The New Testament ransacks the universe for comparisons that will be adequate to describe what has happened to us when we became God’s children. And the only two possible comparisons are the creation of the universe at the beginning and the resurrection of Jesus on the third day. So Paul says the same God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness has shone in our hearts. And the same God who raised the Lord Jesus from the grave and broke its bondage over Him has raised us in Jesus into newness of life.
This idea of ransacking the universe for comparisons is a striking way to explain the New Testament use of illustrations to describe regeneration. I remember once hearing Alexander say in a sermon, “This preaching of the Gospel which the apostle speaks of, this mighty act of God which he can only parallel in the creation of the world in the beginning, you get something of the sense of the majesty of the Gospel that the apostle is preaching: ‘The same God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, has shined in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of His glory in the face of Jesus Christ.’ Brethren, I tell you it is something when a man can only find a parallel in creation to what has happened in his own soul. And this is the majesty of the Gospel of God if he preaches it.”
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I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naïve. (Romans 16:17-18)