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NASB | 2 Corinthians 4:1 Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we received mercy, we do not lose heart, |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | 2 Corinthians 4:1 Therefore, since we have this ministry, just as we received mercy [from God, granting us salvation, opportunities, and blessings], we do not get discouraged nor lose our motivation. |
Bible Question: 2 corn. the god of this world hath blinded. I will stop there. my question is this. who is the god of this world, and who has he blinded. |
Bible Answer: Part 1 - "exceedingly unlikely" - but not definitive and here's why: "Here is what Clarke says about this question in his commentary:" Let me go line by line and decipher what Clarke is saying and where I and many others disagree about his conclusion. (I believe many will find this interesting... its a long read, but I think you'll enjoy the scriptural points.) Capital letter stands for Direct quote from Clarke Lower-case stands for restatement of Clarke's quote for clarify or counterpoint (if applicable) A. "I must own I feel considerable reluctance to assign the epithet, The God, to Satan;" a. Clarke is reluctant to call Satan "the god" of this world" (2 Cor 4:4). B. "and were there not a rooted prejudice in favor of the common opinion," b. Rooted prejudice? - strange way of saying 'many believe Satan to be the god of this world' and they do this based on the Bible, just look at the posts in this forum using scriptures to back up their reason. Interesting that a synonym of prejudice is "narrow-mindedness". It sounds like Clarke is using this phrase "rooted prejudice" in a derogatory sense - both judgemental and condescending. C. "the contrary might be well vindicated, viz. that by the God of this world the supreme Being is meant," c. Note how Clarke goes from "the god of this world" small "g" in every Bible translation I have ever opened, to Capital "G" in his comment "God of this world" (that's not how Bible translators render the case of "g"). D. "who in his judgment gave over the minds of the unbelieving Jews to spiritual darkness, so that destruction came upon them to the uttermost." d. And, Jesus showed it was their hearts (their motivation) that led to this judgement in Matthew 15:7,8 (New International Verions) "You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: "'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me'". E. "Satan, it is true, has said that the kingdoms of the world and their glory are his, and that he gives them to whomsoever he will; Mat_4:8, Mat_4:9. But has God ever said so?" e. Absolutely. The Almighty God - who is the author of the Bible - inspired his secretary Matthew to pen this account and God says so. How do we know? Don't forget, Jesus was in a perfect position to contractict Satan and set things right if Satan was lieing about possessing the kingdoms of this world and their glory. Additionally, this temptation makes no sense unless Satan possesses the kingdoms of this world. Finally, Clarke only partly quotes Matthew 4:9! ... and leaves out the "condition" that Satan sets before Jesus for giving him the kingdoms of this earth, namely: "If you fall down and do an act of worhip to me...". That sounds like something "the god of this world" would say, 'if only you would worship me'. (Please see my recent post about the internal evidence in Corinthians which shows Satan to be 'the god of this world' - posted Wed 10/27/04, 12:45pm in response to the topic: 2 Cor 4:4.) F. "and are we to take this assertion of the boasting devil and father of lies for truth? Certainly not." f. Why not? Jesus did, for he didn't refute or contest Satan about this matter one bit *and* you can be sure he would have if Satan was lying! Instead, Jesus redirected worship from 'the god of this world' to Almighty God. Mattew 4:10 (New International Version) "Jesus said to him, 'Away from me Satan! For it is written: 'Worship the Lord God, and serve him only.' Yes, Jesus' response - alone - should clear up any confusion about whether Satan is "the god of this world". G. "We are not willing to attribute the blinding of men’s minds to God," g. And, rightfully so. Jesus is the 'light of the world' (John 1:9); why would his Father go around blinding innocent people's minds. H. "because we sometimes forget that he is the God of justice," h. Never. That's one of his 4 main attributes: Love, Justice, Wisdom and Power. I. "and may in judgment remove mercies from those that abuse them;" i. Yes, from "those that abuse them". Many of the Corinthians were practicers of wickedness (abusing God's mercy if you will) "before" becoming Christians (idolaters, drunkards, prostitutes, homosexauls, etc.) - I don't believe the Creator blinded their minds because of these wicked practices and abuse of his mercy. How do we know? They responded to the gospel and ceased practicing these: "And that is what some of you were [practicing]." Please compare 1 Corinthians 6: 9-11a. J. "but this is repeatedly attributed to him in the Bible," j. But, what is the context? Read on... K. "and the expression before us" k. that would be Clarke's expression "[God] may in judgement remove mercies from those that abuse them;" |