Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary 2 Corinthians 4:6

"Seeing it is God, that said, Light shall shine out of darkness, who shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." — 2 Corinthians 4:6 (ASV)

Paul now states the reason why he preached Christ and served the Corinthians. It was because God had dispelled his darkness by illuminating his heart and had given him a knowledge of Christ he wished to share (cf. Acts 9:15; 26:16, 18; Galatians 1:15–16). In this second creation, as in the first, darkness is dispersed and light is created by divine intervention. In the first case it was a personal word: “Let there be light” (cf. Genesis 1:2–3); in the second creation it was a personal act: “God shone in our hearts” (cf. 1 Peter 2:9).

This is an unmistakable allusion to Paul’s Damascus encounter with the risen Christ when God “was pleased to reveal his Son” to him (Galatians 1:15–16). Each of the three accounts of Paul’s conversion mentions the noonday light from heaven, brighter than the sun, and emphasizes the revelatory nature of the experience (Acts 9:3–9; Acts 22:6–10; Acts 26:13–18). In the unveiled face of Christ (cf. 2 Corinthians 3:7, 13, 18) Paul saw God’s glory.

2. The suffering and glory of the apostolic ministry (4:7–5:10)

a. The trials and rewards of apostolic service (4:7–15) No person was ever more aware of the paradoxical nature of Christianity than Paul. And perhaps none of his letters contains more paradoxes than 2 Corinthians, of which vv.7–12 are typical.