Here begins a 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.
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