Peter Barnes | 2 Corinthians 4:3-4
SERMON NOTES
THE DEVIL AND THE UNBELIEVER
(2 Corinthians 4:3-4)
– how to explain Acts 13:44-45; 14:19; 17:32; 19:8-9; and how to explain Paul himself before his conversion (Acts 8:1-3; 9:4-6, 10-19).
1. Unbelievers are blind and perishing.
– 4:3-4; this extends what Paul had been saying about the Jews in 3:14-16; the gospel is clear but the blind cannot see.
2. It is Satan who blinds them.
– Satan is the ruler of this world (1 John 5:19; see John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11). This authority is usurped and temporary.
– see Matt.13:27-28, 38-39
– the devil snatches away the gospel (Matt.13:3-4, 18-19)
– John 9:39-41; so be patient (2 Tim.2:24-26; Acts 26:18)
3. It is Satan who keeps the unbeliever from Christ
– Moses only saw the back of God (Ex.33:18-23)
– Christ is the very image of God (Col.1:15; Heb.1:3)
– because God is at work, so too is Satan (Eph.6:12). Beware the blinding work of Satan!