NOTES for Co2 4:1-6

Paul decisively rejects any special "secret" knowledge, any "hidden" tradition. More than that, he does not even claim any special Christian interpretation, nor does he present himself as the founder of some special new school of Christian exegesis. It should be noted that in Gospel times, both in Judea and in the Jewish world generally, there were many schools and academies devoted to the study of the Torah and the tradition connected with it, and some of these schools claimed, if not esoteric status, then at least a kind of intellectual elitism.

Their representatives were convinced that, even if they did not possess some special secret knowledge, they certainly had a unique method of interpreting the sacred texts that allowed them to understand them as no one else could. Paul, by contrast, claims nothing of the kind.

He remains faithful to the best traditions of rabbinic service: no elitism, and certainly no esotericism. Knowledge of the Torah must be open to everyone who wants to know it and follow it. But for the apostle, knowledge of the Torah and following it are inseparable from his personal relationship with Christ, from his Christianity. And he immediately makes a reservation: this is not about some new rabbinic school or some new interpretations of familiar texts "for the chosen." What Paul teaches is accessible and understandable to everyone, and if it is unclear to anyone, it is only to the one who does not want to see, hear, and understand.

For Paul, the Torah is the path to Christ, the path after Christ, and the path in Christ, and he does not hide this. But there is nothing "esoteric" or elitist here. The apostle calls everyone to walk this path, and does so completely openly. Apart from Christ and the understanding of the Torah as the path in Christ, he has nothing. He is not a learned rabbi, not the founder of a new school, not a teacher of righteousness. He is a witness of Christ, and that is enough for him.

In the Gospel the Lord says: “as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be” (Matt 24:27). The apostle Paul, in his letter to the Corinthians, says: “God, who commanded light to shine out of darkness, has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Cor 4:6). The New Testament is not a secret teaching accessible only to the chosen. Nor is it a closed clan that rejects outsiders. The New Covenant is not a list of requirements that establishes a scale of good and evil according to the depth of humanity’s fall. The New Testament is not an ideology that molds the soul and mind of its adherents. It is not even a way of life that offers some fruits in exchange for renouncing others. It is light that has flashed like lightning from one end of heaven to the other. Light in which everything is visible: truth and falsehood, good and evil, life and death. Light that has shone in the face of Jesus Christ. It is not merely that life in the darkness is worse — dark, frightening, and cold. Experience shows that outside this light life is simply impossible.

All Christian history is in many respects, if not chiefly, the history of preaching. But one must admit that this preaching was far from successful in every age. Why is this so? Many have tried to answer this question, and the answers often contained a fairly deep theological analysis of the issue, which, however, did not always lead the authors of such studies to an unambiguous answer. Meanwhile, finding the answer would not be difficult at all if we only thought seriously about whom and what we preach, about what and about Whom we witness. What did Jesus Himself preach during His earthly ministry? A new religion? A new morality? A new theology? No. He preached only one thing: the Kingdom, which, in His own words, "has drawn near." And on earth He left not a community of preachers of a new religion, a new morality, or a new theology, but a community of people who, abiding with Him in constant communion, would become residents of that Kingdom whose nearness He testified to, in order to carry this Kingdom further into the world. Christians are witnesses of the Kingdom in which they live and of the One who brought the Kingdom into the world. Of course, Christians can testify to other things too. They can quite well tell the world, for example, about their discoveries in the field of theology, or about their reflections concerning morality, or about their political ideas inspired by reading the Torah or the Gospel. They can also tell the world about that new religiosity which has grown on Christian soil over the last two millennia. But in speaking about all this, it is important to realize that such witness is not properly Christian witness, not because it contradicts the Gospel, since a Christian cannot and must not allow such a contradiction by definition, but because it has no direct relation either to Christ or to that Kingdom whose nearness He spoke of. And today most people do not need new ideas and concepts. They need the living risen Christ. And the Kingdom that He brought into the world.

What does it mean to be a perfect Christian? In the preceding chapter, Paul speaks of humanity’s new, life-giving relationship with God. What, then, becomes of the person from whose heart the veil has fallen, who gains freedom and great boldness through knowing Christ and is transformed into his image? Perhaps that person becomes a model for many to imitate and enjoys universal admiration and trust? Perhaps that person gains vitality, succeeds in everything, develops, and achieves self-realization? Perhaps that person walks confidently along life’s road, where gifts have been laid out here and there...

These words of the apostle Paul, continuing what is said about the Light of Christ in the Gospels, reveal to us the essence and meaning of the New Covenant. That is why it is so New, so unexpected and amazing for people.

The New Covenant is not a secret teaching into which only the chosen are allowed to enter. Nor is it a closed clan that rejects outsiders. The New Covenant is not a list of requirements that establishes a scale of good and evil based on the depth of human fallenness. The New Covenant is not an ideology that shapes the soul and mind of its adherents. It is not even a way of life that offers the receiving of some fruits in exchange for giving up others.

It is light that flashed like lightning from one edge of the sky to the other. Light in which everything is visible: truth and falsehood, good and evil, life and death. Light shining in the face of Jesus Christ. It is not that life in darkness was worse: dark, frightening, and cold. Experience shows that outside this light, life is simply impossible.