Digging Deeper Days
Finding the original intent of Scripture and making good application to our everyday lives as we become equipped to correctly handle the Word of Truth!
Today is 2-for-1 Friday!
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The Questions
1) Who is “their” referring to and why is this important to know?
2) How have they been blinded?
3) This blindness is worse than any kind of blindness that exists. How?
2 Corinthians 4:4
“In their case, the god of this age has blinded the minds of the unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”
Original Intent
1) Who is “their” referring to and why is this important to know?
“These” are people who rejected the “open display of truth” (verse 3) demonstrated by the apostles. They could not see clearly the gospel message, which is the reality of the good news regarding Jesus Christ as the only way of salvation. Their spiritual blindness caused them to reject Christ. They missed the beauty of the One who came to free them. Albert Barnes said of these people that the blindness was not because of the gospel itself, but because of their own hearts. “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.” (studylight.org )
The eyes of every heart must be opened to see the beauty of the gospel. (Ephesians 1:17-19) And at the very core of the gospel is Christ. In the case of “those who are perishing” (verse 3), they had been blinded to the gospel that would save them.
2) Why have they been blinded?
This blindness is the work of “the god of this world.” This god, Satan, and his minions have only our destruction in mind. (1 John 5:19) It’s not that our enemy has ultimate power, it is simply the present reality of our world’s condition. He is ruling the darkness in a specific, but very limited way. Right now, Satan is setting the agenda for a skeptical world enticed by his lies. He hates Jesus and He hates believers. He wants nothing more than to keep people from seeing who Jesus Christ, the Light of the world, really is. He wants to keep as many as possible from the beauty of the gospel. Jesus said about Satan: “He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he speaks from his own nature, because he is a liar and the father of lies.” (John 8:44)
3) This blindness is worse than any kind of blindness that exists. How?
Physical blindness keeps people from seeing many things. The sighted lament a loss of vision in the people they love. They grieve for their loved ones are unable to see the light of morning and the beauty of their surroundings Far worse than physical blindness is spiritual blindness that keeps people from beholding the gospel light. This light is the “excellence, beauty, and splendor” of the glorious gospel. Albert Barnes is helpful again: “Light is the emblem of knowledge, purity, or innocence; and is here and elsewhere applied to the gospel, because it removes the errors, and sins, and wretchedness of men, as the light of the sun scatters the shades of night.”
This blindness is devastating because it obscures the beauty and light of God. It keeps humanity from recognizing that Christ, God Himself in the flesh, has come to us to rescue us from ourselves. (Colossians 1:15-20)
Everyday Application
1) Who is “their” referring to and why is this important to know?
Isaiah 9:2 says “the people walking in darkness have seen a great light; a light has dawned on those living in the land of darkness.” We were all walking in darkness before our hearts were opened by God to see Jesus. Left to our own, we’d all stay in our blindness for eternity. Isaiah prophesied about the One who would come as the Prince of Peace, scattering the darkness. This One, the Light of the world, is central to the gospel. The book of John introduces Jesus, who became a man, and describes Him as “The true light that gives light to everyone….”. (John 1:9)
Satan blinds those in the world because he hates the good news of the gospel and wants to deter people from spreading the light of Jesus to the world. We, as believers, pray against the darkness because we want people to know Jesus and experience life to the full as we have. “He has rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son He loves.” (Colossians 1:13)
2) Why have they been blinded?
The contrast of darkness and light, blindness and sight, is at the heart of the gospel message. We must recognize the grim reality of our condition, and of everyone in the world, apart from the light of Christ transforming our dark hearts. It is essential for us to confess that Jesus, the God-Man is the only One who can defeat the darkness. At the birth of Jesus, Simeon recognized the Christ-child as the Light that would save the world. “For my eyes have seen Your salvation. You have prepared it in the presence of all peoples—a light for revelation to the Gentiles and glory to Your people Israel.” (Luke 2:30) As believers in the incarnation of Christ (God becoming flesh), we strike a deadly blow against the powers of darkness when we testify that “once we were blind, but now we can see.” (John 9:25)
Those of us who have been transferred from darkness to light are witnesses to the power of the gospel. “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light.” (Ephesians 5:8)
3) This blindness is worse than any kind of blindness that exists. How?
To not recognize and receive the “glorious gospel” (King James 2000 translation) is a death sentence for the blind and rebellious. Physical blindness may bring hardship and sorrow, but spiritual blindness ultimately leads to eternal separation from God. The prince of darkness, Satan, wants nothing more than to lead as many people as possible away from the Prince of Peace. (1Peter 5:8)
But the God-Man offers us all sight! To look on Him is to see the beauty of God Himself and be forever changed.
The light of the gospel of Christ “is all light, and splendor, and beauty, compared with the dark systems of philosophy and heathenism. It is glorious, for it is full of splendor; makes known the glorious God; discloses a glorious plan of salvation; and conducts ignorant, weak, and degraded man to a world of light. [In Christ] we see the Divine glory and perfections embodied, and shine forth. It is from His resemblance to God in all respects that He is called his image; and it is through Him that the Divine perfections are made known to men. It is an object of especial dislike and hatred to Satan that the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on men, and fill their hearts. Satan hates that image; he hates that men should become like God; and he hates all that has a resemblance to the great and glorious Jehovah.” (Albert Barnes, (studylight.org)
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Digging Deeper is for Everyone!
1) Take this passage (or any other passage).
2) Read it, and the verses around it,
several times
3) Write down your questions
as you think of them.
4) Ask specific culture related questions and be ready to dig around for your answers. Google them, use www.studylight.org, or look them up in a study Bible and read the footnotes (click on the little letters next to a word and it will show you
other related verses!). (www.esvbible.org)
5) Check your applications with other trusted Christians that you are in community with and embrace the fullness of God
in your everyday!
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Why Dig Deeper?
Finding the original meaning is a huge deal when we study Scripture and can make all the difference in our understanding as we apply God’s truths to our everyday lives.
In our modern-day relationships, we want people to understand our original intention as we communicate; how much more so between God and humanity?!
Here’s a little bit more on why we take Digging Deeper so seriously.
Study Tools
We love getting help while we study and www.studylight.org is one of many excellent resources, providing the original Hebrew (Old Testament) or Greek (New Testament) with an English translation.
Want to know more about a specific word in a verse? Click on “Strong’s Interlinear Bible” then click the word you’d like to study. Discover “origin”, “definition” and hear the original pronunciation – That Is Awesome!
Want more background? Click “Study Tools”, then pick a few commentaries to read their scholarly approach, keeping in mind that just because a commentary says it, doesn’t mean it’s true. (just like the internet :-))
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