Who is the god of this world in II Corinthians 4:4? I thought it was Satan, but I was told that it was referring to Christ and was given Isaiah 6:8-13, Matthew 13:12-17, and Acts 28:25-28 as validation for that interpretation. If you could explain in a lay term why those are being taken out of context and wrongly applied and why Matthew 4:8-9; and I John 5:19 are correct, it would help our class.<\/p>\n\t
“Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we do not lose heart. But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. 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. For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake. For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ<\/em>” (II Corinthians 4:1-6).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Because the apostles and other preachers have been assigned the duty of delivering this glorious message (II Corinthians 3:6, 8-11), they do not become discouraged when that message is rejected. The privilege of delivering this message was seen as a mercy from God (I Timothy 1:11-13; I Corinthians 7:25). God has often called upon his prophets to deliver His message with courage (Jeremiah 1:8,17-19; Ezekiel 2:6).<\/p>\n
In delivering this message, the apostles, prophets, and preachers do not use trickery or subtlety. They are not out to trick people into becoming believers (II Corinthians 2:17; Romans 1:16; I Thessalonians 2:3-5). Appealing to each person’s conscience – that part of us that distinguishes right from wrong – they teach the truth while God watches on (John 8:9).<\/p>\n
While the gospel is glorious and appealing, it does not mean that all who hear it will listen (Romans 10:16; I Corinthians 1:18). Those who are perishing will not be able to see its glory (John 1:5; 9:39; 12:40; Romans 11:7). The fault isn’t in the message but in the hearer (John 3:19-21; I Corinthians 1:21-23; II Thessalonians 2:10-12). Satan keeps people from seeing who Jesus really is (John 1:18; 14:9; Colossians 1:15; Hebrews 1:3). Contrast this to what Paul said about Christians “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord<\/em>” (II Corinthians 3:18).<\/p>\n
The Greek word\u00a0aion<\/em>\u00a0means an indefinite period of time or an age. We get our English word “eon” from this word. It can also refer to the world and its course. “In this sense\u00a0aion<\/em>\u00a0parallels\u00a0kosmos<\/em>. Whereas\u00a0kosmos<\/em>\u00a0connotes the world in terms of space,\u00a0aion\u00a0<\/em>designates the world in terms of of time.” [The Complete Biblical Library<\/em>]. “If one looks at the texts of the New Testament where\u00a0aion<\/em>\u00a0occurs in this way, one will meet the characteristic features of the world or age represented by\u00a0aion<\/em>. Note that this depicts a world which is driven forward by the prince of the powers of the air (Ephesians 2:2), the god of this age (II Corinthians 4:4); and spiritual forces are called the powers of this dark world (Ephesians 6:12; cf. I Corinthians 2:6,8; and see II Peter 2:17; Jude 13).” [The Complete Biblical Library<\/em>].<\/p>\n
In each of these passages the Greek word\u00a0aion<\/em>\u00a0is being used:<\/p>\n
“However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this\u00a0age<\/strong>, nor of the rulers of this\u00a0age<\/strong>, who are coming to nothing. But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory, which none of the rulers of this\u00a0age<\/strong>\u00a0knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory<\/em>” (I Corinthians 2:6-8).<\/p>\n
“whose minds the god of this\u00a0age<\/strong>\u00a0has 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<\/em>” (II Corinthians 4:4).<\/p>\n
“in which you once walked according to the course of this\u00a0world<\/strong>, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience<\/em>” (Ephesians 2:2).<\/p>\n
“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this\u00a0age<\/strong>, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places<\/em>” (Ephesians 6:12).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
“Rulers of this age,” “god of this age,” and “prince of the power of the air” all refer to Satan and his angelic followers.<\/p>\n
If “god of this age” referred to Christ, then the conclusion is that it is Christ who is keeping people from listening to the very message he sent to save the world (Matthew 28:18-20). This is a belief espoused by Calvinism, which claims that God is so Sovereign that He alone determines who will be saved and who will be lost. Thus, in Calvinism, a person cannot respond to the gospel unless God first allows him to understand and accept it.<\/p>\n
The reference to Isaiah 6:8-13 and those passages which quote it, only further confirms that people will reject the truth.<\/p>\n
“Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.” And He said, “Go, and tell this people: ‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’ Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and return and be healed.” Then I said, “Lord, how long?” And He answered: “Until the cities are laid waste and without inhabitant, the houses are without a man, the land is utterly desolate, the LORD has removed men far away, and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land. But yet a tenth will be in it, and will return and be for consuming, as a terebinth tree or as an oak, whose stump remains when it is cut down. So the holy seed shall be its stump”<\/em>” (Isaiah 6:8-13).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
God sent Isaiah to preach a message that God knew would be rejected. The harder it was pushed, the harder the people pushed it away. What is being ignored is why. God did this to demonstrate His justness is destroying the people. The point is that wicked people have no love for the truth. They are willing to be deceived and God allows the deception because they had already made a choice. “The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness<\/em>” (II Thessalonians 2:9-12). God isn’t going to change the truth just to make it acceptable to the wicked. “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables<\/em>” (II Timothy 4:3-4).<\/p>\n
The preaching of the gospel is not about the preachers but about the Christ. The preachers are merely the Lord’s slaves for the sake of Christians (I Corinthians 9:19). Thus, the blindness of those who reject the gospel is not the fault of those teaching the message.<\/p>\n
Those who preach the gospel are following the command of God. The source of their teaching is God and not man (Galatians 1:10; II Timothy 3:16-17). “The God who commanded light to shine out of darkness<\/em>” is an allusion back to the creation (Genesis 1:3), which Paul uses as an illustration of how the gospel shines out at the command of God into a dark world (I Peter 2:9; II Peter 1:19). Jesus is the light this dark world of sin needs (John 8:12).<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Question: Who is the god of this world in II Corinthians 4:4? I thought it was Satan, but I was told that it was referring to Christ and was given Isaiah 6:8-13, Matthew 13:12-17, and Acts 28:25-28 as validation for that interpretation. If you could explain in a lay term why those are being taken…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[235,76],"class_list":["post-36137","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-satan","tag-terminology"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":29630,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-is-satan-called-the-god-of-this-world\/","url_meta":{"origin":36137,"position":0},"title":"Why is Satan called the god of this world?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 7, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I just found your website and am so excited to see that the gospel is being spread in Omaha! I have wondered why it is generally accepted that Satan is the god of this world, based on 2nd Corinthians 4:4. Would God, who says there are no other gods,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":24611,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-do-i-get-an-ifa-priestess-curse-off-of-me\/","url_meta":{"origin":36137,"position":1},"title":"How do I get an Ifa priestess’ curse off of me?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 23, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello, I recently\u00a0read the outline that's entitled \"Is Witchcraft Real?\" I'm desperately in need of spiritual help. A curse has been placed on my mother and I. None of the events that have been taking place in our lives are rational. I'm not sure if you've heard of the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":94309,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/notes-on-light\/","url_meta":{"origin":36137,"position":2},"title":"Notes on Light","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 4, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton \"The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear?\" (Psalms 27:1). \"Unto the upright there arises light in the darkness; He is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous\" (Psalms 112:4). \"Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Notes"","block_context":{"text":"Notes","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/notes\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3687,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/who-rules-the-world-god-or-satan\/","url_meta":{"origin":36137,"position":3},"title":"Who rules the world, God or Satan?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 11, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I was just reading from your web site.\u00a0 I do that from time to time.\u00a0 It's a great site.\u00a0 Thanks for doing it. Anyway, I was reading your sermon on Satan.\u00a0 You wrote: C.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Meanwhile, Satan continues to rule this world 1.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0All sinners are under his dominion -\u00a0Ephesians 2:1-2;\u00a0Colossians 1:13\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":33829,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-did-god-have-his-son-killed-instead-of-just-killing-the-devil-and-ending-everything\/","url_meta":{"origin":36137,"position":4},"title":"Why did God have His Son killed instead of just killing the devil and ending everything?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 30, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I've seen this reposted on several internet platforms and I just want to know your thoughts on this: why did God have His Son killed instead of just killing the devil and ending everything? Answer: Ending Satan immediately would seem like a just response to the misery Satan has\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3691,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/satan\/","url_meta":{"origin":36137,"position":5},"title":"Satan (Hamilton)","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 1, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Ezekiel 28:12-19 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0For a being who has plagued mankind since the beginning, it is surprising how little people know about Satan \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Some declare he really doesn\u2019t exist. To these people, he is just the personification of evil in mankind. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Others imagine a character with\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sermon"","block_context":{"text":"Sermon","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/sermon\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36137","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36137"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36137\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36137"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36137"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36137"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}