For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ. NLT

Although it is true that the gospel is hidden to many people, because there is a devil who blindfolds them (4), we should not despair. Because the same God who said, at the beginning, ”Let there be light,” (and there was light! Gen.1:3) is able to do the same in human hearts. His Word is His work. In His Sovereignty He can, in a moment of new creation (5:17) make ”this light shine” inside people, so that they do see Jesus clearly. Paul, of course, knew this so well from his own experience (Acts 9:1-19a).

‘The gospel isn’t about a different god, someone other than the world’s original creator, but about the same creator God bringing new life and light to his world, the world where death and darkness have made their home and usurped his role.’ Tom Wright.

When you have confidence in this God, and the message He has entrusted to your stewardship, you won’t play fast and loose with it; you won’t tamper or tinker with it, won’t distort it. You will rather, as Spurgeon is purported to have said about the Bible, just ‘let it out of its cage.’ It will do its own divinely appointed work.

This was certainly Paul’s reality. He knew only too well the power of the gospel (Rom.1:18).