2 Corinthians 4:5
For we do not proclaim ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake.
For we do not proclaim ourselves
The phrase emphasizes the humility and self-effacement that Paul and his companions practice in their ministry. The Greek word for "proclaim" is "κηρύσσομεν" (kērussomen), which means to herald or announce publicly. In the Greco-Roman world, heralds were messengers who conveyed the words of a king or authority, not their own. Paul is making it clear that their message is not about self-promotion or personal gain. This reflects a core Christian value of humility, where the focus is on God's glory rather than human achievement.

but Jesus Christ as Lord
Here, Paul centers the message of the Gospel on the person and lordship of Jesus Christ. The Greek word "Κύριον" (Kurion) for "Lord" signifies authority and divinity, acknowledging Jesus as sovereign over all. This declaration is foundational to Christian belief, affirming the deity of Christ and His rightful place as the ruler of believers' lives. Historically, this was a bold statement in a polytheistic society where Caesar was often declared as lord. By proclaiming Jesus as Lord, Paul is asserting the supremacy of Christ over all earthly powers.

and ourselves as your servants
The term "servants" is translated from the Greek "δούλους" (doulous), meaning bondservants or slaves. This reflects a voluntary submission and dedication to serving others, following the example of Christ who came to serve and not to be served (Mark 10:45). In the early church, this concept of servanthood was revolutionary, challenging societal norms of status and power. Paul and his companions willingly take on this role, demonstrating the transformative power of the Gospel in creating a community marked by love and service.

for Jesus’ sake
This phrase underscores the motivation behind their service. The Greek "διὰ Ἰησοῦν" (dia Iēsoun) indicates that their actions are done through and for the sake of Jesus. It highlights the selfless nature of their ministry, driven by a desire to honor Christ and advance His kingdom. This aligns with the broader biblical narrative of living for God's glory and the advancement of His purposes on earth. Historically, this commitment often led to persecution and hardship, yet it was embraced joyfully by early Christians as a testament to their faith and devotion.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Paul the Apostle
The author of 2 Corinthians, Paul is addressing the church in Corinth, emphasizing his role as a servant of Christ rather than promoting himself.

2. Jesus Christ
Central to the message, Jesus is proclaimed as Lord, highlighting His divine authority and the focus of the Gospel message.

3. Corinthian Church
The recipients of the letter, the church in Corinth faced various challenges, including issues of leadership and understanding the true nature of the Gospel.

4. Servants
Paul and his companions, who see themselves as servants for the sake of Jesus, emphasizing humility and service in their ministry.

5. The Gospel
The good news of Jesus Christ, which Paul and his companions are dedicated to proclaiming, not for personal gain but for the glory of God.
Teaching Points
Proclaiming Christ, Not Ourselves
Our message should always center on Jesus Christ as Lord. Personal agendas or self-promotion have no place in the proclamation of the Gospel.

Servanthood as a Model for Ministry
Like Paul, we are called to be servants for Jesus' sake. This means prioritizing the needs of others and the mission of the Gospel over our own desires.

Humility in Leadership
True Christian leadership is marked by humility and a focus on serving others, following the example of Christ.

The Lordship of Christ
Recognizing Jesus as Lord means submitting to His authority in every aspect of our lives and ministries.

The Purpose of Our Service
Our service is for Jesus' sake, meaning it is motivated by love for Him and a desire to see His kingdom advanced.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does Paul's approach to ministry in 2 Corinthians 4:5 challenge our modern understanding of leadership and success?

2. In what ways can we ensure that our lives and ministries are centered on proclaiming Jesus Christ as Lord?

3. How can we cultivate a servant's heart in our daily interactions and responsibilities?

4. What are some practical steps we can take to ensure that our service is truly for Jesus' sake and not for personal recognition?

5. How do the additional scriptures (Philippians 2:5-11, Mark 10:45, etc.) deepen our understanding of what it means to be a servant for Christ?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Philippians 2:5-11
This passage describes the humility and servanthood of Christ, which Paul emulates in his ministry.

Mark 10:45
Jesus speaks of His own mission to serve, not to be served, which parallels Paul's message of servanthood.

Galatians 1:10
Paul emphasizes that his goal is to please God, not people, reinforcing his message of serving Christ rather than seeking personal glory.

1 Corinthians 3:5-7
Paul discusses the role of servants in God's work, emphasizing that it is God who gives the growth, not the servants themselves.
Not Self, But the LordD. Fraser 2 Corinthians 4:5
The Theme of PreachingJ.R. Thomson 2 Corinthians 4:5
Glory of the Apostolic Ministry; How its Duties Were DischargedC. Lipscomb 2 Corinthians 4:1-6
How Men Should PreachE. Hurndall 2 Corinthians 4:1-6
An Apostolic MinistryH. Allon, D. D.2 Corinthians 4:5-6
Christ as LordS. Pearson, M. A.2 Corinthians 4:5-6
Christ the Supreme Theme of a Gospel MinistryR. Walker.2 Corinthians 4:5-6
Divine KnowledgeW. Jay.2 Corinthians 4:5-6
God's Glory in ChristB. Dale, M. A.2 Corinthians 4:5-6
Self Disclaimed and Christ ExaltedD. Bestwick, M. A.2 Corinthians 4:5-6
Self Rejected and Christ ExaltedJ. Hunt.2 Corinthians 4:5-6
The Christian Ministry and its MessageJ. Pollock.2 Corinthians 4:5-6
The Face of JesusW. Williams.2 Corinthians 4:5-6
The Face of Jesus ChristD. Gregg.2 Corinthians 4:5-6
The Glory of God in the Face of Jesus ChristC. H. Spurgeon.2 Corinthians 4:5-6
The Glory of God in the Face of Jesus ChristJ. Imrie, M. A.2 Corinthians 4:5-6
The Great ArgumentN. D. Williamson.2 Corinthians 4:5-6
True Soul LightD. Thomas, D. D.2 Corinthians 4:5-6
People
Corinthians, Galatians, Paul
Places
Achaia, Corinth
Topics
Bondmen, Bond-servants, Christ, Ourselves, Preach, Preaching, Sake, Servants
Dictionary of Bible Themes
2 Corinthians 4:5

     2212   Christ, head of church
     2224   Christ, the Lord
     5109   Paul, apostle
     5396   lordship, of Christ
     7449   slavery, spiritual
     7708   apostles, function
     8344   servanthood, in believers

2 Corinthians 4:4-5

     2018   Christ, divinity

Library
The Winsome Jesus.
The Face of Jesus: Jesus drew crowds, men, women, children, bad people, enemies--His personality--face--impress of experiences--the glory of God in that face, 2 Corinthians 4:6. Hebrews 1:3. The Music of God in the Voice of Jesus: the eye--Jesus' eyes, Luke 4:16-30. John 8:59. 10:31. 7:32, 45, 46. 18:6. Mark 10:32. 9:36. 10:13-16. Luke 19:48.--His voice, Matthew 26:30. personal touch, Matthew 8:3, 15. 9:29. 17:7. 20:34. Mark 1:41. 7:33. Luke 5:13. 22:51. (John 14:16-20). His presence irresistible.
S. D. Gordon—Quiet Talks about Jesus

Looking at the Unseen
'While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen.'--2 COR. iv. 18. Men may be said to be divided into two classes, materialists and idealists, in the widest sense of those two words. The mass care for, and are occupied by, and regard as really solid good, those goods which can be touched and enjoyed by sense. The minority--students, thinkers, men of ideas, moralists, and the like--believe in, and care for, impalpable spiritual riches. Everybody admits that the
Alexander Maclaren—Romans, Corinthians (To II Corinthians, Chap. V)

The Heart of the Gospel
Let me give you a parable. In the days of Nero there was great shortness of food in the city of Rome, although there was abundance of corn to be purchased at Alexandria. A certain man who owned a vessel went down to the sea coast, and there he noticed many hungry people straining their eyes toward the sea, watching for the vessels that were to come from Egypt with corn. When these vessels came to the shore, one by one, the poor people wrung their hands in bitter disappointment, for on board the galleys
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 32: 1886

In the Bitter Cold of Winter the Trees Stand Bare of Leaves...
1. In the bitter cold of winter the trees stand bare of leaves, and it seems as if their life, too, had departed for ever, yet in the spring time they put forth new leaves and beautiful flowers, and the fruit begins to show itself. So was it with Me in My crucifixion and resurrection, and so it is with my faithful cross-bearers (2 Cor. iv.8-11; vi.4-10). Though they seem to be crushed and dead beneath their cross they still put forth the beautiful flowers and glorious fruits of eternal life which
Sadhu Sundar Singh—At The Master's Feet

Clairvoyance
"We look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal."--2 COR. iv. 18. "Everything that is, is double."--Hermes Trismegistus. "LOOK not at the things which are seen." How can we look not at the things which are seen? If they are seen, how can we help looking at them? "Look at the things which are not seen." How can we look at things which are not seen? Has religion some magic wishing-cap,
Henry Drummond—The Ideal Life

Conclusion.
NEBICULA est; transibit,"--"It is a little cloud; it will pass away." This was said first, I believe, by Athanasius, of Julian the Apostate who, after a short reign of intense hostility to Christianity, perished with his work, "leaving no wreck behind."[97]97 The same may be applied to all the recent attempts to undermine the faith of humanity in the person of its divine Lord and Saviour. The clouds, great and small, pass away; the sun continues to shine: darkness has its hour; the light is eternal.
Philip Schaff—The Person of Christ

Meditations of the Blessed State of a Regenerate Man in Heaven.
Here my meditation dazzles, and my pen falls out of my hand; the one being not able to conceive, nor the other to describe, that most excellent bliss, and eternal weight of glory (2 Cor. iv. 17; Rom. viii. 18)--whereof all the afflictions of this present life are not worthy--which all the elect shall with the blessed Trinity enjoy, from that time that they shall be received with Christ, as joint-heirs (Rom. viii. 17) into that everlasting kingdom of joy. Notwithstanding, we may take a scantling thereof.
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety

Out of the Depths
Heinrich Suso 2 Cor. iv. 17 "O Father! not my will, but Thine be done!" Thus with my lips I say; Yet lags the heart, the while the lips would run-- My heart, it sayeth "Nay." "Be comforted, O child of My delight, Though yet thy heart complain; For I would have thee suffer when I smite, Or pain would not be [g]ain. "Were it a chastening if it were not grief? Yet for a moment tears-- Then glows the spring where fell the yellow leaf, Of Heaven's eternal years. "For sorrow is the sorrow of an hour,
Frances Bevan—Hymns of Ter Steegen, Suso, and Others

Light of a Stone Most Precious
P. G. 2 Cor. iv. 6, 7 God in heaven hath a treasure, Riches none may count or tell; Hath a deep eternal pleasure, Christ, the Son He loveth well. God hath here on earth a treasure, None but He its price may know-- Deep unfathomable pleasure, Christ revealed in saints below. Christ, the light that fills the heavens Shining forth on earth beneath, Through His Spirit freely given Light of life midst shades of death; Down from heaven's unclouded glory God Himself the treasure brought, Closing thus
Frances Bevan—Hymns of Ter Steegen, Suso, and Others

The Council of Nicæa.
An ecumenical council was a new experiment. Local councils had long since grown to be a recognised organ of the Church both for legislation and for judicial proceedings. But no precedent as yet prescribed, no ecclesiastical law or theological principle had as yet enthroned, the General Council' as the supreme expression of the Church's mind. Constantine had already referred the case of the Donatists first to a select council at Rome under bishop Miltiades, then to what Augustine (Ep. 43) has been
Athanasius—Select Works and Letters or Athanasius

Memoir of John Bunyan
THE FIRST PERIOD. THIS GREAT MAN DESCENDED FROM IGNOBLE PARENTS--BORN IN POVERTY--HIS EDUCATION AND EVIL HABITS--FOLLOWS HIS FATHER'S BUSINESS AS A BRAZIER--ENLISTS FOR A SOLDIER--RETURNS FROM THE WARS AND OBTAINS AN AMIABLE, RELIGIOUS WIFE--HER DOWER. 'We have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.'--2 Cor 4:7 'For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.'--Isaiah 55:8. 'Though ye have lien among the
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

Preaching (ii. ).
For Thy sake, beloved Lord, I will labour in Thy Word; On the knees, in patient prayer; At the desk, with studious care; In the pulpit, seeking still There to utter all Thy will. I pursue the subject of attractive preaching, taking still the word attractive in its worthiest sense, and again laying stress on the necessity of attractiveness of the right sort. We have looked a little already at some of the external requisites to this end; now let us approach some which have to do with matter more
Handley C. G. Moule—To My Younger Brethren

Fourth Sunday after Trinity Consolation in Suffering, and Patience.
Text: Romans 8, 18-22. 18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed to us-ward. 19 For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to vanity not of its own will, but by reason of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the liberty of the glory of the children of God.
Martin Luther—Epistle Sermons, Vol. III

Religious Joy.
"And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord."--Luke ii. 10, 11. There are two principal lessons which we are taught on the great Festival which we this day celebrate, lowliness and joy. This surely is a day, of all others, in which is set before us the heavenly excellence and the acceptableness in God's sight of that state which
John Henry Newman—Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol. VIII

The Patience of Man, which is Right and Laudable and Worthy of the Name...
2. The patience of man, which is right and laudable and worthy of the name of virtue, is understood to be that by which we tolerate evil things with an even mind, that we may not with a mind uneven desert good things, through which we may arrive at better. Wherefore the impatient, while they will not suffer ills, effect not a deliverance from ills, but only the suffering of heavier ills. Whereas the patient who choose rather by not committing to bear, than by not bearing to commit, evil, both make
St. Augustine—On Patience

Edwards -- Spiritual Light
Jonathan Edwards, the New England divine and metaphysician, was born at East Windsor, Connecticut, in 1703. He was graduated early from Yale College, where he had given much attention to philosophy, became tutor of his college, and at nineteen began to preach. His voice and manner did not lend themselves readily to pulpit oratory, but his clear, logical, and intense presentation of the truth produced a profound and permanent effect upon his hearers. He wrote what were considered the most important
Grenville Kleiser—The world's great sermons, Volume 3

Faith in General.
"Through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God."--Ephes. ii. 8. When the judicial act of the Triune God, justification, is announced to the conscience, faith begins to be active and expresses itself in works. This leads us to call the attention of our readers to the work of the Holy Spirit, which consists in the imparting of faith. We are saved through faith; and that faith is not of ourselves, it is the gift of God. It is very specially a gift of the Triune God, by a peculiar
Abraham Kuyper—The Work of the Holy Spirit

Concerning Christian Liberty
CHRISTIAN faith has appeared to many an easy thing; nay, not a few even reckon it among the social virtues, as it were; and this they do, because they have not made proof of it experimentally, and have never tasted of what efficacy it is. For it is not possible for any man to write well about it, or to understand well what is rightly written, who has not at some time tasted of its spirit, under the pressure of tribulation. While he who has tasted of it, even to a very small extent, can never write,
Martin Luther—First Principles of the Reformation

Lastly, Let us Hear the Lord Himself Delivering Most Plain Judgment on this Matter. ...
23. Lastly, let us hear the Lord Himself delivering most plain judgment on this matter. For, upon His speaking after a divine and fearful manner concerning husband and wife not separating, save on account of fornication, His disciples said to Him, "If the case be such with a wife, it is not good to marry." [2066] To whom He saith, "Not all receive this saying. For there are eunuchs who were so born: but there are others who were made by men: and there are eunuchs, who made themselves eunuchs for
St. Augustine—Of Holy Virginity.

He Severely Reproves Abaelard for Scrutinizing Rashly and Impiously, and Extenuating the Power Of, the Secret Things of God.
He severely reproves Abaelard for scrutinizing rashly and impiously, and extenuating the power of, the secret things of God. 17. This is the righteousness of man in the blood of the Redeemer: which this son of perdition, by his scoffs and insinuations, is attempting to render vain; so much so, that he thinks and argues that the whole fact that the Lord of Glory emptied Himself, that He was made lower than the angels, that He was born of a woman, that He lived in the world, that He made trial of our
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux—Some Letters of Saint Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux

Strength and Indwelling.
"For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of Whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man; that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that
W. H. Griffith Thomas—The Prayers of St. Paul

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