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2 Corinthians 4 · a question people ask

"the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving" (4:4). Who is the god of this world?

In the text

The verse says what he has done, and to what end: he "has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that the light of the Good News of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should not dawn on them" (4:4). It doesn't name him, and the chapter says no more of him. These notes don't name him either, set no other verse beside him, and apply the verse to no one.

The verses

“in whom the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that the light of the Good News of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should not dawn on them.”
2 Corinthians 4:4 · World English Bible

From Favor's study of 2 Corinthians 4

2 Corinthians 4: Treasure in clay vessels

Behind light in "the light of the Good News" (4:4) and "the light of the knowledge" (4:6) is one Greek noun, and the New Testament has it only in these two verses. And "we don’t faint" (4:1) comes again at 4:16, after "pressed on every side, yet not crushed" (4:8).

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Last reviewed October 8, 2026. Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Every answer cites the verses it rests on. What we believe · All Bible questions