Thomas Aquinas Commentary 2 Corinthians 4:3-6

"And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled in them that perish: in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should not dawn [upon them]. For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus` sake. Seeing it is God, that said, Light shall shine out of darkness, who shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." — 2 Corinthians 4:3-6 (ASV)

Here the Apostle answers an unspoken objection. Someone could say to him: you claim that you do not lose heart in manifesting the truth of Christ, but this does not seem true, because many people oppose you. He therefore responds to this question. In doing so, he does two things: first, he answers the question, and second, he removes a doubt that seems to follow from his answer (verse 5).

Concerning the first point, he does three things:

1. He shows from whom Christ’s truth is hidden.
2. He gives the reason for this hiding (verse 4).
3. He shows that the truth of the Gospel is hidden not because of a deficiency in the truth itself (verse 4b).

He says, therefore: I have said that we do not lose heart in manifesting the truth. But even if our gospel, which we preach, is veiled, it is not veiled from everyone. It is veiled only to those who are perishing—that is, those who present an obstacle to its manifestation to them. As it is written, For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God (1 Corinthians 1:18).

The cause of this concealment is not the fault of the Gospel, but is because of their own guilt and malice. This is what he adds: in their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers. This can be explained in three ways.

1. The “god of this world” could be God Himself, who is the Lord of this world and of all things by creation and nature—The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein (Psalms 24:1). He has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, not by producing malice, but as a just consequence of their preceding sins, by withdrawing His grace: Make the heart of this people fat, and their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed (Isaiah 6:10). Therefore, he alludes to their preceding sins when he says, “of unbelievers,” as if their unbelief is the cause of this blindness.
2. The “god of this world” could be the devil. He is called the god of this world—that is, of those who live in a worldly manner—not by creation but by imitation, because worldly people imitate him: They follow him that are on his side (Wisdom 2:25, Vulgate). The devil blinds them by suggesting, attracting, and inclining them to sin. And so, when they are already in sin, they operate in the darkness of sin, so that they cannot see: Darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God (Ephesians 4:18).
3. The concept of “god” can refer to the ultimate end and fulfillment of a person's desires. Therefore, whatever a person sets for himself as an ultimate end in which his desire rests can be called his god. If you make pleasure your end, pleasure is your god; the same is true for fleshly desires and for honors. In this sense, the “god of this world” is that which worldly people set up as their end, such as pleasure or riches. This “god” blinds their minds, preventing them from seeing the light of grace here and the light of glory in the future: Fire, namely of concupiscence, has fallen on them, and they shall not see the sun (Psalms 57:9, Vulgate).

Thus, the blindness of unbelievers is not the fault of the Gospel, but comes from the sin of the unbelievers themselves.

Therefore, he adds, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ. Here it should be noted that God the Father is the source of all light: God is light and in him is no darkness at all (1 John 1:5). From this fountain of light is derived the image of this light, namely the Son, the Word of God: He reflects the glory of God and bears the very stamp of his nature (Hebrews 1:3). This radiance of glory and image of the fountain of light took on our flesh and accomplished many glorious and divine works in this world. The revelation of this light is the Gospel. Hence, the Gospel is also called the knowledge of the glory of Christ, a knowledge that has the power to enlighten: Wisdom is radiant and unfading . In itself, it shines upon all and enlightens all. But those who put up an obstacle are not enlightened.

This is what he says: the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel, which enlightens because it is the glory of Christ—that is, His brightness: We have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father (John 1:14). This glory is Christ’s, inasmuch as He is the image of God: He is the image of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15).

Note, according to a Gloss, that Christ is the most perfect image of God. For something to be a perfect image of another, three things are necessary, and these three are perfectly present in Christ:

1. A likeness.
2. An origin from the one being imaged.
3. Perfect equality.

If there is unlikeness between the image and that of which it is the image, or if one does not arise from the other, or if there is not perfect equality according to the same nature, then it would not be considered a perfect image. For the likeness of a king on a coin is not called a perfect image of the king, because it lacks equality according to the same nature. But the likeness of a king in his son is called a perfect image of the king, because it possesses the three marks mentioned. Therefore, since these three are present in Christ, the Son of God—because He is similar to the Father, arises from the Father, and is equal to the Father—He is perfectly and in the highest sense called the image of God.

Then, when he says, For what we preach is not ourselves, the Apostle resolves a potential doubt. For some could say to the Apostle, contrary to what was said here: you said above that your Gospel was hidden, yet now you say that the Gospel of Christ enlightens. Therefore, if it is granted that the Gospel of Christ enlightens, it cannot follow that your Gospel is hidden. To resolve this, he does two things. First, he shows that his own Gospel and Christ’s are the same; secondly, he shows how it is that his own Gospel enlightens (verse 6).

He says, therefore: I say that the manifestation of the brightness of Christ is the Gospel of Christ and our Gospel. It is ours as preached by us; it is Christ’s as the truth preached in the Gospel. That is why what we preach is not ourselves; that is, we do not preach to promote ourselves or for our own benefit. Instead, we direct it all to Christ and His praise: We preach Christ crucified (1 Corinthians 1:23); That I may tell of all your works, not mine, in the gates of the daughter of Zion (Psalms 73:28). But we preach Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. It is as if to say: we preach Jesus as Lord, but ourselves as servants, the reason being that we principally seek the praise of Christ and not our own. For a servant is one who exists for the benefit of the master. That is why a minister of the Church who does not seek the honor of God and the welfare of his subjects is not a true ruler, but a tyrant. For whoever rules well should be as a servant, seeking the honor and benefit of his subjects: The elder shall serve the younger (Genesis 25:23); For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a slave to all (1 Corinthians 9:19).

Then, when he says, For it is the God who said, he shows the source of his Gospel’s power to enlighten. Here we should note the order of the Apostle’s procedure. It is this: at one time, before being converted to Christ, we were in darkness, just like you and the others, upon whom the brightness of Christ’s glory did not shine. But now, after Christ has called us to Himself by His grace, that darkness has been taken away from us. Now the power of the glory of Christ’s brightness shines in us, and it shines on us in such a way that we are not only enlightened so that we can see, but we also enlighten others. Therefore, from the spiritual grace and abundant splendor of the brightness of Christ’s glory in us, our Gospel has the power to enlighten.

And this is what he says: I say that our Gospel enlightens, for it is the God who said, that is, who by a single command made, let light shine out of darkness. He did this by separating the elements, when He illuminated the dark chaos with the light He created: He said, ‘let there be light’ (Genesis 1:3). As it is also written, I made an unfailing light to rise in the heavens . He, I say, has shone in our hearts, that is, in our minds, which were previously darkened by the absence of grace and the obscurity of sin: To enlighten those that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death (Luke 1:79).

He has shone, I say, not only to enlighten us, but to give the light, that is, so that we might enlighten others: To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given (Ephesians 3:8); You are the light of the world (Matthew 5:4). To give the light, I say, of the knowledge, that is, so that we may make others know the glory of God, that is, of the clear vision of God, in the face of Christ. A Gloss explains this as “through Jesus Christ,” who is the face of the Father, because without Him the Father is not known. But a better interpretation is this: to illuminate the holy brightness of God, which indeed shines in the face of Jesus Christ, so that by that glory and brightness Jesus Christ may be known. In summary, it is as if to say: God has shone upon us to enlighten us, so that Jesus Christ may be known and preached among the Gentiles.