Pastor Samuel Ita Solution Ground.

What does 2 Corinthians 4:6 mean?
Paul has been defending himself from allegations of practicing falseness with the Corinthians. Some may have even accused him of being manipulative or a false apostle. To counter these arguments, Paul has emphasized his sole mission: to deliver the true gospel of Jesus and to proclaim that Christ is Lord. Paul insists that he and his friends see themselves as mere servants to the Corinthians for Christ's sake. In his first letter to this church, Paul gave numerous indications that he was not interested in personal gain or fame (1 Corinthians 1:10–17; 9:12–16).

The statement made in this verse not only summarizes the message Paul preaches, it phrases the gospel in universal terms. Paul's words here are chosen carefully, and appeal to the specific interests of those who would read or hear them. This begins by quoting God as saying, "Let light shine out of darkness." Only the light of the gospel can pe*****te the darkness of unbelief in Jesus. That was Paul's experience on the road to Damascus when a literal "light from heaven" shone around him and the voice of the Lord spoke to him. That's when God shone the light into Paul's heart, and it was the light Paul showed to all who would listen to the gospel of salvation from sin through faith in Jesus.

Paul describes the gospel as the "light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." In the previous chapter, Paul discussed God's glory reflected in the face of Moses. As a reflection, that glory began to fade as soon as Moses left the presence of the Lord. The glory shining from the face of Christ, though, never fades. He is the source of the light. To see and know His glory is to share in God's glory for eternity. "Light" is a common theme in the Bible. This was the metaphor used by the Hebrew thinkers to represent everything good and valuable. It's especially tied to the idea of knowledge and guidance, since the people of Israel were uniquely gifted with a revelation from God (Exodus 20:1–20).

Every culture has a "theme" such as this: an idea summarizing what the culture truly values. The United States, for example, tends to use "freedom" this way. In Paul's era, the Hebrews valued "light." Greeks valued "knowledge," as the culture of philosophy. Roman culture prized "glory," being the empire that conquered the known world. Paul's statement here incorporates all of these: light, knowledge, and glory. In a sense, this implies that Christ is the ultimate fulfillment of anything and everything we could ever want. He is "the" Truth we all seek, even we're blinded to our need by sin.

Paul also adds a detail which is crucial to the gospel: the idea of God giving mankind a person, rather than an idea, as our salvation. The light, knowledge, and glory are reflected "in the face" of Christ. Rather than man being assigned virtues, or work, God intended us to seek a relationship with His Son.

𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗜𝗦 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗧𝗥𝗨𝗘 𝗚𝗢𝗦𝗣𝗘𝗟?

The true gospel is the good news that God saves sinners. Man is by nature sinful and separated from God with no hope of remedying that situation. But God, by His power, provided the means of man’s redemption in the death, burial and resurrection of the Savior, Jesus Christ.

The word “gospel” literally means “good news.” But to truly comprehend how good this news is, we must first understand the bad news. As a result of the fall of man in the Garden of Eden (𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗘𝗦𝗜𝗦 𝟯:𝟲), every part of man—his mind, will, emotions and flesh—have been corrupted by sin. Because of man’s sinful nature, he does not and cannot seek God. He has no desire to come to God and, in fact, his mind is hostile toward God (𝗥𝗢𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝟴:𝟳). God has declared that man’s sin dooms him to an eternity in hell, separated from God.
It is in hell that man pays the penalty of sin against a holy and righteous God. This would be bad news indeed if there were no remedy.

But in the gospel, God, in His mercy, has provided that remedy, a substitute for us—Jesus Christ—who came to pay the penalty for our sin by His sacrifice on the cross. This is the essence of the gospel which Paul preached to the Corinthians. In 𝟭 𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝟭𝟱:𝟮-𝟰, he explains the three elements of the gospel—the death, burial and resurrection of Christ on our behalf. Our old nature died with Christ on the cross and was buried with Him. Then we were resurrected with Him to a new life (𝗥𝗢𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝟲:𝟰-𝟴). Paul tells us to “hold firmly” to this true gospel, the only one which saves. Believing in any other gospel is to believe in vain. In 𝗥𝗢𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝟭:𝟭𝟲-𝟭𝟳, Paul also declares that the true gospel is the “power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes” by which he means that salvation is not achieved by man’s efforts, but by the grace of God through the gift of faith (𝗘𝗣𝗛𝗘𝗦𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝟮:𝟴-𝟵).

Because of the gospel, through the power of God, those who believe in Christ (𝗥𝗢𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝟭𝟬:𝟵) are not just saved from hell. We are, in fact, given a completely new nature (𝟮 𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝟱:𝟭𝟳) with a changed heart and a new desire, will, and attitude that are manifested in good works. This is the fruit the Holy Spirit produces in us by His power. Works are never the means of salvation, but they are the proof of it (𝗘𝗣𝗛𝗘𝗦𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝟮:𝟭𝟬). Those who are saved by the power of God will always show the evidence of salvation by a changed life.

𝗛𝗢𝗪 𝗜𝗦 𝗦𝗔𝗧𝗔𝗡 𝗚𝗢𝗗 𝗢𝗙 𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗟𝗗 (𝟮 𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝟰:𝟰)?

The phrase god of this world (or god of this age) indicates that Satan is the major influence on the ideals, opinions, goals, and views of the majority of people. His influence encompasses the world’s philosophies, education, and commerce. When people live as if there is no God, they by default follow the god of this world. The unholy thoughts, destructive ideas, wild speculations, and false religions of this world have sprung from Satan’s lies and deceptions.

Satan is also called the “prince of the power of the air” in 𝗘𝗣𝗛𝗘𝗦𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝟮:𝟮. He is the “ruler of this world” in 𝗝𝗢𝗛𝗡 𝟭𝟮:𝟯𝟭. These titles and many more signify Satan’s capabilities. He wields a certain amount of authority and power in this world. He is not a king, but a prince, a ruler of some sort. In some way he rules over the world and the people in it: “The whole world is under the control of the evil one” (𝟭 𝗝𝗢𝗛𝗡 𝟱:𝟭𝟵).

This is not to say that Satan rules the world completely; God is still sovereign. Satan is not God—capital G—he is a god—small g. God, in His infinite, inscrutable wisdom, has allowed Satan to operate in this world within the boundaries God has set for him. Satan’s limits are clearly seen in 𝗝𝗢𝗕 𝟭 and 𝟮. There, Satan must give an account of himself to God, and it seems he must have God’s permission to carry out his plans. At no time can Satan do all he wants, for God restricts his actions.

Satan may be the god of this world, but his domain is limited to unbelievers. Born-again children of God are no longer under the rule of Satan. God the Father “has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves” (𝗖𝗢𝗟𝗢𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝟭:𝟭𝟯). The apostle Paul was sent by God to turn people “from the power of Satan to God” (𝗔𝗖𝗧𝗦 𝟮𝟲:𝟭𝟴). Unbelievers, however free they may think they are, are caught “in the snare of the devil” (𝟮 𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗢𝗧𝗛𝗬 𝟮:𝟮𝟲) and lie in the “power of the evil one” (𝟭 𝗝𝗢𝗛𝗡 𝟱:𝟭𝟵).

As the god of this world, Satan exercises his power over the unbelieving world to keep them from Jesus. 𝗦𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗗 𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝟰:𝟰 indicates that he is responsible for the spiritual blindness of people without Christ: “The god of this world has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ.” Satan snatches the gospel from people’s hearts (𝗠𝗔𝗧𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗪 𝟭𝟯:𝟭𝟵). He promotes false philosophies and “doctrines of demons” (𝟭 𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗢𝗧𝗛𝗬 𝟰:𝟭, NKJV). Satan’s philosophies are the fortresses in which people are imprisoned, and they must be set free by Christ.

As the god of this world, Satan has spread his lies far and wide. Many of his lies have been successful in taking root and deceiving millions. Here are a few of his more popular ones:
• “God doesn’t exist”
• “God doesn’t care”
• “God cannot be trusted”
• “God is evil”
• “Jesus did not rise again”
• “You can go to heaven if you’re good enough”

As the god of this world, Satan puts forward his agenda, and the unbelievers in the world follow. Thankfully, our Lord is greater than the god of this world, as He proved every time He cast out a demon (e.g., 𝗠𝗔𝗥𝗞 𝟭:𝟯𝟵). Jesus came “to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness” (𝗜𝗦𝗔𝗜𝗔𝗛 𝟰𝟮:𝟳). The god of this world is no match for Him (𝗝𝗢𝗛𝗡 𝟭𝟮:𝟯𝟭).

𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗜𝗦 𝗖𝗛𝗥𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗜𝗧𝗬 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗗𝗢 𝗖𝗛𝗥𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝗕𝗘𝗟𝗜𝗘𝗩𝗘?

The core beliefs of Christianity are summarized in 𝟭 𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝟭𝟱:𝟭-𝟰. Jesus died for our sins, was buried, was resurrected, and thereby offers salvation to all who will receive Him in faith. Unique among all other faiths, Christianity is more about a relationship than religious practices. Instead of adhering to a list of “do’s and don’ts,” the goal of a Christian is to cultivate a close walk with God. That relationship is made possible because of the work of Jesus Christ and the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

Beyond these core beliefs, there are many other items that are, or at least should be, indicative of what Christianity is and what Christians believe.

Christians believe that the Bible is the inspired, “God-breathed” Word of God and that its teaching is the final authority in all matters of faith and practice (𝟮 𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗢𝗧𝗛𝗬 𝟯:𝟭𝟲; 𝟮 𝗣𝗘𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟭:𝟮𝟬-𝟮𝟭). Christians believe in one God that exists in three persons—the Father, the Son (Jesus Christ), and the Holy Spirit.

Christians believe that mankind was created specifically to have a relationship with God, but sin separates all men from God (𝗥𝗢𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝟯:𝟮𝟯; 𝟱:𝟭𝟮). Christianity teaches that Jesus Christ walked this earth, fully God, and yet fully man (𝗣𝗛𝗜𝗟𝗜𝗣𝗣𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝟮:𝟲-𝟭𝟭), and died on the cross. Christians believe that after His death, Christ was buried, He rose again, and now lives at the right hand of the Father, making intercession for the believers forever (𝗛𝗘𝗕𝗥𝗘𝗪𝗦 𝟳:𝟮𝟱). Christianity proclaims that Jesus’ death on the cross was sufficient to completely pay the sin debt owed by all men and this is what restores the broken relationship between God and man (𝗛𝗘𝗕𝗥𝗘𝗪𝗦 𝟵:𝟭𝟭-𝟭𝟰; 𝟭𝟬:𝟭𝟬; 𝗥𝗢𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝟱:𝟴; 𝟲:𝟮𝟯).

Christianity teaches that in order to be saved and be granted entrance into heaven after death, one must place one’s faith entirely in the finished work of Christ on the cross. If we believe that Christ died in our place and paid the price of our own sins, and rose again, then we are saved. There is nothing that anyone can do to earn salvation. We cannot be “good enough” to please God on our own, because we are all sinners (𝗜𝗦𝗔𝗜𝗔𝗛 𝟱𝟯:𝟲; 𝟲𝟰:𝟲-𝟳). There is nothing more to be done, because Christ has done all the work! When He was on the cross, Jesus said, “It is finished” (𝗝𝗢𝗛𝗡 𝟭𝟵:𝟯𝟬), meaning that the work of redemption was completed.

According to Christianity, salvation is freedom from the old sin nature and freedom to pursue a right relationship with God. Where we were once slaves to sin, we are now slaves to Christ (𝗥𝗢𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝟲:𝟭𝟱-𝟮𝟮). As long as believers live on this earth in their sinful bodies, they will engage in a constant struggle with sin. However, Christians can have victory in the struggle with sin by studying and applying God’s Word in their lives and being controlled by the Holy Spirit—that is, submitting to the Spirit’s leading in everyday circumstances.

So, while many religious systems require that a person do or not do certain things, Christianity is about believing that Christ died on the cross as payment for our own sins and rose again. Our sin debt is paid and we can have fellowship with God. We can have victory over our sin nature and walk in fellowship and obedience with God. That is true biblical Christianity.