Albert Barnes Commentary 2 Corinthians 4:3

"And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled in them that perish:" — 2 Corinthians 4:3 (ASV)

But if our gospel be hid. Paul here calls it his gospel because it was what he preached, or the message he bore. (See Barnes on Romans 16:5).

The meaning here is, "if the gospel I preach is not understood; if its meaning is obscure or hidden; if its glory is not seen." It is implied here that to many the beauty and glory of the gospel was not perceived. This was undeniable, notwithstanding the plainness and fullness with which its truths were made known.

Paul's object here is to state that this fact was not to be traced to any lack of clearness in the gospel itself, but to other causes—and thus probably to meet an objection that might be made to his argument about the clearness and fullness of the revelation in the gospel.

In the language Paul uses here, there is an undoubted allusion to what he had said respecting Moses, who put a veil on his face (2 Corinthians 3:13). He had hidden or concealed his face, as emblematic of the nature of his institutions (See Barnes on 2 Corinthians 3:14); and here Paul says that it was not to be denied that the gospel was also veiled to some. But it was not from the nature of the gospel. It was not because God had purposely concealed its meaning. It was not from any lack of clearness in itself. It was to be traced to other causes.

It is hid to them that are lost. On the meaning of the word rendered "lost" here (see Barnes on 2 Corinthians 2:15, where it is rendered "perish"). It is hidden among them, who are about to perish; who are perishing (en toiv apollumenoiv); those who deserve to perish. It is concealed only among that class who may be designated as the perishing, or as the lost. Grotius explains this: "those who deserve to perish, who foster their vices, and will not see the truth which condemns those vices." And he adds that this might very well be; for, "however conspicuous the gospel was in itself, yet like the sun it would not be visible to the blind." The cause was not in the gospel, but in themselves. This verse teaches, therefore:

1. That the beauty of the gospel may be hidden from many of the human family. This is a matter of simple fact. There are thousands and millions to whom it is preached who see no beauty in it and who regard it as foolishness.
2. That there is a class of men who may be called, even now, the lost. They are lost to virtue, to piety, to happiness, to hope. They deserve to perish and are hastening to merited ruin. This class in the time of Paul was large, and it is large now. It is composed of those to whom the gospel is hidden, or to whom it appears to be veiled, and who see no beauty in it. It is made up indeed of all the profane, polluted, and vile; but their characteristic feature is that the gospel is hidden from them, and that they see no beauty and glory in it.
3. This is not the fault of the gospel. It is not the fault of the sun when men shut their eyes and will not see it. It is not the fault of a running stream or a bubbling fountain if men will not drink of it but rather choose to die of thirst. The gospel does not obscure and conceal its own glory any more than the sun does. It is in itself a clear and full revelation of God and His grace, and that glory is adapted to shed light upon the benighted minds of men.

(The term "hid" may also be rendered "covered." For the phrase "that are lost," see 2 Thessalonians 2:10.)