- 1. 2 CORITHIAS 4 COMMETARYEdited by Glenn PeasePresent Weakness
and Resurrection Life1 Therefore, since through Gods mercy we
havethis ministry, we do not lose heart.1. Barnes, Therefore -
Diatouto. On account of this. That is, because thelight of the
gospel is so clear; because it reveals so glorious truths, and all
obscurity istaken away, and we are permitted to behold as in a
mirror the glory of the Lord, 2Co_3:18. Since the glories of the
gospel dispensation are so great, and its effects on the heartare
so transforming and purifying. The object is, to show the effect of
being entrustedwith such a ministry, on the character of his
preaching.Seeing we have this ministry - The gospel ministry, so
much more glorious thanthat of Moses 2Co_3:6; which is the ministry
by which the Holy Spirit acts on the heartsof people 2Co_3:8; which
is the ministry of that system by which people are
justified2Co_3:9; and which is the ministry of a system so pure and
unclouded, 2Co_3:9-11,2Co_3:18.As we have received mercy - Tyndale
renders this: even as mercy is sure in us. Theidea is, that it was
by the mere mercy and favor of God, that he had been entrusted
withthe ministry, and the object of Paul is doubtless to prevent
the appearance ofarrogance and self-confidence by stating that it
was to be traced entirely to God that hewas put into the ministry.
He doubtless had his eye on the fact that he had been apersecutor
and blasphemer; and that it was by the mere favor of God that he
had beenconverted and entrusted with the ministry, 1Ti_1:13.
Nothing will more effectuallyhumble a minister, and prevent his
assuming any arrogant and self-confident airs, thanto look over his
past life; especially if his life was one of blasphemy, vice, or
infidelity;and to remember that it is by the mere mercy of God that
he is entrusted with the highoffice of an ambassador of Jesus
Christ. Paul never forgot to trace his hope, hisappointment to the
ministerial office, and his success, to the mere grace of God.We
faint not - This is one of the effects of being entrusted with such
a ministry. Theword used here ( ekkakoumen) means, properly, to
turn out a coward; to loseones courage; then to be fainthearted, to
faint, to despond, in view of trial, difficulty, etc.- Robinson.
Here it means, that by the mercy of God, he was not disheartened by
thedifficulties which he met; his faith and zeal did not flag; he
was enabled to be faithful,and laborious, and his courage always
kept up, and his mind was filled withcheerfulness; see note on
2Co_2:14. He was deterred by no difficulties; embarrassed byno
opposition; driven from his purpose by no persecution; and his
strength did not failunder any trials. The consciousness of being
entrusted with such a ministry animatedhim; and the mercy and grace
of God sustained him.
2. 2. Clarke, Seeing we have this ministry - The Gospel, of
which he gave that nobleaccount which we read in the preceding
chapter.We faint not - We meet with many tribulations, but are
supported in and through allby the grace of the Gospel. Instead of
, we faint not, , weact not wickedly, is the reading of ADFG, and
some others. Wakefield thinks it thegenuine reading; it certainly
makes a very good sense with what goes before and whatfollows. If
we follow this reading the whole verse may be read thus: Wherefore,
as wehave obtained mercy, or been graciously intrusted, , with this
ministry, we donot act wickedly, but have renounced the hidden
things of dishonesty, etc.3. Gill, Therefore seeing we have this
ministry,.... The apostle having largelyinsisted on the difference
between the law and the Gospel, the ministration of the oneand of
the other, proceeds to give an account of his own conduct, and that
of his fellowapostles and ministers: we, says he, faint not; under
all the reproaches cast upon us,persecutions raised against us, and
tribulations that attend us; we do not sink in ourspirits, or give
out from the ministry; we go on cheerfully in our work, in the thee
of allopposition, encouraged by the consideration of the excellency
of the ministry, whichthey had from the Lord, were put into, and
continued in; which was so valuable in itself,and so useful in its
effects; being the ministration of the Spirit and of
righteousness,having in it such an excelling glory to the law, and
attended with so much light andliberty: to which he adds the
consideration of the mercy of God they were partakers of,as we have
received mercy; which may refer either to the grace and mercy of
God,which they had received in conversion; a sense of which abiding
upon them, soinfluenced their minds, to hold forth the riches of
abounding grace and mercy to poorsinners in the Gospel, that
nothing could deter them from it; or to the grace, favour, andgood
will of God, in making, supporting, and continuing them as
ministers of the word;all which, they were sensible, was owing not
to men, but God; not to their merit, but tohis mercy; not to their
worthiness, parts, learning, c. but to his free gift, favour,
andgrace, by which only they were what they were, as preachers of
the Gospel.4. Henry, The apostle had, in the foregoing chapter,
been magnifying his office, uponthe consideration of the excellency
or glory of that gospel about which he did officiate;and now in
this chapter his design is to vindicate their ministry from the
accusation offalse teachers, who charged them as deceitful workers,
or endeavoured to prejudice theminds of the people against them on
account of their sufferings. He tells them, therefore,how they
believed, and how they showed their value for their office as
ministers of thegospel. They were not puffed up with pride, but
spurred on to great diligence: Seeingwe have this ministry, are so
much distinguished and dignified, we do not take stateupon
ourselves, nor indulge in idleness, but are excited to the better
performance of ourduty.I. Two things in general we have an account
of: - Their constancy and sincerity in theirwork and labour,
concerning which observe, 1. Their constancy and perseverance in
theirwork are declared: We faint not (2Co_4:1) under the difficulty
of our work, nor do we 3. desist from our labour. And this their
stedfastness was owing to the mercy of God.From the same mercy and
grace from which they received the apostleship (Rom_1:5),they
received strength to persevere in the work of that office. Note, As
it is great mercyand grace to be called to be saints, and
especially to be counted faithful, and be put intothe ministry
(1Ti_1:12), so it is owing to the mercy and grace of God if we
continuefaithful and persevere in our work with diligence. The best
men in the world would faintin their work, and under their burdens,
if they did not receive mercy from God. By thegrace of God I am
what I am, said this great apostle in his former epistle to
theseCorinthians, 1Co_15:10. And that mercy which has helped us
out, and helped us on,hitherto, we may rely upon to help us even to
the end.5. Jamison, 2Co_4:1-18. His preaching is open and sincere,
though to many the Gospelis hidden.For he preaches Christ, not
himself: the human vessel is frail that God may have theglory; yet,
though frail, faith and the hope of future glory sustain him amidst
the decay ofthe outward man.Therefore Greek, For this cause:
Because we have the liberty-giving Spirit of theLord, and with
unveiled face behold His glory (2Co_3:17, 2Co_3:18).seeing we have
this ministry The ministration of the Spirit (2Co_3:8, 2Co_3:9):the
ministry of such a spiritual, liberty-giving Gospel: resuming
2Co_3:6, 2Co_3:8.received mercy from God, in having had this
ministry conferred on us (2Co_3:5).The sense of mercy received from
God, makes men active for God (1Ti_1:11-13).we faint not in
boldness of speech and action, and patience in suffering
(2Co_4:2,2Co_4:8-16, etc.).6. Calvin, Having this ministry. He now
returns to a commendation of himselfpersonally, from which he had
digressed into a general discussion, in reference tothe dignity of
the gospel. As, therefore, he has been treating of the nature of
thegospel, so he now shows how faithful and upright a minister of
it he is. He haspreviously shown, what is the true gospel of
Christ. He now shows what he preachesto be such. Having, says he,
this ministry that ministry, the excellence ofwhich he had extolled
in terms so magnificent, and the power and usefulness ofwhich he
had so abundantly shown forth. Hence, in order that he may not seem
toextol himself too much, he premises that it was not by his own
efforts, or by his ownmerits, that he had reached such a pinnacle
of honor, but had been led forward bythe mercy of God exclusively.
ow there was more implied in making the mercy ofGod the reason of
his Apostleship, than if he had attributed it to the grace of
God.We faint not 423423 Instead of , we faint not, , we actnot
wickedly, is the reading of ADFG, and some others. Wakefield thinks
it thegenuine reading; it certainly makes a very good sense with
what goes before andwhat follows. If we follow this reading, the
whole verse may be read thus Wherefore, as we have obtained mercy,
or been graciously entrusted, ,with this ministry, we do not act
wickedly, but have renounced the hidden things ofdishonesty. Dr. A.
Clarke. Ed. that is, we are not deficient in our duty,424424 ous
nomettons rien de ce qui est de nostre office; We do not omitany
thing of what belongs to our office. so as not to discharge it with
fidelity. 4. 7. Spurgeon, 2 Corinthians 4:1111 . Therefore seeing
we have this ministry, as we havereceived mercy, we faint not;Stern
was the labor of the apostles, but they felt that their work was so
all-important,so divine, that they must not grow weary of it,
though they were,doubtless, often weary in it.It is a very high
privilege to be called to the work of the Christian ministry,and
when the minister remembers what great mercy he has
himselfreceived, what sins have been forgiven, what favors have
been bestowed,he has the very best incentives in all the world to
pursue his ministry withdiligence and with zeal. WWWWeeee
ffffaaaaiiiinnnntttt nnnnooootttt,,,, says the apostle. We do not
hang our harps upon thewillows. We do not pray to be allowed to
retire from the battle, and give upthe strife; but, feeling how
great has been the mercy of God to our ownsouls, we are stirred up
to press forward with holy zeal to win the victory.We long that
others may taste of the same good things on which we havefeasted.We
are sometimes ready to faint, but we cast our fainting spirits into
thearms of God, and our strength is again reserved at times, the
veryimportance of an errand first weighs down the spirit of the
messenger, yetafterwards it seems to impel him to more than
ordinary exertion. So is ithere, having been divinely entrusted
with this ministry, and being ready tofaint under the tremendous
responsibility that it involves, we yet areroused to action by the
very pressure which seems to deprive us of thepower to act, and
therefore wwwweeee ffffaaaaiiiinnnntttt nnnnooootttt;;;; -2 Rather,
we have renounced secret and shamefulways; we do not use deception,
nor do we distortthe word of God. On the contrary, by setting
forththe truth plainly we commend ourselves toeveryones conscience
in the sight of God. 5. 1. Barnes, But have renounced - (
apeipametha from apo and #eipon). The word means properly to speak
out or off; to refuse or deny; to interdict orforbid. Here it
means, to renounce, or disown; to spurn, or scorn with aversion. It
occursno where else in the New Testament; and the sense here is,
that the apostles had such aview of the truth of religion, and the
glory of the Christian scheme 2Co_3:13-18, as tolead them to
discard everything that was disguised, and artful, and crafty;
everything likedeceit and fraud. The religions of the pagan were
made up mainly of trick, and weresupported by deception practiced
on the ignorant, and on the mass of people. Paul says,that he and
his fellow-laborers had such views of the truth, and glory, and
holiness of theChristian scheme, as to lead them solemnly to abjure
and abhor all such dishonest tricksand devices. Truth never needs
such arts; and no cause will long succeed by mere trickand
cunning.The hidden things of dishonesty - Margin, shame. The Greek
word mostcommonly means shame, or disgrace. The hidden things of
shame here mean disgracefulconduct; clandestine and secret arts,
which were in themselves shameful anddisgraceful. They denote all
underhanded dealings; all dishonest artifices and plans,such as
were common among the pagan, and such probably as the false
teachers adoptedin the propagation of their opinions at Corinth.
The expression here does not imply thatthe apostles ever had
anything to do with such arts; but that they solemnly abjured
andabhorred them. Religion is open, plain, straightforward. It has
no alliance with cunning,and trick, and artifice. It should be
defended openly; stated clearly; and urged withsteady argument. It
is a work of light, and not of darkness.Not walking in craftiness -
Not acting craftily; not behaving in a crafty manner. Theword used
here (panourgia from (pan, all, )ergon, work, that is,doing every
thing, or capable of doing anything) denotes shrewdness, cunning,
and craft.This was common; and this was probably practiced by the
false teachers in Corinth.With this Paul says he had nothing to do.
He did not adopt a course of carnal wisdomand policy (note,
2Co_1:12); he did not attempt to impose upon them, or to
deceivethem; or to make his way by subtile and deceitful arts. True
religion can never beadvanced by trick and craftiness.Nor handling
the word of God deceitfully - ( dolountes). Not falsifying;or
deceitfully corrupting or disguising the truth of God, The phrase
seems to besynonymous with that used in 2Co_2:17, and rendered
corrupt the word of God; seethe note on that verse. It properly
means to falsify, adulterate, corrupt, by Jewishtraditions, etc.
(Robinson, Bloomfield, Doddridge, etc.); or it may mean, as in
ourtranslation, to handle in a deceitful manner; to make use of
trick and art in propagatingand defending it. Tyndale renders it:
neither corrupt we the Word of God.But by manifestation of the
truth - By making the truth manifest; that is, by asimple
exhibition of the truth. By stating it just as it is, in an
undisguised and openmanner. Not by adulterating it with foreign
mixtures; not by mingling it withphilosophy, or traditions; not by
blunting its edge, or concealing anything, or explainingit away;
but by an open, plain, straightforward exhibition of it as it is in
Jesus. Preachingshould consist in a simple exhibition of the truth.
There is no deceit in the gospel itself;and there should be none in
the manner of exhibiting it. It should consist of a simplestatement
of things as they are. The whole design of preaching is, to make
known thetruth. And this is done in an effectual manner only when
it is simple, open, undisguised,without craft, and without deceit.
6. Commending ourselves to every mans conscience - That is, so
speaking thetruth that every mans conscience shall approve it as
true; every man shall see it to betrue, and to be in accordance
with what he knows to be right. Conscience is that facultyof the
mind which distinguishes between right and wrong, and which prompts
us tochoose the former and avoid the latter; Joh_8:9; Rom_2:15
note; 1Co_10:25, 1Co_10:27-29 notes; 2Co_1:12 note. It is implied
here:(1) That a course of life, and a manner of preaching that
shall be free from dishonesty,and art, and trick, will be such as
the consciences of people will approve. Paul soughtsuch a course of
life as should accord with their sense of right, and thus serve
tocommend the gospel to them.(2) That the gospel may be so preached
as to be seen by men to be true; so as to beapproved as right; and
so that every mans conscience shall bear testimony to its
truth.People do not love it, but they may see that it is true; they
may hate it, but they maysee that the truth which condemns their
practices is from heaven. This is an exceedinglyimportant principle
in regard to preaching, and vastly momentous in its bearing on
theviews which ministers should have of their own work. The gospel
is reasonable. It maybe seen to be true by every man to whom it is
preached. And it should be the aim of everypreacher so to preach
it, as to enlist the consciences of his hearers in his layout. And
it isa very material fact that when so preached the conscience and
reason of every man is inits favor, and they know that it is true
even when it pronounces their own condemnation,and denounces their
own sins. This passage proves, therefore, the following things:(1)
That the gospel may be so preached as to be seen to be true by all
people. Peopleare capable of seeing the truth, and even when they
do not love it; they can perceive thatit has demonstration that it
is from God. It is a system so reasonable; so well establishedby
evidence; so fortified by miracles, and the fulfillment of
prophecies; so pure in itsnature; so well-adapted to man; so suited
to his condition, and so well designed to makehim better; and so
happy in its influence on society, that people may be led to see
that itis true. And this I take to be the case with almost all
those people who habitually attendon the preaching of the gospel.
Infidels do not often visit the sanctuary; and when theyare in the
habit of doing it, it is a fact that they gradually come to the
conviction that theChristian religion is true. It is rare to find
professed infidels in our places of worship;and the great mass of
those who attend on the preaching of the gospel may be set downas
speculative believers in the truth of Christianity.(2) The
consciences of people are on the side of truth, and the gospel may
be sopreached as to enlist their consciences in its favor.
Conscience prompts to do right, andcondemns us if we do wrong. It
can never be made to approve of wrong, never to give aman peace if
he does that which he knows to be evil. By no art or device; by no
system oflaws, or bad government; by no training or discipline, can
it be made the advocate of sin.In all lands, at all times, and in
all circumstances, it prompts a man to do what is right,and
condemns him if he does wrong. It may be silenced for a time; it
may be seared aswith a hot iron, and for a time be insensible, but
if it speak at all, it speaks to prompt aman to do what he believes
to be right, and condemns him if he does that which iswrong. The
consciences of people are on the side of the gospel; and it is only
their heartswhich are opposed to it. Their consciences are in favor
of the gospel in the following,among other respects:(a) They
approve of it as a just, pure, holy, and reasonable system; as in
accordancewith what they feel to be right; as recommending that
which ought to be done, andforbidding that which ought not to be
done.(b) In its special requirements on themselves. Their
consciences tell them that theyought to love God with all the
heart; to repent of their sins; to trust in that Saviour who 7.
died for them; and to lead a life of prayer and of devotedness to
the service of God; thatthey ought to be sincere and humble
Christians, and prepare to meet God in peace.(c) Their consciences
approve the truth that condemns them. No matter how strict itmay
seem to be; no matter how loud its denunciation against their sins;
no matter howmuch the gospel may condemn their pride, avarice,
sensuality, levity, dishonesty, fraud,intemperance, profaneness,
biasphemy, or their neglect of their soul, yet theirconsciences
approve of it as right, and proclaim that these things ought to
becondemned, and ought to be abandoned. The heart may love them,
but the consciencecannot be made to approve them. And the minister
of the gospel may always approachhis people, or an individual man,
with the assurance that however much they may lovethe ways of sin,
yet that he has their consciences in his favor, and that in urging
theclaims of God on them, their consciences will always coincide
with his appeals.(3) The way in which a minister is to commend
himself to the consciences of people,is that which was pursued by
Paul. He must:(a) Have a clear and unwavering conviction of the
truth himself. On this subject heshould have no doubt. He should be
able to look on it as on a burnished mirror (note,2Co_3:18); and to
see its glory as with open face.(b) It should be by the simple
statement of the truth of the gospel. Not by preachingphilosophy,
or metaphysics, or the traditions of man, or the sentiments of
theologians,but the simple truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
People may be made to see that theseare truths, and God will take
care that the reason and consciences of people shall be intheir
favor.(c) By the absence of all trick and cunning, and disguised
and subtle arts. The gospel hasnothing of these in itself, and it
will never approve of them, nor will God bless them. Aminister of
Jesus should be frank, open, undisguised, and candid. He should
make asober and elevated appeal to the reason and conscience of
man. The gospel is not acunningly devised fable; it has no trick in
itself, and the ministers of religion shouldsolemnly abjure all the
hidden things of dishonesty.In the sight of God - As in the
immediate presence of God. We act as if we felt thatHis eye was
upon us; and this consideration serves to keep us from the hidden
things ofdishonesty, and from improper arts in spreading the true
religion; see the note on 2Co_2:17.1B. Vincent, Dishonesty (thv
aiscunhv). Rev., more correctly, shame .Compare Eph. v. 12
.Craftiness (panourgia). See on Luke xx. 23 .Handling deceitfully
(dolountev). Only here in the New Testament.Primarily, to ensnare ;
then to corrupt . Used of adulterating gold , wine , etc. See
onwhich corrupt , ch. ii. 17. This verb has a narrower meaning than
the one used there(kaphleuein); for, while that means also to
corrupt , it adds the sense for gain 'ssake. The Vulgate renders
both by the same word, adulterantes. Compare Dante:Thus did
Sabellius, Arias, and those fools Who have been even as swords
untothe Scriptures In rendering distorted their straight faces.
Paradiso, xiii., 128-130. 8. 2. Clarke, But have renounced - We
have disclaimed the hidden thingsof dishonesty; , the hidden things
of shame; those things whichwicked men do; and which they are
ashamed to have known, and ashamed to own. Dr.Whitby thinks that
the apostle refers to carnal abominations, of which the Jews
andtheir rabbins were notoriously guilty. And it does appear from
the first epistle that therewere persons in Corinth who taught that
fornication was no sin; and it appears also thatseveral had taken
the part of the incestuous person.Not walking in craftiness - 4 In
subtlety and clever cunning, as the falseteachers did, who were
accomplished fellows, and capable of any thing. The word
iscompounded of , all, and , work.Nor handling the word of God
deceitfully - Not using the doctrines of the Gospelto serve any
secular or carnal purpose; not explaining away their force so as to
palliate orexcuse sin; not generalizing its precepts so as to
excuse many in particular circumstancesfrom obedience, especially
in that which most crossed their inclinations. There weredeceitful
handlers of this kind in Corinth, and there are many of them still
in the garb ofChristian ministers; persons who disguise that part
of their creed which, though theybelieve it is of God, would make
them unpopular, affecting moderation in order toprocure a larger
audience and more extensive support; not attacking prevalent
andpopular vices; calling dissipation of mind, relaxation; and
worldly and carnal pleasures,innocent amusements, etc. In a word,
turning with the tide, and shifting with the wind ofpopular
opinion, prejudice, fashion, etc.But by manifestation of the truth
- An open, explicit acknowledgment of what weknow to be the truth -
what we are assured is the Gospel of Jesus; concealing
nothing;blunting the edge of no truth; explaining spiritual things,
not in the words of manswisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit
of God.Commending ourselves to every mans conscience - Speaking so
that everymans conscience shall bear its testimony that we proclaim
the truth of God. This is onecharacteristic of Divine truth: even
every mans conscience will acknowledge it, though itspeak decidedly
against his own practices.In the sight of God - Whose eye is ever
on the heart and conscience of man, and whoalways bears testimony
to his own word.3. Gill, But have renounced the hidden things of
dishonesty,.... Or shame;this is a further account of the conduct
of the first ministers of the Gospel, and veryworthy of our
imitation, and in which the apostle strikes at the different manner
ofbehaviour in the false apostles: this may respect both doctrine
and practice; theyabhorred and rejected everything that was
scandalous and reproachful to the Gospel ofChrist; in simplicity
and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace
ofGod, they had their conversation in the world; they were open and
above board, both inprinciple and practice; the same men in public,
as in private; they used no art to covertheir doctrines, or hide
their conversations; everything of this kind was detestable tothem;
whereas the false teachers took a great deal of pains to colour
over both theirsentiments and their lives; and a shame it was to
speak of the things that were done ofthem in secret, Eph_5:12.
Moreover, they were 9. not walking in craftiness; they used no sly
and artful methods to please men, to gainapplause from them, or
make merchandise of them; they did not lie in wait to
deceive,watching an opportunity to work upon credulous and
incautious minds; they did not, bygood words and fair speeches,
deceive the hearts of the simple; nor put on differentforms, or
make different appearances, in order to suit themselves to the
differenttempers and tastes of men, as did the false apostles:not
handling the word of God deceitfully. They did not corrupt it with
humandoctrines, or mix and blend it with philosophy, and vain
deceit; they did not wrest theScriptures to serve any carnal or
worldly purpose; nor did they accommodate them tothe lusts and
passions of men; or conceal any part of truth, or keep back any
thing whichmight be profitable to the churches:but by the
manifestation of the truth, commending themselves to everyman's
conscience in the sight of God; that is, they with all plainness
and evidenceclearly preached the truth as it is in Jesus,
presenting it to, and pressing it upon theconsciences of men; where
they left it, and to which they could appeal; and all this theydid,
in the sight and presence of the omniscient God, to whom they knew
they must givean account of themselves and their ministry.4. Henry,
Their sincerity in their work is avouched (2Co_4:2) in several
expressions:We have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty. The
things of dishonesty arehidden things, that will not bear the
light; and those who practise them are, or shouldbe, ashamed of
them, especially when they are known. Such things the apostle did
notallow of, but did renounce and avoid with indignation: Not
walking in craftiness, or indisguise, acting with art and cunning,
but in great simplicity, and with open freedom.They had no base and
wicked designs covered with fair and specious pretences ofsomething
that was good. Nor did they in their preaching handle the word of
Goddeceitfully; but, as he said before, they used great plainness
of speech, and did not maketheir ministry serve a turn, or truckle
to base designs. They had not cheated the peoplewith falsehood
instead of truth. Some think the apostle alludes to the deceit
whichtreacherous gamesters use, or that of hucksters in the market,
who mix bad wares withgood. The apostles acted not like such
persons, but they manifested the truth to everyman's conscience,
declaring nothing but what in their own conscience they believed
tobe true, and what might serve for the conviction of their
consciences who heard them,who were to judge for themselves, and to
give an account for themselves. And all thisthey did as in the
sight of God, desirous thus to commend themselves to God, and to
theconsciences of men, by their undisguised sincerity. Note, A
stedfast adherence to thetruths of the gospel will commend
ministers and people; and sincerity or uprightnesswill preserve a
man's reputation, and the good opinion of wise and good men
concerninghim.II. An objection is obviated, which might be thus
formed: If it be thus, how then does itcome to pass, that the
gospel is hid, and proves ineffectual, as to some who hear it?
Towhich the apostle answers, by showing that this was not the fault
of the gospel, nor ofthe preachers thereof.5. Jamison, renounced
literally, bid farewell to.of dishonesty rather, of shame. I am not
ashamed of the Gospel of Christ 10. (Rom_1:16). Shame would lead to
hiding (2Co_4:3); whereas we use great plainness ofspeech
(2Co_3:12); by manifestation of the truth. Compare 2Co_3:3,
manifestlydeclared. He refers to the disingenuous artifices of many
teachers at Corinth (2Co_2:17; 2Co_3:1; 2Co_11:13-15).handling ...
deceitfully so corrupt or adulterate the word of God
(2Co_2:17;compare 1Th_2:3, 1Th_2:4).commending recommending
ourselves: recurring to 2Co_3:1.to to the verdict of.every mans
conscience (2Co_5:11). Not to mens carnal judgment, as thosealluded
to (2Co_3:1).in the sight of God (2Co_2:17; Gal_1:10).6. Spurgeon,
It is no part of the business of Christs ministers to modify
thetruth which he has entrusted to them, or to put new meanings
into it whichGod never meant, draining away the very life-blood of
the gospel, andleaving it dead and useless; but it is both our duty
and our privilege tostate it just as we find it, and to proclaim it
in as plain language as possibleso that everybody may understand
what the teaching of God really is.There have, alas! been many
preachers who have handled the Word of Godin the manner described
by the apostle. They have out and trimmed thetruth in order to
please their generation; they have kept back this, or havemade
unduly prominent that, instead of giving all the truth of God
itsproper and proportionate prominence in their ministry; but such
men havenot, after all, won the respect of their hearers. There is
an old story told ofKing John of England that, when he was closely
pressed by the barons, hewrote to the Emperor of Morocco, and
offered to turn Mohammedan, andtake an oath of allegiance to him if
he would send an army to help him, andit is said that, ever after,
the Emperor of Morocco abhorred and detestedthe very name of John,
for he said he must be an abominable miscreant tobe willing to
change his religion for the sake of gain. Ah, my brethren! wenever
gain any respect, even from the world, by seeking after it in
thisfashion. Be thoroughly honest, especially you who are in the
Christianministry; be outspoken, blunt, and plain; and then, even
if mens prejudicescondemn you, their consciences will commend you
for speaking what youbelieve to be the truth.Far be it from the
teacher of truth ever to use words in a non-natural sense,or to
dissemble or equivocate, saying to the ear what he means not in
thesense in which the hearer understands it. Far be it from us to
mix with theWord of God anything of our own as vintners mix various
kinds of wine, forsuch is the import of the word that the apostle
here uses. Let none of usever handle the Word of God deceitfully.
There is no deceit in it; it is allpure unmixed truth. An honest
mind is needed for the understanding of it,and then a truthful
tongue for the telling of it to others. If we do preach 11.
undiluted, unadulterated truth, we must not expect that the natural
heart ofman will commend our honesty. We are to commend ourselves
to everymans conscience, not by cutting and trimming the Word so as
to make itpalatable to our hearers, leaving one truth out to please
this man, anddwelling too long upon another truth so as to please
some other hearer,but by bringing out the whole teaching of the
Scripture in clear truthfulnessthat shall command the approval of
the conscience oven of those who maynot accept the truth that we
proclaim.7. Calvin, But renounce the hidden things. While he
commends his own sincerity,425425 Sa droiture et syncerite; His own
uprightness and sincerity. he, onthe other hand, indirectly
reproves the false Apostles, who, while they corrupted bytheir
ambition the genuine excellence of the gospel, were, nevertheless,
desirous ofexclusive distinction. Hence the faults, from which he
declares himself to be exempt,he indirectly imputes to them. By the
hidden things of disgrace, or concealments,some understand the
shadows of the Mosaic law. Chrysostom understands theexpression to
mean the vain show, by which they endeavored to
recommendthemselves. I understand by it all the disguises, with
which they adulterated thepure and native beauty of the gospel. For
as chaste and virtuous women, satisfiedwith the gracefulness of
natural beauty, do not resort to artificial adornings, whileharlots
never think themselves sufficiently adorned, unless they have
corruptednature, so Paul glories in having set forth the pure
gospel, while others set forth onethat was disguised, and covered
over with unseemly additions. For as they wereashamed of the
simplicity of Christ, or at least could not have distinction
426426e pouuoyent pas estre excellens et en estime; Could not be
eminent, and beheld in estimation. from true excellencies of
Apostles, they framed a new gospel,not unlike a profane philosophy,
swelled up with empty bombast, while altogetherdevoid of the
efficacy of the Spirit. Spurious ornaments of this nature,
427427Ces couleurs fausses, et ces desguisemens; Those false
colors, and thosedisguises. by which the gospel is disfigured, he
calls the concealments of disgrace,because the nakedness of those,
who have recourse to concealments and disguises,must of necessity
be dishonorable and disgraceful.As to himself, he says that he
rejects or disdains disguises, because Christs face, themore that
it is seen opened up to view in his preaching, shines forth so much
themore gloriously. I do not, however, deny, that he alludes at the
same time to the veilof Moses, (Exodus 34:33,) of which he had made
mention, but he ascribes a quitedifferent veil to the false
Apostles. For Moses covered his face, because the
excessivebrightness of the glory of the law could not be endured by
tender and blear eyes.They, 428428 Les faux apostres; The false
apostles. on the other hand, puton a veil by way of ornament.
Besides, as they would be despicable, nay, infamous, ifthe
simplicity of the gospel shone forth, they, on this account, hide
their shameunder ever so many cloaks and masks. 12. ot walking in
craftiness. There can be no doubt, that the false Apostles
delightedthemselves greatly in the craftiness that Paul reproves,
as though it had been adistinguished excellence, as we see even at
this day some, even of those who professthe gospel, who would
rather be esteemed subtile than sincere, and sublime ratherthan
solid, while in the mean time all their refinement is mere
childishness. But whatwould you do? It delights them to have a name
for acuteness, and they have, underthat pretext, applause among the
ignorant. 429429 Enuers les gens simples, etqui ne scauent pas
iuger des choses; Among simple people, and those that donot know
how to judge of things. We learn, however, in what estimation Paul
holdsthis appearance of excellence. Craftiness he declares to be
unworthy of Christsservants.As to what follows nor handling
deceitfully I am not sure that this sufficientlybrings out Pauls
meaning; for the verb does not so properly mean actingfraudulently,
as what is called falsifying 430430 The verb is applied byLucian
(in Hermot. 59) to vintners adulterating wine, in which sense it
issynonymous with , made use of by Paul in 2 Corinthians 2:17.
Bezasrendering of the clause exactly corresponds with the one to
which Calvin gives thepreference eque falsantes sermonem Dei; or
falsifying the word ofGod. Tyndale (1534) renders the clause thus
ether corrupte we the worde ofGod. The rendering in the Rheims
version (1582) is or adulterating the wordof God. Ed. as
horse-jockeys 431431 Et frippiers; And brokers. arewont to do. In
this passage, at least, it is placed in contrast with upright
preaching,agreeably to what follows.But by manifestation of the
truth He claims to himself this praise that he hadproclaimed the
pure doctrine of the gospel in simplicity and without disguise,
andhas the consciences of all as witnesses of this in the sight of
God. As he has placedthe manifestation of the truth in contrast
with the disguised 432432 Fardee etdesguisee; Painted and disguised
doctrine of the sophists, so he appeals thedecision to their
consciences, and to the judgment-seat of God, whereas they
abusedthe mistaken judgment of men, or their corrupt affection, and
were not so desirousto be in reality worthy of praise as they were
eager to appear so. Hence we infer,that there is a contrast here
between the consciences of men and their ears. Let theservants of
Christ, therefore, reckon it enough to have approved their
integrity tothe consciences of men in the sight of God, and pay no
regard to the corruptinclinations of men, or to popular applause.3
And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to 13. those who are
perishing.1. Barnes, But if our gospel be hid - Paul here calls it
his gospel, because it was thatwhich he preached, or the message
which he bore; see note, Rom_16:25. The sense hereis, if the gospel
which I preach is not understood; if its meaning is obscure or
hidden; ifits glory is not seen. It is implied here, that to many
the beauty and glory of the gospelwas not perceived. This was
undeniable, notwithstanding the plainness and fullness withwhich
its truths were made known. The object of Paul here is, to state
that this fact wasnot to be traced to any lack of clearness in the
gospel itself, but to other causes, and thusprobably to meet an
objection which might be made to his argument about the
clearnessand fullness of the revelation in the gospel. In the
language which Paul uses here, thereis undoubted allusion to what
he had said respecting Moses, who put a veil upon hisface,
2Co_3:13. He had hid, or concealed his face, as emblematic of the
nature of hisinstitutions (note, 2Co_3:14); and here Paul says that
it was not to be denied that thegospel was veiled also to some. But
it was not from the nature of the gospel. It was notbecause God had
purposely concealed its meaning. It was not from any lack of
clearnessin itself. It was to be traced to other causes.It is hid
to them that are lost - On the meaning of the word rendered here
aslost; see the note, 2Co_2:15, rendered there as perish. It is hid
among them who areabout to perish; who are perishing (5
entoisapollumenois); those whodeserve to perish. It is concealed
only among that class who may be designated as theperishing, or as
the lost. Grotins explains this, those who deserve to perish, who
fostertheir vices, and will not see the truth which condemns those
vices. And he adds, thatthis might very well be, for, however
conspicuous the gospel was in itself, yet like thesun it would not
be visible to the blind. The cause was not in the gospel, but
inthemselves. This verse teaches, therefore:(1) That the beauty of
the gospel may be hidden from many of the human family. Thisis a
matter of simple fact. There are thousands and million to whom it
is preached whosee no beauty in it, and who regard it as
foolishness.(2) That there is a class of people who may be called,
even now, the lost. They arelost to virtue, to piety, to happiness,
to hope. They deserve to perish; and they arehastening to merited
ruin. This class in the time of Paul was large; and it is large
now. Itis composed of those to whom the gospel is hidden, or to
whom it appears to be veiled,and who see no beauty in it. It is
made up indeed of all the profane, polluted, and vile;but their
characteristic feature is, that the gospel is hidden from them, and
that theysee no beauty and glory in it.(3) This is not the fault of
the gospel. It is not the fault of the sun when people shut
theireyes and will not see it. It is not the fault of a running
stream, or a bubbling fountain, ifpeople will not drink of it, but
rather choose to die of thirst. The gospel does not obscureand
conceal its own glory anymore than the sun does. It is in itself a
clear and fullrevelation of God and his grace; and that glory is
adapted to shed light upon thebenighted minds of people. 14. 2.
Clarke, But if our Gospel be hid - Veiled; he refers to the
subjectthat he had treated so particularly in the conclusion of the
preceding chapter. If there bea veil on the Gospel, it is only to
the wilfully blind; and if any mans heart be veiled thathears this
Gospel, it is a proof that he is among the lost, , those who are
fullyunder the power of sin; who have given up themselves to work
wickedness; persons whoare mere heathens, or live like such, and
yet such as Jesus Christ came to seek and save;for the word does
not necessarily imply those that will perish eternally, but is a
commonepithet to point out a man without the Gospel and without God
in the world. Christcommands his disciples in preaching the Gospel
to go to , the Lostsheep of the house of Israel; Mat_10:6; for
himself says, Mat_18:11, and Luk_19:10 : TheSon of man is come , to
seek and to Save that which is Lost.And such persons he represents
under the parable of the lost sheep; for to find , that which is
Lost, the good shepherd leaves the ninety-and-nine in
thewilderness, and goes in search of it; Mat_18:12; Luk_15:4. The
word more properlysignifies, in all those connections, and in the
parallel passages, not those who Are Lost,but those who are
perishing; and will perish, if not sought and saved.3. Gill, But if
our Gospel be hid,.... When the Gospel is called ours, the meaning
is,not that ministers are the authors or subject of it; but it is
so styled, because they areintrusted with it; it is preached by
them; and is in opposition to another Gospel, theGospel of the
false apostles. Here an objection is obviated, which the apostle
saw wouldbe made against the clearness and perspicuity of the
Gospel, asserted by him in theforegoing chapter; taken from some
persons, who though they sat under the ministry ofthe word, were
not enlightened by it, saw no glory nor excellency in it, nor were
theirminds in the least affected with it: to which he replies,
saying, if our Gospel be hid,it is hid to them that are lost. But
why should the apostle put an if upon its beinghid? is it not hid?
is it not the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom?To
which may be answered, that it was hid in God from the beginning of
the world; andin Christ, in whom are hid all the treasures of
wisdom and knowledge; and in theceremonial law, which contained
types and shadows of many things in it; and was hidfrom whole
nations, and for whole ages formerly: but now God has made known
themystery of his will; Christ is manifest in the flesh; the
ceremonial law is done away, andthe Gospel is preached to Jews and
Gentiles; so that it is hid to none, as to the outwardministration
of it: and if the internal, spiritual, and saving knowledge and
experience ofit is hid from any, eventually and finally, it is to
them that are lost: all mankind are in alost and perishing
condition through sin; though some will not be lost eternally,
whomGod has chosen, Christ has redeemed, and who by the Spirit are
brought savingly tobelieve in Christ; but there are others, that
will be lost for ever; and to these the Gospel ishid; and they are
such, who are left to the native blindness of their minds, and are
givenup to a reprobate mind, to judicial darkness, and are suffered
to be under the influenceof the prince of darkness, as in the
following verse; now such instances are no more anobjection to the
clearness and perspicuity of the Gospel, and the ministration of
it, thanmen born blind, who never could, nor never will see light,
are to the bright and clearshining of the sun noon day. 15. 4.
Henry, But the true reasons of this are, 1. Those are lost souls to
whom the gospel ishid, or is ineffectual, 2Co_4:3. Christ came to
save that which was lost (Mat_17:11), andthe gospel of Christ is
sent to save such; and, if this do not find and save them, they
arelost for ever; they must never expect any thing else to save
them, for there is no othermethod or means of salvation. The hiding
of the gospel therefore from souls is both anevidence and cause of
their ruin.5. Jamison, But if Yea, even if (as I grant is the
case).hid rather (in reference to 2Co_3:13-18), veiled. Hid (Greek,
Col_3:3) is said ofthat withdrawn from view altogether. Veiled, of
a thing within reach of the eye, butcovered over so as not to be
seen. So it was in the case of Moses face.to them in the case only
of them: for in itself the Gospel is quite plain.that are lost
rather, that are perishing (1Co_1:18). So the same cloud that
waslight to the people of God, was darkness to the Egyptian foes of
God (Exo_14:20).6. Calvin, 3. But if our gospel is hid It might
have been an easy thing to pourcalumny upon what he had said as to
the clearness of his preaching, because he hadmany adversaries.
That calumny he repels with stern authority, for he threatens
allwho do not acknowledge the power of his gospel, and warns them
that this is a tokenof reprobation and ruin. Should any one affirm
that he does not perceive thatmanifestation of Christ of which I
boast, he clearly shows himself, by this verytoken, to be a
reprobate, 433433 Il ne pourra mieux monstrer signe de
sareprobation, que par la; He could not give a clearer evidence of
hisreprobation than this. for my sincerity in the work of
instructing 434434 Lasyncerite et droiture que ie tien a enseigner;
The sincerity and uprightness thatI maintain in teaching. is
clearly and distinctly perceived by all that have eyes.Those,
therefore, from whom it is hid, must be blind, and destitute of all
rationalunderstanding. The sum is this that the blindness of
unbelievers detractsnothing from the clearness of his gospel; for
the sun is not less resplendent, that theblind do not perceive his
light. 435435 See Calvin on Corinthians, vol.1, p. 116. EdBut some
one will say that this applies equally to the law, for in itself it
is a lamp436436 Vne lanterne ardente; A lantern burning. to guide
our feet, (Psalm119:105,) enlightens the eyes, (Psalm 19:8,) etc.,
and is hid only from those thatperish. I answer that, when Christ
is included in the law, the sun shines forththrough the midst of
the clouds, so that men have light enough for their use; butwhen
Christ is disjoined from it, there is nothing left but darkness, or
a falseappearance of light, that dazzles mens eyes instead of
assisting them. It is, however,a token of great confidence, that he
ventures to regard as reprobates all that rejecthis doctrine. It is
befitting, however, that all that would be looked upon as
ministersof Gods word should be endued with the like confidence,
that with a fearlessconfidence they may unhesitatingly summon all
the adversaries of their doctrine tothe judgment-seat of God, that
they may bring thence a sure condemnation. 16. 4 The god of this
age has blinded the minds ofunbelievers, so that they cannot see
the light of thegospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is
theimage of God.1. Barnes, In whom - In respect to whom; among
whom; or in whose hearts. Thedesign of this verse is to account for
the fact that the glory of the gospel was not seen bythem. It is to
be traced entirely to the agency of him whom Paul here calls the
god ofthis world.The god of this world - There can be no doubt that
Satan is here designated by thisappellation; though some of the
fathers supposed that it means the true God, and Clarkeinclines to
this opinion. In Joh_12:31, he is called the prince of this world.
In Eph_2:2,he is called the prince of the power of the air. And in
Eph_6:12, the same bad influenceis referred to under the names of
principalities, and powers, the rulers of the darknessof this
world, and spiritual wickedness in high places. The name god is
here given tohim, not because he has any divine attributes, but
because he actually has the homage ofthe people of this world as
their god, as the being who is really worshipped, or who hasthe
affections of their hearts in the same way as it is given to idols.
By this world ismeant the wicked world; or the mass of people. He
has dominion over the world. Theyobey his will; they execute his
plans; they further his purposes, and they are his
obedientsubjects. He has subdued the world to himself, and was
really adored in the place of thetrue God; see the note on
1Co_10:20. They sacrificed to devils and not to God. Here itis
meant by the declaration that Satan is the god of this world:(1)
That the world at large was under his control and direction. He
secured theapostasy of man, and early brought him to follow his
plans; and he has maintained hisscepter and dominion since. No more
abject submission could be desired by him thanhas been rendered by
the mass of people.(2) The idolatrous world particularly is under
his control, and subject to him; 1Co_10:20. He is worshipped there;
and the religious rites and ceremonies of the pagan are ingeneral
just such as a mighty being who hated human happiness, and who
soughtpollution, obscenity, wretchedness, and blood would appoint;
and over all the paganworld his power is absolute. In the time of
Paul all the world, except the Jews andChristians, was sunk in
pagan degradation.(3) He rules in the hearts and lives of all
wicked people - and the world is full of wickedpeople. They obey
him, and submit to his will in executing fraud, and rapine, and
piracy,and murder, and adultery, and lewdness; in wars and
fightings; in their amusements andpastimes; in dishonesty and
falsehood. The dominion of Satan over this world has been,and is
still almost universal and absolute; nor has the lapse of 1,800
years rendered theappellation improper as descriptive of his
influence, that he is the god of this world. Theworld pursues his
plans; yields to his temptations; neglects, or rejects the reign of
God as 17. he pleases; and submits to his scepter, and is still
full of abomination cruelty, andpollution, as he desires it to
be.Hath blinded the minds of them which believe not - Of all who
discern no beautyin the gospel, and who reject it. It is implied
here:(1) That the minds of unbelievers are blinded; that they
perceive no beauty in the gospel.This is often affirmed of those
who reject the gospel, and who live in sin; see the 2Co_2:13 note;
Mat_23:16-17, Mat_23:26 notes; Luk_4:18 note; Joh_9:39; Joh_12:40
notes;Rom_11:7 note. The sense is, that they did not see the
spiritual beauty and glory of theplan of redemption. They act in
reference to that as they would in reference to thisworld, if a
bandage were over their eyes, and they saw not the light of the
sun, the beautyof the landscape, the path in which they should go,
or the countenance of a friend. All isdark, and obscure, and
destitute of beauty to them, however much beauty may be seen inall
these objects by others.(2) That this is done by the agency of
Satan; and that his dominion is secured by keepingthe world in
darkness. The affirmation is direct and positive, that it is by his
agency thatit is done. Some of the modes in which it is done are
the following:(a) By a direct influence on the minds of people. I
do not know why it is absurd tosuppose that one intellect may, in
some way unknown to us, have access to another, andhave power to
influence it; nor can it be proved that Satan may not have power
topervert the understanding; to derange its powers; to distract its
attention; and to give inview of the mind a wholly delusive
relative importance to objects. In the time of theSaviour it cannot
be doubted that in the numerous cases of demoniacal
possessions,Satan directly affected the minds of people; nor is
there any reason to think that he hasceased to delude and destroy
them.(b) By the false philosophy which has prevailed - a large part
of which seems to havebeen contrived as if on purpose to deceive
the world, and destroy the peace andhappiness of people.(c) By the
systems of superstition and idolatry. All these seem to be under
the control ofone Master Mind. They are so well conceived and
adapted to prostrate the moral powers;to fetter the intellect; to
pervert the will; to make people debased, sunken, polluted,
anddegraded; and they so uniformly accomplish this effect, that
they have all the marks ofbeing under the control of one mighty
Mind, and of having been devised to accomplishHis purposes over
people.(d) By producing in the minds of people a wholly
disproportionate view of the value ofobjects. A very small object
held before the eye will shut out the light of the sun. Apiece of
money of the smallest value laid on the eye will make everything
appear dark,and prevent all the glory of mid-day from reaching the
seat of vision. And so it is withthe things of this world. They are
placed directly before us, and are placed directlybetween us and
the glory of the gospel. And the trifles of wealth and of fashion;
theobjects of pleasure and ambition, are made to assume an
importance in view of the mindwhich wholly excludes the glory of
the gospel, and shuts out all the realities of the eternalworld.
And he does it:(e) By the blinding influence of passion and vice.
Before a vicious mind all is dark andobscure. There is no beauty in
truth, in chastity, or honesty, or in the fear and love ofGod. Vice
always renders the mind blind. and the heart hard, and shrouds
everything inthe moral world in midnight. And in order to blind the
minds of people to the glory ofthe gospel, Satan has only to place
splendid schemes of speculation before people; totempt them to
climb the steeps of ambition; to entice them to scenes of gaiety;
to securethe erection of theaters, and gambling houses, and houses
of infamy and pollution; to fillthe cities and towns of a land with
taverns and dram-shops; and to give opportunityeverywhere for the
full play and unrestrained indulgence of passion; and the glory of
the 18. gospel will be as effectually unseen as the glory of the
sun is in the darkest night.Lest the light ... - This passage
states the design, for which Satan blinds the mindsof people. It is
because he hates the gospel, and wishes to prevent its influence
andspread in the world Satan has always hated and opposed it, and
all his arts have beenemployed to arrest its diffusion on earth.
The word light here means excellence,beauty, or splendor. Light is
the emblem of knowledge, purity, or innocence; and is hereand
elsewhere applied to the gospel, because it removes the errors, and
sins, andwretchedness of people, as the light of the sun scatters
the shades of night. This purposeof preventing the light of the
gospel shining on people, Satan will endeavor toaccomplish by all
the means in his power. It is his grand object in this world,
because itis by the gospel only that people can be saved; by that
that God is glorified on earth morethan by anything else; and
because, therefore, if he can prevent sinners from embracingthat,
he will secure their destruction, and most effectually show his
hatred of God. And itis to Satan a matter of little importance what
people may be, or are, provided theyare not Christians. They may be
amiable, moral, accomplished, rich, honored, esteemedby the world,
because in the possession of all these he may be equally sure of
their ruin,and because, also, these things may contribute somewhat
to turn away their minds fromthe gospel. Satan, therefore, will not
oppose plans of gain or ambition; he will notoppose purposes of
fashion and amusement; he may not oppose schemes by which wedesire
to rise in the world; he will not oppose the theater, the ballroom,
the dance, or thesong; he will not oppose thoughtless mirth; but
the moment the gospel begins to shineon the benighted mind, that
moment he will make resistance, and then all his power willbe
concentrated.The glorious gospel - Greek The gospel of the glory of
Christ, a Hebraism for theglorious gospel. Mr. Locke renders it,
the glorious brightness of the light of the gospelof Christ, and
supposes it means the brightness, or clearness, of the doctrine
whereinChrist is manifested in the gospel. It is all light, and
splendor, and beauty, comparedwith the dark systems of philosophy
and paganism. It is glorious, for it is full ofsplendor; makes
known the glorious God; discloses a glorious plan of salvation;
andconducts ignorant, weak, and degraded man to a world of light.
No two words in ourlanguage are so full of rich and precious
meaning, as the phrase glorious gospel.Who is the image of God -
Christ is called the image of God:(1) In respect to his divine
nature, his exact resemblance to God in his divineattributes and
perfections; see Col_1:15; and Heb_1:3; and,(2) In his moral
attributes as Mediator, as showing forth the glory of the Father
topeople. He resembles God, and in him we see the divine glory and
perfectionsembodied, and shine forth.It is from his resemblance to
God in all respects that he is called his image; and it isthrough
him that the divine perfections are made known to people. It is an
object ofspecial dislike and hatred to Satan that the glory of
Christ, who is the image of God,should shine on people, and fill
their hearts. Satan hates that image; he hates that peopleshould
become like God; and he hates all that has a resemblance to the
great andglorious Yahweh.2. Clarke, In whom the god of this world,
etc. - We see here that those whoseminds are blinded, are they who
believe not; and because they believe not, their mindscontinue in
darkness, and are proper subjects for Satan to work on; and he
deepens thedarkness, and increases the hardness. But who is meant
by the god of this world? It is 19. generally answered, the same
who is called the prince of this world, Joh_16:11. But thequestion
recurs, who is the prince of this world? and the answer to both is,
Satan. Thereader will do well to consult the notes on Joh_12:31,
and the concluding observationson Joh_14:30. I must own I feel
considerable reluctance to assign the epithet ;,The God, to Satan;
and were there not a rooted prejudice in favor of the
commonopinion, the contrary might be well vindicated, viz. that by
the God of this world thesupreme Being is meant, who in his
judgment gave over the minds of the unbelievingJews to spiritual
darkness, so that destruction came upon them to the uttermost.
Satan,it is true, has said that the kingdoms of the world and their
glory are his, and that hegives them to whomsoever he will;
Mat_4:8, Mat_4:9. But has God ever said so? and arewe to take this
assertion of the boasting devil and father of lies for truth?
Certainly not.We are not willing to attribute the blinding of mens
minds to God, because wesometimes forget that he is the God of
justice, and may in judgment remove merciesfrom those that abuse
them; but this is repeatedly attributed to him in the Bible, and
theexpression before us is quite a parallel to the following,
Isa_6:9 : Go and tell this people,Hear ye indeed, but understand
not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. Make the Heartof this
People Fat, and Make their Ears Heavy, and Shut their Eyes; Lest
they see withtheir eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand
with their heart, etc. And see theparallel places, Mat_13:14,
Mat_13:15; Mar_4:12; Joh_12:40; and particularly Rom_11:8-10 : God
Hath Given Them the Spirit of Slumber, Eyes that they Should not
See,and Ears that they Should not Hear; let their Eyes be Darkened,
etc. Now all this isspoken of the same people, in the same
circumstances of wilful rebellion and obstinateunbelief; and the
great God of heaven and earth is he who judicially blinds their
eyes;makes their hearts fat, i.e. stupid; gives them the spirit of
slumber: and bows down theirback, etc. On these very grounds it is
exceedingly likely that the apostle means the trueGod by the words
the god of this world.And as to the expression this world, , we are
not to imagine that itnecessarily means wicked men, or a wicked
age; for it is frequently used to express thewhole mundane system,
and all that is called time: Whosoever speaketh against the
HolyGhost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither ==, in This World,
nor in theworld to come; Mat_12:32. In Luk_20:34, the children, ,
of ThisWorld, mean simply mankind at large in their state of
probation in this lower world, inopposition to their state in the
world to come. The same meaning the word has in severalother
places, to which l need not refer; it simply implying the present
state of things,governed by the Divine providence, in
contradistinction from the eternal state: and it isvery remarkable
that, in 1Ti_1:17, God himself is called , the King ofthe World;
what we call King eternal; but here it evidently means him who
governs bothworlds, and rules in time and eternity. This character
among the Asiatics is consideredessential to God; and therefore in
the very first surat of the Koran he is called RubbiAlalameen, the
Lord of both worlds, an expression perfectly similar to that above.
But itis needless to multiply examples; they exist in abundance.
Some, and particularly theancient fathers, have connected with ,
and have read theverse: But God hath blinded the minds of the
unbelievers of this world, etc. Irenaeus,Tertullian, Chrysostom,
Theodoret, Photius, Theophylact, and Augustine, all plead forthe
above meaning; and St. Augustine says that it was the opinion of
almost all theancients. 20. Lest the light of the glorious Gospel -
They have resisted the grace which God gavethem, and have refused
to yield to the evidences which amply prove the Messiahship
ofJesus; and therefore their eyes were judicially darkened, as it
is said in the prophet: Hehath closed their eyes, and hath given
them the spirit of slumber. That is, they have shuttheir eyes
against the light, and their blindness and stupor are the
consequence.By glorious Gospel we are to understand the luminous
Gospel; that which comes withso much light and evidence to every
candid mind.Who is the image of God - Christ is called, Heb_1:3,
the brightness of Gods glory,and the express image of his person.
See the note at Heb_1:3.3. Gill, In whom the god of this world hath
blinded,.... The description of thepersons to whom the Gospel is
hid, is here further carried on; in which the character ofSatan is
given, who is here styled the god of this world; just as he is by
Christ, theprince of this world, Joh_12:31 not because he had any
hand in the making of it, or hasany concern in the government of
it, or in the disposal of men or things in it; but becauseof his
influence over the worst, and greatest part of the world; which
lies in wickedness,under the power of this wicked one, being led
captive by him at his will; who havevoluntarily given themselves up
to him, and whose lusts they will do; and so declarethemselves to
be his children, and him their Father, yea, their god: the
influence he hasover them is, hehath blinded the minds of them that
believe not. The apostle here seems to referto one of the devils,
which the Jews (l) frequently speak of
,Samael;whotheysayistheheadofallthedevils;averymalignantspirit,andwhodeceivedourfirstparents;thewordiscompoundedof
,god,and ,toblind;himtheycalltheangelofdeath,andsay(m),thathehath
,broughtdarknessuponthefaceoftheworld,orthecreatures,theGentiles:agreeablytowhichtheapostlecallsthedevil,thegodthathathblinded;whatheblindsinmen,istheirmind:themoreexcellentandknowingpartofman;nottheeyesoftheirbodies,butoftheirunderstandings;whichshowsthenearaccessSatanhastothesoulsofmen;hepenetratesintotheirveryheartsandminds,andhasaninfluencethere:thepersonswhosemindsheblinds,arethosewhobelievenot;whichdistinguishesthemfromothersthatperish,whoneverenjoyedtheGospel,andthereforehesays,in,oramongwhom;andfromtruebelievers,onwhomSatancanhavenosuchinfluence;andisareasonofthesemen'sperishing,andofSatan'sinfluenceoverthem;andmustbeunderstoodofreprobates,andfinalunbelievers:theinfluencehehasoverthemisexpressedbyblindingthem;whichhedoes,bydivertingthemfromhearingtheGospel,andbystirringuptheenmityoftheirmindsagainstit,andbyincreasingtheirnaturaldarknessandblindnesswithrespecttoit.TheendwhichSatanhasindoingthisis,lllleeeesssstttttttthhhheeeelllliiiigggghhhhttttoooofffftttthhhheeeegggglllloooorrrriiiioooouuuussssGGGGoooossssppppeeeellllooooffffCCCChhhhrrrriiiisssstttt,,,,wwwwhhhhooooiiiisssstttthhhheeeeiiiimmmmaaaaggggeeeeooooffffGGGGoooodddd,,,,sssshhhhoooouuuullllddddsssshhhhiiiinnnneeeeuuuunnnnttttoooo
21.
tttthhhheeeemmmm;heremanythingsarehinted,incommendationoftheGospel,asthatitistheGospelofChrist;becausehewasnotonlythegreatestandbestpreacherofitthateverwas,butalsoistheauthorandsubjectofit;ChrististhesumandsubstanceoftheGospel,theprincipalthinginit,orpersonthatisspokenoftherein;andthenChristwhoisthegrandsubjectoftheGospelisdescribed,inordertorecommenditthemore,astheimageofGod.TheJews(n)calltheMessiah,
,theimageofGod;somecopies,andtheComplutensionedition,andtheArabicversion,read,theimageoftheinvisibleGod,asinCol_1:15.SoChristisastheSonofGod,beingthenatural,substantial,essential,eternal,notcreated,andperfectimageofhisFather;andsoheisasmanandMediator:further,theGospelissaidtobethegloriousGospelofChrist,asitmustneedsbe,sinceitsoclearlyandillustriouslysetsforththegloryofChrist;containssuchgloriousdoctrinesandpromisesinit,andisattendedwithsuchgloriouseffects,whereitcomeswithpower:addtoallthis,thatlightisattributedtoit;theJews(o)speakofthelightofthelaw,andthelawiscalledlight;andsay,that
,thereisnolightbutthelaw;butthismaybemoretrulysaidoftheGospel,bywhichnotonlypersonsmaybenotionallyenlightened,whoneverweremadereallypartakersofthegraceofGod,butisthemeansofspiritualandsavingilluminationtothousands,whenitisattendedwiththedemonstrationoftheSpirit:nowalltheseexcellentcharactersoftheGospelservetoenhancethespiteandmaliceofSatan,inendeavouringallhecantokinderthebrightshiningofthisgloriousGospel,toanduponanyofthesonsofmen;andhisreasonforsodoingis,becauseheknows,thatshouldtheGospelshineuntothem,theinterestandgloryofChristwouldbeadvanced,andhisownwoulddecline.4.
Henry, The god of this world hath blinded their minds, 2Co_4:4.
They are under theinfluence and power of the devil, who is here
called the god of this world, and elsewherethe prince of this
world, because of the great interest he has in this world, the
homagethat is paid to him by multitudes in this world, and the
great sway that, by divinepermission, he bears in the world, and in
the hearts of his subjects, or rather slaves. Andas he is the
prince of darkness, and ruler of the darkness of this world, so he
darkens theunderstandings of men, and increases their prejudices,
and supports his interest bykeeping them in the dark, blinding
their minds with ignorance, and error, andprejudices, that they
should not behold the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who
isthe image of God. Observe, (1.) Christ's design by his gospel is
to make a gloriousdiscovery of God to the minds of men. Thus, as
the image of God, he demonstrates thepower and wisdom of God, and
the grace and mercy of God for their salvation. But, (2.)The design
of the devil is to keep men in ignorance; and, when he cannot keep
the lightof the gospel out of the world, he makes it his great
business to keep it out of the heartsof men. 22. 5. Jamison, In
whom Translate, In whose case.god of this world The worldly make
him their God (Phi_3:19). He is, in fact, theprince of the power of
the air, the spirit that ruleth in the children of
disobedience(Eph_2:2).minds understandings: mental perceptions, as
in 2Co_3:14.them which believe not the same as them that are lost
(or are perishing).Compare 2Th_2:10-12. South quaintly says, when
the malefactors eyes are covered, heis not far from his execution
(Est_7:8). Those perishing unbelievers are not merelyveiled, but
blinded (2Co_3:14, 2Co_3:15): Greek, not blinded, but
hardened.light of the glorious gospel of Christ Translate, The
illumination (enlightening:the propagation from those already
enlightened, to others of the light) of the Gospel ofthe glory of
Christ. The glory of Christ is not a mere quality (as glorious
wouldexpress) of the Gospel; it is its very essence and subject
matter.image of God implying identity of nature and essence
(Joh_1:18; Col_1:15; Heb_1:3). He who desires to see the glory of
God, may see it in the face of Jesus Christ(2Co_4:6; 1Ti_6:14-16).
Paul here recurs to 2Co_3:18. Christ is the image of God, intowhich
same image we, looking on it in the mirror of the Gospel, are
changed by theSpirit; but this image is not visible to those
blinded by Satan [Alford].5B. Vincent, The God of this world (o
qeov tou aiwnov toutou). Thephrase occurs only here. Compare Eph.
ii. 2 ; vi. 12 ; John xii. 31 ; xiv. 30 . Satanis called God in the
rabbinical writings.The first God is the true God ; but the second
God is Samuel. The matron said, 'OurGod is greater than thy God ;
for when thy God appeared to Moses in the bush , he hidhis face;
when, however, he saw the serpent , which is my God , he fled.' The
light (tonfwtismon). Only here and ver. 6. Lit., the illumination,
act of enlightening.Image of God . Compare Col. i. 15 ; John xvii.
5 ; Philip. ii. 6 ; iii. 21 . Christ 's light isalso God 's.
Compare Heb. i. 3 , Rev., effulgence (ajpaugasma, compare aujgasai
shine, inthis passage). Theodoret says: The effulgence is both from
the fire and with the fire ,and has the fire as its cause, yet is
not divided from the fire ; for whence comes the fire ,thence also
comes the effulgence.Shine (augasai). Only here in the New
Testament. From aujgh brightness,which also occurs but once, Acts
xx. 11 , daybreak. In classical Greek of the sunespecially. Rev.,
dawn is legitimate as a translation, but hardly here, since Paul is
goingback to the figure of ch. iii. 18.6. John Piper, Our Condition
Without ChristLook with me at todays text from 2 Corinthians 4.
Start with the condition people are inwithout Christ. Verse 4: In
their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of
theunbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of
the glory of Christ, who isthe image of God. People who dont
believe in Christ are blind. They cant see Christ assupremely
valuable, and so they wont receive him as their Treasure and so
they are notsaved. A work of God is needed in their lives to open
their eyes and give them life so theycan see and receive Christ as
Savior and Lord and Treasure of their lives. That work of 23. God
is called new birth.The Solution: ew BirthThen look at the solution
to this condition of blindness and perishing. Verse 6: For God,who
said, Let light shine out of darkness, has shone in our hearts to
give the light of theknowledge of the glory of God in the face of
Jesus Christ. This is a description of thenew birth, even though
that term is not used. The God who created light in the
beginningdoes the same thing in the human heart. Only the light
this time is not physical light, butthe light of the knowledge of
the glory of God in the face of Christ. Or as verse 4 callsit the
light of the gospel of the glory of Christ who is the image of
God.He causes the human heart to see the truth and beauty and worth
of Christthe glory ofChrist. And when we see him for who he really
is, we receive him for who he is. And toas many as received him he
gave power to become the children of God (John 1:12).Thats what we
want for our childrenat six or sixteen or twenty-sixand for
ourparents and our spouses and our neighbors and colleagues and our
friends at school. Wewant the light to shine in their hearts so
they see and receive Christ. We want them to beborn again.The Human
Means God Uses: Gospel-TellingThen, third, look at the human means
God uses to make this happen. Verse 5: What weproclaim is not
ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your
servants forJesus sake. Pauls role was to proclaim Christ from a
heart of love and a life of service.That proclamation is called the
gospel in verse 3: Even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiledonly
to those who are perishing. Its the gospel that spiritually blind
people cant see andspiritually deaf people cant hear. So our answer
to the question, What should we do tohelp people be born again? is:
Tell them the good news of Christ from a heart of loveand a life of
service.In Acts 26, Paul is telling King Agrippa about his
conversion and his call to the ministry.He reports the spectacular
encounter with Christ on the Damascus Road. Then he reportsthe
commission that Christ gave him. Its the words of the commission
that are soamazing and relevant for our concern with evangelism.He
tells us in versed 15-17 what Jesus told him: I am Jesus whom you
are persecuting.But rise and stand upon your feet, for I have
appeared to you for this purpose, to appointyou as a servant and
witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those
inwhich I will appear to you, delivering you from your people and
from the Gentilestowhom I am sending you . . . . Now listen
carefully to what Jesus says he is sending Paulto do in his
gospel-telling ministry. Verse 18: I am sending you to open their
eyes, sothat they may turn from darkness to light and from the
power of Satan to God, that theymay receive forgiveness of sins and
a place among those who are sanctified by faith inme.According to 2
Corinthians 4, people are spiritually blind until God gives them
eyes tosee, that is, until God causes them to be born again. But
here Jesus says in verse 18, I am 24. sending you to open their
eyes. The point is not hard to see. God opens the eyes of theblind
to see the truth and beauty and worth of Christ. But he does by
sending people totell the good news from hearts of love and lives
of service.That is what I find myself praying or more and more.
Lord, fill our church with a passionto open the eyes of the blind.
Fill us with a passion to do what God uses to bring aboutthe new
birth. I say to you what Jesus said to Paul in Acts 26:18: I send
you to open theireyes. Dont stop because you cant. Of course you
cant. But the fact that you cant makeelectricity or create light
never stops you from flipping light switches. The fact that youcant
create fire in cylinders never stops you from turning the car key.
The fact that youcant create cell tissue never stops you from
eating your meals. So dont let the fact thatyou cant cause the new
birth stop you from telling the gospel. That is how people areborn
againthrough the living and abiding word, the good news of Jesus
Christ.7. Spurgeon, It was not hidden under fine language and
oratoricalflourishes on the part of the apostles; there was a far
more terrible barrierin the way of its entrance into the hearts of
some who heard it.It is not hidden under the flowers of our
oratory, not hidden under thedarkness of our speech, not hidden
through the fog of our philosophies; ifto them it be hidden at all,
it is hidden tttooo ttthhheeemmm tttthhhhaaaatttt aaaarrrreeee
lllloooosssstttt.... If they had anyspiritual perception or
apprehension at all, if they were not utterly lost toeverything:
that is spiritual, they would be able to receive the gospel thatwe
are bidden to preach, and which therefore becomes oooouuuurrrr
ggggoooossssppppeeeellll.... 3-4Without light from above, no man
can perceive the beauties either of thegospel or of Christ himself.
Until God the Holy Spirit sheds a spiritual lightupon the person,
and offices, and work of Christ, men grope in the dark asblind men
do. They see not the truth, they are not persuaded of
itsexcellence; our ministry is to them a veiled ministry, they do
notcomprehend it. Let those who receive not the gospel see what a
miserablestate theirs is, they are blinded by tttthhhheeee
ggggoooodddd ooooffff tttthhhhiiiissss wwwwoooorrrrlllldddd.... He
has suchsupremacy over their intellects that he has utterly
perverted and ruinedthem.The light of the gospel is so glorious and
bright that it is only hidden fromthose who have been blinded by
Satan, tttthhhheeee ggggoooodddd ooooffff tttthhhhiiiissss
wwwwoooorrrrlllldddd.... The onlyhope for them is to believe in
Jesus who can give sight to the spirituallyblind as easily as he
gave sight to the physically blind when he was here inthe flesh.
25. 8. Calvin, Whose minds the god of this world He intimates, that
no account shouldbe made of their perverse obstinacy. They do not
see, says he, the sun at mid-day,because the devil has blinded
their understandings. o one that judges rightlycan have any doubt,
that it is of Satan that the Apostle speaks. Hilary, as he had todo
with Arians, who abused this passage, so as to make it a pretext
for denyingChrists true divinity, while they at the same time
confessed him to be God, twiststhe text in this way God hath
blinded the understandings of this world. In thishe was afterwards
followed by Chrysostom, with the view of not conceding to
theManicheans their two first principles. 437437 The Manicheans, so
called fromManes their founder, held the doctrine of two first
principles, a good and an evil,thinking to account in this way for
the origin of evil. See Calvins Institutes, volume1 Ed. What
influenced Ambrose does not appear. Augustine had the same reasonas
Chrysostom, having to contend with the Manicheans.We see what the
heat of controversy does in carrying on disputes. Had all those
mencalmly read Pauls words, it would never have occurred to any one
of them to twistthem in this way into a forced meaning; but as they
were harassed by theiropponents, they were more concerned to refute
them, than to investigate Paulsmeaning. But what occasion was there
for this? For the subterfuge of the Arians waschildish that if the
devil is called the god of this world, the name of God, asapplied
to Christ, does not express a true, eternal, and exclusive
divinity. For Paulsays elsewhere, many are called gods, (1
Corinthians 8:5;) but David, on the otherhand, sings forth the gods
of the nations are demons. 438438 Les dieux desGentils sont
diables; The gods of the Gentiles are devils. Calvin here, as
inmany other instances, quotes according to the sense, not
according to the words. Thepassage referred to is rendered by
Calvin All the gods of the nations arevanities, (ou, idoles, or
idols,) the Hebrew word being, as he notices, ,(elilim,) mere
nothings, (1 Corinthians 8:4,) instead of , (elohim,) gods.
(SeeCalvin on the Psalms, vol. 4, pp. 50, 51.) There can be no
doubt that Calvin, inquoting this passage here, has an eye to what
is stated by Paul in 1 Corinthians10:20. Ed. (Psalm 96:5.) When,
therefore, the devil is called the god of thewicked, on the ground
of his having dominion over them, and being worshipped bythem in
the place of God, what tendency has this to detract from the honor
ofChrist? And as to the Manicheans, this appellation gives no more
countenance to theManicheans, than when he is called the prince of
this world. (John 14:30.) 439439Calvin, when commenting on the
passage referred to, remarks, that the devil iscalled the prince of
this world, not because he has a kingdom separated from God,(as the
Manicheans imagined,) but because, by Gods permission, he exercises
histyranny over the world. Calvin on John, volume 2. Ed.There is,
therefore, no reason for being afraid to interpret this passage as
referringto the devil, there being no danger in doing so. For
should the Arians come forwardand contend, 440440 Tant quils
voudront; As much as they please thatChrists divine essence is no
more proved from his having the appellation God 26. applied to him,
than Satans is proved from its being applied to him, a cavil of
thisnature is easily refuted; for Christ is called God without any
addition, 441441Calvin obviously means by this clause without
anything being added having atendency to qualify or limit the
appellation. In accordance with this he says in theInstitutes,
(volume 1,) that the title, God, is not conferred on any man
withoutsome addition, as when it is said that Moses would be a god
to Pharaoh. (Exodus7:1.) Ed. nay, he is called God blessed for
ever. (Romans 9:5.) He is said to bethat God who wasin the
beginning, before the creation of the world.(John 1:1-3.)The devil,
on the other hand, is called the god of this world, in no other way
than asBaal is called the god of those that worship him, or as the
dog is called the god ofEgypt. 442442 A variety of animals, besides
the dog, were worshipped by theEgyptians, and even some vegetable
substances, growing in their gardens, wereadored by them as
deities! Calvin, when commenting on 1 Corinthians 8:5, speaks ofthe
Egyptians as having rendered divine homage to the ox, the serpent,
the cat, theonion, the garlic. Calvin on Corinthians, vol. 1, p.
277. Ed. The Manicheans,as I have said, for maintaining their
delusion, have recourse to other declarations ofScripture, as well
as this, but there is no difficulty in refuting those also.
Theycontend not so much respecting the term, as respecting the
power. As the power ofblinding is ascribed to Satan, and dominion
over unbelievers, they conclude fromthis that he is, from his own
resources, the author of all evil, so as not to be subjectto Gods
control as if Scripture did not in various instances declare, that
devils,no less than the angels of heaven, are servants of God, each
of them severally in hisown manner. For, as the latter dispense to
us Gods benefits for our salvation, so theformer execute his wrath.
Hence good angels are called powers and principalities,(Ephesians
3:10,) but it is simply because they exercise the power given them
byGod. For the same reason Satan is the prince of this world, not
as if he conferreddominion upon himself, or obtained it by his own
right, or, in fine, exercised it at hisown pleasure. On the
contrary, he has only so much as the Lord allows him.
HenceScripture does not merely make mention of the good spirit of
God, and good angels,but he also speaks of evil spirits of God. An
evil spirit from God came upon Saul. (1Samuel 16:14.) Again,
chastisements through means of evil angels. (Psalm 78:49.)With
respect to the passage before us, the blinding is a work common to
God and toSatan, for it is in many instances ascribed to God; but
the power is not alike, nor isthe manner the same. I shall not
speak at present as to the manner. Scripture,however, teaches that
Satan blinds men, 443443 Les reprouuez; Thereprobate. not merely
with Gods permission, but even by his command, that hemay execute
his vengeance. Thus Ahab was deceived by Satan, (1 Kings 22:21,)
butcould Satan have done this of himself? By no means; but having
offered to God his 27. services for inflicting injury, he was sent
to be alying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.(1 Kings
22:22.)ay more, the reason why God is said to blind men is, that
after having deprived usof the right exercise of the understanding,
and the light of his Spirit, he delivers usover to the devil, to be
hurried forward by him to a reprobate mind, (Romans 1:28,)gives him
the power of deception, and by this means inflicts just vengeance
upon usby the minister of his wrath. Pauls meaning, therefore, is,
that all are possessed bythe devil, who do not acknowledge his
doctrine to be the sure truth of God. For it ismore severe to call
them slaves of the devil, 444444 The god of this world. O thatwe
could consider this, according to what it doth import and carry in
it of horrorand detestableness! It is a thing that we do not yet
believe, that a world inhabited byreasonable creatures, Gods own
offspring, is universally fallen into a confederacyand combination
with another god, with an enemy god, an adversary god,against the
living and true God! Men have changed their God. And what a
fearfulchoice have they made! Fallen into a league with those
wicked creatures that wereweary of his government before, and that
were, thereupon, thrown down into anabyss of darkness, and bound up
in the chains thereof, unto the judgment of thegreat day. But doth
the Scripture say this in vain? or hath it not a meaning when
itcalls the devil the god of this world? O with what amazement
should it strike ourhearts, to think that so it is, that the whole
order of creatures is gone off from God,and fallen into a
confederacy with the devil and his angels, against their
rightfulsovereign Lord. Howes Works. (London, 1834.) p. 1206. Ed.
than to ascribetheir blindness to the judgment of God. As, however,
he had a little before adjudgedsuch persons to destruction, (2
Corinthians 4:3,) he now adds that they perish, forno other reason
than that they have drawn down ruin upon themselves, as the
effectof their own unbelief.Lest the light of the glorious gospel
of Christ should shine upon them. This serves toconfirm what he had
said that if any one rejected his gospel, it was his ownblindness
that prevented him from receiving it. For nothing, says he, appears
init but Christ, and that not obscurely, but so as to shine forth
clearly. He adds, thatChrist is the image of God, by which he
intimates that they were utterly devoid ofthe knowledge of God, in
accordance with that statement He that knoweth not me knoweth not
my Father.(John 14:7.)This then is the reason, why he pronounced so
severe a sentence upon those that haddoubts as to his Apostleship
because they did not behold Christ, who might there 28. be
distinctly beheld. It is doubtful whether he employed the
expression, the gospel ofthe glory of Christ, as meaning the
glorious gospel, agreeably to the Hebrew idiom;or whether he means
by it the gospel, in which Christs glory shone forth. Thesecond of
these meanings I rather prefer, as having in it more
completeness.When, however, Christ is called the image of the
invisible God, this is not meantmerely of his essence, as being the
co-essential of the Father, as they speak, 445445Calvin manifestly
refers to an expression made use of by the Council of ice, A.D.325,
to express unity of essence in the first and second persons of the
Trinity, theSon having been declared to be co-essential with the
Father.It had been used in the same sense by some writers before
the meeting of theCouncil. It is remarkable, however, that it had
been rejected by the Council ofAntioch, A.D. 263, on account of the
inference which Paul of Samosata pretended todraw from it, namely,
that if Christ and the Spirit were consubstantial with theFather,
it followed that there were three substances one prior and two
posterior derived from it. To guard against this inference, the
Council declared that theSon was not (consubstantial with the
Father.) Paul (ofSamosata) seems to have explained the term as
signifying specific, or of the samespecies; and it is certain that
this sense had sometimes been given to it. ThusAristotle calls the
stars meaning that they were all of the same nature. Butin the
creed of ice it is expressive of unity of essence, and was adopted,
afterconsiderable discussion, as proper to be opposed to the
Arians, who affirmed thatthe essence of the Son was different and
separate from the Father. DicksTheology, volume 2. The reader will
also find the same expression largely treated ofby Calvin in the
Institutes, volume 1 1. See also Institutes, volume 2, and Calvinon
John, vol. 1, p. 417. Ed. but rather has a reference to us, because
he representsthe Father to us. The Father himself is represented as
invisible, because he is inhimself not apprehended by the human
understanding. He exhibits himself,however, to us by his Son, and
makes himself in a manner visible. 446446 Christis the image of
God, as a child is the image of his father; not in regard of
theindividual property which the Father hath distinct from the
child, and the childfrom the father, but in respect of the same
substance and nature, derived from thefather by generation. Christ
is here called the image of God, (2 Corinthians 4:4,)not so much,
saith Calvin, in relation to God, as the Father is the exemplar of
hisbeauty and excellency, as in relation to us, as he represents
the Father to us in theperfections of his nature, as they respect
us and our welfare, and renders him visibleto the eyes of our
minds. Charnocks Works, (Lond. 1684,) volume 2, p. 476. Ed. I state
this, because the ancients, having been greatly incensed against
theArians, insisted more than was befitting on this point how it is
that the Son isinwardly the image of the Father by a secret unity
of essence, while they passed overwhat is mainly for edification in
what respects he is the image of God to us, whenhe manifests to us
what had otherwise been hid in him. Hence the term image has
areference to us, as we shall see again presently 447447 See on
verse 6. The epithetinvisible, though omitted in some Greek
manuscripts, I have preferred to retain, asit is not superfluous.
448448 Three manuscripts (as stated by Poole in hisSynopsis) have
(invisible,) but it is generally believed to have been an 29.
interpolation from Colossians 1:15. Ed.5 For what we preach is not
ourselves, but JesusChrist as Lord, and ourselves as your servants
forJesus sake.1. Barnes, For we preach not ourselves - The
connection here is not very apparent,and the design of this verse
has been variously understood. The connection seems to me