Lost – 2 Corinthians 4:3

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Are you familiar with the term “saved”? How about “lost”? Both of these terms, in the context of the Bible, refer to the spiritual state of a person, but they can also refer to a physical or mental state.

A “saved” person has accepted God’s salvation that’s made possible by Jesus’ sacrifice. “Born again” can describe the same condition.

In the Gospels, we see the term lost in the parable of the prodigal son. We also see the term regarding the lost sheep (The son of Man came to seek and to save that which is lost). Another example is the lost coin. In all these cases, the thing that is lost is recoverable.

“Saved” refers to those who have been born again or have received God’s salvation through Jesus Christ.

“Lost,” on the other hand, would refer to a sinner who needs to come to the Father in Jesus’ name. The term can refer to a soul which has been lost and needs to be found, but this is only one way to define “lost.”

Apostle Paul refers to a different kind of lost In Second Corinthians Chapter 4. Although the underlying word might be the same, The contextual meaning here is different.

In today’s message, I will look at Second Corinthians chapter 4, verses 3 and 4, and apply its meaning to our world.

What does it mean to be “lost”?

In our text, a lost person has no hope of salvation. God hides the Gospel from the lost, Satan blinds their mind to it. Let’s read our text now:

2 Corinthians 4:3-4

But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

Here, “lost” is a spiritual condition, but it’s also a cognitive condition. A lost person, in this case, has no ability to understand the Gospel and is therefore hopelessly bound to Satan.

Let’s look at some of the key words found in our text and their underlying meaning.

Gospel (G2098, TDNT 2:721)

In the first several books of the New Testament, the Gospel is related to the Kingdom of God. See Matthew 4:23; 9:35; 24:14; Mark 1:14.

According to Zodhiates, “The kingdom is the role which God establishes in the hearts of men when Jesus Christ is received by faith.” The term means “the rule of God in the human heart because of Christ.”

The Gospel is “The glad tidings of salvation through Christ.” It is the news of victory in battle (TDNT). It is intrinsically valuable. The word “gospel” declares and effects salvation.

Fredrich points out that, in ancient times, the bearer of “good news” reaped a reward. Such a gift inspired others to bring fake good news, so they could also “cash in” on those rewards. In fact, the problem became so widespread that they only rewarded the bearer of good news after verifying their word.

Friedrich’s point interests me because many people profess to have accepted God’s salvation, but they have not truly repented. For this reason, we should always verify such claims (you shall know them by their fruit) before accepting them into the church.

Apostle Paul refers to the Gospel as the plan of salvation. Paul also refers to fake gospels in Second Corinthians 11:4 and Galatians 1:6.

People, even believers, find fake gospels alluring, but when they do, they lose the accompanying reward.

Now that we understand what the Gospel is, we need to understand that in our text, this Gospel is not freely available. it is hidden.

No one is leaving the 99 to go find the one sheep that went astray. Nobody is sweeping the room looking for that lost coin. Nobody is expecting the lost son to come to God.

In fact, the gospel in our text is hidden, so an entire group of people can neither find it nor accept it.

Let’s look at that word.

Hid (G2572, TDNT 3:957)

Apostle Paul tells us, “If our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:“

What does this word mean?

God has concealed the Gospel from the people in question. He keeps secret from them the Good News of Jesus Christ and His salvation.

Elsewhere in scripture, we learn that God may conceal Himself in judgment.

These “lost” people have no hope because God has judged them. God has chosen to hide salvation from them. These people, with blinded minds, (v4) have no hope of salvation.

The hiddennes of YAHWEH can be almost unbearable. The pain of being delivered over to a reprobate mind contributes to the insanity of the lost.

In our text, the Gospel has been hidden from the lost by Divine action.

Are Lost (G622, TDNT 1:394)

According to Zodihates, The underlying word for “lost” means to be wholly destroyed. Also, the loss is like a lost hair to the owner. No way exists to put it back.

In this passage, the loss is attributable to the will or fault of those who experienced it. In other words, those who are lost, that is prevented from receiving salvation, have spoiled their lives through their own acts.

Therefore, in our text, the condition of “being lost” arises from the “people” side of things, not from God’s side. As Apostle Paul says in Romans, these people have no excuse. They rejected God. They rejected nature. Now, they face the consequences of eternal damnation.

No path to recovery exists for them. In fact, they don’t want one because of the condition of their mind.

In other words, the “lost” in our text are those that perish, whose souls are destroyed. The condition of the lost arises not only from unbelief, but by the conscious rejection of God’s Way.

Just as John considers eternal life beginning at the time of saving faith, in this life. The Bible considers eternal damnation also beginning in this life.

god (G2316, TDNT 3:65)

Our text is not speaking of the true God, the creator of the universe. It speaks of the god of this world.

The “god of this world” has supernatural power, but that power is inferior to God’s power. Satan’s dominion is “this world.” He is the Prince and Power of the air. God’s dominion is the entire universe, but God has given the Devil the world – more specifically, the world’s system – as his dominion.

According to Thayer, the “lost” serve the Devil as their god.

This term, “god” refers to the person or thing to which one is wholly devoted, for which alone he lives.

The lost of our text are complete slaves to Satan. That’s why they behave the way they do.

In our text, God has given over the lost to Satan, the god of this world. Those who are lost are completely committed to the insanity that comes from eternal separation from God.

(of this) world (G165, TDNT 1:197)

Looking again to Thayer, we learn that the god of the world is the Devil, who rules the thoughts and deeds of the men of this age.

Casual observation can tell us that people who are controlled by the thoughts and pursuits of this present time plague our society. Service to Satan, their god, consumes them.

Satan is the god of this world’s system. When our leaders and their followers conduct themselves in unnatural, illogical, and destructive ways, their behavior only makes sensefrom the Devil’s perspective.

Hath Blinded (G5186, TDNT 8:270)

Notice that the “lost” of our text have blinded minds, NOT blinded eyes.

Simply put, when Satan blinds one’s mind, he blunts one’s mental discernment. Their mind literally goes dark, unable to pursue righteousness, good judgment, or logic. The condition of blindness tethers the lost to Satan.

Naturally,(I’ll call them) “normal” sinners have access to the grace of God and the salvation He has made available to all. When they reject God to serve their god, Satan, however, they get something they presumably didn’t want: a blinded mind which makes them incapable of repentance unto salvation.

Minds (G3540, TDNT 4:960)

Notice again that Satan does not blind the eyes: He blinds the mind. What is the mind which is blinded?

Thayer says the mind is “That which thinks, the mind: plural (where the minds of many are referred to).” So, this is a collective insanity… a mass psychosis.

Mass hysteria (mass psychosis) is a social phenomenon where a group of people develop similar symptoms that do not have an identifiable physical cause. Those symptoms, however, have an identifiable spiritual cause.

Our society has gone crazy with all sorts of evil practices, leading me to blame the collective masses of blinded minds.

What other explanation exists? People all over Western nations have adopted illogical and destructive philosophies and behaviors which threaten the existence of their nations as well as their own personal existence. Only Satan can blind minds in such a way.

Conclusion

God has hidden the Gospel from the lost people of our text. Satan has blinded their minds. This condion permanently destroying these people.

The god of this world blinds the minds of the lost for a reason:

“Lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.”

Hope might exist were it not for the operation of God that conceals the Gospel from the lost. To make their situation even more hopeless, Satan ensures the lost of our text never can comprehend or understand the Gospel. They cannot repent unto salvation.

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