2 Corinthians 4:4 says that the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, so they will not see the light of the gospel. Who, then, is the “God of this world who blinds people”? Is it Jesus, or is it the devil? Now, this might sound like an easy question to answer. The god of this world is the devil. After all, it does not seem that Jesus would blind people from seeing the gospel. My opinion is that the god of this world is the devil. However, some maintain that it is Jesus. Both positions have their justification. Let me show you why.
2 Cor. 4:4, “in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”
The god of this world is the devil.
A lot of verses imply that the god of this world is the devil. Let’s take a look at some of them.
- Matt. 4:8–9, “Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; 9 and he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You fall down and worship me.”
- Luke 10:18, “And He said to them, ‘I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning.’“
- John 12:31, “Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.”
- John 14:30, “I will not speak much more with you, for the ruler of the world is coming, and he has nothing in Me.”
- John 16:11, “and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.”
From these verses, you can see that Satan said that he would give all the kingdoms of the world to Jesus (Matt. 4:8-9). Is it because he was the ruler of this world in its fallen state? Or was Satan lying? We see from Luke 10:18 that Satan fell from heaven and that the ruler of this world will be judged (John 12:31; 16:11), and the ruler of this world has nothing in Christ (John 14:30). From these verses, we see the implication that the ruler of this world, the God of this world, is the devil. Furthermore, it would make sense to say that he is the one who is blinding the minds of people not to see the gospel.
The issue of blinding the minds of people is important. It would seem consistent with the idea that the devil does not want people saved. After all, it is Christ who opens their minds to believe the truth (Acts 16:14) and to understand Scripture (Luke 24:45). So, there is a strong case that the god of this world is the devil.
The god of this world is Jesus.
One of the reasons that someone might say that Jesus is the God of this world who has blinded the minds of unbelievers is the following verses.
- Mark 4:10–12, “As soon as He was alone, His followers, along with the twelve, began asking Him about the parables. 11 And He was saying to them, ‘To you has been given the mystery of the kingdom of God, but those who are outside get everything in parables, 12 so that WHILE SEEING, THEY MAY SEE AND NOT PERCEIVE, AND WHILE HEARING, THEY MAY HEAR AND NOT UNDERSTAND. OTHERWISE, THEY MIGHT RETURN AND BE FORGIVEN.’“
- John 12:40, “HE HAS BLINDED THEIR EYES AND HE HARDENED THEIR HEART, SO THAT THEY WOULD NOT SEE WITH THEIR EYES AND PERCEIVE WITH THEIR HEART, AND BE CONVERTED AND I HEAL THEM.”
From the Scriptures, we see that Jesus speaks in parables so that people will not be forgiven (Mark 4:10-12). Also, God hardens hearts so that some do not see and hear the truth (John 12:40). But hardening is not the same thing as blinding. Or is it? Truth seems to be an acquisition of the mind. Belief seems to be an acquisition of the heart. Yet, people think evil in their hearts (Matt. 9:4). So, there is a relationship between the heart and the mind, and I am not able to adequately discern the difference so as to arrive at a more definitive answer to the question that generated this article.
Conclusion
There are arguments for both positions that the ‘god of this world’ is the devil and Jesus. My position is that ‘the god of this world’ refers to the devil.
