John Calvin 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)

God who commanded light to shine out of darkness. I see that this passage may be explained in four different ways.

1. In the first place, in this way: “God has commanded light to shine forth out of darkness: that is, by the ministry of men, who are in their own nature darkness, He has brought forth the light of His gospel into the world.”
2. Secondly, in this way: “God has made the light of the gospel to take the place of the law, which was wrapped up in dark shadows, and thus, He has brought light out of darkness.” Those who are fond of subtleties would be prepared readily to receive expositions of that sort, but anyone who will examine the matter more closely will perceive that they do not correspond with the Apostle’s intention.
3. The third exposition is that of Ambrose: “When all things were involved in darkness, God kindled the light of His gospel. For mankind was sunk in the darkness of ignorance, when God suddenly shone forth upon them by His gospel.”
4. The fourth is that of Chrysostom, who is of the opinion that Paul alluded to the creation of the world, in this way: “God, who by His word created light, drawing it, as it were, out of the darkness—that same Being has now enlightened us in a spiritual manner, when we were buried in darkness.”

This transition, from light that is visible and corporeal to what is spiritual, has more elegance, and there is nothing forced in it. The preceding one, however, is not unsuitable. Let everyone follow his own judgment.

Hath shined in our hearts. He speaks of a twofold illumination, which must be carefully observed—the one is that of the gospel, the other is secret, taking place in our hearts. For as God, the Creator of the world, pours forth upon us the brightness of the sun, and gives us eyes to receive it, so, as the Redeemer, in the person of His Son, He shines forth, indeed, upon us by His gospel; but, as we are blind, that would be in vain, if He did not at the same time enlighten our understandings by His Spirit. His meaning, therefore, is that God has, by His Spirit, opened the eyes of our understandings, so as to make them capable of receiving the light of the gospel.

In the face of Jesus Christ. In the same sense in which he had previously said that Christ is the image of the Father (2 Corinthians 4:4), he now says that the glory of God is manifested to us in his face. Here we have a remarkable passage, from which we learn that God is not to be sought out (Job 11:7) in His unsearchable height, for He dwells in light that is inaccessible (1 Timothy 6:16), but is to be known by us insofar as He manifests Himself in Christ. Hence, whatever men desire to know respecting God, apart from Christ, is evanescent, for they wander out of the way. True, indeed, God in Christ appears in the first instance to be lowly, but He appears eventually to be glorious in the view of those who hold on, so as to come from the cross to the resurrection. Again we see that in the word person there is a reference made to us, because it is more advantageous for us to behold God as He appears in His only-begotten Son, than to search out His secret essence.