Corinthians 4: 3- 4 Commentary . This epithet (a characterizing phrase occurring in place of the name) refers to . As discussed below God has granted Satan temporary . To be sure, Satan has very real power and authority but he can only do what the Lord permits (eg see Job 1: 6, 7, 8, 9 1. John Mac. Arthur rightly reminds us that although Paul uses the same Greek word theos here to describe the devil, the truth is that.. Satan, of course, is not a god but a created being. He is called a god because his deluded followers serve him as if he were one. Satan is the archetype of all the false gods in all the false religions he has spawned. June Tabor - Apples (Topic) It's back to the alpha-rich 'apple-ations' (sic!) for June with this magnificent new collection, and straight to my year's A-list it goes too. Brother Nathanael April 4, 2013 @ 7:31 pm. Dear Real Jew News Family, I am the ONLY ONE who has the guts to call out the JEWS as the real bosses of. When I organized the Cancer & Theology guest blog series in the spring of 2012, I had a very clear idea of what I hoped to get out of it. In the original introductory. Articles; Sermons; Books; Ask Pastor John. Listen to John Piper answer tough theological and pastoral questions. Watch John Piper mark the text on. Chicago: Moody Pressor. Logosor. Wordsearch)Guzik has a helpful note warning that.. The Biblical truth that Satan is the god of this age can be understood in a wrong way. Some later Christians (like the Manichaeans) promoted a dualistic understanding of God and Satan, and emphasized this phrase the god of this age. Their idea was that God and Satan were . In reaction to these false doctrines, many early Christian commentators (like Augustine, Origen, Chrysostom and others) interpreted this verse strangely to . Just because some one twists a truth one way, it doesn. And the devil said to Him, . The spiritual dynamic Paul describes here in 2. Co 4: 4 is essentially the antithesis (direct opposite) of his own personal experience, for in the present passage, instead of opening the eyes of the mind, Satan blinds their mind and their spiritual vision, leaving their physical vision intact. The upshot (final effect) is that these unbelievers (whose unbelief precedes their being blinded) are rendered incapable of seeing (comprehending) the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ. The passive sense means to go blind, to be blinded, to be unable to see clearly. The figurative sense means to be unable to . The things of God are perceived not by observation and inquiry, but by revelation and illumination (Mt 1. Co 1: 2. 1; 2. Pe 1: 1. Peter deems those who fail increasingly to exhibit diligence in pursuit of spiritual virtue as blind or nearsighted (2. Pe 1: 9- note). And the exalted Lord of the church views the lukewarm but haughty Laodicean church as wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked (Re 3: 1. Spiritual blindness, then, refers in some instances to the inability of unbelievers to comprehend spiritual truth, specifically failure to recognize the true identity of the Incarnate Word, Jesus Christ (Jn 1: 1, 1. It is vital, therefore, to conduct all Christian witness in dependence on the Holy Spirit(Ac. Who works to counteract the cataracts of Satan and to reveal the truth of God (cp Lk 2. Ac. 16: 1. 4, 2. 6: 1. But spiritual blindness can also afflict believers who fail to perceive their true spiritual condition. To avoid the plague of spiritual blindness and escape the condemnation of leading others into spiritual ruin, believers must be quick to appropriate and obey the Word of God. The barbaric custom of blinding for revenge or punishment is well attested. There are only 3 uses (2. Co 4: 4, Jn 1. 2: 4. Jn 2: 1. 1) of tuphloo in the NT and all are used with the figurative meaning referring to blinding of one's ability to understand something. Then John quoted Is 6: 9,1. Israel as a whole was unable to believe (Jn 1. Jn 1. 2: 3. 9 teaches that it is possible to harden one's heart to the point that he cannot believe. S Lewis Johnson Sermons on 2 Corinthians The Links Below Include Transcripts (Pdf, MS Word) and Audios: 2 Corinthians 1:1-2 Paul and the Church at Corinth. The Healing Power of Jesus Christ — Acts 3:1-10 Posted by Paul Apple on Oct 4, 2010 in Christian The corollary caution is because of this danger, we must believe while there is still light. Israel as a nation (excepting the believing remnant) had repeatedly rejected God. John Mac. Arthur adds that . Ultimately, before God, we get what we want, and those who push Jesus away will not have to endure eternity with Him. God blinded the eyes of the people of Israel and hardened their hearts. He did not do this at first, but only after they had closed their eyes and hardened their own hearts. As a result of Israel. Believer's Bible Commentary: Thomas Nelsonor. Logos)I love Warren Wiersbe summarization of Jn 1. The key word in this section is believe; it is used eight times (in Jn 1. First, John explained the unbelief of the people. They wouldnot believe (John 1. John 1. 2: 3. 9); and they shouldnot believe (John 1. Victoror. Wordsearch)1. Jn 2: 1. 1 But the one who hates (present tense = habitual conduct) his brother is (present tense = continually) in the darkness and walks (present tense = habitual conduct) in the darkness, and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes. Wuest comments: The penalty of living in the darkness is not merely that one does not see, but that one goes blind. The neglected faculty is atrophied. Compare the mole, the crustacea in the Mammoth Cave of Kentucky. Commenting on the words . When the darkness overtook, it blinded. The blindness is no new state into which he has come. Habitually conducting (present tense = habitual conduct) one. Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: Eerdmansor. Logosor. Wordsearch)J Vernon Mc. Gee agrees: My friend, John has given here a tremendous statement: . If you are hating your brother, you are dwelling in (the kingdom of) darkness (cp Jn 3: 1. If you are loving your brother, you are dwelling in (the kingdom of) light (cp the . There is further irony in the Jews being referred to as typhlos (Jn 9: 3. Ro 2: 1. 9- note). Jesus directly confronts the Jews with their typhlos of unbelief, declaring that they are blind guides of the blind (Mt 1. For they were unmoved by it. To them, therefore, the Gospel was veiled. And, since the truth was set plainly before them, the hindrance to sight was not in the Word but in the hearts of those who did not believe it. By not seeing the image set before them they proved themselves incapable of seeing it. And their blindness was so unnatural that it must have been inflicted. And it could be a work only of the enemy of the race. Since the blinded ones were wholly occupied with things of the present life and were thus prevented from beholding the Gospel light, Paul says that they were blinded by the God of this age. And, since the inevitable result of their blindness was that they were unable to see the light which shines forth from Him who reveals to men the face of God, he properly speaks of this as the dire purpose of the blindness inflicted by their foe. This blindness was wrought, not only by Satan, but by God: as is taught expressly in 2. Th 2: 9 1. 0 1. 1 1. Ro 1. 1: 8; Jn 1. In just punishment God surrenders to the cruelty of Satan those who reject the Gospel, that He may destroy their capacity for receiving it. This dual source of spiritual insensibility is illustrated in 2. Sa 2. 4: 1 and 1. Chr 2. 1: 1. The blindness is also attributed to the word, and to those who preach it: Is 6: 1. Mk 4: 1. 1 1. 2. For Christ, who raises the dead, gives sight (Lk 4: 1. But the blindness and death are such as no earthly power can save from. Yet in our deepest darkness we know the direction of the light. And, as we turn towards it, the light of life by its creative power gives eyes to the blind. Co 4: 4 describes the problem; 2. Co 4: 6 describes the remedy. These two verses are a description of the condition of all people before conversion, and what happens in conversion to bring about salvation. More than any part of the Bible that I know of, the connections between 2 Corinthians 4: 4 and 2. Corinthians 4: 6 shed light on the ultimate meaning of good in the term good news. Let. The fact that Paul does not mention the facts of Christ. They remain the historical core of the gospel. There is no gospel without the declaration of Christ crucified for sinners and risen from the dead (1. Co 1. 5: 1 2 3 4). This is not incidental to the gospel. The gospel would not be good news if it did not reveal the glory of Christ for us to see and savor. It is the glory of Christ that finally satisfies our soul. We are made for Christ, and Christ died so that every obstacle would be removed that keeps us from seeing and savoring the most satisfying treasure in the universe. Satan is not mainly interested in causing us misery. He is mainly interested in making Christ look bad. And he hates the glory of Christ. He will do all he can to keep people from seeing Christ as glorious. Therefore Satan hates the gospel. Thus 2 Corinthians 4: 4 says that Satan blinds people to keep them from seeing . One way, of course, is to prevent the preaching of the gospel. This he does by derailing many preachers and missionaries. They may die, or be thrown in prison (Rev. Ti 4: 1. 0). Or they may abandon the truth and speak . Acts 2. 0: 3. 0). But in 2 Corinthians 4: 4 the way Satan keeps people from seeing . The words of the gospel are heard. The facts are comprehended. It means that blinded persons consider the facts of the gospel but see no compelling spiritual beauty, no treasure, nothing supremely precious. They may even agree that the historical facts are true. But they do not have . Edwards thought more deeply about this spiritual . Here is how he describes what Satan prevents in verse 4, and what God gives in verse 6. There is a divine and superlative glory in these things, an excellency that is of a vastly higher kind and more sublime nature than in other things, . He that is spiritually enlightened truly apprehends and sees it, or has a sense of it. He does not merely rationally believe that God is glorious, but he has a sense of the gloriousness of God in his heart. One cannot see it and hate it. One cannot see it and reject it. If one claims to see it, only to reject it, one is . In that case we are still in the grip of his blinding power. No, the kind of seeing that Satan prevents is not the neutral seeing that sets you before a meal with no taste or distaste for what you see. The kind of seeing that Satan cancels (v. God creates (v. 6) is more like spiritual tasting than rational testing. This kind of seeing is not the circumstantial inference that the brown fluid in the bottle with the wax comb must be honey.
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