Satan's Role in Missing the Obvious

Introduction:

Last week Paul explained his high view of his apostleship.

Just as God had given him mercy, so he was merciful to grant him apostleship.

It is from this perspective that we must understand Paul’s motivation to continue with his apostleship.

He faced severe opposition.

Yet, he says, “we are not growing exhausted...”

Here, he thinks of exhaustion as resorting to deceit.

Paul wants to correct the record for the Corinthians.

He has not wearied to the point of exhaustion.

He has renounced dishonesty and deceit.

2 Cor. 11:1-4, 12-15

2 Corinthians 11:12–15 NA28

Ὃ δὲ ποιῶ, καὶ ποιήσω, ἵνα ἐκκόψω τὴν ἀφορμὴν τῶν θελόντων ἀφορμήν, ἵνα ἐν ᾧ καυχῶνται εὑρεθῶσιν καθὼς καὶ ἡμεῖς. οἱ γὰρ τοιοῦτοι ψευδαπόστολοι, ἐργάται δόλιοι, μετασχηματιζόμενοι εἰς ἀποστόλους Χριστοῦ. καὶ οὐ ⸀θαῦμα· αὐτὸς γὰρ ὁ σατανᾶς μετασχηματίζεται εἰς ἄγγελον φωτός. οὐ μέγα οὖν εἰ καὶ οἱ διάκονοι αὐτοῦ μετασχηματίζονται ὡς διάκονοι δικαιοσύνης· ὧν τὸ τέλος ἔσται κατὰ τὰ ἔργα αὐτῶν.

2 Cor. 12:16

His behavior demonstrates the genuineness and purity of his motivations.

Contrast this with our own struggles with knowing whom to trust.

Accusation: Hiding the Truth

In 2 Cor. 4:3, we see, in what appears to be a concession, why Paul senses the need to explain himself to the Corinthians.

The accusation must be that Paul has hidden the truth from the Corinthians.

Assuming that any hiding has taken place, he wants them to know whose minds are covered and who is responsible for covering them.

Notice how this harkens back to the actions of Moses from the previous chapter.

Answer: The god of this age blinds minds

Paul will make clear in 2 Cor. 10:1-4 that we are engaged in a spiritual war.

This war is related to how people think and thus their minds.

Notice how Paul’s words are based on those of Jesus.

Luke 8:11-12 “Ἔστιν δὲ αὕτη ἡ παραβολή· ὁ σπόρος ἐστὶν ὁ λόγος τοῦ θεοῦ. οἱ δὲ παρὰ τὴν ὁδόν εἰσιν οἱ ἀκούσαντες, εἶτα ἔρχεται ὁ διάβολος καὶ αἴρει τὸν λόγον ἀπὸ τῆς καρδίας αὐτῶν, ἵνα μὴ πιστεύσαντες σωθῶσιν.”

Paul uses powerful words regarding the work of Satan.

He “blinds the minds of unbelief (plural, unbelieving ones…) so that they do not clearly see (to see what is obvious) the illumination of the message of the glory of Christ.”

They miss the truth about Christ.

Paul has already made this claim in 2 Cor. 3 as well.

People are quite capable of missing the obvious.

Explanation: We Do not Preach Ourselves as Lord

Paul, it seems, had found himself on the wrong side of an accusation that sounds all too modern.

His opponents were claiming, apparently, and the Corinthians had believed, that Paul was motivated by power.

One of the corruptions of our times has been to reduce everything to exploitation of power.

In such a stilted view of human relationships, the only way to understand anyone’s motives is by assessing how their interactions reflect a hierarchy of power or the quest to obtain it.

Hence, intersectionality and the hierarchy of privilege.

No genuine relationships can ever be formed if such a worldview prevails for we can never be allowed to think someone honest in their words or deeds.

Notice the rank of relationships Paul uses in 2 Cor. 4:5 “Οὐ γὰρ ἑαυτοὺς κηρύσσομεν ἀλλʼ Ἰησοῦν Χριστὸν κύριον, ἑαυτοὺς δὲ δούλους ὑμῶν διὰ Ἰησοῦν.”

Paul explains all of this in 2 Cor. 4:6.

Paul preaches Christ as Lord because he has come to know the truth himself.

He preaches it as true because it is true.

He has seen the light.