lord is in heaven and invisible, He has chosen to communicate through the channel of speech. Everything began in the beginning with God speaking a Word and everything begins for us when we hear His voice personally. Psalm 29 is almost exclusively taken up in describing the 7 fold characteristics of the voice of the Lord:
Is over the waters; verse 3;
Is powerful and majestic; verse 4;
It breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon; verse 5
It makes Lebanon leap like a calf, like a young wild ox; verse 6
It strikes with flashes of lightning; verse 7
It shakes the desert; verse 8
It makes the deer give birth & twists the oaks and strips the forests bare. Verse 9 - The Valuable Treasure. “But we have this treasure….” II Cor 4:7
It is interesting to compare the state of the earth before God spoke to the life of sinful people before they have heard the Lord’s voice calling them to come to Him. Their lives were formless, empty and dominated by darkness. Christianity’s whole message is that the Lord God desires re-birth, re-form and re-moulding to be experienced by each person from within as they are changed into the image of His Son, (Romans 8:29).
The darkness which once dominated life has been dispelled by the glorious light of the Gospel and “The father has delivered and drawn us to Himself out of the control and the dominion of darkness and has transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of His love.” Colossians 1:13 Amplied - The Victory. “We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed” II Cor.4:8-9. As a result of having this valuable treasure within, the Apostle John was able to write, “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.” I John 4:4a “
The late Watchman Nee, the Chinese church leader and Christian teacher, once remarked, “ Outside of Christ, I am only a sinner, but in Christ, I am saved. Outside of Christ, I am empty; in Christ, I am full. Outside of Christ, I am weak; in Christ, I am strong. Outside of Christ, I cannot; in Christ, I am more than able. Outside of Christ, I have been defeated; in Christ, I am already victorious. How meaningful are the words, “in Christ.”
The Apostle Paul knew more than his fair share of trials and tribulations as he served His Master, but was able to declare to Timothy, “what persecutions I endured: but out them all the Lord delivered me.” II Timothy 3:11
Victory can only be claimed after the battle has been won and have overcome that which had potentially wanted to overcome you. Paul writes in II Cor. 4:8-9 “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.” Paul the Apostle, together with those who were with him, experienced victory through trusting in the power of God to deliver them. - The Visible Witness. “Always bearing about in the body” II Cor. 4:10-11
The Christian Church has been described as “An army of ordinary people, a kingdom where love is the key, a city, a light to the nations, heirs to the promise are we. A people whose life is in Jesus, a nation together we stand; only through grace are we worthy, inheritors of the land.”
The Apostle Paul was indeed a living, visible witness to the grace and keeping power of God upon his life. He carried the marks or the scars of his allegiance to Christ in his body, Galatians 6:17, marks of ownership, marks of consecration, marks of exposure and marks of reproach.
May we let our light visibly shine brightly for Jesus in this dark world !!
