The Lord’s commission to the apostle Paul in the verse above was the basis of his own ministry, but it is a crucial word for us today as well, for in it we see the steps by which sinners are bought into the kingdom of God.

And we need to pay especially close attention to how this verse begins, for we see here that the first thing that is needed for a sinner to be saved is for their eyes to be opened.

We often pray for certain ones, “Lord, save him!” In this way we implore the Lord to grant such a one His mercy and grace so he would repent and be born anew. However, sometimes it may be good to pray, instead, more specifically, “Lord, open his eyes!” For only then can he begin to see his real situation and his need for the gospel.

Unfortunately, we often struggle so hard to convince others to believe in Jesus, when all the while their spiritual eyes, so to speak, are still closed, so that our efforts are in vain and they remain unmoved.

And why do sinners need, first of all, to have their eyes opened? Because, as Paul himself later wrote,

…the god of this age has blinded the thoughts of the unbelieving, so that the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, might not shine on them.
— 2 Corinthians 4:4

How sinners need to have their eyes opened to see both their real situation, how desperate it is, and “the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ!” Yet, Satan uses the present age of his world system to capture sinners away from Christ and prevent them from seeing their spiritual need. Thus, the work of opening their eyes involves a real spiritual warfare, to bind the blinding work of the “strong man” so that his captives may be set free (Matt. 12:28-29).

To stress this matter again, this opening of the eyes is the beginning of the Lord’s gospel work within any sinner; nothing else can happen until this takes place. However, according to this verse that is only the first step in the process of God’s full salvation. So, we will go one to consider the rest of this verse in the next Note in this series.

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—  22 March 2025 —