How does God do it? How does God open blind eyes and regenerate dead hearts and bring spiritual light? Answer: with the same Spirit-driven power He used in creation to bring physical light. “The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. Then God said, ';Let there be light'; and there was light” (Gen. 1:2-3). Likewise, hearts are spiritually darkened and dead. Yet when the Gospel is proclaimed, the Spirit regenerates by shining light to make one now see and thus desire the glory of Jesus Christ more than anything else they ever desired in the past. So at some point for all those truly in Christ, God said, “Let there be light!” and with that they immediately and freely received Christ as their treasure. This is what Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4, verse 6: “For God, who said, ';Light shall shine out of darkness,' is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.” The same power once used in creation is now unleashed in recreating the new creation of God.
Randy Smith