gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God should not dawn
upon them" (R.V. with margin). In this passage the unconscious condition
is said to be the direct result of the power of Satan, and the blindness
of their thoughts, it is stated, is along one particular line. To them
the _gospel_ is veiled; and the gospel here referred to is not the whole
life story of Jesus, nor is it the "Gospel of the Kingdom;" but the
message of good news or favor; the exact terms of Salvation by grace
alone. This Paul here calls "our gospel," for to him it was first
unfolded in its completeness.

The unregenerate are, then, unconscious of their position in the arms of
Satan, and blind in their thoughts toward the gospel of mercy and
favor,--their only hope for time or eternity. Satan, like a fond mother,
is bending over those in his arms, breathing into their minds the
quieting balm of a "universal fatherhood of God" and a "universal
brotherhood of man;" suggesting their worthiness before God on the
ground of their own moral character and physical generation; feeding
their tendency to imitate the true faith by great humanitarian
undertakings and schemes for the reformation of individuals and the
betterment of the social order. God's necessary requirements of
regeneration are carefully set aside, and the blinded souls go on
without hope, "having the understanding darkened, being alienated from
the life of God through the ignorance that is in there, because of the
blindness of their heart" (Eph. 5:18). How important, as a preparation
for salvation, is the illuminating work of the Spirit in conviction, by
which He lifts the veil and opens the mind to a new vision of the
redemption and glory that is in Christ! Without this God-given vision
there can be no understanding of the way of life, nor any intelligent
decision for Christ.