2 Cor. 4:5 For we preach not ourselves,but Christ Jesus the Lord;and ourselves your servants for Jesus’sake.
What an important thing to remember:preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ – not the good news about me. The message our lives should show is about Him,not ourselves. When we do that,we show ourselves to be servants of Jesus Christ.
There was a young man,employed by a Sunday school board,was invited at the last minute to preach at a church in Nashville. On a sudden impulse he used as his text,“Thou shalt not steal.”
The next morning he stepped on the bus and handed the driver a dollar bill. The driver handed him back his change. He stood in the rear of the bus and counted the change. There was a dime too much. His first thought was,“The bus company will never miss this dime.”Then quickly came the realization that he could not keep money that did not belong to him. He made his way to the front and said to the driver,“You gave me too much change.”Imagine his surprise when the driver replied,“Yes,a dime too much. I gave it to you on purpose. You see,I heard your sermon yesterday,and I watched in my mirror as you counted your change. Had you kept the dime,I would never again have had any confidence in preaching.”
2 Cor. 4:6 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.
God commanded the light to shine out of the darkness – who is that light? Jesus Christ. Go to John chapter 1:
John 1:4-5 In him was life;and the life was the light of men. (5) And the light shineth in darkness;and the darkness comprehended it not. John 1:9-11 That was the true Light,which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. (10) He was in the world,and the world was made by him,and the world knew him not. (11) He came unto his own,and his own received him not.
God commanded the light to shine into our hearts because our hearts are the pits of darkness. When the born again believer has Jesus Christ as their Saviour,then they can show God’s light to others. A believer in Jesus Christ should not hide their light under a basket,but should show it to everyone. Is it easy to do that? Not always,but it gets easier the more you do it. Back to 2 Corinthians 4:6.
One day the light of the glory of God will shine everywhere and there will be no more darkness. Until that time,the born again believer needs to show the light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to everyone in deeds and words. Note that Paul is stating that they gave the light of the knowledge of the glory of God. When we show Jesus Christ is present in our lives and we tell others about Him,we are giving others the ability to know God. This,of course,can only happen through the Holy Spirit,but if we are correctly walking with God,then the Holy Spirit will be guiding our actions and our words. Because of the light of Jesus Christ,Paul declares that he has renounced the hidden things of dishonesty (2 Cor. 4:2),is not walking in craftiness (4:2),or deceitfully handling the word of God (4:2).