Blinded by the God of This World

Paul, we have noted, spends much time in 2 Corinthians describing and defending the nature of true Apostolic ministry because of false teachers who were calling his vocation into question. It is hard to get a full picture of the false teachers’ arguments, but it is clear enough that they questioned Paul’s Apostleship because they believed God would not allow one of His true messengers to suffer as Paul did (see 2 Cor. 11–12). Other texts, including today’s passage and 3:15, have led many commentators to conclude that the false teachers cast doubt on Paul’s ministry because his gospel was not received by all, particularly those of a Jewish background. The reasoning seems to have been that if Paul’s message were true, more Jews would have trusted in Jesus under his preaching than actually did so.

At its heart, the false teachers’ critique assumed that all people by nature look for the truth and that if they do not believe our message, it must be because there is something wrong with the message. This assumption has reappeared throughout church history. In every generation, it seems, one can find some professing Christians who see a perceived lack of evangelistic success as an indicator that the gospel in itself is insufficient and must somehow be made more relevant by changing it to fit the times. If we do that, it is assumed, surely people will believe. But the problem is not with the message if people fail to believe it when it is accurately proclaimed. Instead, spiritual blindness keeps people from believing, not any supposed lack of relevance in the biblical gospel. That is Paul’s point in 2 Corinthians 4:3–4.

The Apostle notes that when the “gospel is veiled”—when its truth cannot be perceived and believed by those to whom it is preached—it is veiled because of the work of the “god of this world” to blind the minds of the perishing. Of course, Paul refers here to Satan, elsewhere called the “ruler of this world” (see John 12:31). When Adam and Eve fell, the human race became enslaved to the devil, who has been permitted by God to have authority over the world system in rebellion against Him. Not wanting to lose any of his subjects, the devil blinds people to the truth of Christ. This blindness keeps us from seeing Jesus for who He truly is, the exact representation of God and the Savior of the world, unless and until the Lord shows us grace and heals our spiritual blindness (2 Cor. 4:3–4). When people deny Paul’s gospel—which is nothing other than the biblical gospel—the reason is not the Apostolic message but their spiritual blindness.