In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake. 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. (2 Corinthians 4:4-6)

The light of the glory of Jesus Christ is hid to unbelievers. Blindness is the spiritual malice. The problem is not the radiant glories of the gospel. The glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ is Light. The man of God is not the reason for their rejection. The cause is in the unbeliever.

This person’s only hope is for God to shine in their hearts through His Word. So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God (Romans 10:17). Spiritual illumination must be given from above. The God who spoke the light to shine out of the darkness in creation is the same God who will shine in the darkness of men’s souls by His Word.

However, the preacher must be proclaiming the right word. Note in the text that the reason why the messenger is not at fault is because of whom they preach, for we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord. Christ Jesus is the image of God. The proclamation is not man-oriented but Christological. This type of messenger is not of the world. He is of God. There are those of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them (I John 4:5, 6). Their sermons are the darkening vanities of political exhortations, newspaper events, condemning moralities, and soothing poisons of “peace, peace” rather than the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. What is the chaff to the wheat (Jeremiah 23:28)? What about when they speak of themselves?

True men of God are slaves of God for salvation! The reason that these men can speak with certainty and sight is because in them, God … hath shined! In other words, they possess and have beholden the light of the glories of Christ in the Scripture. This glorious light is engrafted and proclaimed as the only answer to the emptiness of men’s souls. They have not handled Christ physically. However in a real spiritual sense, the eyes of their understanding has been enlightened in order that they cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard (Acts 4:20). That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ (I John 1:3).

There is man-oriented preaching and then there is Christ! He is our wisdom. The wisdom of righteousness, sanctification, and redemption is in a Person, the Son of God. When a man has supped with the risen Christ he counts all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord (Philippians 3:8). The end result is that, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord (I Corinthians 1:31). May the Lord grant to His church men in who is glory!