Transcript

ANNOUNCER: In 2 Corinthians 4, Paul talks about a gospel that is veiled. Is this talking about the gospel of eternal salvation? Let’s think about this today, here on Grace in Focus, glad you are joining us. Grace in Focus is the radio broadcast and podcast ministry of the Grace Evangelical Society. We have a website, FaithAlone.org. We also have an online seminary. It’s called Grace Evangelical Seminary. We would love for you to apply, register and study with us. We offer an MDiv degree. And if you keep your grades up, it’s free. Find out more at FaithAlone.org. 

And now with today’s question and answer discussion, here are Ken Yates and Kathryn Wright. 

KEN: Boy, we got a hot topic question on here and it’s coming from Annette. And it came up in one of our Zoom Bible studies. Really, to be honest with you, it came up with everybody in the Bible study. We came to this question after some discussion. And it’s concerning a verse in 2 Corinthians chapter 4 verse 4. And here’s the verse. Well—

KATHRYN: Really, it’s the whole unit. It’s the whole chapter. It’s the whole book. 

KEN: It’s really verse 3 and 4. And it says, here’s what Paul says, “But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the God of this age has blinded, who do not believe lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.” 

I think it’s safe to say that universally or almost universally, these verses are taken to mean that Paul is describing his gospel that he preaches to unbelievers. When he says, for example, our gospel is veiled, that’s the gospel of eternal life. And those who are perishing are blind. And so perishing there refers to perishing in the lake of fire. And then in verse 4, Paul is describing the fact that unbelievers are blinded by Satan so they don’t understand or have not heard or are convinced it is true that they have eternal life. 

And in the Bible study, Annette and others brought up, well, that seems out of context. All in chapter 4, and you really at the end of chapter 3, Paul is talking about Christian living. For example, at the end of chapter 3, he talks about being transformed into the image of Christ from glory to glory. And that’s interesting because here’s a repetition of these words, glory that we see in 2 Corinthians 4, 3, and 4, right? And Christ—

KATHRYN: And image. 

KEN: And image. And then the other thing is, it’s strange if Paul is talking about the gospel of eternal life in 2 Corinthians 4:3-4, that he doesn’t call it that. He has a weird phrase for it, the gospel of the glory of Christ. Now, if he’s talking about what he preaches to unbeliever, that’s a strange way, especially for us in GES, right? That Satan has blinded the unbeliever to the glory of Christ when he just talked about being transformed into the glory of Christ. 

And so there’s a number of issues here, and also if you look at the beginning of chapter 4, Paul says, we have this ministry, what is this ministry? To teach how to be transformed into the image of Christ. That’s his ministry that he’s talking about, and wouldn’t that be his good news? And then he says, we do not lose heart. 

Notice the way he ends in chapter 4, in verse 16, “Therefore, we do not lose heart, though our outward man”, there’s perishing, “our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.” That’s also a reference to being transformed by the glory of Christ here, as we look at him in the Scriptures. 

KATHRYN: Also verse 17. 

KEN: Verse 17, that we are receiving a weight of glory. So at the beginning of the chapter, at the end of chapter 3, he’s talking about the glory, this good news that we can be transformed into the image of Christ. We don’t lose heart when we suffer. This is all sanctification issues. This is all Christian living issues. 

And there’s an inclusio there about not losing heart at the beginning of the chapter, verse 1, then at the end of the chapter, verse 16. But they don’t lose heart as they are teaching this to believers. So the question that Annette and others are asking is, is the good news here that we can be transformed into the image of Christ from glory to glory, and that our outer man is perishing. And there are believers who don’t believe that. Paul there at Corinth has his detractors. 

ANNOUNCER: The Grace Evangelical Society’s Seminary, GES Seminary, is getting ready for the 2025 fall semester. All classes are online. And we are now ready to receive your application. GESSeminary.org is where you apply. And if you want to begin study this fall, we must receive your application by July 29. That’s GESSeminary.org. Classroom size is limited, so let us hear from you soon. Apply now. GESSeminary.org. 

KEN: So the question then, even though this sounds very, very jarring, is when he says in verse 4, has blinded the minds of those who do not believe this good news of the glory of Christ, that he’s talking about believers who are blind. And we know from Scriptures that believers can be blind. 

KATHRYN: Spiritually blind. 

KEN: Spiritually blind to truth, to sound doctrine. Peter says it, for example. Like you were talking about it, what does Peter say? 

KATHRYN: He’s speaking about the idea of either living for this world or for the world to come, and that we can be short-sighted and blind, basically having our focus here on the world and not on the rewards and the eternal riches, the abundant entrance that the Lord is offering. 

KEN: We can be blind to that. We know in the Gospels that Jesus rebukes the disciples, for example, in Mark 8, when he goes, don’t you all see? Why are you all blind to what I’m teaching you about suffering? 

KATHRYN: Yeah, and then in Revelation John speaks, you know, when the Lord is speaking to the church at Laodicea—the church. So he’s speaking to believers. He says you all are naked, spiritually, and wretched and blind. 

KEN: And so this was a good question that Annette and others were asking. It’s like, could it be that when Paul is talking, and by the way, the word gospel, I think Bob Wilkin, for example, has written that in the letter, 1 Corinthians, anyway, if I remember correctly, the word gospel never means the gospel of eternal life. 

KATHRYN: Yeah, I’m also thinking about blindness too. We’ve talked about this. 2 Corinthians, I think, has been a pretty neglected book in terms of Free Grace writers, and just commentators. So it’s just a book that I, just hasn’t gotten a lot of love from us. And part of that is because it’s a tough book, you know, as we’ve been going through it in our study, and it feels a little disjointed, but just big picture context for a second, you know, he’s writing to believers, but he’s writing to believers who are not living righteously. 

KEN: And he’s also writing to believers there at Corinth, who, there’s a section there, a segment of the church, that are actively opposing him. 

KATHRYN: Yes, and so can we not say that they are spiritually blind? 

KEN: Or can we ask the question, can a believer who thinks, for example, that he matures spiritually by keeping the law, by keeping the commandments, that he’s blind to this glory that Paul is talking about, being transformed from one stage of glory to another as we walk by the spirit? 

KATHRYN: Yeah, I think, too, part of the problem here is, I mean, there’s so many words here, gospel and perishing and blind. But one that I think is particularly hard is this phrase that they’re blinded, “who do not believe”. 

KEN: So when it says here in 2 Corinthians 4 that they do not believe, we got to ask, what is it that they don’t believe? Is it talking about unbelievers who don’t believe in the offer of eternal life? Now, let me just say something. That’s certainly possible. Paul could be saying, even though in this whole context, he’s talking about Christian living, he’s talking about being transformed to the image of Christ, you know, maybe it would be jarring, but it seems like, yeah, maybe he could just say, hey, in our ministry, it’s the same thing for unbelievers, you know, they don’t believe. But it could also be that he’s talking about believers who don’t believe in what he’s teaching about the Christian life. And they’re blind to it. 

KATHRYN: These opposers in the church? 

KEN: Yeah, they’re legalists. And by the way, in chapter 3, he talks about the law is written on stone, and it doesn’t give life. It’s a covenant of death. And so are there believers at Corinth who were trying to live their Christian life that way, for example. And if they were, then they were blind to the things that Paul is talking about. 

And by the way, in chapter 5, he’s going to talk about the judgment seat of Christ. And so all throughout the end of chapter 3, all of chapter 4, and in chapter 5, we have Christian living, we have the judgment seat of Christ that we’re going to give an account.

And so Annette and others are asking the question, would that be what verses 3 and 4 are talking about as well? It was a very interesting study and a way to look at this chapter that most of us had never considered before because I think most people just assume that Paul is talking about the gospel of eternal life here. 

But there’s a lot of reasons to say, well, maybe there’s another option. 

KATHRYN: I know it’s the next chapter, but I just wanted to touch on that reference to the judgment seat of Christ in chapter 5. It’s interesting that he says there after that, verse 10, that “We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ”, and then he says, “knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men. But we are well known to God, and I also trust as well known to your conscience.” And so again, the context being, there are those at Corinth who are opposing Paul, but then he references the judgment seat of Christ in this idea of persuading men. Well, to be persuaded is to believe—that there are believers at Corinth who are not being persuaded to the teachings that Paul has been presenting about the judgment seat of Christ. 

KEN: And about suffering and being transformed into the image of Christ. 

KATHRYN: Exactly. And so he’s talking about trying to persuade men to these truths.

KEN: And that would be believers there not unbelievers. Well, we hope this causes everyone to look at that passage a little bit closer no matter what position you take on it and until we meet again, remember, keep grace in focus. 

ANNOUNCER: Read many from our library of thousands of free magazine and journal articles online at faithalone.org/resources. That’s faithalone.org. Did you miss an episode of Grace in Focus that you really wanted to hear? Just come to faithalone.org That’s faithalone.org. We have all our past episodes right there on the site. Our team is really great about answering questions, comments, and feedback. If you’ve got some, we hope to hear from you. Let me give you our email address so you can do just that. It’s radio@faithalone.org. That’s radio@aithalone.org. 

Well, we thank you for joining us Monday through Friday this week. We hope you have a great weekend. Come back and join us again on Monday and until then, let’s keep grace in focus.