Verse 5 says, “For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus’ sake.” “For” explains why the apostles’ gospel, which is the gospel of the glory of Christ, should not be veiled, for they do not preach, exalt, themselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord of all, and they conduct themselves as the believers’ slaves for Jesus’ sake, as Jesus did, who was the Master, yet came to serve as a slave (Matt. 20:26-28).
Christ Jesus as Lord comprises Christ as God over all blessed forever (Rom. 9:5), the eternal Word incarnated to be a Man (John 1:14), Jesus crucified as a Man to be our Savior (Acts 4:10-12) and resurrected to be the Son of God (Acts 13:33), and Christ exalted to be the Lord (Acts 2:36), even the Lord of all men (Rom. 10:12; John 20:28; 1 Cor. 12:3) and the Lord of all things (Acts 10:36), who is the image of God, the effulgence of God’s glory (Heb. 1:3). This is the very content of the gospel. Hence, the gospel is the gospel of the glory of Christ, which illuminates, radiates, and shines in the heart of man. If man’s heart is not veiled with anything, not blinded by Satan, the god of this age, man can see its illumination.
The word slaves in verse 5 is in contrast with Lord. The apostles exalt Christ as Lord, but consider themselves merely slaves to serve the believers. They were slaves not only to Christ, but to the believers as well.
Verse 6 says, “Because the God Who said, Out of darkness light shall shine, is the One Who shined in our hearts for the illumination of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.” This explains what is mentioned in the preceding verse. The apostles preach Christ as Lord and themselves as the believers’ slaves, because the very God who commanded light to shine out of darkness has shined in their hearts. His shining in the universe produced the old creation. Now His shining in their hearts has made them a new creation. Therefore, they are able to exalt Christ as the Lord in their preaching and conduct themselves as slaves to the believers in their service. What they do for Christ and what they are to the believers are the issue of God’s shining. God’s shining produces the new covenant ministers and their ministry.
In our hearts is much deeper than on the skin of Moses’ face (3:7; Exo. 34:29-30). This presents a comparison between the glory of the apostolic ministry of the gospel and that of the Mosaic ministry of the law. In the heart is related to the inner life, whereas on the skin of the face has nothing to do with the inner life. The glory of the old covenant is on the surface, but the glory of the new covenant is full of depth.
“Our hearts” denotes the hearts of the apostles. They represent all the believers of the new covenant.
God’s shining in our hearts results in the illumination of knowing the glory of God in the face of Christ, that is, in the enlightenment that causes us to know the glory of the gospel of Christ. The illumination, the enlightenment, that makes the glory of Christ’s gospel known to us issues from the shining of God in our hearts.
The face of Christ is in comparison with the face of Moses (3:7). The glory of the gospel in the face of Christ is much superior to the glory of the law on the face of Moses. The glory of the gospel shines in the face of the One through whom grace and reality came, issuing in righteousness and life (3:8-9). The glory of the law shone on the face of one through whom the law was given (John 1:17), resulting in condemnation and death (3:7, 9). The purpose of God’s shining in our hearts is not related to our knowing the glory on Moses’ face. God’s shining is to illumine us so that we may know the glory in Christ’s face. It is to enlighten us so that we may know not the law of Moses of the old covenant, but the gospel of Christ of the new covenant.
God has had two creations: the old creation and the new creation. The old creation came through God’s outward shining in the darkness. The new creation is accomplished through God’s inward shining in our hearts. By God’s shining in our hearts we have become a new creation. This shining is in the face of Christ. To experience it, we need to have direct, personal, and intimate contact with Christ. This contact will cause the shining of God in our heart. God may shine upon us, but if we want Him to shine in us, we need to have direct, intimate contact with Him. This is the reason we call on Him and say, “O Lord Jesus.” Even Saul of Tarsus was saved by calling on the name of the Lord. By calling on the Lord he was brought into face-to-face contact with Him. When Saul said, “Who art thou, Lord?” the Lord immediately replied: “I am Jesus.” This answer was intimate and personal. It was not a long distance call; it was a face-to-face conversation. Saul of Tarsus experienced God’s shining in his heart.
Suppose you are preaching the gospel to an unbeliever. He nods and says that he believes in the Lord Jesus and receives Him as Savior. Do not assume that he has truly been saved. You need to ask if he has called on the Lord, thereby having direct contact with Him. If such an unbeliever would call on the name of the Lord Jesus, he would be brought to the face of Christ and immediately have personal contact with Him.
Only when we have such direct, personal, and intimate contact with the Lord do we have the inner shining. This is just as true of us as it is of an unbeliever coming to the Lord for the first time. If we would have the Lord’s shining once again, we need to have intimate contact with the Lord. Whenever we call on the Lord in a dear, intimate way, we are before His face, and the shining of God is in our heart. In this way the apostles received the inner shining. Then they shined out what they had received. This was their way of conducting themselves for the shining of the glory of the gospel of Christ. The power for this shining is that spoken of in verse 7.
In verse 7 Paul says, “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.” God’s shining in our hearts brings into us a treasure, the Christ of glory, who is the embodiment of God to be our life and our everything. But we who contain this treasure are earthen vessels, worthless and fragile. A priceless treasure is contained in the worthless vessels. This has made the worthless vessels ministers of the new covenant with a priceless ministry. It is by the divine power in resurrection. The excellence of the power is surely of God and not of us.
In the apostles’ speaking concerning their ministry for God’s new covenant, five very significant and expressive metaphors are used to illustrate how they, as the ministers of the new covenant, and their ministry are constituted, how they behave and live, and how their ministry is carried out. These metaphors are: captives in a triumphant procession for the celebration of Christ’s victory (2:14a); incense-bearers to scatter the fragrance of Christ (2:14b-16); letters written with Christ as the content (3:1-3); mirrors beholding and reflecting the glory of Christ in order to be transformed into His glorious image (3:18); earthen vessels to contain the Christ of glory as the excellent treasure (4:7). These vessels are like today’s camera, into which the image of Christ enters through the flashing of God’s shining light (4:4, 6).
This treasure, the indwelling Christ, in us, the earthen vessels, is the divine source of the supply for the Christian life. It is by the excellent power of this treasure that the apostles as the ministers of the new covenant are capable of living a crucified life that the resurrection life of Christ whom they minister may be manifested. Thus, they manifest the truth for the shining of the gospel.