Seeing Clearly

February 8, 2022

In his second letter to the Corinthian Christians, Paul is contrasting the magnificence of the message with the modesty of the messenger. The question naturally arises, “If this message is so overwhelming, how do we explain the failure of so many to grasp it?” Paul’s answer is simple and to the point. Speaking about the failure of his people to accept the Gospel, he writes, 

“Their minds were blinded. For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is taken away in Christ. But even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart. Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.”

“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.” —II Corinthians 3:14-16, 4:3-4 

A spiritual blindness has come upon humanity, courtesy of Satan himself. That is one way of reading the text: the god of this age has acted directly upon the hearts and minds of men and women, blinding them to the reality of God’s grace and mercy. 

There is however, another way of reading this text. That little word “of” operates in a number of different ways so it can mean “the god who rules or is over this age,” but can also be read as “the god which is this age.” The first reading draws a line between this age and the diabolical power that is behind it; the second reading says that this age itself is god to many. While the former reading makes sense, it places the responsibility for blindness on Satan rather than on the individual.  The second reading places responsibility squarely upon the shoulders of humanity. 

It is often the pleasures and pains of this life that blind us. For many, this present world order is everything; it’s all there is. We don’t need the devil to account for most of our problems. We do just fine creating them all by ourselves. Paul said elsewhere that the spirit and the flesh are at war within us, which is his way of saying we are in a constant battle between good and evil.

Paul’s answer to this problem is both clear and simple: “When one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.” Salvation isn’t attained through rational thinking, as important as such thinking is. I learned a long time ago that winning a religious argument changes nothing. Even if the mind is convinced, the heart can remain blind. Salvation is the result of the Spirit of God opening eyes of the soul so they can see that to which they were previously blind. Turning to the Lord moment by moment is the only thing that causes the veil of spiritual blindness to drop away, which is why the ancients spoke of continual repentance and faith as foundational to Christian living. 

This world itself is a devious deity. Breaking its hold upon us requires opening the spiritual eyes so we can see beyond the illusions to the greater reality of God himself.