2 Corinthians 4:4. whose minds
the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the
gospel of the glory of Christ,
Among the perishing, he says—who are
many and diverse—are the unbelievers. It is they whose minds “the god of this
age has blinded.” The Marcionites claim that this refers to the demiurge, whom
they call just but not good; and the Manicheans apply is to the devil, whom
they consider the creator of the world. But both are in error. This is said of
our God. If he is called the god of this age, it is no surprise; for He is
called the God of heaven, though He is not God of it alone; He is called the
God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, though He is not their God only, but of all.
So what is strange if Paul now, fittingly, calls him the God of this age—to show
the unbelievers that He is the Maker even of this visible world, which they
enjoy while rejecting its Creator? One could also explain this: that God
blinded the minds of the unbelievers of this age, for in the age to come there
are no unbelievers. What does “blinded” mean? It means He permitted them to be
blind, just as it says, “God gave them over to a debased mind” (Romans 1:28).
For after they departed from Him, He left them to themselves, for He does not
force salvation. Note that he does not say God blinded them so that they would
not believe, but so that unworthy eyes might not see the brightness of God’s
glory. This brightness consists in believing that He was crucified, ascended,
and will grant us the blessings to come. Just as a person with eye disease is
not allowed to look at the sun so as not to harm their eyes, so they became unbelievers
by their own doing. And having become such, God hds from them the rays of the
Gospel’s glory—just as He hid Moses’ face from the Israelites. Likewise, He
commanded us “Not to cast pearls before swine” (Matthew 7:6). He rightly says: “lest
the light . . . should shine,” for now we have a moderate light, not full
illumination—as he earlier called it fragrance and a pledge, indicating that
something greater awaits.
who is the image of God,
should shine on them.
Here he shows that they know
neither the glory of Christ nor the glory of the Father. For if Christ is the
image of the Father, then whoever does not see Christ does not know the Father.
(The New Testament Commentaries
of Theophylact of Ohrid, 3 vols. [trans. Dean Marais; Based Book, 2025], 2:260)
