the veil: “But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost” (4:3). Paul has just made the claim that he preached the simple truth of God, a truth which carried its own commendation and conviction. Paul’s critics gave no ground. They maintained that Paul’s teaching was anything but clear. Paul counters with the fact that the gospel was clear enough yet, to some, it remained hidden. The problem did not lie in the character of the gospel but in the blindness of those to whom it was preached.