4 in whom the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that the light of the Good News of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should not dawn on them.
*Minor differences ignored. Grouped by changes, with first version listed as example.
Whose minds the god of this world He intimates, that no account should be made of their perverse obstinacy. "They do not see," says he, "the sun at mid-day, because the devil has blinded their understandings." No one that judges rightly can have any doubt, that it is of Satan that the Apostle speaks. Hilary, as he had to do with Arians, who abused this passage, so as to make it a pretext for denying Christ's true divinity, while they at the same time confessed him to be God, twists the text in this way -- "God hath blinded the understandings of this world." In this he was afterwards followed by Chrysostom, with the view of not conceding to the Manicheans their two first principles. [1] What influenced Ambrose does not appear. Augustine had the same reason as Chrysostom, having to contend with the Manicheans. We see what the heat of controversy does in carrying on disputes. Had all those men calmly read Paul's words, it would never have occurred to any one of them to twist them in this way into a forced meaning; but as they were harassed by their opponents, they were more concerned to refute them, than to investigate Paul's meaning. But what occasion was there for this? For the subterfuge of the Arians was childish -- that if the devil is called the god of this world, the name of God, as applied to Christ, does not express a true, eternal, and exclusive divinity. For Paul says elsewhere, many are called gods, (1-Corinthians 8:5;) but David, on the other hand, sings forth -- the gods of the nations are demons. [2] (Psalm 96:5.) When, therefore, the devil is called the god of the wicked, on the ground of his having dominion over them, and being worshipped by them in the place of God, what tendency has this to detract from the honor of Christ? And as to the Manicheans, this appellation gives no more countenance to the Manicheans, than when he is called the prince of this world. (John 14:30.) [3] There is, therefore, no reason for being afraid to interpret this passage as referring to the devil, there being no danger in doing so. For should the Arians come forward and contend, [4] that Christ's divine essence is no more proved from his having the appellation God applied to him, than Satan's is proved from its being applied to him, a cavil of this nature is easily refuted; for Christ is called God without any addition, [5] nay, he is called God blessed for ever. (Romans 9:5.) He is said to be that God who was in 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 as Baal is called the god of those that worship him, or as the dog is called the god of Egypt. [6] The Manicheans, as I have said, for maintaining their delusion, have recourse to other declarations of Scripture, as well as this, but there is no difficulty in refuting those also. They contend not so much respecting the term, as respecting the power. As the power of blinding is ascribed to Satan, and dominion over unbelievers, they conclude from this that he is, from his own resources, the author of all evil, so as not to be subject to God's 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 his own manner. For, as the latter dispense to us God's benefits for our salvation, so the former 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 by God. For the same reason Satan is the prince of this world, not as if he conferred dominion upon himself, or obtained it by his own right, or, in fine, exercised it at his own pleasure. On the contrary, he has only so much as the Lord allows him. Hence Scripture 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. (1 Samuel 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 to Satan, for it is in many instances ascribed to God; but the power is not alike, nor is the manner the same. I shall not speak at present as to the manner. Scripture, however, teaches that Satan blinds men, [7] not merely with God's permission, but even by his command, that he may execute his vengeance. Thus Ahab was deceived by Satan, (1 Kings 22:21,) but could Satan have done this of himself? By no means; but having offered to God his services for inflicting injury, he was sent to be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. (1 Kings 22:22.) Nay more, the reason why God is said to blind men is, that after having deprived us of the right exercise of the understanding, and the light of his Spirit, he delivers us over 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 us by the minister of his wrath. Paul's meaning, therefore, is, that all are possessed by the devil, who do not acknowledge his doctrine to be the sure truth of God. For it is more severe to call them slaves of the devil, [8] than to ascribe their blindness to the judgment of God. As, however, he had a little before adjudged such persons to destruction, (2-Corinthians 4:3,) he now adds that they perish, for no other reason than that they have drawn down ruin upon themselves, as the effect of their own unbelief. Lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ should shine upon them. This serves to confirm what he had said -- that if any one rejected his gospel, it was his own blindness that prevented him from receiving it. "For nothing," says he, "appears in it but Christ, and that not obscurely, but so as to shine forth clearly." He adds, that Christ is the image of God, by which he intimates that they were utterly devoid of the 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 had doubts as to his Apostleship -- because they did not behold Christ, who might there be distinctly beheld. It is doubtful whether he employed the expression, the gospel of the glory of Christ, as meaning the glorious gospel, agreeably to the Hebrew idiom; or whether he means by it -- the gospel, in which Christ's glory shone forth. The second 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 meant merely of his essence, as being the "co-essential of the Father," as they speak, [9] but rather has a reference to us, because he represents the Father to us. The Father himself is represented as invisible, because he is in himself not apprehended by the human understanding. He exhibits himself, however, to us by his Son, and makes himself in a manner visible. [10] I state this, because the ancients, having been greatly incensed against the Arians, insisted more than was befitting on this point -- how it is that the Son is inwardly the image of the Father by a secret unity of essence, while they passed over what is mainly for edification -- in what respects he is the image of God to us, when he manifests to us what had otherwise been hid in him. Hence the term image has a reference to us, as we shall see again presently [11] The epithet invisible, though omitted in some Greek manuscripts, I have preferred to retain, as it is not superfluous. [12]
1 - The Manicheans, so called from Manes 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 Calvin's Institutes, volume 1 -- Ed.
2 - "Les dieux des Gentils sont diables;" -- "The gods of the Gentiles are devils." Calvin here, as in many other instances, quotes according to the sense, not according to the words. The passage referred to is rendered by Calvin -- "All the gods of the nations are vanities," ("ou, idoles," "or idols,") the Hebrew word being, as he notices, 'lylym, (elilim,) mere nothings, (1-Corinthians 8:4,) instead of 'lhym, (elohim,) gods. (See Calvin on the Psalms, [29]vol. 4, pp. 50, 51.) There can be no doubt that Calvin, in quoting this passage here, has an eye to what is stated by Paul in 1-Corinthians 10:20. -- Ed.
3 - Calvin, when commenting on the passage referred to, remarks, that "the devil is called the prince of this world, not because he has a kingdom separated from God, (as the Manicheans imagined,) but because, by God's permission, he exercises his tyranny over the world." -- Calvin on John, [30]volume 2. -- Ed.
4 - "Tant qu'ils voudront;" -- "As much as they please"
5 - Calvin obviously means by this clause -- without anything being added having a tendency to qualify or limit the appellation. In accordance with this he says in the Institutes, (volume 1,) that the "title," God, "is not conferred on any man without some addition, as when it is said that Moses would be a god to Pharaoh." (Exodus 7:1.) -- Ed.
6 - A variety of animals, besides the dog, were worshipped by the Egyptians, and even some vegetable substances, growing in their gardens, were adored by them as deities! Calvin, when commenting on 1-Corinthians 8:5, speaks of the Egyptians as having rendered divine homage to "the ox, the serpent, the cat, the onion, the garlic." -- Calvin on Corinthians, [31]vol. 1, p. 277. -- Ed.
7 - "Les reprouuez;" -- "The reprobate."
8 - "The god of this world. O that we could consider this, according to what it doth import and carry in it of horror and detestableness! It is a thing that we do not yet believe, that a world inhabited by reasonable creatures, God's own offspring, is universally fallen into a confederacy and 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 fearful choice have they made! Fallen into a league with those wicked creatures that were weary of his government before, and that were, thereupon, thrown down into an abyss of darkness, and bound up in the chains thereof, unto the judgment of the great day. But doth the Scripture say this in vain? or hath it not a meaning when it calls the devil the god of this world? O with what amazement should it strike our hearts, 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 rightful sovereign Lord." -- Howe's Works. (London, 1834.) p. 1206. -- Ed.
9 - Calvin manifestly refers to an expression made use of by the Council of Nice, A.D. 325, to express unity of essence in the first and second persons of the Trinity, the Son having been declared to be homoousis to Patri -- co-essential with the Father. "It had been used in the same sense by some writers before the meeting of the Council. It is remarkable, however, that it had been rejected by the Council of Antioch, A.D. 263, on account of the inference which Paul of Samosata pretended to draw from it, namely, that if Christ and the Spirit were consubstantial with the Father, it followed that there were three substances -- one prior and two posterior -- derived from it. To guard against this inference, the Council declared that the Son was not homoousios to Patri (consubstantial with the Father.) "Paul" (of Samosata) "seems to have explained the term as signifying specific, or of the same species; and it is certain that this sense had sometimes been given to it. Thus Aristotle calls the stars homoousia meaning that they were all of the same nature. But in the creed of Nice it is expressive of unity of essence, and was adopted, after considerable discussion, as proper to be opposed to the Arians, who affirmed that the essence of the Son was different and separate from the Father." -- Dick's Theology, volume 2. The reader will also find the same expression largely treated of by Calvin in the Institutes, volume 1 -- 1. See also Institutes, volume 2, and Calvin on John, [32]vol. 1, p. 417. -- Ed.
10 - "Christ is the image of God, as a child is the image of his father; not in regard of the individual property which the Father hath distinct from the child, and the child from the father, but in respect of the same substance and nature, derived from the father 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 his beauty and excellency, as in relation to us, as he represents the Father to us in the perfections of his nature, as they respect us and our welfare, and renders him visible to the eyes of our minds." -- Charnock's Works, (Lond. 1684,) volume 2, p. 476. -- Ed.
11 - See on [33]verse 6.
12 - Three manuscripts (as stated by Poole in his Synopsis) have aoratou (invisible,) but it is generally believed to have been an interpolation from Colossians 1:15. -- Ed.
In whom - In respect to whom; among whom; or in whose hearts. The design of this verse is to account for the fact that the glory of the gospel was not seen by them. It is to be traced entirely to the agency of him whom Paul here calls "the god of this world."
The god of this world - There can be no doubt that Satan is here designated by this appellation; though some of the fathers supposed that it means the true God, and Clarke inclines to this opinion. In John 12:31, he is called "the prince of this world." In Ephesians 2:2, he is called "the prince of the power of the air." And in Ephesians 6:12, the same bad influence is referred to under the names of "principalities, and powers," "the rulers of the darkness of this world," and "spiritual wickedness in high places." The name "god" is here given to him, not because he has any divine attributes, but because he actually has the homage of the people of this world as their god, as the being who is really worshipped, or who has the affections of their hearts in the same way as it is given to idols. By "this world" is meant the wicked world; or the mass of people. He has dominion over the world. They obey his will; they execute his plans; they further his purposes, and they are his obedient subjects. He has subdued the world to himself, and was really adored in the place of the true God; see the note on 1-Corinthians 10:20. "They sacrificed to devils and not to God." Here it is 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 the apostasy of man, and early brought him to follow his plans; and he has maintained his scepter and dominion since. No more abject submission could be desired by him than has been rendered by the mass of people.
(2) the idolatrous world particularly is under his control, and subject to him; 1-Corinthians 10:20. He is worshipped there; and the religious rites and ceremonies of the pagan are in general just such as a mighty being who hated human happiness, and who sought pollution, obscenity, wretchedness, and blood would appoint; and over all the pagan world his power is absolute. In the time of Paul all the world, except the Jews and Christians, was sunk in pagan degradation.
(3) he rules in the hearts and lives of all wicked people - and the world is full of wicked people. 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 and pastimes; 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 the appellation improper as descriptive of his influence, that he is the god of this world. The world pursues his plans; yields to his temptations; neglects, or rejects the reign of God as he pleases; and submits to his scepter, and is still full of abomination cruelty, and pollution, as he desires it to be.
Hath blinded the minds of them which believe not - Of all who discern no beauty in 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 2-Corinthians 2:13 note; Matthew 23:16-17, Matthew 23:26 notes; Luke 4:18 note; John 9:39; John 12:40 notes; Romans 11:7 note. The sense is, that they did not see the spiritual beauty and glory of the plan of redemption. They act in reference to that as they would in reference to this world, if a bandage were over their eyes, and they saw not the light of the sun, the beauty of the landscape, the path in which they should go, or the countenance of a friend. All is dark, and obscure, and destitute of beauty to them, however much beauty may be seen in all these objects by others.
(2) that this is done by the agency of Satan; and that his dominion is secured by keeping the world in darkness. The affirmation is direct and positive, that it is by his agency that it 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 to suppose that one intellect may, in some way unknown to us, have access to another, and have power to influence it; nor can it be proved that Satan may not have power to pervert the understanding; to derange its powers; to distract its attention; and to give in view of the mind a wholly delusive relative importance to objects. In the time of the Saviour 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 has ceased to delude and destroy them.
(b) By the false philosophy which has prevailed - a large part of which seems to have been contrived as if on purpose to deceive the world, and destroy the peace and happiness of people.
(c) By the systems of superstition and idolatry. All these seem to be under the control of one 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, and degraded; and they so uniformly accomplish this effect, that they have all the marks of being under the control of one mighty Mind, and of having been devised to accomplish His purposes over people.
(d) By producing in the minds of people a wholly disproportionate view of the value of objects. "A very small object held before the eye will shut out the light of the sun." A piece 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 with the things of this world. They are placed directly before us, and are placed directly between us and the glory of the gospel. And the trifles of wealth and of fashion; the objects of pleasure and ambition, are made to assume an importance in view of the mind which wholly excludes the glory of the gospel, and shuts out all the realities of the eternal world. And he does it:
(e) By the blinding influence of passion and vice. Before a vicious mind all is dark and obscure. There is no beauty in truth, in chastity, or honesty, or in the fear and love of God. Vice always renders the mind blind. and the heart hard, and shrouds everything in the moral world in midnight. And in order to blind the minds of people to the glory of the gospel, Satan has only to place splendid schemes of speculation before people; to tempt them to climb the steeps of ambition; to entice them to scenes of gaiety; to secure the erection of theaters, and gambling houses, and houses of infamy and pollution; to fill the cities and towns of a land with taverns and dram-shops; and to give opportunity everywhere for the full play and unrestrained indulgence of passion; and the glory of the 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 minds of people. It is because he "hates" the gospel, and wishes to prevent its influence and spread in the world Satan has always hated and opposed it, and all his arts have been employed 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 here and elsewhere applied to the gospel, because it removes the errors, and sins, and wretchedness of people, as the light of the sun scatters the shades of night. This purpose of preventing the light of the gospel shining on people, Satan will endeavor to accomplish by all the means in his power. It is his "grand" object in this world, because it is by the gospel only that people can be saved; by that that God is glorified on earth more than by anything else; and because, therefore, if he can prevent sinners from embracing that, he will secure their destruction, and most effectually show his hatred of God. And it is to Satan a matter of little importance what people "may be," or "are," provided they are not Christians. They may be amiable, moral, accomplished, rich, honored, esteemed by 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 from the gospel. Satan, therefore, will not oppose plans of gain or ambition; he will not oppose purposes of fashion and amusement; he may not oppose schemes by which we desire to rise in the world; he will not oppose the theater, the ballroom, the dance, or the song; he will not oppose thoughtless mirth; but the moment the gospel begins to shine on the benighted mind, that moment he will make resistance, and then all his power will be concentrated.
The glorious gospel - Greek 'The gospel of the glory of Christ,' a Hebraism for the glorious gospel. Mr. Locke renders it, "the glorious brightness of the light of the gospel of Christ," and supposes it means the brightness, or clearness, of the doctrine wherein Christ is manifested in the gospel. It is all light, and splendor, and beauty, compared with the dark systems of philosophy and paganism. It is glorious, for it is full of splendor; makes known the glorious God; discloses a glorious plan of salvation; and conducts ignorant, weak, and degraded man to a world of light. No two words in our language 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 divine attributes and perfections; see Colossians 1:15; and Hebrews 1:3; and,
(2) In his moral attributes as Mediator, as showing forth the glory of the Father to people. He "resembles" God, and in him we see the divine glory and perfections embodied, and shine forth.
It is from his "resemblance" to God in all respects that he is called his image; and it is through him that the divine perfections are made known to people. It is an object of special 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 people should become like God; and he hates all that has a resemblance to the great and glorious Yahweh.
In whom the god of this world, etc. - We see here that those whose minds are blinded, are they who believe not; and because they believe not, their minds continue in darkness, and are proper subjects for Satan to work on; and he deepens the darkness, and increases the hardness. But who is meant by the god of this world? It is generally answered, the same who is called the prince of this world, John 16:11. But the question recurs, who is the prince of this world? and the answer to both is, Satan. The reader will do well to consult the notes on John 12:31, and the concluding observations on John 14:30. I must own I feel considerable reluctance to assign the epithet ὁ Θεος, The God, to Satan; and were there not a rooted prejudice in favor of the common opinion, the contrary might be well vindicated, viz. that by the God of this world the supreme Being is meant, who in his judgment gave over the minds of the unbelieving Jews 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 he gives them to whomsoever he will; Matthew 4:8, Matthew 4:9. But has God ever said so? and are we 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 men's minds to God, because we sometimes forget that he is the God of justice, and may in judgment remove mercies from those that abuse them; but this is repeatedly attributed to him in the Bible, and the expression before us is quite a parallel to the following, Isaiah 6:9 : Go and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. Make the Heart of this People Fat, and Make their Ears Heavy, and Shut their Eyes; Lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, etc. And see the parallel places, Matthew 13:14, Matthew 13:15; Mark 4:12; John 12:40; and particularly Romans 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 is spoken of the same people, in the same circumstances of wilful rebellion and obstinate unbelief; 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 their back, etc. On these very grounds it is exceedingly likely that the apostle means the true God by the words the god of this world.
And as to the expression this world, αιωνος τουτου, we are not to imagine that it necessarily means wicked men, or a wicked age; for it is frequently used to express the whole mundane system, and all that is called time: Whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither εν τουτῳ τῳ αιωνι, in This World, nor in the world to come; Matthew 12:32. In Luke 20:34, the children, υἱοι του αιωνος τουτου, of This World, mean simply mankind at large in their state of probation in this lower world, in opposition to their state in the world to come. The same meaning the word has in several other 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 is very remarkable that, in 1-Timothy 1:17, God himself is called Βασιλευς των αιωνων, the King of the World; what we call King eternal; but here it evidently means him who governs both worlds, and rules in time and eternity. This character among the Asiatics is considered essential to God; and therefore in the very first surat of the Koran he is called Rubbi Alalameen, "the Lord of both worlds," an expression perfectly similar to that above. But it is needless to multiply examples; they exist in abundance. Some, and particularly the ancient fathers, have connected του αιωνος τουτου with των απιστων, and have read the verse: But God hath blinded the minds of the unbelievers of this world, etc. Irenaeus, Tertullian, Chrysostom, Theodoret, Photius, Theophylact, and Augustine, all plead for the above meaning; and St. Augustine says that it was the opinion of almost all the ancients.
Lest the light of the glorious Gospel - They have resisted the grace which God gave them, and have refused to yield to the evidences which amply prove the Messiahship of Jesus; and therefore their eyes were judicially darkened, as it is said in the prophet: He hath closed their eyes, and hath given them the spirit of slumber. That is, they have shut their 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 with so much light and evidence to every candid mind.
Who is the image of God - Christ is called, Hebrews 1:3, the brightness of God's glory, and the express image of his person. See the note at Hebrews 1:3.
In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the (d) light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the (e) image of God, should shine unto them.
(d) The light of plain and enlightening preaching, which shows forth the glory of Christ.
(e) In whom the Father sets himself forth to be seen and beheld.
In whom the god of this world hath blinded,.... The description of the persons to whom the Gospel is hid, is here further carried on; in which the character of Satan is given, who is here styled "the god of this world"; just as he is by Christ, "the prince of this world", John 12:31 not because he had any hand in the making of it, or has any concern in the government of it, or in the disposal of men or things in it; but because of 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 have voluntarily given themselves up to him, and whose lusts they will do; and so declare themselves to be his children, and him their Father, yea, their god: the influence he has over them is, he
hath blinded the minds of them that believe not. The apostle here seems to refer to one of the devils, which the Jews (l) frequently speak of "Samael"; who they say is the head of all the devils; a very malignant spirit, and who deceived our first parents; the word is compounded of "god", and "to blind"; him they call the angel of death, and say (m), that he hath , "brought darkness upon the face of the world", or the creatures, the Gentiles: agreeably to which the apostle calls the devil, "the god that hath blinded"; what he blinds in men, is "their mind": the more excellent and knowing part of man; not the eyes of their bodies, but of their understandings; which shows the near access Satan has to the souls of men; he penetrates into their very hearts and minds, and has an influence there: the persons whose minds he blinds, are those "who believe not"; which distinguishes them from others that perish, who never enjoyed the Gospel, and therefore he says, "in", or "among whom"; and from true believers, on whom Satan can have no such influence; and is a reason of these men's perishing, and of Satan's influence over them; and must be understood of reprobates, and final unbelievers: the influence he has over them is expressed by "blinding" them; which he does, by diverting them from hearing the Gospel, and by stirring up the enmity of their minds against it, and by increasing their natural darkness and blindness with respect to it. The end which Satan has in doing this is,
lest the light of the glorious Gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them; here many things are hinted, in commendation of the Gospel, as that it is the Gospel of Christ; because he was not only the greatest and best preacher of it that ever was, but also is the author and subject of it; Christ is the sum and substance of the Gospel, the principal thing in it, or person that is spoken of therein; and then Christ who is the grand subject of the Gospel is described, in order to recommend it the more, as "the image of God". The Jews (n) call the Messiah, , "the image of God"; some copies, and the Complutension edition, and the Arabic version, read, "the image of the invisible God", as in Colossians 1:15. So Christ is as the Son of God, being the natural, substantial, essential, eternal, not created, and perfect image of his Father; and so he is as man and Mediator: further, the Gospel is said to be the "glorious" Gospel of Christ, as it must needs be, since it so clearly and illustriously sets forth the glory of Christ; contains such glorious doctrines and promises in it, and is attended with such glorious effects, where it comes with power: add to all this, that "light" is attributed to it; the Jews (o) speak of the "light of the law", and the law is called light; and say, that , "there is no light but the law"; but this may be more truly said of the Gospel, by which not only persons may be notionally enlightened, who never were made really partakers of the grace of God, but is the means of spiritual and saving illumination to thousands, when it is attended with the demonstration of the Spirit: now all these excellent characters of the Gospel serve to enhance the spite and malice of Satan, in endeavouring all he can to kinder the bright shining of this glorious Gospel, to and upon any of the sons of men; and his reason for so doing is, because he knows, that should the Gospel shine unto them, the interest and glory of Christ would be advanced, and his own would decline.
(l) Targum Jonah. ben Uzziel in Genesis. iii. 6. Zohar in Genesis. fol. 37. 2. Vajikra Rabba, fol. 162. 3. Debarim Rabba, fol. 245. 3. Tzeror Hammor in Genesis. fol. 6. 2. & 7. 3. Vid. Irenaeum. adv. Haeres. l. 1. p. 136. (m) Zohar in Genesis. fol. 31. 1. Tzeror Hammor, fol. 93. 3. (n) Zohar in Genesis. fol. 31. 1. (o) Targum in Job iii. 16. T. Bab. Taanith, fol. 7. 2. Tzreor Hammor, fol. 89. 4.
In whom--Translate, "In whose case."
god of this world--The worldly make him their God (Philippians 3:19). He is, in fact, "the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that ruleth in the children of disobedience" (Ephesians 2:2).
minds--"understandings": "mental perceptions," as in 2-Corinthians 3:14.
them which believe not--the same as "them that are lost" (or "are perishing"). Compare 2-Thessalonians 2:10-12. SOUTH quaintly says, "when the malefactor's eyes are covered, he is not far from his execution" (Esther 7:8). Those perishing unbelievers are not merely veiled, but blinded (2-Corinthians 3:14-15): 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 of the glory of Christ." "The glory of Christ" is not a mere quality (as "glorious" would express) of the Gospel; it is its very essence and subject matter.
image of God--implying identity of nature and essence (John 1:18; Colossians 1:15; Hebrews 1:3). He who desires to see "the glory of God," may see it "in the face of Jesus Christ" (2-Corinthians 4:6; 1-Timothy 6:14-16). Paul here recurs to 2-Corinthians 3:18. Christ is "the image of God," into which "same image" we, looking on it in the mirror of the Gospel, are changed by the Spirit; but this image is not visible to those blinded by Satan [ALFORD].
The God of this world - What a sublime and horrible description of Satan! He is indeed the god of all that believe not, and works in them with inconceivable energy. Hath blinded - Not only veiled, the eye of their understanding. Illumination - Is properly the reflection or propagation of light, from those who are already enlightened, to others. Who is the image of God - Hence also we may understand how great is the glory of Christ. He that sees the Son, sees the Father in the face of Christ. The Son exactly exhibits the Father to us.
*More commentary available at chapter level.