2 Corinthians 4:4 Commentary - Dr Peter Masters

Navigator

2 Corinthians 4:4

Comments

There is a reason why it is hidden from so many people. We have to explain the apostle’s terms – ‘In whom the god of this world.’ Now it is rare for the apostle to assign to Satan the term ‘god’, and of course Satan is not a god. He is a created being. The enemy of human souls is not a god, and Paul knows that full well and says that elsewhere. But he behaves as a god, he thinks he is a god, and that is just as bad. Unconverted people (and this was true of all of us once) worship him as though he is a god. We may not worship him consciously but we worship him by turning away from the true God and ignoring him. And when we do that we have placed ourselves in the hands of Satan and we are obeying him, whether we realise it or not. He has swayed us, directed us, influenced us and blinded our minds.And this is the reason – ‘Lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ,’ this is verse 4, ‘who is the image of God, should shine unto them.’ Now Satan has many goals and objectives to spread sin, and to reduce and trap us into sin. But one of his prime objectives is to keep from our minds any sense or sight of Christ and his glory. What is his glory? Well, his work, his great love, his coming from heaven to earth, his suffering and dying on Calvary’s cross for sinners, his work of redemption. ‘Conceal it from them,’ says Satan, ‘hide it from them.’ How is he going to do that? He is going to do that by distracting us constantly with the things of this world, so he is called the god of this world. By materialism, the here and now, entertainments, celebrities, anything, everything, however banal, however trivial, to keep us from ever thinking, considering, grasping the message of Christ. He blinds the minds of the cleverest and the most sophisticated also.

Application

He is able to do it because we believe not. That comes first. We believe not in God, therefore we are easy prey to the enemy who proceeds to blind our minds with every conceivable distraction. And not only distractions but with distortions. So the devil has poured into this world endless manifestations of false religion and false doctrine. What is the idea? Well, to distort the message of Christ. So we have churches that teach that Christ is just a great example of God. They do not want to present his atoning death on Calvary for sinners, they do not want to present his love in redemption – that he suffered and died for millions, that we must seek him and find him – so they present a different kind of Christianity, full of priests and ceremonies and distractions.

And then today, there are many who are just happy clappy, so you are distracted from the message and from Christ by rock concerts in church, if you please: sensual enjoyment and feeling, and often it is just a distraction from Christ. Satan will do this. That is what we are up against. Unbelief means we obey Satan, we heed his temptations, believe his slanders of the Christian faith, adore his schemes and his entertainments, and we constantly breach God’s laws. All that, whether we know it or not, is homage and worship of Satan.

Is this happening to anybody here? Your unbelief is being consolidated, compacted, intensified by the devil, blinding your mind. You think you are a free spirit. You think you can be free from God if you wish, an intelligent person, and you don’t realise how much your prejudices and your ideas are being entirely steered by the enemy of souls. It is a terrible position to be in.

Questions

Outline

Purpose

Introduction

2 Corinthians 4:4 Commentary and Bible Study