But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god 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. II Corinthians 4:3-4
It’s not just that outsiders to the faith have not been shown the way to eternal life, as though they were sitting by the roadside waiting.
It’s not simply that the unsaved need to be instructed and helped, as though they were gathered in a celestial waiting room somewhere, eager for us to appear.
Neither are they simply blank slates on which we may write Heaven’s love-letters to their souls, as though nothing had corrupted their minds or skewed their values.
Those living without Christ are in serious trouble.
A great many have been blinded by the enemy. Not all, thankfully, but far too many.
Satan has done a number on those abandoned to his oversight.
Millions without Christ look at good and see evil, hear Truth and call it lies, see a bit of Heaven and call it hell.
If they see Jesus at all, it’s only as the enemy. If they see the gospel, they call it propaganda. If they receive a kind act from the Lord’s disciples, they grow suspicious and search for ulterior motives.
The enemy has been messing with millions without Christ, and this has left them far removed from the childlike way they entered this world. They have been mistaught by those they trusted most, misguided by those sent to instruct them, and miscast as possessors and protectors of truth while they attack the very ones sent to bring them truth.
In the Greek city of Corinth, the Apostle Paul encountered such enemies of the faith. Perhaps they were not normally mean-spirited people, certainly not murderers or thieves or abusers. Their hostility against the people of God and against the Gospel of Jesus could be explained by one thing: Satan had blinded the eyes of their understanding. They were blind to the greatest reality of all, God.
As a result, Paul said in our text, they do not see: a) the Gospel, b) Christ who is the image of God, c) the glory of Christ, d) the gospel of the glory of Christ, and e) the light of that gospel.
None of this is clear to them.
Once again, the text is Second Corinthians 4:1-6 and it’s well worth a few minutes of your time today. Thank you.