2 Corinthians 4:1-6 – Sharing The Light Of The Gospel

Translation & Sermon by Nate Wilson for Christ The Redeemer Church, Manhattan, KS, 19 October 2025
Underlined words in Scripture quotes indicate words that are in common with the Greek text of the sermon passage. Otherwise, underlining indicates words to emphasize when reading this transcript out loud.

Introduction

Read my translation of the passage: I am going to start at the last verse of chapter 3:
So, as for us all, while seeing-mirrored, with unveiled face, the glory of the Lord, we are being metamorphasized into the same image, from glory into glory, just as it is by the Spirit of the Lord. On account of this, since we have this ministry, to the extent that mercy was had upon us, we do not fault-out, instead, we renounced the shameful secrets, not walking in craftiness or misleading with the word of God, but rather using the revelation of the truth, endorsing ourselves to every person’s conscience in the sight of God. (But even when our good news has been veiled, it has been veiled in those who are perishing, in the case of whom the god of this age blinded the minds of the unbelievers so that the enlightenment of the good news of the glory of the Anointed One – who is the image of God – won’t shine into them.) For it is not ourselves that we proclaim, but rather the Anointed One, Jesus the Master (and ourselves your servants on account of Jesus.) For the God Who said, “Out of darkness light shall shine!” is the One who shone into our hearts for enlightenment of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus the Anointed One.
Verses five and six start with the word “for,” giving two reasons why the Apostles don’t “fault-out/lose heart” (v.1) but do “reveal the truth” of the gospel (v.2). The first reason in v.5 is that they preach Jesus instead of themselves¹, and the second reason in v.6 is because God has revealed the glory of Jesus to them. They reveal the truth of the Gospel because God revealed the glory of Jesus to them. Inbetween, there is a long parenthesis about blindness in verses 3-4.
But there is actually another reason why Christians don’t faint/lose heart...

v. 1 We Don’t Fault-Out Because of God’s Mercy

Paul uses this verb for “mercy” in the passive voice a few other times in his epistles, and they explain more of what he meant here:
- 1 Timothy 1:12-17 “And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry, although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man; but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief. However, for this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering, as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life. Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.” (NKJV, cf. 1 Cor. 7:25)
- In Romans 11:30, Paul asserted that this principle is true for all believers²: “...you were once disobedient to God, yet have now obtained mercy…” (cf. 2 Peter 2:10).
The Aorist tense points to a particular point in time when God brought eternal salvation to Paul, and the word “mercy” brings out the fact that this salvation was unearned and undeserved, simply given out of the kindness of God’s heart.³
- “It is not an achievement of human ability but a consequence of divine mercy… For him who ministers the eternal riches of the gospel, there can be no question of abandoning the struggle.” ~Phillip Hughes, 1962 AD
The Greek word for “lose heart/fault-out/faint/grow weary” only appears in five other passages in the Greek Bible:
- The opposite of this “faulting-out/loosing heart/growing weary” is described in verse 2 as keeping “secrets, hiding” things because of “shame,” “dishonesty,” “craftiness, deception, cunning,” “distorting and misleading” with the word.
  - When you stop trusting Jesus to make you right with God and stop trusting God to work all things together for good, you will start covering up your own sins and trying to manipulate people to get the outcomes you want.
But notice that us “not faulting-out/not growing weary/not loosing heart” is connected to the verb about us having been the recipients of God’s mercy by a Greek comparative particle that means “as/according/to the extent that:”
- “to the same extent that we received mercy, to that extent, we don’t fault-out” or “inasmuch as we have been recipients of mercy, we don’t fault-out”
- Our perseverance in faith and our service to God is tethered to God’s mercy toward us.
  - Since His mercy is great, our perseverance is great,
  - and since our ability to persevere is equal to God’s mercy toward us, then we need never fear that we’re going to exhaust His mercy and go into a tailspin.
  - Furthermore, it means that whatever goodness and courage and strength that comes out of our lives all came from God, so we have to give Him the credit for everything!
And if we have received mercy and confidence from God...

v. 2 We Renounce Deceit And Share the Gospel Openly

Receiving the grace of God results in renouncing sin and its shameful secrets⁴.
- “Where… there is no such renunciation, it must be questioned whether there has been any experience of obtaining mercy.” ~P. Hughes
- “The things of dishonesty are hidden things, that will not bear the light; and those who practise them are, or should be, ashamed of them, especially when they are known.” ~M. Henry
- Paul later wrote in Ephesians 5:11-14 “... have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret. But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light. Therefore He says: ‘Awake, you who sleep, Arise from the dead, And Christ will give you light⁵.’”
- Are there any secret sins which you still need to renounce in order to follow Jesus with all your heart?
- Hebrews 12:1-2 “...let us also keep running with perseverance the contest being laid out before us, putting away⁶ from ourselves every encumbrance and sin that hangs around closely, looking out toward Jesus, the chief leader and accomplisher of the faith, who, for the joy laid out before Him, persevered through crucifixion, having despised what is shameful, He has taken office at the right hand of the very throne of God!” (NAW)
“Renouncing shameful secrets” of sin involves “not walking” in...
- panourgia, that is, craftiness/deception/cunning/literally doing “any action” it takes to get what you want,
- and it means not walking in dolountes, that is, handling the word of God deceitfully/adulterating it/distorting it/tampering with it. (Jesus said that the Devil is the “father of telling lies” in John 8:44.)
- Instead, we should say exactly what God says in the Bible and do what God wants us to do and don’t add on to it. (That will “recommend [itself] to every man’s conscience!”)
  - That’s what Paul said he did back in 2 Corinthians 2:12 &17 “For this is... the testimony of our conscience, that in single-mindedness and integrity from God we conducted ourselves – not in fleshly wisdom but rather – in the grace of God in the world… we are not commercializing the word of God (as many are), but rather we are communicating as from sincerity – rather as from God, in the sight of God, in accordance with Christ.” (NAW)
  - 1 Thessalonians 2:2-5 “But even after we had suffered before and were spitefully treated at Philippi, as you know, we were bold in our God to speak to you the gospel of God in much conflict. For our exhortation did not come from error or uncleanness, nor was it in deceit. But as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, even so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who tests our hearts. For neither at any time did we use flattering words, as you know, nor a cloak for covetousness—God is witness.” (NKJV)
“Renouncing shameful secrets” also involves “revealing/manifesting the truth.”
- 2 Corinthians 6:4 & 7 “But in all things we commend ourselves as ministers of God: ...by sincere love, by the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left… 7:14 ...we spoke all things to you in truth...” (NKJV)
- And, of course, Jesus defined “truth” as “God’s word” – “Thy word is truth” (John 17:17, Psalm 119:160)
- This requires filling your mind with the Bible so you can share quotes of it with other people and let their consciences respond.
But what if they don’t respond? Should we lose heart, or should we resort to manipulation? No, because...

v. 3-4 The Gospel Is Veiled To Those Who Are Perishing

The verb “veiled/hid” in verse 3 is the same word-root used a few verses back to describe Moses’ “veil” and the inability of Jews to understand the good news of Jesus without the Holy Spirit first “freeing” their “minds”: 2 Corinthians 3:12-17 “Therefore, since we have such a hope, we use much openness, not at all like Moses used to place a veil over his own face so that the children of Israel might not gaze into the end of what was being put out of commission, nevertheless, their minds were hardened. Indeed, to this day, the same veil remains upon the reading of the old covenant, not unveiled, because it is by the Anointed One that it is being put out of commission, so even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart, but whenever it returns toward the Lord, the veil gets taken off, for the Lord IS the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” (NKJV)
And earlier in 1 Cor. 1:18, Paul wrote, “For the word – the one of the cross – to those who are being destroyed is stupidity, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (NAW)
Verse 4 adds the synonym “blinded,” and Ephesians 4:17-18 elaborates on this blindness: “...the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart” (NKJV).
It seems that the false teachers in Corinth were saying that it was too hard to understand⁷ Paul’s gospel presentations, but Paul is responding that if it’s too hard to understand, it’s not because he was engaged in any obfuscation but rather because the false teachers have a veil over their mind and are “blinded by the god of this age.”⁸
Now, who is the “god of this age/world” who blinds unbelievers?
- Nowhere else in the Bible does this phrase “god of this age⁹” occur, but, the shorter phrase “this age” does occur about a dozen times in the New Testament to denote the time of the physical world under sin (as opposed to the “age to come/eternal age” in which the new heavens and new earth will exist under the total rule of Jesus without sin).
- Early church heretics, including the Marcionites and the Manicheans used this passage to teach the existence of two gods, so, in an effort to combat the heresy of there being a good God and a bad God, most of the early church fathers¹⁰ argued that “the god of this age” could be none other than the One True God. Today, however, Bible scholars generally agree that it refers to Satan and that the early church fathers were overreacting to a particular false teaching.¹¹
- The Greek and Hebrew Bible uses the word “god” sometimes to refer to false gods and even to human leaders¹², and Paul himself wrote in 1 Corinthians 8:5 that “there are many [such] ‘gods.’” So, that is the sense in which he is using the word “god” here.
- In Ephesians, we read of a “ruler” or “prince” of “this age” who appears to be synonymous with “the god of this age” - Ephesians 1:20-21 “...He raised out of the dead and seated Him [Christ] in His right hand in the heavens above every ruler (αρχοντος¹³) and authority and power and lordship and every name being named (not only in this age but also in the one which is about to be)” (NAW) … 2:2 “...you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince (αρχοντα) of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience” (NKJV).
- And 1 John 5:19 tells us that “the whole world¹⁴ is lying under the evil one,” which connects explicitly to the power which Jesus is allowing Satan to have at this time over unbelievers (although Satan is still underneath the authority of Jesus).
- Jesus Himself also mentioned this work of Satan in Matthew 13:19 “When any one hears word of the kingdom and does not comprehend, the evil one comes and grabs what has been sown in his heart....” (NAW)
Notice that these verbs “veiled” and “blinded” in 2 Corinth. 4:3-4 are passive: there has been another party involved in the inability of unbelievers to perceive the good news of salvation.
- Verse 4 tells us that the “god of this world” – that is Satan – “blinded” them, and the previous chapter tells us that that “veil” is there as long as the Holy Spirit doesn’t “take it off.”
- However, those who are “blind” and “perishing” are NOT innocent victims of a cosmic battle between God and Satan. They themselves, according to verse 4, are “unbelievers.” They would “not believe” even if the truth were revealed to them – like Jesus’ parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus in Luke 16:31, where He said Dives’ brothers wouldn’t believe, even if a messenger were raised from the dead and sent to them!
- Most of the Jews of Jesus’ day did not believe even after they saw Jesus cast out demons, heal the sick, give sight to the blind, feed the 5,000, raise the dead, and then rise from the dead Himself! They still would not believe! These are they whom Jesus called “blind men” in Matthew 15:14¹⁵.
- We cannot shift blame to God or Satan if someone perishes eternally; unbelievers perish because they themselves are sinners and “unbelievers.”
- And, even in the case of those who never had a chance to hear the gospel, God says in Romans 1:18 and 2:12, that He will not be unfair in judgment. God will not judge them for not obeying things they did not know about, but for disobeying what they did know about Him, for they “suppress in unrighteousness” even the little bit of “truth” that can be known about God from “observing” the created order of the earth and skies.
- Conversely, those who “convert/turn” to God, believing in whatever He reveals of Himself to them, as we read in 2 Corinthians 3:16, the Holy “Spirit” will “take away the veil” so they can understand and believe more.
- So rather than going down the rabbit hole of accusing God of unfairness in salvation and judgment, just worship Him for the things you do understand about Him!
Also, remember that this whole discussion of why some folks perish is in the context of Paul and Timothy talking about how they preach the Gospel openly. They are saying that even when they have explained salvation through Jesus Christ clearly, there are still going to be some folks who will not believe it and whose minds are furthermore curtained-off (by Satan’s cloaking efforts) from perceiving any more of the truth of the gospel than what they have already refused to believe. (I believe God allows this blindness as a form of mercy so that sinners do not become liable to more severe judgment than they have to be.)¹⁶
John Chrysostom commented on this around the year 400 AD: “How then hath He blinded them? Not by working unto this end; away with the thought! but by suffering and allowing it. For it is usual with the Scripture so to speak, as when it saith, ‘God gave them up unto a reprobate mind.’ For when they themselves first disbelieved, and rendered themselves unworthy to see the mysteries; He Himself also thereafter permitted it… Not that they might disbelieve in God, but that unbelief might not see what are the things within... For had He revealed even to those who disbelieve, their disease would have been the rather aggravated… here we must consider that these persons indeed became unbelievers of themselves, but having become so, they no longer saw the secret things of the Gospel, God thenceforth excluding its beams from them. As also he said to the disciples, ‘Therefore I speak unto them in proverbs’ (Matt. Xiii.13.)”
So the “god of this world” blinds minds “so that the light/enlightenment of the good news of the glory of Christ (who is the image¹⁷ of God) will not shine into them/so that they might not see it.”
- “The fault... is not in the gospel, but in those who have failed to discern its glory. The unveiled gospel, openly proclaimed, has been veiled to them because it is veiled in them…” ~Phillip Hughes, 1962 AD
- But, as John Calvin put it, “The sun is no less bright because blind men do not perceive its light!” Despite the blindness of those who will not believe the word of God, Christ Jesus still shines as the image of God, and the good news about Jesus still saves souls!
And so we don’t fault out and lose heart...

v. 5 We Preach Jesus As Lord And Us As His Servants to You

The false teachers who came into Corinth after Paul apparently focused on themselves, their achievements, their credentials, their greatness. But when we promote ourselves, we are not willing to serve others, we get frustrated over all the things we can’t control, and we will lose heart.
However, when we we proclaim Jesus the Lord, we have omnipotent power and omniscient wisdom behind us to serve others, to trust King Jesus, and to persevere without faulting out.
That truth is all over the New Testament concerning Paul:
- 1 Corinthians 2:2 “...I did not decide to know anything among y'all except Jesus Christ and Him having been crucified.” (NAW)
- 1 Corinthians 8:6 “...there is one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom everything came to be, and we came to be in God through Him.” (NAW)
- Acts 28:23 “...[In Rome, Paul] explained and solemnly testified¹⁸ of the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus from both the Law of Moses and the Prophets…. 31 preaching the kingdom of God and teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence...” (NKJV, cf. 2 Cor. 1:19, 2:12, Acts 17:3, Phil. 1:18, Col. 1:28)
- So he wrote in 1 Corinthians 3:5 “What, therefore, is Apollos, and what is Paul? They are servants¹⁹ through whom you believed even to each as the Lord gave.” (NAW)
- 1 Corinthians 9:19 “For, being free from all men, I enslaved myself to all men in order that I might win the more (NAW, cf. Rom. 1:1, 2 Cor 1:24, Gal. 1:10, 1 Thess. 2:6).
So let’s look for ways to turn conversations away from ourselves and toward talking about Jesus – especially His divine authority to establish truth, to give meaning in life, to judge right from wrong, and to make right what was not right.
Jesus will give you the ability to “serve” others “for His sake” and to forget yourself more and more.
And now, the final reason why we don’t “fault out” but keep sharing the truth is because...

v. 6 God Has Shined The Knowledge of Christ Into Our Hearts

This is the same God Who created light at the beginning of time:
- Genesis 1:3-4 “Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness.” (NKJV)
- If He had the power to do that, it shouldn’t be so hard for us to believe that He can shine the light of His truth and grace and love into veiled, blind, unbelieving human hearts and give them His eternal life and the ability to love and trust Jesus!
  - Isaiah 9:2 “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of death's shadow, a light has shone upon them.” (NAW, cf. Isa. 60:2, Ps. 18:28)
  - Luke 1:78-79 Zacharias said, “Through the tender mercy of our God... the Dayspring from on high has visited us, To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, To guide our feet into the way of peace.” (NKJV)
  - And God told Paul in Acts 26:17-18 “...I send you to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.” (NKJV)
This illumination comes from God into our life at His initiative:
- This “shining in our hearts” is not talking about the “inner light” of Humanism; it comes from outside of us – from God.
- Jesus told Peter in Matthew 16:17 “...flesh and blood did not make a revelation to you, but rather my Father in the heavens did!” (NAW)
- And so in Peter’s first Epistle, he reminded the churches: “[The Lord]… called y'all out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9, NAW)
- That’s why Paul prayed in Ephesians 1:17-18 “...the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of the Glory may donate to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation²⁰ in knowledge of Him, the eyes of your heart having been enlightened, resulting in you knowing: what the hope of His call is, what the wealth of the glory of His inheritance in the saints is” (NAW, cf. 1 Cor. 1:30).
This “shining in our hearts” also is not talking about a mystical experience or a spiritual “high;” it is God encountering us personally with a message in words:
- That’s exactly what Jesus did to convert Paul on the road to Damascus. Paul was confronted by the power of the brilliant brightness of the face of Jesus, along with the word of Jesus, and he became a changed man, eager to share the good news about Jesus with others²¹.
- Psalm 119:130 “The entrance of Your words gives light; It gives understanding to the simple.” (NKJV)
- 2 Peter 1:19 “So we have the more-confirmed prophetic word – to which you do well when you are paying attention – as to a lamp bringing light in a dingy place until whenever the day shall shine through and the Light-bearer shall rise in y'all's hearts” (NAW). God’s light comes with a verbal message.
And, most importantly this is about “the knowledge of God’s glory in the face of Jesus Christ.”
- John 1:14 “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” (NKJV)
- John 8:12 Jesus said, “...I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” (NKJV, cf. John 1:4, 12:46, 1 John 5:20)
- John 17:3 "And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” (NKJV)
- Hebrews 1:3 “Who being the radiance²² of His glory and the stamp of His substance and carrying all things by the word of His power, having made purification from our sins with His own self, He took office at the right hand of the Greatest One in the heights.” (NAW)
- Acts 4:12 “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (NKJV)

In Conclusion

I’d like to return to the logical flow of this passage: we don’t fault-out (v.1) but we do reveal the truth of the gospel (v.2)
- because mercy has been given to us by God (v.1),
- because (v.5) we preach Jesus instead of ourselves,
- and because (v.6) God has revealed His glory to us in the person and work of Jesus.
So, as vs. 3-4 bring out, if folks don’t turn to Christ when we share the gospel, we can chalk it down to their unbelief and being blinded by Satan, and that won’t cause us to lose heart, we will just keep revealing the truth of the gospel.
“As it is great mercy and grace to be called to be saints, and especially to be counted faithful, and be put into the ministry (1 Tim. 1:12), so it is owing to the mercy and grace of God if we continue faithful and persevere in our work with diligence. The best men in the world would faint in their work, and under their burdens, if they did not receive mercy from God. ‘By the grace of God I am what I am,’ said this great apostle in his former epistle to these Corinthians [in] 1 Cor. 15:10. And that mercy which has helped us out, and helped us on, hitherto, we may rely upon to help us even to the end.” ~Matthew Henry, 1714 AD

2 Corinthians 4:1-6 – Comparison of Textual Traditions & Versions^A

Byzantine^B	NAW	KJV^C	Rheims^D	Murdock^E
1 Διὰ τοῦτο, ἔχοντες τὴν διακονίαν ταύτην καθὼς^F ἠλεήθημεν, οὐκ ^Gἐκκακοῦμεν,	1 On account of this, since we have this ministry, to the extent that mercy was had upon us, we do not fault-out,	1 Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not;	1 Therefore seeing we have this ministration, according as we have obtained mercy, we faint not.	1 Therefore, we are not weary [in] this ministry [which] we have [received], according to the mercies that have been upon us:
2 ἀλλ᾿ ἀπειπάμεθα^H τὰ κρυπτὰ τῆς αἰσχύνης, μὴ περιπατοῦντες ἐν πανουργίᾳ^I μηδὲ δολοῦντες^J τὸν λόγον τοῦ Θεοῦ^K, ἀλλὰ τῇ φανερώσει τῆς ἀληθείας συνιστῶντες^L ἑαυτοὺς πρὸς πᾶσαν συνείδησιν ἀνθρώπων^M ἐνώπιον τοῦ Θεοῦ.	2 instead, we renounced the shameful secrets, not walking in craftiness or misleading with the word of God, but rather using the revelation of the truth, endorsing ourselves to every person’s conscience in the sight of God.	2 But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, 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.	2 But we renounce the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness nor adulterating the word of God: but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience, in the sight of God.	2 But we have renounced the concealments of dishonor, and we walk not in craftiness, nor do we treat the word of God deceitfully; but by the manifestation of the truth, we exhibit ourselves to all the conscience[s^N] of men before God.
3 εἰ δὲ καὶ ἔστι κεκαλυμμένον^O τὸ εὐαγγέλιον ἡμῶν, ἐν^P τοῖς ἀπολλυμένοις ἐστὶ κεκαλυμμένον,	3 (But even when our good news has been veiled, it has been veiled in those who are perishing,	3 But X if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:	3 And if our gospel be also hid, it is hid to them that are lost,	3 And X if our gospel is vailed, it is vailed to them that perish;
4 ἐν^Q οἷς ὁ θεὸς^R τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτου ἐτύφλωσε τὰ νοήματα τῶν ἀπίστων εἰς τὸ μὴ αὐγάσαι^S αὐτοῖς τὸν φωτισμὸν^T τοῦ εὐαγγελίου τῆς δόξης^U τοῦ Χριστοῦ, ὅς ἐστι εἰκὼν τοῦ Θεοῦ.	4 in the case of whom the god of this age blinded the minds of the unbelievers so that the enlightenment of the good news of the glory of the Anointed One – who is the image of God – will not shine into them.)	4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glori~~ous~~ gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.	4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of unbelievers, that the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should not shine unto them.	4 to them whose minds the God of this world hath blinded, in order that they might not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of the Messiah (who is the likeness of God) should dawn upon them.
5 οὐ γὰρ ἑαυτοὺς κηρύσσομεν ἀλλὰ Χριστὸν ᾿Ιησοῦν Κύριον, ἑαυτοὺς δὲ δούλους ὑμῶν διὰ ᾿Ιησοῦν.	5 For it is not ourselves that we proclaim, but rather the Anointed One, Jesus the Master (and ourselves your servants on account of Jesus).	5 For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake.	5 For we preach not ourselves, but Jesus Christ [our] Lord: and ourselves your servants ~~through~~ ^VJesus.	5 For it is not ourselves that we preach, but the Messiah, Jesus [our] Lord; and, as to ourselves, that we are your servants for Jesus' sake.
6 ὅτι^W ὁ Θεὸς ὁ εἰπών^X ἐκ σκότους φῶς λάμψαι^Y, ὃς ἔλαμψεν^Z ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις ἡμῶν πρὸς φωτισμὸν^AA τῆς γνώσεως τῆς δόξης τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐν προσώπῳ ᾿Ιησοῦ^AB Χριστοῦ.	6 For the God Who said, “Out of darkness light shall shine!” is the One who shone into our hearts for enlightenment of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus the Anointed One.	6 For God, who ~~com~~~~manded~~ the light to shine out of darkness, X hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.	6 For God, who ~~com~~~~manded~~ the light to shine out of darkness, X^AC hath shined in our hearts, to [give the^AD] light of the knowledge of the glory of God, in the face of Christ Jesus.	6 Because God, who ~~commanded~~ the light to arise from darkness, hath ~~himself~~ shined in our hearts, that [we might be] illuminated with the knowledge of the glory of God on^AE the face of Jesus the Messiah.

1Chrysostom thought that the causal “for” at the beginning of v.5 had more to do with proving the earlier point that it was not Paul that the “super-apostles” were contradicting, but God Himself. However, I think it makes more sense to relate it to the more-recent statement of Paul that “we don’t fault out... as we reveal…” Nevertheless the point stands, as G. Wilson put it, “Hence those who reject his preaching, repudiate not the preacher but the Christ he preaches.”

2This spiritual “ministry/service” of apostleship (1:1, 2 Cor. 3:6, 5:18, Eph. 3:7-8) was something Paul “had” in a special way, but we all as disciples of the disciples of the Christians that they discipled, have a share in the same calling of sharing the good news of Jesus with all the nations of the world.

3“For… that one who hath been counted worthy of such and so great things, and this from mercy only and loving-kindness, should show forth such labors, and undergo dangers, and endure temptations, is no great matter. Therefore we not only do not sink down, but we even rejoice and speak boldly.” ~J. Chrysostom, c. 400 AD
“Construe [‘As we have received mercy’] with ‘we have this ministry.’ Having this ministry as a gift of divine mercy.” ~M. Vincent, 1886 AD
“The mercy of God, by which the ministry is received, makes us earnest and sincere.” ~A. Bengel, 1742 AD

4“Paul has refused to adopt the tactics of the false apostles… who try to hide their shame by accusing him of the very things of which they themselves are guilty [12:16].” ~Geoffrey Wilson, 1979 AD
“[B]y implication he is contrasting himself with others whose behavior has been inconsistent with their claims to be ministers of Christ.” ~P. Hughes, 1962 AD
J. Calvin (1546 AD) understood these “hidden/secret things” more in terms of “artificial adornings… unseemly additions… spurious ornaments… disguises” as opposed to the plain and unadorned proclamation of the Gospel, and that interpretation fits as an application of this passage as a whole, although not with this particular phrase. He observed, “[E]ven at this day, some, even of those who profess the gospel… would rather be esteemed subtile than sincere, and sublime rather than solid…” P. Hughes explained these shameful secrets better as “secret practices which are dishonourable, deceitful, and perhaps… sensual, and which can only result in shame when brought to the light.”

5Ἐπιφαύσει cf. synonyms αὐγάσαι (“shine”) in 2 Cor. 4:4 and λαμψαι (“shine”) in 2 Cor. 4:6.

6Ἀποθέμενοι, synonymous (although with a more physical emphasis) with ἀπειπάμεθα (“renounce”) in 2 Cor. 4:2, which has a more verbal emphasis.

7Even Peter found Paul a little difficult to understand, according to 2 Peter 3:16, but this must be attributed to Paul’s high level of education (Acts 22:3) relative to Peter (Acts 4:13), not due to lack of clarity. This reminds me of something I heard when I was interning under Rev. Wyatt George at the Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Carbondale, IL. A parishioner was talking with me about Wyatt, and he said, “I can’t say’s I understand everything he talks about, but he has a good heart! I know he has a good heart.”

8“[I]n this chapter his design is to vindicate their ministry from the accusation of false teachers, who charged them as deceitful workers… The hiding of the gospel therefore from souls is both an evidence and cause of their ruin.” ~M. Henry

9“...called ‘the god of this world,’ and elsewhere ‘the prince of this world,’ because of the great interest he has in this world, the homage that is paid to him by multitudes in this world, and the great sway that, by divine permission, he bears in the world, and in the hearts of his subjects, or rather slaves.” ~M. Henry, 1714 AD

10Including, according to Calvin, Chambers, and Hughes: Origin, Irenaeus, Tertullian, Hillary, Ambrose, Theodoret, Chrysostom, and Augustine, and persisting into the middle ages with Theophylact and Herveius.

11“It is, alas, too certain that Satan rules this world as if he were a God, and from the multitude he receives the service which is due to the Most High alone, but this fact by no means exalts him to an equality with the maker of all…” ~Talbot Chambers, Editor of Chrysostom’s Homilies, 1889 AD

12For example, Ex. 7:1, 1 Chron. 16:25, 2 Chron. 2:5, Psalms 95:3, 96:4, 97:9, 135:5, John 10:34-35. Jewish tradition could also be considered here: John Gill commented, “the Jews frequently speak of סמאל, ‘Samael’; who they say is the head of all the devils; a very malignant spirit, and who deceived our first parents; the word is compounded of אל, ‘god’, and סמא, ‘to blind’ ... Targum Jon. ben Uzziel in Gen. iii. 6. Zohar in Gen. fol. 37. 2. Vajikra Rabba, fol. 162. 3. Debarim Rabba, fol. 245. 3. Tzeror Hammor in Gen. fol. 6. 2. & 7. 3. Vid. Irenaeum. adv. Haeres. l. 1. p. 136.”

13cf. 6:12 in Byzantine text and plural “rulers” in 1 Cor. 2:6.

14Κόσμος, a synonym with a more locative emphasis than αἰῶνος in 2 Cor. 4:4 with its more temporal emphasis.

15“Leave them! Blind men are being trail-guides for blind men, but if a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a hole.” (NAW)

16cf. Calvin’s commentary: “[T]he blinding is a work common to God and to Satan, for it is in many instances ascribed to God; but the power is not alike, nor is the manner the same... Satan blinds men, not merely with God’s permission, but even by his command, that he may execute his vengeance. Thus Ahab was deceived by Satan (1 Kings 22:21)… Nay more, the reason why God is said to blind men is, that after having deprived us of the right exercise of the understanding, and the light of his Spirit, he delivers us over to the devil, to be hurried forward by him to a reprobate mind (Romans 1:28)...”

17Colossians 1:15 “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.” (NKJV)

18Ἐξετίθετο διαμαρτυρόμενος, analogous in a private home setting to the public act of preaching (κηρυσσω).

19Διάκονοι (“ministers/servers”), roughly synonymous with δούλους (“servants/slaves”) in 2 Cor. 4:5.

20Ἀποκαλύψεως cf. φανερώσει (“revelation”) in v. 2 and ἀνακεκαλυμμένῳ (“unveiled”) in 3:18.

21“[H]e does not think in terms of a mystical union and inner light, but primarily in terms of an historical act of salvation and the knowledge bound up with it, ‘which is then used by God for missionary transmission’ (so A. Oepke, TDNT, Vol. IV, p.26).” ~Geoffrey Wilson

22Ἀπαύγασμα cf. ἔλαμψεν (“shine”), φωτισμὸν (“enlightenment”), and προσώπῳ (“face”) in 2 Cor. 4:6.

AWhen a translation adds words not in the Greek text, but does not indicate it has done so by the use of italics or greyed-out text, I put the added words in [square brackets]. When one version chooses a wording which is different from all the other translations, I underline it. When a version chooses a translation which, in my opinion, either departs too far from the root meaning of the Greek word or departs too far from the grammar form of the original text, I use ~~strikeout~~. And when a version omits a word which is in the original text, I insert an X. I also place an X at the end of a word if the original word is plural but the English translation is singular. I occasionally use colors to help the reader see correlations between the various editions and versions when there are more than two different translations of a given word. NAW is my translation. My original chart includes annotated copies of the NKJV, NASB, NIV, and ESV, but I erase them from the online edition so as not to infringe on their copyrights.

BThis Greek New Testament is the 1904 "Patriarchal" edition of the Greek Orthodox Church. As published by E-Sword in 2016. The Robinson-Pierpont Byzantine majority text of the GNT and the Textus Receptus are very similar. The Westcott-Hort, Nestle-Aland, and UBS editions, however, are a slightly-different family of GNTs developed in the modern era, focusing on the few manuscripts which are older than the Byzantine manuscripts. Even so, the practical differences in the text between these two editing philosophies are minimal.

C1769 King James Version of the Holy Bible; public domain. As published by E-Sword in 2019.

DRheims New Testament first published by the English College at Rheims, A.D. 1582, Revised and Diligently Compared with the Latin Vulgate by Bishop Richard Challoner, Published in 1582, 1609, 1752. As published on E-Sword in 2016.

EJames Murdock, A Literal Translation from the Syriac Peshito Version, 1851, Robert Carter & Brothers, New York. Scanned and transcribed by Gary Cernava and published electronically by Janet Magierra at http://www.lightofword.org, and published on E-Sword in 2023.

FMost English versions translate this word “as” (along with the AGNT, which labeled it with Louw & Nida semantic domain #64.14), but the NIV “through” and ESV “by” are not translations found for this word in L&N (or Smith’s Supplement to L&N). I suggest that L&N #78.53 “to the degree that” (or “inasmuch as” - #89.34) would give us a more-meaningful basis of comparison (“to the degree that mercy was had upon us, we do not fault-out”).

GThis is the reading of the majority of Greek manuscripts (the oldest being the Ephraemi dating to the 5^th Century) and thus of the Textus Receptus and Greek Orthodox editions of the GNT. Contemporary critical editions, however, read ἐγκακοῦμεν, following 5 Greek manuscripts (including the 4^th century manuscripts Vaticanus, and Sinaiticus). This word only appears 5 other times in the whole Greek Bible (Lk. 18:1; 2 Cor. 4:(1), 16; Gal. 6:9; Eph. 3:13; 2 Thess. 3:13), each time with the ek- prefix in the Majority text, and with the eg- prefix in the contemporary critical editions. It makes no difference in meaning, since the substitution of gamma for kappa (both phonetic guttural stops, the only difference being voicing) is a known phonetic idiosyncrasy of Greek. Pringle (Calvin’s English translator) followed Adam Clarke and Wakefield in thinking that εγκακουμεν had a different meaning (“act wickedly”), a meaning found in the lexicons of Friberg and Thayer, but not in the lexicons of Liddel-Scott, Danker, Arndt & Gingrich, Pershbacher, or Louw & Nida, so it shouldn’t be taken in the extreme sense of going on a criminal rampage, but closer to the idea of losing heart or courage, as I have tried to do with my translation “fault-out.”

HFrom απο + ειπον – only here in the GNT, but several places in the Greek O.T. (1 Ki. 11:2; Job 6:14; 10:3; Zech. 11:12). A. T. Robertson noted in his Grammar that the middle voice of this verb means “we renounced from ourselves.”

Icf. instances of this word in Eph. 4:14, 1 Cor. 3:19, and 2 Cor. 11:3.

JOnly here in the GNT, but twice in the Greek O.T.: Ps. 14:3 (“slander”) and Psalm 35:3 (“flatter”).

KHughes commented, “If by ‘the word of God’ Paul means the Old Testament Scriptures, the deceitful handling of it would refer to the wresting of passages from their context and their misapplication, probably in a judaizing manner. But it seems preferable to understand ‘the word of God’ here to mean the message of Jesus Christ, in which case the deceitful handling of it would refer to the falsification of the gospel [for which see] ... I Thess. 2:13 … Heb.13:7 ... Rev. 1:9...”

LThis is the reading of the majority of Greek manuscripts (the oldest being the 9^th century Athous Lavrensis uncial, although it is also in an undated correction to the 7^th century Bezae) and thus of the Textus Receptus and Greek Orthodox editions of the GNT. The Nestle-Aland/UBS GNT edition instead reads συνιστανοντες, following 8 manuscripts (including three of the six oldest-known, dating from the 3^rd - 5^th centuries). The critical editions of Tischendorf and Tregelles, however, followed the other three of the 6 oldest-known manuscripts (from the 4^th -6^th centuries) with the spelling συνιστάντες. All three spellings, however, are simply different ways to spell the same Participle as a Present Active Nominative Masculine Plural. As for the meaning, this is the same verb from 2 Cor. 3:1 (“endorsements/letters of commendation/epistles of recommendation”).

MThe Greek word for “men” is not limited to persons of the male gender. It could be confusing to render it with a masculine English word now that the rules of English grammar have changed such that the third-person default gender is no longer masculine. All the 21^st century English versions I could find switched from the tradition of translating this “men” to translating it in a gender-neutral way: the 1984 NIV and 1995 NASB read “every man,” but the 2011 NIV reads “everyone’s,” and the 2020 NASB reads “every person’s.”

NPeshitta is plural here (Lamsa’s translation of the Peshitta is inaccurate on this point), but the Greek is singular. However, it is a distributive situation to “every man,” so it means the same thing.

OBurton, in his Moods and Tenses of New Testament Greek noted that this perfect periphrastic construction “denotes the existing state.” Robertson’s Word Pictures tags this as a first class conditional phrase, indicating that Paul considers it to be actually true that it is veiled.

PTurner’s Grammar identified this preposition as a “dative of disadvantage, ‘veiled to those,’” and Blass & Debrunner’s Grammar noted that “for” or “to” would be a better translation than “among.” It seems to me that it depends on whether the veil is over their heart and mind (which would be inside them) or whether it is speaking of a preventative barrier outside of them. I (along with Hughes) think it’s the former, but I don’t see that it makes any practical difference in theology.

QThis prepositional phrase “in whom the god of this age blinded the minds” is parallel to the phrase with the same preposition in the previous verse “in those who are perishing,” speaking of the same group of people. Unfortunately most English versions do not render the Greek preposition in the same way in both phrases. The preposition in verse 2 is rendered “to” (L&N semantic domain #90.56) by most English versions (except the RV and ASV “in” – L&N #83.13 – which is a legitimate interpretation, and then there’s the NLT “from” which is not a legitimate interpretation), then in verse 3, the Geneva & KJV render the same preposition “in” (L&N #83.13), NASB & ESV render it “in the case of” (L&N #90.23), and the NKJV and NIV delete the preposition entirely (even though it is in all the Greek, Latin, and Syriac manuscripts).

RNowhere else in the Bible does this phrase “god of this age” occur. The closest the LXX gets is in two apocryphal passages: Sirach 36:17 “and all who are upon the earth will know that the Lord is the God of the ages” (ὁ θεὸς τῶν αἰώνων) and Daniel 5:4 “...blessing their handmade idols while the God of the age (τὸν θεὸν τοῦ αἰῶνος) who has the authority and their spirit, they did not bless.” (NAW) The phrase “this age” occurs in Matt. 12:32, Luke 16:8, 18:30, 20:34, Rom. 12:2, 1 Cor. 1:20, 2:6-8, 3:18, Eph. 1:21, 2:2 (and 6:12 in the traditional GNTs), indicating the time of the physical world under sin (as opposed to the “age to come” or “ages of ages” in which the new heavens and new earth exist under the total rule of Jesus without sin).

SThis is the reading of the majority of Greek manuscripts (the oldest being the 9^th century Athous Lavrensis uncial, although it is also in an undated correction to the 7^th century Bezae) and thus of the Textus Receptus and Greek Orthodox editions of the GNT and of the Geneva, KJV, RV, ASV, Vulgate, Chrysostom, and Peshitta (which date to the 3^rd and 4^th centuries, and it might be noted that Chrysostom and the Peshitta chose words which meant “dawning” rather than merely “shining,” but this does not change the theology or meaning). However, the 19^th and 20^th century critical editions of the GNT follow 14 Greek manuscripts (including the 6 oldest-known from the 3rd-7th centuries) which omit the pronoun “to them.” Contemporary English versions follow the latter by inventing a new subject for the infinitive verb and inventing a new meaning for the verb, to wit “that they might not see” (instead of “that it might not shine”). However, the only other times this verb appears in the Greek Bible (Lev. 13:24-26, 28, 38-39; 14:56, Sirach 43:11), it means “shine/burn,” never “see.” And compounds of this verb also are only interpreted as “shine:” διαυγάσῃ (“shines through/dawns” 2 Peter 1:19), ἀπαύγασμα (“radiance/brightness from” Heb. 1:3, Wisdom 7:26), and καταυγάζειν (“bright/shining against” 1 Macc. 6:39, Wisdom 17:5).
Grammarians have debated over whether this phrase expresses the purpose of Satan which motivates his work, or the practical result after Satan has done his work. I side with Geneva, Hanna, NASB, NIV, ESV, Hodge, and G. Wilson, who opted for the purpose meaning, but Calvin, the KJV and NLT opted for it being a result clause, and Moule (Idiom Book of N.T. Greek) was ambivalent. Either meaning could be supported from other Scriptures.

TThis word is not the standard word for “light.” Outside of this passage, it only occurs in the LXX in (Ps. 26:1, 43:4, 77:14, 89:8, 138:11, and Job 3:9) referring to the presence of God.

UHannah, following Turner, thought that “of the glory” was an adjective describing “gospel,” but I side with Calvin in it being the content of the gospel, namely “the glory of Christ.”

VThe Vulgate per (“through”) is the dative meaning of the Greek preposition δια, not its accusative meaning (“for the sake of/on account of,” but the Greek object here is accusative, so the Vulgate should have given the accusative meaning (ob or propter).

W“‘Oti is used to introduce a co-ordinate causal sentence...” ~Robertson’s Grammar

XThis seems to be an adjectival participle describing which God Paul is talking about – not “the god of this age” but “the God who created light.” The predicate nominative then is to be found later in the phrase “who shone in our hearts.”

YGeneva, KJV/NKJV, and Vulgate followed the Majority of Greek manuscripts (the oldest of which dates back to the 5^th century, although there is an undated correction to this reading found in a 4^th century manuscript. This is also the reading of the Textus Receptus and Greek Orthodox editions of the GNT) with the aorist infinitive spelling of this verb (“light to shine”). The RV, ASV, & NASB followed the 19^th & 20^th century critical editions of the GNT, which, in turn, followed half a dozen Greek manuscripts, including the oldest-known from the 3^rd century) with the future indicative form (“light will shine”). The NIV, NET, ESV, & NLT, however, followed the Peshitta with a jussive form not found in any Greek manuscript (“let light shine”). It should be noted that this variant is only the difference of one vowel letter, and the practical upshot of the meaning is not significantly different.
This is not an exact quote of either the MT (ויאמר אלהים יהי אור... ובין החשׁך) or the LXX (εἶπεν ὁ θεός Γενηθήτω φῶς... ἀνὰ μέσον τοῦ σκότους) of Genesis 1:3-4 (underlining indicates words the quote matches), but it still carries the same gist of both.

ZThe perfect form of this verb lampw does not occur in the Greek Bible; this is the Aorist spelling, which is usually translated with the English past tense, but most English versions translated it into the English perfect tense in this verse. Hughes suggested that it “points back to the moment of conversion.” Chrysostom noted the progression from God speaking in creation to God shining in the incarnation: “Then indeed He said, ‘Let it be,’ and it was, but now He said nothing but Himself became light for us: for the Apostle does not say, ‘hath also now commanded,’ but ‘hath Himself shined.’”

AASee the same word in v. 4. This is a prepositional phrase in Greek comprised of a preposition (“to”) and a noun object (“enlightenment”), and together it expresses purpose. The Vulgate translated it literally, but the Peshitta turned it into a verb phrase “that we may be enlightened,” and all the English versions followed the Peshitta tradition rather than the Greek & Latin, some even adding or subtracting words to or from the Greek (NET, following the NIV, added “us,” and NLT subtracted “light”).

ABThe NASB, NIV, and NET, following the Tregelles edition of the GNT (which followed Tischendorf), left out “Jesus” here because it is missing in three Greek manuscripts (Alexandrinus, Vaticanus, and Miniscule 33), but “Jesus” is in practically every Greek manuscript (including 4 of the 6 oldest-known manuscripts, one of which is the oldest-known manuscript pre-dating the Alexandrinus and Vaticanus), and its also in the ancient Latin and Aramaic Bibles, so both the traditional Greek New Testament editions (Textus Receptus and Greek Orthodox) and the contemporary Nestle-Aland/UBS editions include Jesus’ name here, followed by the Geneva, KJV, RV, ASV, NKJV, ESV, and NLT. Of course, there is no change in meaning, since Jesus is the Christ.

ACVulgate actually has qui here, matching the Greek relative pronoun, but it was omitted in the Rheims English version.

ADThe Vulgate does not contain these extra words; it actually matches the Greek perfectly with ad inluminationem.

AEThe Aramaic preposition b- can mean “on” or “in” and thus is an appropriate translation of the Greek preposition εν, but should be translated into English as “in” because the Greek preposition is the one for “in” (εν), not “on” (επι).