in whom the god of this present age has blinded their unbelieving minds so as to shut out the sunshine of the Good News of the glory of the Christ, who is the image of God.
He who has received the seed among the thorns is the man who hears the Message, but the cares of the present age and the delusions of riches quite stifle the Message, and it becomes unfruitful.
And the Word came in the flesh, and lived for a time in our midst, so that we saw His glory–the glory as of the Father's only Son, sent from His presence. He was full of grace and truth.
»Yet a little while,« He replied, »the light is among you. Be faithful to the light that you have, for fear darkness should overtake you; for a man who walks in the dark does not know where he is going.
»He has blinded their eyes and made their minds callous, lest they should see with their eyes and perceive with their minds, and should turn, and I should heal them.«
If I had not done among them, as I have, such miracles as no one else ever did, they would have had no sin; but they have in fact seen and also hated both me and my Father.
Once more Jesus addressed them. »I am the Light of the world,« He said; »the man who follows me shall certainly not walk in the dark, but shall have the light of Life.«
that they may turn from darkness to light and from the obedience to Satan to God, in order to receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified through faith in Me.'
since the Christ was to be a suffering Christ, and by coming back from the dead was then to be the first to proclaim a message of light both to the Jewish people and to the Gentiles.«
No, but that which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons, not to God; and I would not have you have fellowship with one another through the demons.
Nay, their minds were made dull; for to this very day during the reading of the book of the ancient Covenant, the same veil remains unlifted, because it is only in Christ that it is to be abolished.
And all of us, with unveiled faces, reflecting like bright mirrors the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same likeness, from one degree of radiant holiness to another, even as derived from the Lord the Spirit.
For God who said, »Out of darkness let light shine,« is He who has shone in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God's glory, which is radiant on the face of Christ.
which were once habitual to you while you walked in the ways of this world and obeyed the Prince of the powers of the air, the spirits that are now at work in the hearts of the sons of disobedience–to you God has given Life.
For ours is not a conflict with mere flesh and blood, but with the despotisms, the empires, the forces that control and govern this dark world–the spiritual hosts of evil arrayed against us in the heavenly warfare.
to whom it was His will to make known how vast a wealth of glory for the Gentile world is implied in this truth–the truth that `Christ is in you, the hope of glory.'
He brightly reflects God's glory and is the exact representation of His being, and upholds the universe by His all-powerful word. After securing man's purification from sin He took His seat at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once for all been enlightened, and have tasted the sweetness of the heavenly gift, and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit,
And in the written word of prophecy we have something more permanent; to which you do well to pay attention –as to a lamp shining in a dimly-lighted place– until day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.
But he who hates his brother man is in darkness and is walking in darkness; and he does not know where he is going–because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
And yet I am giving you a new command, for such it really is, so far as both He and you are concerned: because the darkness is now passing away and the light, the true light, is already beginning to shine.