Part One presented God’s sovereignty as being over both physical and metaphorical sight (understanding or comprehension). God states that He blinds, whether as a punishment for sin or simply because He deems it necessary in working out His purpose.
However, translators of II Corinthians 4:4 use a lowercase g in the phrase, “the god of this age,” to signify that Satan has blinded the world. If the translators are correct, it creates two significant scriptural anomalies:
1) Satan is nowhere else said to blind; blinding is squarely in God’s domain.
2) Neither God nor His servants ever call Satan a god of something—at most, he is one of the “so-called gods” that “are not gods” (I Corinthians 8:5; Galatians 4:8).
Rather than blinding, Satan deceives, distorts, and twists the truth. At times, we may use the terms “blinding” and “deceiving” interchangeably, which can have similar effects on understanding. However, the critical distinction is that it comes down to intent. God is absolutely committed to truth—to what is real. Jesus declared Himself to be the Truth. God desires His children to understand and walk in truth. However, without the necessary spiritual faculties, a person can find truth overwhelming, even painful, just as a diseased eye may find bright light excruciating. God hides and reveals truth according to His will as He moves His creation toward everlasting light.
In type, we do the same thing with our children. We recognize that some knowledge would be harmful to them before they are mature, so we limit their exposure to some of the realities of life. We also determine what knowledge they are responsible for, according to their capability.
God does the same thing with His children. In their natural state, humans cannot deal with God’s knowledge and understanding, so He opens their eyes according to what is appropriate. He also closes their eyes, either as a judgment (see Deuteronomy 28:28) or out of mercy. In the Parable of the Faithful Steward, the man who does not know the master’s will is disciplined less because he is accountable for less (Luke 12:47-48).
Because God has hidden some truth for now, He has concluded humanity in unbelief so that He can have mercy on all (Romans 11:32, KJV). In this age, He is not working with all mankind the same way, so He closes the minds—blinds the spiritual eyes—of those He will work with in later ages. As Solomon teaches, part of His glory is to conceal matters (Proverbs 25:2).
Satan, though, is not committed to truth; he is instead the father of lies and liars (John 8:44). God has not granted him authority to open or close eyes, so instead, he plays fast and loose with the truth with ultimate skill. He is not devoted to God’s reality but to his own agenda. He lies, exaggerates, acts, distracts, downplays, and employs any other subterfuge in his pursuit of superiority. He will use some truth, but he couches it in self-serving ways that do not reflect reality. Scripture never shows him opening eyes or taking away understanding God has given. However, he will twist and distort truth, encouraging human nature to deceive itself about the truth that is available.
Some truth is readily available to all. Mankind is without excuse when it comes to the truth of God’s existence (see Romans 1:18-21). Satan has not closed men’s eyes to this reality. Instead, Paul says, people have suppressed that truth, closing their own eyes, and Satan has aided them along the way.
Similarly, the serpent “helped” Eve reinterpret what God had said in a way that seemed to benefit her. In fact, the world’s disintegration began with Eve seeking knowledge that was not appropriate for her yet: Adam’s and Eve’s eyes were opened through eating of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Satan neither opened nor closed their eyes, but he offered an alternative narrative that eased their rejection of what God had said.
Cultivating a love for truth thus becomes paramount, for that love stands as a hedge against falling away. When we value personal comfort or interpersonal harmony more than living by God’s every word, we close our own eyes. When we so choose, we alter our beliefs and can no longer see what we saw before.
Dualism
As mentioned above, a significant difficulty with interpreting II Corinthians 4:4 to be about Satan is that he is nowhere said to be the god of anything. Many proponents of him being “the god of this world” say that the world’s people have him as their object of worship. It is a true statement, but the verse is not saying that.
The word for “God,” theos, is used in a general sense in just a few places, such as Paul’s description in Philippians 3:19 of people who set their minds on earthly things—he says their “god is their belly,” an abstract and rare usage of theos. But II Corinthians 4:4 is not abstract; it speaks of someone specific rather than a general concept.
In addition, the verse refers to “this age” (emphasis ours throughout) rather than “this world.” The word here is aion, which refers to a span of time. A search about how the Bible’s writers use aion clarifies who is God in—and thus of—every age. Hebrews 1:1-2 is a ready example:
God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds . . ..
At the end of verse 2, “worlds” translates aion, which should be rendered as “ages.” God is sovereign over the ages because He created them through His Son. The Faith Chapter begins similarly: “By faith we understand that the worlds [aion] were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible” (Hebrews 11:3). The Word of God framed or prepared the ages. In other words, God is sovereign over the divine timeline; He has not given any part of it to the Adversary.
This aspect of God’s sovereignty is critical because of a widely held first-century idea called dualism. Part of dualism is the belief in an ongoing, cosmic struggle between light and darkness, good and evil. In popular application, dualism maintains that God and Satan hold parts of the creation in a rough balance, and they are battling for the souls of humanity. Notice, though, that this puts God and Satan on essentially equal levels, as though Satan is somehow a match for God.
Paul skewers this idea in Ephesians 1:20-21:
. . . which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.
The apostle claims that Jesus Christ is “far above” everything “in this age” [aion]. He is above every principality and power, which includes all the angels, even the rebellious ones like Satan. He is not only preeminent in this age but also in the next. In other words, Christ is the God of this age, just as He is the God of the next age—only the Father is higher. Similarly, when writing to Timothy, Paul refers to God as “the King eternal” (I Timothy 1:17). This Greek phrase, tō basilei tōn aiōnōn, is literally “the King of the ages.”
Are both Christ and Satan “God/god of this age”? Certainly not! Even though Jesus allows Satan to rule, He also limits him, and the Devil must seek permission to do things such as afflict Job and sift Peter. Jesus possesses “all authority,” in both heaven and earth (Matthew 28:18-20). Many may inadvertently worship Satan, and a few deliberately deify him, but he is not the deity of this or any age. Again, neither God nor His servants give him that honor or designation.
The Perishing Blind
The context for II Corinthians 4:4 begins a couple of chapters earlier, and it shows what this enigmatic verse is about:
Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. (II Corinthians 2:14-15)
Here begins the thought that finishes in chapter 4. Paul writes about the true knowledge God has dispersed through His servants. Verse 15 presents two general classifications of people, those who are being saved and those who are perishing. The word “perishing” (apollymi) is central to the overall thought, and it deals with being destroyed or lost. Jesus used this word when He referred to the “lost sheep of the house of Israel”—the “lost sheep” were perishing sheep. In Luke 13, He tells His audience twice that unless they repent, they will perish (verses 3, 5). John 3:15-16 informs us that those who believe will not perish but have everlasting life.
Thus, God gave true and precious knowledge in the gospel of the Kingdom of God. Some people responded positively through belief and repentance, but most did not. Hence, the Jews comprised a major contingent of those who were perishing. Jesus describes the Pharisees as “blind leaders of the blind” (Matthew 15:14). When we understand why the Jews (with few exceptions) rejected the gospel, we will understand the blinding of II Corinthians 4:4.
The theme continues in II Corinthians 3:7-8:
But if the ministry of death, written and engraved on stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of the glory of his countenance, which glory was passing away, how will the ministry of the Spirit not be more glorious?
With Israel still in his sights, Paul moves on to a brief discussion of the covenants. He notes that the Old Covenant had a glory, but the ministry of the Spirit is even more glorious. He refers to the incident when God’s glory glowed from a human face, and even that reflected glory was too much for the Israelites to bear. Out of consideration, Moses wore a veil.
Continuing in II Corinthians 3:12-16:
Therefore, since we have such hope, we use great boldness of speech—unlike Moses, who put a veil over his face so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the end of what was passing away. But their minds were blinded. For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is taken away in Christ. But even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart. Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.
Paul says Moses kept them 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).
Blinded Because of Disobedience
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.
Scholarly Interpretations
Since the Scriptures testify that Christ is the God of this age and that He blinded Israel (in particular), how can II Corinthians 4:4 be applied to Satan simultaneously, especially in the absence of any biblical support?
Consider the ideas that affect the interpretation of these verses. Rightly dividing them begins with an accurate concept of God and accepting what He says He will do and has done, even those things that may make a Bible student uncomfortable. To understand them, one must recognize how God and the apostles consistently refer to Satan instead of how he views himself and influences men to believe. Proper discernment depends on using the whole counsel of God rather than rationalism (which appears to have been the starting point for finding Satan in II Corinthians 4:4, as shown below). True interpretation rests on understanding God’s plan, His calling, the resurrections, and the falsehood of any dualistic contest between God and Satan for human souls, as the Devil is powerless before God. Finally, an absolute belief in God’s sovereignty undergirds a correct understanding of II Corinthians 4:4.
This verse’s interpretation has an intriguing history.1 It is far less important than correctly piecing together the Bible’s consistent revelation, but it nonetheless sheds light on why translators have used “god” instead of “God.”
First, however, notice the principle in Proverbs 18:17: “The one who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him” (English Standard Version). The translators of II Corinthians 4:4 have “stated their case first” in their use of “god,” so it has seemed right to us. Are we willing to examine their case?
The comments of writers closest to the apostolic era reveal that they believed II Corinthians 4:4 to refer to the Eternal God, not Satan. No recorded disagreement about this verse appears until the second century when a heretic named Marcion (of Sinope) twisted it to support his gnostic interpretation of God. He believed that many of the teachings of Jesus were incompatible with the actions of Yahweh, the LORD in the Old Testament. To reconcile these things, he taught that Yahweh, the Creator, was an inferior, vindictive being whom he called the Demiurge.
In contrast, Marcion taught that the New Testament revealed Jesus as a superior, loving, and universal God, using II Corinthians 4:4 to support his idea of a vindictive Demiurge. His writings attracted enough attention that numerous writers of the next couple of centuries wrote against Marcion—especially against his thoughts on this verse—including Irenaeus (Bishop of Lyons), Tertullian of Carthage, Origen, Ambrosiaster, John Chrysostom, Augustine of Hippo, Pelagius, and Theodoret of Cyrus. All these early writers saw the true God, not Satan, in II Corinthians 4:4.
After the controversy over Marcion died down, the common view for the next 1,200 years was that this verse refers to the Eternal God, not Satan. During these twelve centuries, all the discovered writings show nearly universal agreement that the true God blinds, as the rest of Scripture testifies.
However, this view changed during the Protestant Reformation. This time, the main and loudest proponent of the contrary view was John Calvin. Erasmus, who not long before had translated new Latin and Greek translations of the New Testament, may have influenced him, but Calvin led the charge in changing the prevailing view on this verse. He wrote boldly, “Nobody of sound judgment can have any doubt that here the apostle is speaking about Satan.” And again, “. . . if all these men [the early writers] had read Paul’s words with a calm mind, it would never have occurred to them to twist them into a forced meaning in this way.”
Calvin ignores the fact that God Himself takes responsibility for blinding. He simply asserts, like a rationalist, that if one cannot see Satan in this verse, it is due to not having sound judgment and a calm mind. Calvin was so influential, and his words in general given such gravity, that his assertions went unchallenged. As a result, the prevailing view became that Satan was responsible for all the blinding.
In this theological environment, the Bible began to be translated into English. John Calvin became “the one who states his case first”—and few have been willing to cross-examine such an esteemed and calm theologian and rightly proclaim Jesus Christ as the true and unconstrained God of this age.
Endnotes:
1 For a thorough examination of the historical interpretation of II Corinthians 4:4, see the doctoral thesis of Ivor Gerard Poobalan at https://open.uct.ac.za/bitstream/item/19639/thesis_hum_2015_poobalan_ivor_gerard.pdf
