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2 Corinthians 4:3

Paul claimed the gospel as his or the apostles'. In another place, he puts it more directly, "that if my gospel. . . ." He is saying that he preaches exactly the same message as Jesus Christ did. In other words, there was a clear transference, into Scripture, from the message of Christ to the original twelve and then to Paul (by Christ directly; see the inference in Galatians 1:16). Paul then claims it as his own because it was now in him. He was living it and delivering it—now it was his gospel. When he preached, people were truly converted to the true faith.

In other places, people like John say basically the same thing, for instance, in I John 1:1-5. He opens the epistle by saying, "This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you" (verse 5). He was speaking either in the royal "we" or including the other apostles as having and preaching the same message. At the time, Gnosticism was devastating the true church because it appealed to the carnality within people, and John was attempting to steer them back to the true gospel.

John W. Ritenbaugh
The Wisdom of Men and Faith



2 Corinthians 4:3-4

II Corinthians 4:3-4, is commonly quoted with little consideration as to who it is truly describing. Who did this blinding? Because the translators use a lowercase g, we assume that Satan receives the title of “god of this age” or “god of this world.” But could this be a case of mistaken identity?

The Bible contains many clear and definitive scriptures in which God declares that He will blind and that He has blinded, as well as ones about eyes being closed (see Deuteronomy 29:4; Job 17:4; Matthew 11:25-26; Luke 10:21; 19:41-42). He blinds, and He also heals the blindness that either He has caused or that men have chosen. But in no other place is Satan said to blind or is shown closing eyes. If II Corinthians 4:4 is about Satan, it is a significant anomaly.

Rather than blinding, Satan deceives. He works to distort vision (rather than take it away) to influence people to sin, but the Bible never shows him opening or closing eyes, physically or metaphorically. Some may argue that this is a distinction without a difference. However, deceiving and blinding are indeed distinctive. Satan's deceptions are active oppositions to truth, while God's blinding is usually a temporary state in which He chooses to withhold complete understanding. God embodies truth, but He does not give all truth all at once. He blinds, either temporarily or for judgment, but Satan actively opposes and distorts the truth.

A second reason Satan does not fit in II Corinthians 4:4 is that nowhere else is Satan referred to as the god of anything. Undoubtedly, Satan fits within the general classification of false gods, referring either to idols or the demons behind them, or both (see I Corinthians 10:19-20). However, even though people may worship those idols and demons as gods, Scripture also maintains that these so-called gods are not truly gods (see II Chronicles 13:9; Jeremiah 2:11; 5:7; Jeremiah 16:20; Galatians 4:8).

In I Corinthians 8:5, God inspired Paul to call the demons—which would include Satan—“so-called gods.” He then clarifies his description with a contrast in the next verse: “. . . yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.” In other words, even though people worship demonic principalities—whether deliberately or inadvertently—the perspective of God and His servants is that they are not gods.

Paul tells the Gentile Galatians that, prior to their conversion, they served “those which by nature are not gods” (Galatians 4:8). He immediately describes them as “weak and beggarly elements” to which they were again turning (verse 9). Did this same apostle then bestow upon Satan the title “god of this age” when writing to the Corinthians? God answers this in Isaiah 45:5: “I am the LORD, and there is no other; there is no God besides Me.”

The true God never names the Devil as a god of anything. If II Corinthians 4:4 is about Satan, it is a highly significant exception to the pattern, and exceptions invite us to dig deeper. So, how does Scripture characterize him?

Instead of calling Satan a “god,” the gospel accounts consistently call him a “ruler.” He is “the ruler of the demons” (Matthew 9:34; 12:24; Mark 3:22; Luke 11:15; see Ephesians 6:12), and three times in the book of John, Jesus calls him “the ruler of this world” (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11). Paul calls him “the prince [or ruler; it is the same Greek word] of the power of the air” (Ephesians 2:2). The Devil has authority, intelligence, and capabilities far above man, and we should never underestimate him (see Matthew 24:24). Yet, he in no way approaches God's level, except in his own mind! While God rules supremely, the highest title Satan can legitimately claim is “ruler” over something but never “god.”

David C. Grabbe
Spiritual Blindness (Part One): The God of This World



2 Corinthians 4:3-4

Paul says Moses kept Israel from looking at “the end of what was passing away.” Romans 10:4 says that Christ is the end (meaning “the goal” or “aim”) of the law. This reality is vital to us because we should be able to look at all the sacrifices and rituals and see Christ's glory, for He was their object. His light was too bright for the Israelites because their carnal minds could not receive it. So, Paul uses the metaphors of blindness and veils. Moses' veil was out of consideration for a carnal people who could not handle the light—either physically or spiritually—because of their natural state (see Deuteronomy 29:4).

But it was not Satan who introduced the veil! Who blinded Israel? God Himself declares that He blinded and hardened the hearts of the Israelites, just as He promised He would if they persisted in disobedience (Deuteronomy 28:28):

» And He said, “Go, and tell this people: 'Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.' Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and return and be healed.” (Isaiah 6:9-10)

» For the LORD has poured out on you the spirit of deep sleep, and has closed your eyes, namely, the prophets; and He has covered your heads, namely, the seers. (Isaiah 29:10)

» Therefore, behold, I will again do a marvelous work among this people, a marvelous work and a wonder; for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hidden. (Isaiah 29:14)

Because of Israel's hardness of heart and rejection of God, part of Isaiah's unusual commission was to make Israel's self-inflicted blindness even worse (Isaiah 6:9-10)! God successfully used Isaiah, such that when Jesus came on the scene, the nation was still blind except for the few to whom He chose to grant spiritual sight. When Jesus came to His own, God withheld an incredible blessing, such that the Jews, in general, could not see their Savior. Recall Jesus' prayer in Matthew 11:25: “I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes.” His people saw Him physically, yet most did not recognize Him spiritually. God did not withhold this understanding out of vindictiveness but because they had rejected Him all along.

On the road to Emmaus, the two disciples' eyes were restrained (Luke 24:16). Jesus, beginning with Moses' writings, showed them all the places in Scripture that spoke about Him. He opened their eyes to see the things they could not comprehend before. The true God had closed Israel's eyes—the God of this age had blinded them—and He was now opening the eyes of those few He was calling so that He could heal their minds.

In his epistle to the Romans, Paul underscores Israel's spiritual blindness and clearly identifies who was and is responsible for it:

What then? Israel has not obtained what it seeks; but the elect have obtained it, and the rest were blinded. Just as it is written: “God has given them a spirit of stupor, eyes that they should not see and ears that they should not hear, to this very day.” (Romans 11:7-8)

He uses somewhat different terminology, but the essence of his words unmistakably matches II Corinthians 4:3-4:

But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the [G]od of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.

For those who are perishing, the gospel of the Kingdom of God is veiled. They can understand some aspects of it, for which God will hold them accountable, but He has equipped only the elect with the Holy Spirit to understand the deep things (I Corinthians 2:10). Even with what His elect do understand, they still see dimly and await being face to face (see I Corinthians 13:12).

Everybody else will have his or her chance in the resurrection. God holds them responsible for much less than He does the elect. He has consigned them to disobedience so that He may show mercy. When the time is right, He will open the eyes of those whom He has blinded for now.

David C. Grabbe
Spiritual Blindness (Part Two): The God of This Age




Other Forerunner Commentary entries containing 2 Corinthians 4:3:

2 Corinthians 3:12-16
2 Corinthians 4:3-4

 

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