2 Corinthians 4:6, commentary and pictures

The same God who spoke physical light into existence at creation speaks spiritual light into the dark human heart to reveal Himself. That light is the knowledge of God's glory seen in the person of Jesus Christ, in whom all fullness dwells and all treasures of wisdom are hid. God's glory is His character — goodness, mercy, love, justice, truth, long-suffering and patience — made visible in Christ's life and self-sacrificing death. This inward shining is the presence and work of the Holy Spirit, not human power, quickening the mind so that Scripture becomes living and transforming and Jesus is recognized as Saviour. Beholding that glory changes the beholder into the same image from glory to glory, and those who receive it are to reflect it to the world like the moon reflects the sun.

Light Commanded Into Hearts

The same God who at creation commanded physical light to shine out of darkness commands spiritual light to shine in human hearts. That inward shining gives the knowledge of His glory as seen and revealed in Jesus Christ. It is the light of the gospel, for Christ is the image of God, and coming into it means leaving darkness to live in truth, righteousness and obedience. Its treasure is carried in frail, weak earthen vessels so that the excellency of the power is recognized as God's and not of men. Without this light the gospel remains hidden to minds blinded by unbelief, but with it people discern spiritual things and receive the gospel. Paul's endurance under weakness and affliction showed it at work, his sufficiency coming from the divine Spirit while troubled yet not distressed, perplexed yet not in despair, persecuted yet not forsaken, bearing the dying of Jesus so that Jesus' life was made manifest in mortal flesh.

This shining is the presence and agency of the Holy Spirit filling the soul. Sufficiency for fruitful ministry and for preaching Christ rather than self is not in self or in human ability but in God. The Spirit's gracious influence fills the heart, brings every thought into subjection and obedience to the will of Christ, and gives a heaven-born peace that holds true to the latest hour even in suffering and death to win souls. It is the work of grace carried forward when believed truth is allowed to sanctify the soul, molding by truth's sanctifying influence, subduing the will to God's will, and shaping labors, temper and dealing with brethren in patience, kindness, courtesy, meekness and lowliness. Those who receive it learn daily in Christ's school, become servants for Jesus' sake, and bear about the dying of the Lord Jesus that His life may be made manifest in the body.

The light gives the knowledge of God's glory in the face of Jesus Christ, which is essential knowledge. It is the highest learning mortals can receive, higher, greater and infinitely more ennobling than worldly knowledge, the highest and most sacred knowledge enriching the intellectual nature and shedding a flood of light upon the atonement. It is the consummation of all knowledge, with the beaming light of the Saviour's countenance rendering all things bright and glorious. This knowledge decides every soul's destiny, proving whether he is a partaker of the divine nature, has the Spirit of Christ, knows his sins forgiven, and is reconciled to God with Christ as his only hope. Where it is possessed, practice recommends faith, Christ is revealed by well-ordered life and godly conversation, with no lawsuits between neighbors or brothers. God did not entrust this treasure to sinless angels nor only to those admired for wealth, authority, genius, learning and eloquence, but to willing men of like passions acquainted with poverty, hardship, suffering and infirmity who can sympathize with and reach all classes.

God's glory thus made known is His character, His goodness. He is merciful and gracious, long-suffering and patient, abundant in goodness and truth, truthful, loving-kind and tenderly compassionate. Sin darkens the mind and dims perception, but as sin is purged the light shines more and more fully, illuminating His Word and reflected from the face of nature to declare Him, until mind and heart and soul are transformed to the image of His holiness. In Christ are hid all treasures of wisdom and knowledge, and all fullness dwells in Him. From eternity Jesus was one with the Father, the image of God and the outshining of His glory, come to this sin-darkened earth to manifest that glory and reveal the light of God's love as God with us. The glory shining in His face is self-sacrificing love seen in the light from Calvary, where the law of self-renouncing love is seen as the law of life for earth and heaven, love that seeks not her own having its source in the heart of God, with the character of Him who dwells in light no man can approach manifested in the meek and lowly One. When waves of trial roll and anguished souls ask if God will be favorable no more and has shut up His tender mercies, looking upon His Anointed removes doubt, for faith sees in Jesus the substitute, surety, ever-living witness that God is true, heavenly Representative and Advocate in whom every promise is yea and Amen, who never breaks His oath nor alters what has gone from His mouth.

Sin shut man out from God into darkness and eternal separation, so in sin no one can in person enter His presence or look upon His face. Through Christ's sacrifice communion is made possible again by seeing God and talking with Him in Jesus the Saviour. Nature alone cannot teach the full lesson of God's great love, so God met humanity in Christ, the true Light who dispels spiritual darkness, come in human nature as the revelation of the Father. Christ both opens heaven to man and opens man's heart to heaven, undoing sin's destruction of the desire and capacity to know God, invigorating and restoring paralyzed faculties, darkened mind and perverted will so man can discern spiritual treasures. His life and death as the price of redemption open the treasures of wisdom, promise and pledge life, and give a higher revelation of God's character than even sinless Eden knew.

Before the fall God's light surrounded Adam and Eve and they clearly perceived His character, instructed through creation where His eternal power and divine nature were evident. In earth's first school He opened to them the laws and operations of nature and the great principles of truth governing the spiritual universe, and this enlightenment revealing His glory developed their mental and spiritual powers and gave the highest pleasures of their holy existence. Under changed conditions after Eden people now behold that light in the face of Christ rather than through direct communion. God desires the whole earth to become like Eden, occupied with homes and schools where His words and works are studied, and that study fits students to reflect this light of the knowledge of His glory more and more fully through endless ages.

The word that created all things is the word that speaks life to the soul. Christ as one with God shines like the sun on every soul, and His light illuminates human understanding. That illumination enables people still to read the lesson of God's love in His created works and to find comfort and communion with the Creator in beholding His power in nature, with the Sabbath keeping that message in memory by calling thoughts to nature. Without such a divine Teacher the world would remain in darkness and eternal spiritual night. Sin has marred nature and made its testimony imperfect, so nature declares God's glory and teaches spiritual lessons yet cannot by itself teach His great love nor be accepted as God, and therefore the Father sent His well-beloved Son as a perfect revelation, condescending in His only begotten Son to stoop to human nature, declared from highest heaven as His beloved Son who glorifies His name.

Christ Reveals the Father

From eternity Jesus was one with the Father, the image of God and the outshining of His glory, who came to this sin-darkened earth to manifest that glory and reveal the light of the Father's love as God with us. The light of the knowledge of God's glory is seen in His face, which is the light of the glorious gospel of Christ and the treasure of God's Word opened to those who receive it. By dwelling with us He reveals God both to men and to angels as the Word of God, declaring the Father's name as merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, so that the love wherewith the Father loved Him may be in His disciples. He brings the pure truth of heaven to shine amid the moral darkness of the world, opening minds to understand truth concerning salvation, and the apostles' ministry therefore exalted Him and not themselves, presenting the plan of salvation and His life as its author and finisher as the constant theme of teaching.

The invisible God united His nature with humanity in Christ expressly to become a more distinguishable and definite object for contemplation and love. He is invested in robes of humanity as the great light, emitting a glory so softened and subdued under the veil of humanity and deep humiliation that human eyes can endure the sight, and He invites people to draw near and contemplate Him. Nature declares the glory of God and teaches spiritual lessons, but nature cannot teach the great love of God and cannot be accepted as God, so the Father sent His well-beloved Son as a perfect revelation of Himself, condescending in the person of His only begotten Son to stoop to human nature. By turning to Him, contemplating His self-sacrifice, and remembering that all the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily in Him, the believer is drawn closer to the source of power, beholds Him, reflects His image, and is changed by transforming grace.

At the cross the sinner sees the love of the Saviour who died to save him, finds a ransom, and may receive pardon with joy, for repentance is accepted because a ransom has been found. Christ's face reveals God's mercy, forgiveness, and welcoming acceptance of repentant believers, bridging the gulf created by sin and replacing terror and helplessness with peace, and the cross pledges that God will provide what is essential for bringing people to Him. God's character of mercy, love, goodness, and truth is revealed in Christ, especially through the gift of His life at Calvary, and that glory of self-sacrificing love makes the little world the lesson-book of the universe, with redeeming love the theme angels desire to look into through endless ages. In the light from Calvary the law of self-renouncing love is seen as the law of life for earth and heaven, the love that seeks not her own having its source in the heart of God, with the character of Him who dwells in light no man can approach manifested in the meek and lowly One, giving a higher revelation than even sinless Eden knew.

Unlike the glory reflected on Moses' face which passed away, God's glory remains on Christ's face where all may see it and live, and Christ sheds light, joy, and glory on God's law. That glory shining in the face of Jesus Christ is the light by which believers are to view all things, revealed in His surpassing love, meekness, lowliness, tenderness, and patience. All truth is to be presented in that light, with the Holy Spirit giving truth to different minds to express according to their development without cramping the mind into one mould, so difference of viewing and expressing truth is expected and precious workers may differ without contradiction. All must draw spiritual supplies from the same storehouse and depend wholly on God for grace and Spirit with no thread of selfishness or self-exaltation, and the more believers drink in Christ's Spirit the more they are animated and delighted by His surpassing love and reveal the tender, compassionate disposition that long and patiently bears with misunderstandings of fellow workers even when thoughts vary in close communion.

In the heavenly courts God commands spiritual light to shine amid the moral darkness of accumulated error and fables to reveal truth. The shining is the coming of the Messenger of the covenant and the arising of the Sun of Righteousness upon eager listeners. The light gives the knowledge of Christ's pre-existence, His second coming in glory and power, His personal dignity, and His uplifted holy law, dwelt upon with simplicity and power, and gives the knowledge of the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God shining in the plan of salvation by which God seeks to recover lost man from degradation and ruin. Jesus Himself is the glory of infinite wisdom, in whom all fullness dwells and in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, able to mould and elevate human character, so that those who appreciate it exalt Christ as the wisdom of God, laying human reasoning and self-righteousness beneath the cross.

The glory of God seen in the Saviour's face will shine forth forever and ever, and the themes of redemption centered in that glory will employ the minds and tongues of the redeemed through everlasting ages. That divine light is reflected in the countenances of the sinless angels and redeemed saints, and at the resurrection the faces of the redeemed will be radiant with light shining from Jesus while their individual identities and recognizable features are preserved in their glorified bodies. A person still carrying sin and impurity cannot endure that sacred light, so moral fitness must be gained in this life before probation closes.

Blindness and Spiritual Discernment

The light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, is hidden to those who are lost because the god of this world blinds the minds of unbelievers lest it should shine to them. Without that inward shining the gospel remains hidden, for only those in whose hearts God shines can discern spiritual things and receive it. Within the church the same blindness appears as self in all its perverted attributes, self-indulgence, hard hearts, worldly ambitious thoughts, and unappreciative minds that harden the heart, blind the eyes, and close the door against Christ so He cannot enter and abide. Such professors remain unconverted like the foolish virgins who have lamps but no oil in their vessels, who when they knew God worshiped Him not as God and die greater sinners than before they professed the truth. Light stands for righteousness and truth and darkness for error, sin, and unrighteousness, so those who have come from darkness into light put on Christ and are marked by truth and obedience, while the world follows dishonest and unjust principles with which they can have no fellowship or union.

Those who are enlightened receive spiritual discernment, with the mind quickened so that Bible truth becomes living, convicting, and transforming, and they recognize Jesus as the Christ. This illumination comes through the Holy Spirit revealing the things of God as living power to the obedient heart through the Word, for without Him preaching and reading cannot save or transform. Beholding Christ with supreme love and steadfast faith fills mind and soul with the light of knowing God's glory in His face, while turning away from the Saviour leaves a person in spiritual darkness. Faith receiving the heavenly anointing beholds that light as truth is sought like hidden treasure, and newly converted souls learn to yield to the Spirit and experience Bible truth in their lives.

Sin darkens the mind and dims perception, but as sin is purged from the heart the light of the knowledge of that glory shines more and more fully. That growing light illuminates His Word and is reflected from the face of nature to declare Him as merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, until in His light light is seen and mind and heart and soul are transformed to the image of His holiness. It is connected with deep religious experience and sanctification through truth, not superficial profession, and faith joined with self-denial and repentance lets the eye see clearly. People have no power in themselves to bring themselves into this light, for the light and goodness come from God and not from human worthiness or power.

The Saviour approaches the helpless as compassionate and loving, willing and longing to shine in every heart, to make partakers of the divine nature, to bring love out of enmity and holiness out of impurity. Wherever there is desire to be like Jesus the Spirit begins writing that divine likeness upon the soul, and as a person looks to Christ and seeks His grace Christ's likeness is formed in the heart. That saving knowledge is to be claimed with true substantial faith in God's Son, for His commandment is that people should have faith in Jesus Christ, and He will be a present help in every time of need to those who draw near instead of stopping with a half-and-half experience. Those who do not receive Jesus as a personal Saviour never come to this light and never have eternal life.

The same light coming from darkness guarantees that truth will overcome error even when error defies God's people as the champion defied the armies of Israel. It shone into the disciples' hearts as God once commanded light to shine out of darkness, enabling Peter to recognize and confess Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the living God. Carried by Waldensian missionaries, that truth turning people toward God would, if allowed to spread, dispel error, direct people to God alone, and ultimately end Rome's supremacy. Satan works to throw his hellish shadow before souls, to eclipse the bright attractions of the eternal world, and to darken the soul's horizon. Men's blindness is therefore the work of the enemy, so impatience toward them is wrong, and Christ gave His life to lift mind and heart above the cheap temporary things of this world toward the life of God.

Treasure in Earthen Vessels

The treasure is the light of the knowledge of God's glory seen in the face of Jesus Christ, placed in weak, frail, earthen human vessels so that the excellency of the power is plainly of God and not of men. God did not entrust it to sinless angels nor only to those admired by the world for wealth, authority, genius, learning, and eloquence, but chose willing men of like passions, acquainted with poverty, hardship, suffering, and human infirmity, who can sympathize with and reach persons of all classes. Upon these apparently unattractive ones He lets the light of His glory in the face of Jesus shine, making a revelation to the intellectual nature that enriches the mind with the highest and most sacred knowledge and sheds a flood of light upon the atonement, rendering all things bright and glorious as the consummation of all knowledge. Through the Spirit this divine light brings its bearers into conformity to Christ's mind and image so they represent the Savior in word and deed, while sustaining them when troubled yet not distressed, perplexed yet not in despair, persecuted yet not forsaken, cast down yet not destroyed. It requires that servants not follow worldly custom in drawing large salaries but follow Christ's self-denying example, so that precept and example harmonize and the gospel is rightly presented.

Those entrusted with it preach not themselves but Christ Jesus the Lord, and themselves servants for Jesus' sake, for their sufficiency and fruitful ministry come from the Holy Spirit's presence and power and not from themselves. They renounce dishonesty, craftiness, and deceitful handling of the Word, refusing to shape faith and teaching to suit hearers or to hold back truths essential to salvation to make teaching attractive, but commend truth to conscience and present it with simplicity and clearness while praying for conviction and conversion. Their continual theme is Christ and the plan of salvation, exalting His life and saving work rather than self.

Paul's life showed this light at work, for though weak and afflicted his sufficiency came from the divine Spirit and God's power was evident in his endurance, making the dying of Jesus visible while Jesus' life was manifest in mortal flesh. The shining is the presence and agency of the divine Spirit filling the soul, bringing every thought into subjection to Christ, so that the light stays true until the latest hour and a heaven-born peace is seen even in suffering and death that wins souls. He was troubled yet not distressed, perplexed yet not in despair, persecuted yet not forsaken, cast down yet not destroyed, and his peace held to the latest hour even facing death. This means having no sufficiency in self, being molded by the sanctifying influence of truth, having the will subdued to God, and having labors, temper, and dealing with brethren correspond with professed truth.

Christ is the pattern whose life, character, and manner of teaching ministers must continually study, keep ever before them, copy, and reflect in order to direct the perishing to salvation. They must come to the people under the full influence of His meekness and lowliness and grow up into His stature, stamping impressions of Christ on minds and characters by association that work deeper and deeper, make an abiding place, and change the soul after His likeness so they speak His words which are spirit and life. They must come under Christ's rule, separate from selfishness, practice self-denial, take up the work at hand as for Jesus, reach forward to other lines of work, and care for the flock by precept and example without self-centeredness or fainting, while bearing the dying of the Lord Jesus in the body so His life is made manifest in mortal flesh. In labors, temper, and dealing with brethren this is patience, kindness, courtesy, meekness and lowliness, with conduct brought into harmony with teaching.

This ministry entrusts the church with exalted privileges, each member to stand in his place to represent the life and character of Jesus and to reveal the high and holy character of the church. As long as she holds the simplicity of Christ and lives out His simple truth she is the light of the world and a power for good, allowing no self-exaltation, because every gift, talent, and ray of light is first received from God as a sacred trust given to win souls to Christ. Active, wholly earnest, persevering, untiring religious service through the grace of Christ carries the triumphs of the cross to the very gates of the city of God, and God leads to triumph in Christ making the savor of His knowledge known in every place.

Transformed to Reflect Glory

Beholding the glory shining in the face of Jesus Christ changes beholders into the same image from glory to glory, from character to character, bringing them into conformity to Christ's mind and image so that they represent the Saviour in word and deed until life is complete in Him. This mighty change is the science of eternity, wrought with human consent and never by compulsion, for people have no power in themselves to bring themselves into the light, but the compassionate and loving Saviour approaches them, and wherever there is desire to be like Jesus the Holy Spirit begins to write that divine likeness upon the soul. The light and goodness come wholly from God and not from human worthiness or power, and the treasure of this light is held in weak, frail human vessels so that the excellency of the power is seen to be of God and not of men, while God leads to triumph in Christ and makes the savor of His knowledge known in every place. Christ, as the manifestation of the Father, is to be the life of the believer and His life repeated in the Christian, entered by beholding His character through studying His Word, and those who look to Jesus reflect the light of God's character and love in good works and in every part of life, for Christ is the way, the truth, and the life with no darkness in Him.

Enoch steadfastly maintained communion with God in the midst of active labor, praying more constantly and earnestly as labors became greater and more pressing, and after remaining among the people to benefit them by instruction and example withdrawing at certain periods from all society to spend a season in solitude hungering and thirsting for the divine knowledge that God alone can impart. He trained his mind in devotion, purity, and heavenly things and lived in the atmosphere of heaven with growing faith and love, and his face was lighted with the holy light that shines in Jesus' face and bore heaven's impress so plainly that even the ungodly beheld it with awe. As he looked to Jesus he was changed into the glorious image of his Lord and became more and more radiant, reflecting the divine image. Though surrounded by sin and corruption he remained pure in heavenly-minded devotion and holy life, showing that purity is possible amid corruption and that people can live faithfully amid the perils of the last days.

As the love of Christ is beheld it is reflected daily, for God shines in hearts daily to give divine illumination with clear conceptions of His great mercy and love toward poor sinners. Those who receive heaven's light are to reflect it to others like the moon reflecting the sun, commissioned to show God's image to the world in faithful service and witness. The heart opens and expands to the beams, is invigorated and refreshed like fragrance, and sheds cheer and triumph amid afflictions, with brightness in the countenance under the Sun of Righteousness, and the knowledge thus given grows through trials and afflictions and must be declared to others and mirrored in a life that clearly reflects the matchless love of Jesus. Even the brightest human views of that love are dim and the highest conceptions low, so the eyes of understanding must be opened to receive it with hope and faith and confidence and rest, exalting the God who promises instead of dishonoring Him by unbelief, while a low and sensual life with the mind on sensual things cannot reveal that knowledge, which requires having the grace of God in the heart and practicing it in the life.

Divine illumination is the abiding presence of Christ in a heart emptied of self and filled with the graces of the Holy Spirit, with Christ as daily companion in close contact and constant communion with God. Upon such the glory of the Lord has risen, producing purity, freedom from sin, rejoicing in God, perfect peace, perfect love, perfect assurance, and a life revealing the beauty and character of Christ, with heaven in the heart preparing for the communion of heaven and rejoicing in the undimmed rays of the brightness and glory of the King in His majesty. The light comes like sunrise where beam follows beam and light expands, so believers more and more distinctly discern Christ's mission, mercy, love, and tender compassion, and Christ is admired in all that believe, more loved, more implicitly obeyed and devotedly served. This truth unites people to the Saviour and God continues the work He has begun in them, for the light gives knowledge of the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God shining in the plan of salvation by which He seeks to recover lost man from degradation and ruin. Jesus Himself is the glory of infinite wisdom, in whom all fullness dwells and in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge under the veil of humanity and deep humiliation, able to mold and elevate human character, so that those who appreciate it exalt Christ as the wisdom of God, laying human reasoning and self-righteousness beneath the cross and counting all human glory as loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ the Lord.

Christ was compassed with human infirmities and took the likeness of sinful flesh that He might by His own example condemn sin in the flesh, and He constantly beheld the character of God and constantly represented that character to the world. Those illuminated are to continually look to Jesus and constantly behold God's character, taking His words as spirit and life, and this shining holds out wonderful possibilities and sets a standard to be reached: coming under Christ's rule, being subordinated to His Holy Spirit, separating from selfishness to be a child of God, purifying the self even as Christ is pure, and being changed into Christ's image with Christlike patience, sympathy, self-denial, and sacrifice, proving what heavenly grace can do for human beings who work out a perfect character and live a life of perfect obedience as Christ came to free men from the curse of the law. Ministers who come to the people under the full influence of the meekness and lowliness of Christ and grow up into His stature stamp impressions of Christ on minds and characters by association that work deeper and deeper, make for themselves an abiding place, and change the soul after Christ's likeness. The light Christians shine does not originate with themselves but comes from heaven as a heavenly principle and gift to be carried out in every phase of religious experience, working as definite and positive love for God that puts unselfish love for fellow beings in the heart, leads to a noble Christlike example and to patterning after Christ, and is shown in discipleship by denying self, taking up the cross, following Jesus, and enduring sacrifice and privation that God may be glorified. Good works done through the Holy Spirit's power magnify Christ and not the doer, so that self is hidden and Christ appears as all in all, and when Christ abides in the soul the treasure of the heart brings forth good things, with jewels gathered from Jesus dropping from the lips in clean, pure speech with nothing common, low, or cheap, in a sweet, amiable, courteous spirit so plainly Christlike that none can help seeing they have been with Jesus. Cheap, low, frivolous jesting and joking shuts away the Holy Spirit and angels and hinders spiritual life, while those called out of darkness into marvelous light guard their influence by sacred sentinels, show forth His praises in every act, and partake with Christ in suffering that they may partake with Him in glory, with power, grace, and the Holy Spirit available on earnest demand proportionate to the value sought.

Sharing Light With Others

Those who receive heaven's light are to reflect it to others as the moon reflects the sun, for the light they shine does not originate with themselves but comes when God shines in their hearts to give the knowledge of His glory in Jesus Christ. Christ commissions His followers to let that divine light shine before men in good works so others glorify the Father, their lives showing God's image as a call to faithful service and witness. That light in the heart makes the church the light of the world and a power for good as long as she holds the simplicity of Christ and lives out His simple truth, having been called out of darkness into marvelous light and given light in rich measure near the close of the great conflict. Every gift, talent, and ray is first received from God as a sacred trust to be received, believed and learned, then unselfishly imparted to those in the darkness of error to help, bless and save perishing souls, with an earnest desire to lead others to behold this glorious light. This light is a heavenly principle and gift to be carried out in every phase of religious experience, working as definite and positive love for God that puts unselfish love for fellow beings in the heart, leads to a noble Christlike example and to patterning after Christ, and is shown in discipleship by denying self, taking up the cross, following Jesus, and enduring sacrifice and privation that God may be glorified. Those who faithfully share it gain heavenly treasure and see many souls in the kingdom as fruit of their loving labor.

The inner light is not to be kept in possession through a lifetime without being spread or kept to no purpose or trifled with, for to know this duty and not do it makes the knowledge a curse. It is to shine forth to all who can possibly be reached through good works, social influence, neighbor visits, opening the Word step by step, teaching children, sharing books as silent witnesses, sanitarium work, and earnest mission effort that rescues enslaved souls and brings conviction. Through social relationships sanctified by the Spirit Christians are to witness for Jesus and win people to the Saviour, and those who serve in sanitarium work are to reflect Christ's light and bring it to people in spiritual darkness. That revelation is now to be given to the world through truly converted and entirely transformed workers as a revelation of the power of the truth to sanctify, with each believer recognized as a laborer together with God who never exalts self, refuses unfair advantage and worldly policies, and takes the Word of the Lord as wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.

In the struggle between good and evil this light is revealed through those who receive and sow the good seed, making Christ known and preparing the way for His second coming. The God who brought physical light out of darkness at creation also brings spiritual light into a time of deep darkness, and through His word He gives His people the light of knowing His glory — His character — so that His glory can be seen among them amid the errors, deceptions, and persecution of the last days. This enlightening sustains the present sowing of good seed in the same field at the same time evil seed is sown, with good and evil striving together until the great harvest, and through faithful workers cooperating with Christ it prepares the way for the Lord's second coming for the saving of souls unto eternal life. The knowledge of God's glory in the face of Jesus Christ shines in the hearts of faithful followers and is reflected in their lives through daily companionship and constant communion with God, and that inward light prepares them for heaven. At Christ's second coming those who have lived in close communion with Him will rejoice in the full, undimmed brightness of His glory and are prepared for the communion of heaven.

This shining is seen in meetings marked by direct appeals, earnest humble broken prayers, the manifestation of the Holy Spirit, and testimonies born. It requires clearing the King's highway and preparing the way of the Lord by reaching a higher standard in meetings, setting everything in operation, setting others to work, and striving with all the powers of the grace of Christ to remove every obstruction to unity. The light shines upon church members when they repent of sins before God and also before brethren and ask for the pardon brethren are willing to give, pleading with God until pardon is known and received, for covering sin gives less and less sense of its sinfulness while God receives everyone who confesses and forsakes sin by crucifying self in departing from iniquity. As people searching for truth encounter the Scriptures presented in their purity, the darkness disappears and light shines upon them, God teaches them through Christ the great Teacher, they joyfully accept truths that sanctify and uplift, the moral image of God is restored in them, and many are saved, which is the bringing of truth to people living in error like light shining out of darkness.

God shines divine light and glory into the hearts of those who draw near to Him through the countenance of Jesus, enabling them to know God's glory and truth even as darkness and error increase around them. Every fresh conviction of God's grace upon unbelieving souls is divine, and everything done to bring souls to a knowledge of the truth lets God's light shine through Jesus Christ. Minds are to be directed to Christ as the One who guides and controls all things, and Christ becomes nourishment and refreshing to newly converted souls, with no darkness in Him at all. When people of spiritual understanding study the Bible with new believers and teach them how to yield to the power of the Holy Spirit so they are fully and firmly established in the truth, the power of God is revealed.

Living by the Light Daily

Through sincere trusting prayer people are brought into connection with the mind of the Infinite, and God lets divine light shine into the heart and around them to give knowledge of His glory in the face of Jesus Christ. At Pentecost the outpouring of the Holy Spirit brought great wisdom and grace upon the whole body of believers in answer to earnest, persevering prayer, and God remains just as willing to hear petitions now. His compassionate presence and hand in love and pity are real even when there is no visible or remarkable evidence, no felt touch, and no remarkable sign. Heaven's light shining into heart and mind enables grasping heaven's treasures. This healing light must be sought daily in prayer with whole heart and soul and mind and voice as the one object needed for salvation, until every chamber of the moral being is lifted heavenward and the mind is illuminated like the bright shining of an undimmed candle with light and strength of purpose.

The light of God's glory in the face of Christ is to be beheld with clear, unclouded eyes and spiritual vision in adversity, sickness, disappointment, and trial as well as in prosperity, by trusting His guiding hand. God is declared in all His dealings with His people, and trial does not hide Him but reveals Him and the abundant supplies at His disposal. In the hour of need no power is gained by looking to self; eyes need to be anointed to discern spiritual poverty and lack of faith, to realize helplessness and call upon Him for aid. Remembering the power and love already shown in time past, especially in giving His Son, gives assurance He will find a way out of present difficulty. Instead of short-sighted unbelief, murmuring, and complaining that grieves and dishonors Him in strait places, faith held in darkness steadies the sufferer and frees him to help those in need who seek light but know not how to find it.

Guilty souls under Satan's threatenings are to stop pondering their own degeneration, lay guilt at the foot of the cross, receive Christ's pardon, and comfort themselves with God's promises instead of doubting His love. God alone can create the soul anew, bringing light out of darkness and changing the life, and as Christ reveals the beauty of God's character those who give themselves to Him are shaped into the divine likeness and made complete in Him. He fills what is dark in itself with the light of heaven until it turns to brightness like gold because His glory rests upon it. Seeing God's character in Christ as compassionate and forgiving, revealing mercy, forgiveness, and welcoming acceptance through the ransom, replaces terror and helplessness with peace and draws willing obedient people to God. This knowledge of God's greatness, justice, mercy, and love, imparted by Jesus come from heaven through saving grace bestowing gift upon gift until all treasures of heaven are opened, makes partakers of the divine nature able to be like Jesus, must not be trifled with or kept to no purpose, grows through trials and afflictions, and must be declared and reflected in a life mirroring His matchless love.

Second Corinthians 4 contains precious instruction for every believer, to be applied personally with humbled heart before God to correct spiritual deficiency, especially in what is required of teachers in the church. The verse is held up in gold letters to one tempted in confusion to doubt personal experience and to mistake the power of God resting on the heart for mesmerism, and to one made dumb for resisting that power as sin. It is to be turned to readily in the Bible, believed, and obeyed, with promise that the tongue struck dumb for doubt will be loosed in less than twenty-four hours to shout praises so there is no more doubting true experience nor resisting God's power.

Carrying this light in the heart and letting it shine out to others in mission work requires bringing sunlight into one's own life to bless others and self, living in charity, keeping a cheery spirit, and not looking on the dark side. It requires preserving health and future usefulness by quietness, periods of rest and quietude of mind, not keeping the mind constantly on strain, not becoming overtaxed, not expecting too much of persons without experience, and lightening care and responsibility so workers can continue and not have to stop altogether. At the time of most brilliant success God commands increased light to shine forth from Himself alone and not from the stamp of one individual mind, hiding His human instrument in seclusion from strain and aggressive warfare and heavy responsibility so individuality is hidden, God remains, people look to God alone, and He moves by His Holy Spirit upon minds, which is necessary for the health of reform because even a successful reformer still holds errors others must not receive. Surrendering fully to God brings clear understanding of the divine mind so a person wills to do His will, leading to a more useful life in His service with rest, peace, comfort, and assurance.

God lets light shine into the chambers of the mind and into the soul temple to sweep away every form of deception and error. God made the mind and can mold it, but He honors cooperation for present and eternal good, with angels making impressions and the Spirit working on the afflicted to lead to inquiry for truth. Some refuse to be illuminated, but many respond to the light. When an afflicted soul inquires, those cooperating work for the precious soul as Christ would, pointing to Jesus as sin-pardoning Saviour rather than urging special doctrine or any special doctrine upon him. This light gives knowledge of His glory in Jesus, enabling understanding and appreciating truth, revealing its beauty, power, and sanctifying grace to others, and receiving strength to stand against temptation, while Christ the Light of the world shining in hearts of His purchased property abiding by living faith gives sweetness, fragrance, and light that shine outward from faces and change beholders into the same image to bear fruit, whereas fruitlessness loses beauty, glory, and satisfaction as darkness takes mind, affections, and service.

Christ's light shining into mind and heart gives knowledge of God's glory, and as the Saviour lives in the heart His light enables seeing light. God's glory shining from the face of Jesus Christ is to be gathered daily through Christ and scattered in the path of others, so one is light in the Lord. God's glory must shine into the heart and be revealed in the life with praise, thanksgiving, and right sanctified words and actions, developing pure holy character. Coming to this light of knowing God happens when a person humbles his own heart, with each left to do that humbling, with no covering own sins by exposing another's mistakes, but working earnestly to help erring brethren reach that light so God's name is glorified and not dishonored before the world.

God brings light from darkness, including light on health reform about eating, drinking, and dressing. He will not heal disease resulting from refusing to heed that light and continuing unhealthful habits. Those seeking healing must first place themselves in right relation to health reform by denying appetite, laying aside every wrong practice and perverted appetite, bringing habits into harmony with right principles, and using provisions given such as simple remedies, pure air, sunshine, and pure water. Faith in His power to heal is dead without improving the light given, because His grace is always reformatory and faith and works go together.