2 Corinthians 4:5
in 2 Corinthians 4For we do not proclaim ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.
KJV
For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake.
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This verse in 2 Corinthians 4
Commentary
5 notes on this verseAnd the apostle: "For we preach not ourselves but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves merely as your servants in Jesus." Knowing, then, the fruits of humility and the penalty of conceit, imitate the Master by loving one another and do not shrink from death or any other punishment for the good of each other. But the way which God entered upon for you, do you enter upon for him, proceeding with one body and one soul to the invitation from above, loving God and each other.
This site's exposition
we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord
For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord: Paul states the content of his preaching against every accusation of self-promotion, one sentence that could stand as the whole letter's motto. And ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake: the apostle's true relation to Corinth is servanthood, doulos, not the mastery his rivals apparently claimed, and the servanthood is explicitly for Jesus' sake rather than for the church's approval. The commentators read the verse as the answer to every charge of self-interest the surrounding chapters raise, stated once and plainly before the argument moves on.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
For we preach not ourselves,.... These words contain a reason why the apostles behaved themselves in the manner described, 2Co 4:2 and serve to explain in what sense this inspired writer is to be understood, when he calls the Gospel our Gospel, 2Co 4:3 and most clearly proves the Gospel to be a glorious one, which he had asserted, 2Co 4:4 since Christ, and not themselves, is the subject of it, "for we preach not ourselves".
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
For we preach not ourselves - The connection here is not very apparent, and the design of this verse has been variously understood. The connection seems to me to be this. Paul gives here a reason for what he had said in the previous parts of the Epistle respecting his conduct in the ministry. He had said that his course had been open, and pure, and free from all dishonest arts and tricks, and that he had not corrupted the Word of God, or resorted to any artifice to accomplish his designs; 2Co 2:17; 2Co 4:1-
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
For--Their blindness is not our fault, as if we had self-seeking aims in our preaching. preach . . . Christ . . . the Lord--rather, "Christ as Lord," and ourselves as your servants, &c. "Lord," or "Master," is the correlative term to "servants."
The words behind it
14 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Οὐ | ou | Not | G3756 → | 1664 times |
| γὰρ | gar | for | G1063 → | 1039 times |
| ἑαυτοὺς | he'autous | ourselves | G1438 → | 322 times |
| κηρύσσομεν | kerussomen | do we proclaim | G2784 → | 59 times |
| ἀλλ᾽ | all᾽ | but | G235 → | 635 times |
| Ἰησοῦν | iesoun | Jesus | G2424 → | 908 times |
| Χριστὸν | christon | Christ | G5547 → | 523 times |
| κύριον, | kurion | Lord, | G2962 → | 711 times |
| ἑαυτοὺς | he'autous | ourselves | G1438 → | 322 times |
| δὲ | de | now | G1161 → | 2765 times |
| δούλους | doulous | servants | G1401 → | |
| ὑμῶν | humon | of you | G4771 → | 2973 times |
| διὰ | dia | for the sake of | G1223 → | 664 times |
| Ἰησοῦν. | iesoun | Jesus. | G2424 → | 908 times |
ΟὐNot
ouG3756 →1664 times
γὰρfor
garG1063 →1039 times
ἑαυτοὺςourselves
he'autousG1438 →322 times
κηρύσσομενdo we proclaim
kerussomenG2784 →59 times
ἀλλ᾽but
all᾽G235 →635 times
ἸησοῦνJesus
iesounG2424 →908 times
ΧριστὸνChrist
christonG5547 →523 times
κύριον,Lord,
kurionG2962 →711 times
ἑαυτοὺςourselves
he'autousG1438 →322 times
δὲnow
deG1161 →2765 times
δούλουςservants
doulousG1401 →
ὑμῶνof you
humonG4771 →2973 times
διὰfor the sake of
diaG1223 →664 times
Ἰησοῦν.Jesus.
iesounG2424 →908 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Galatians 5:13For you, brothers, were called to freedom; but do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh. Rather, serve one another in love.
it leads to
- 1 Peter 2:16
Live in freedom, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God.
- 1 Corinthians 9:19
Though I am free of obligation to anyone, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible.
- 1 Corinthians 8:9
Be careful, however, that your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak.
- Romans 15:1–2
We who are strong ought to bear with the shortcomings of the weak and not to please ourselves.
- Galatians 5:14
The entire law is fulfilled in a single decree: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
- 1 Peter 2:16
Through
1 Corinthians 1:23but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles,
it leads to
- 1 Corinthians 2:14
The natural man does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God. For they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.
- 1 Corinthians 2:2
For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
- 1 Peter 2:8
and, “A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word—and to this they were appointed.
- 1 Corinthians 2:14
Where this verse is studied
About 2 Corinthians

This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Charles Hodge, An Exposition of the Second Epistle to the Corinthians; Gregory of Nyssa, ON THE CHRISTIAN MODE OF LIFE; James Denney, The Second Epistle to the Corinthians, Expositor's Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible and John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748).
