So far we have seen that the apostle Paul views his ministry in exceedingly glorious terms. We have yet to discover why his critics do not. An important clue may be found in 2 Corinthians 4:3: ‘our gospel is veiled … among those who are perishing’. According to Paul, a veil lies over the eyes of his critics, hiding from their view the glory of his ministry and consigning them to destruction. In this chapter we shall seek to unravel the precise nature of this veil.

A useful place to start is with Paul's own pre-conversion blindness. It is no secret that the apostle himself was once veiled to the glory of the Christian gospel. On a number of occasions he concedes that he was both an enemy of Jesus and a persecutor of the church (cf. Galatians 1:13; 1 Corinthians 15:9; Philippians 2:6). It was only when his heart was penetrated by divine light that the veil was lifted and his eyes were opened to the truth about Christ. If we can discover what it was that once darkened Paul's heart, perhaps we shall be able to appreciate the nature of the veil which now blinds the Corinthians.

The law

It would seem that Paul's initial hostility to Christians was the result of his intense devotion to the law of God.