2 Corinthians 4:4-6

DISCOURSE: 2013
THE CONTEST BETWEEN GOD AND SATAN

2 Corinthians 4:4. The God of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious Gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

THE office of the ministry, if conscientiously discharged, is the most honourable and useful that a human being can execute: but, if perverted to carnal ends and purposes, it debases a man’s character, and renders him more injurious to society than a raging pestilence. A minister, if he be upright before God, will not seek his own honour or interest, but the salvation of his people: he will be the servant of men for Christ’s sake: he will employ all his time and talents in the line of his own peculiar profession; and will gladly sacrifice, not his reputation only or his interests, but his very life, if need be, in the service of his fellow-creatures: feeling the importance of his work, he will never degrade the pulpit by making it a theatre whereon to display his own abilities; but will commend himself to every man’s conscience in the sight of God, and exert himself to the utmost to rescue sinners from the jaws of the devouring lion. St. Paul, in the passage before us, labours to impress this thought on our minds. Speaking of the blindness of men, not only under the law, but even under the clearer light of the Gospel, and having ascribed it to the agency of Satan, he affirms, that his one employment as a minister was, to co-operate with God in defeating the purposes of that wicked fiend.—Not content with having declared this sentiment in the verses preceding the text, he interrupts, as it were, the thread of his discourse, to repeat it; intimating thereby, that as he could not repeat it too often, so they who should follow him in the ministerial office could never dwell upon it too much; “We preach not ourselves,” says he, “but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake.”
It is however to the other parts of the text that we wish to draw your attention at this time: they exhibit in a contrasted view,

I. The great powers that interest themselves about the souls of men—

Satan is more earnestly occupied respecting us than we are aware of—
[The power here called “the god of this world” is most assuredly the devil. His character is put in direct opposition to that of Jehovah; and therefore, however august the title may appear, it must be understood in reference to him, who has shewn himself from the beginning the great enemy both of God and man. He is called the god of this world, because the whole world lies under his dominion. Not that he is the rightful governor; he is a vile usurper, that has reduced our fallen race under his power, and exercises over them the most despotic sway. Repeatedly is he called by Christ himself, “the prince of this world;” and by the Apostle, “the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience.” It is by blinding their minds that he retains his power, and makes them account that liberty, which is, in fact, the sorest bondage. Is it asked, How does he blind their minds? We answer, He has a multitude of devices, which cannot be discovered without much deep experience, and much divine instruction. He puffs us up with a conceit that we know enough already; and thereby keeps us from seeking information. He stimulates us to the gratification of our corrupt propensities, that we may have neither leisure nor inclination to attend to our spiritual concerns. He fills us with prejudice against the doctrines of the Gospel as erroneous, and against the ministers and people of God as hypocrites or enthusiasts; and thus confirms us in our natural enmity against God himself. Sometimes he represents God as too merciful to punish; and, at other times, as too inexorable to forgive; and thus either lulls us aleep in security, or enervates us by despondency. By these and other wiles too numerous to recount, he keeps men in his snares, and “leads them captive at his will.”]

Jehovah also condescends to interest himself in our behalf—
[The God of heaven is here opposed to the God of this world; and is described by an expression of his omnipotence no less wonderful than the creation of the universe out of nothing; “he commanded the light to shine out of darkness.” While Satan is endeavouring to blind men, Jehovah exerts himself to enlighten their minds. He could indeed effect his purpose in an instant; but he is pleased to make use of means, and to form his new creation in a gradual manner. He sends his ministers to declare his truth, and his Spirit to seal it on our hearts. Thus, by fixing our attention to it, by making us to see its correspondence with our experience and our wants, and, finally, by giving us to taste its sweetness and excellency, he shines into our hearts, and dissipates the darkness wherein we were enveloped.]
The contrasted representation of these great powers exhibits to us also,

II.

The ends and purposes they are endeavouring to accomplish—

Satan strives as much as possible to hide Christ from our eyes—
[Satan is aware that no one, who has a discovery of Christ’s glory, will ever continue submissive to his government. Let a soul be favoured with a ray from heaven, whereby it shall have a glimpse of the glory of God in the face of Jesus, and it will instantly cast off its allegiance to Satan, and take up arms against him. But, while the veil continues on the heart, and this heavenly light is concealed from the view, the soul will be satisfied with its state, nor ever exert itself in earnest to break the yoke imposed upon it. This therefore it is the great work of Satan to accomplish: he cares not what we know or what we do, if he can but keep us from beholding the Divine image in the face of Jesus. As every thing short of this will be ineffectual for our salvation, so he is willing that we should have every attainment in knowledge or morality, if he can but succeed in this one point. This is the very marrow of the Gospel, if we may so speak; it is that which infuses life into the dry bones: in vain will each kindred bone resume its proper station in the body; in vain will the flesh and sinews be superinduced upon them; the body will be no other than a breathless corpse, till a spirit of life be infused into it [Note: Ezekiel 37:7.]: so will the soul, however exactly fashioned as to the outward appearance, be altogether destitute of spiritual life, till Christ be revealed to it, and formed within it. While “the Gospel is hid from the soul, it is, and must be, lost.”]

God, on the other hand, strives to reveal Christ unto us—
[He knows that nothing short of a discovery of Christ will ever save the soul. If we speak with the tongues of men and of angels, if we have faith that can remove mountains, if we give all our goods to feed the poor, and our body to be burned, and have not that view of Christ which fills our souls with love to God and man, it profiteth us nothing [Note: 1 Corinthians 13:1.]. Not even a knowledge of Christ himself will be of any effectual service, if we do not see the Divine perfections united in him and glorified in the redemption which he has wrought out for us. Hence, in every dispensation, whether of providence or of grace, he aims at leading sinners to the perfect knowledge of his Son: nor can he ever look upon them with pleasure and complacency till this be accomplished.]

This subject will clearly shew us,
1.

The value of our souls—

[Shall two such great powers interest themselves so much about us, and we imagine that our souls are of little worth? Surely that which incessantly occupies their attention must well deserve our incessant care — — —]

2. Our state before God—

[Let us not ask ourselves merely whether we be moral or immoral, but whether the scales have ever fallen from our eyes, and the glory of Christ been ever revealed to our souls? We must be made sensible that Satan once blinded us; that through his influence we were in unbelief; that nothing but a light from heaven could dispel this darkness; and that such a revelation of Christ to the soul is the only possible source of life and salvation. Let us inquire whether we have ever felt that conviction, and whether, under the influence of it, we have sought and obtained that divine illumination? This is the criterion by which we must judge ourselves, and by which our state will be determined to all eternity.]

3. The constant duty of our lives—

[Though we are not to neglect our earthly calling, we must seek above all to “grow in grace and in the knowledge of Jesus Christ:” even after we have been enlightened, we need be careful lest Satan blind us again and again [Note: The falls of David, Solomon, and others, should put us on our guard.]. We should seek continually the illumination of God’s Spirit, and, by increasing views of Christ’s glory, to be changed into his image from glory to glory by the Spirit of the Lord [Note: If this were the subject of a Visitation or Ordination Sermon, it would be proper to shew in this place the duty of ministers to “preach Christ,” and to “know nothing but Christ,” in all their ministrations; since nothing but that will save the souls of those to whom they minister.]