For God who said,
"Let the light shine out of darkness,"
made His light shine in our hearts
to give us the light
of the knowledge
of the glory
in the face of Christ.
2 CORINTHIANS 4:6
The more the Lord leads me deeper into His Word, the more I realize how profound the phrase "born again" is. And the more the Lord leads me to minister His gospel to other Christians, the more I realize how trite and superficial the phrase "born again" has become.
But that's ok, for the Lord has called me to walk along side to fellow Christians to minister His Word. What a joy it is to witness a fellow Christian receive God's revelation of the profound transformation that being "born again" truly is!
BORN AGAIN THROUGH THE CROSS
When I ask Christians what "born again" means to them, many describe an understanding that limits being "born again" to being forgiven of their sins. Now forgiveness of sins through the shed blood of Christ is indeed a wonderful gift of God's mercy and grace.
However, for a person to be "born again," he must not only be forgiven of his sins, he must also die to who he is through a spiritual union with Christ in Christ's crucifixion and burial (Romans 6:3, 6). Then, and only then, can he be "born again" by the grace of God. And this spiritual "rebirth" is through a union with Christ in His resurrection! Raised with Christ to walk in newness of life! (Romans 6:4-5).
A Christian receives this grace-work of God through the cross of Christ by faith.
BORN AGAIN TO RECEIVE BIBLICAL COUNSEL
When a fellow Christian asks me for biblical counsel to overcome a sinful struggle, freedom from is experienced after he receives God's revelation of his profound transformation through salvation.
Apart from the knowledge of this profound change, a Christian will continue to be vulnerable to temptations to strive to overcome the sin using his old fleshly resources. In other words, apart from this knowledge, a Christian does not fully realize the new living resources he has in Christ Himself.
BORN AGAIN AS GOD'S NEW CREATION
I love how the Holy Spirit used different authors of the Bible to describe several glorious perspectives of being "born again" with Christ.
I was recently so amazed as I read our Rest Stop verse in 2 Corinthians 4:6 that describes being "born again" as the result of God commanding His light to shine out of darkened, sinful hearts of people. Ephesians 5:8 says that we "were once darkness," not that we were once in darkness.
2 Corinthians 4:6 is such a profoundly rich verse; I'll never plumb the depths of its truths. Here are four truths I see from this verse:
1. God is the author and finisher of salvation.
2. It is God's light, not just any light, that saves.
3. God's light is His knowledge revealed to us, including the knowledge of our sinful state before salvation, knowledge of the Father's redemptive work through His Son, and a personal knowledge of the glory of His Son.
4. Salvation is not simply a response to a questionnaire, but is a face-to-face encounter with the Lord Jesus Christ.
To describe the profound nature of being "re-born," the author of this verse, Paul, goes all the way back to God's first creative act in Genesis 1:3, Then God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. The same power in God's word that created the world is the very same power in God's word in re-creating you through your re-birth with Christ!
So, God Himself made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory in the face of Christ.
I don't understand much of this verse, but I do know that as we prayerfully read God's Word to behold as in a mirror the glory of the Lord's face, we will be transformed from glory to glory by the Spirit of the Lord (2 Corinthians 3:18).
CLOSING
I grappled with how to word this Rest Stop because this verse is so profound. I hope this Rest Stop will be an encouragement to you to further realize the profound transformation through salvation and to further seek the Lord to reveal to you more of the truths from this wonderful verse.
PS, Pray for me as I speak "light" from God's Word at the Bar None Cowboy Church in Owens, SC on Thursday evening, October 23.
