2 Corinthians 4:5

F. B. Hole's Old and New Testament Commentary - 2 Corinthians 4:1-99

2Co 4 THE NEW COVENANT ministry entrusted to the Apostle Paul is unfolded to us in chapter 3. As we open chapter 4, our thoughts are directed to the things that characterized him as the minister of it. And first of all he was marked by good courage. Since God had entrusted him with the ministry, He gave with it suitable mercy. So, whatever the opposition or difficulty he did not faint. The same thing holds good for us. The Lord never calls us to ministry of any kind without the needed mercy... read more

Paul E. Kretzmann

The Popular Commentary by Paul E. Kretzmann - 2 Corinthians 4:1-6

The Gospel-Message of Light and Life. Paul uses frankness in delivering his message: v. 1. Therefore, seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not, v. 2. but have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the Word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. v. 3. But if our Gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost; v. 4. in whom the god... read more

Johann Peter Lange

Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures: Critical, Doctrinal and Homiletical - 2 Corinthians 4:1-6

VIII.—GLORY OF THE APOSTOLIC MINISTRY, WHOSE DUTIES WERE OPENLY AND HONESTLY PERFORMED, NOTWITHSTANDING THE INJURIOUS INFLUENCE OF ITS ENEMIES2 Corinthians 4:1-61Therefore, seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not1; 2But [we] have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty [shame, τῆς αἰσχὐνης, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully [falsifying (δολοῦντες) the word of God]; but by manifestation of the truth, commending2 ourselves to every... read more

Frederick Brotherton Meyer

F.B. Meyer's 'Through the Bible' Commentary - 2 Corinthians 4:1-6

God’s Glory Reflected in Christ 2 Corinthians 4:1-6 The servant of Christ must never forget that he once needed and obtained mercy. This will sustain him in many an hour when heart and flesh fail. His weapon is the truth, his appeal to conscience. Others may vie with him in brilliant imagination, fervid enthusiasm, and intellectual force, but he has unrivaled supremacy in the realm of conscience. As Richard I of England, immured in a castle-dungeon, recognized the voice and song of his... read more

G. Campbell Morgan

G. Campbell Morgan's Exposition on the Whole Bible - 2 Corinthians 4:1-18

Continuing about the ministry, the apostle said, "We faint not," "we have renounced the hidden things of shame," "we preach . . . Christ Jesus as Lord." Hearing, some perish because "the god of this world hath blinded their minds," and that because of "unbelief." The god of this world is able only to blind the minds of the unbelieving. This ministry, so full of triumph for such remarkable reasons, is yet exercised through great tribulation. The treasure is in earthen vessels, and these are... read more

James Nisbet

James Nisbet's Church Pulpit Commentary - 2 Corinthians 4:5

YOUR SERVANTS FOR JESUS’ SAKE‘We preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake.’ 2 Corinthians 4:5 Such is this great clergyman’s central and ultimate conception of the Christian ministry. He has much to say about it, elsewhere, from other sides; about its commission and authority, and about the moral dignity of its idea. But here he lays his hand upon its very heart, and gives us the central glory of the thing. I. The words denote the most... read more

Peter Pett

Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible - 2 Corinthians 4:1-7

Such A Ministry As Has Been Depicted makes Clear That Its Ministers Are Not Corrupt Because It Is Conducted In God’s Glorious Light And Reveals the Unmatchable Glory of God in Jesus Christ Even Though The Bearers of the Message Are But Earthen Vessels (2 Corinthians 4:1-7 ). Paul will now argue that no one could conduct such a ministry as has just been depicted unless they themselves were genuine and sincere. For it is all about the light of the glory of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ (2... read more

Peter Pett

Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible - 2 Corinthians 4:5

‘For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake.’ For the purpose of Paul and his fellow-workers is not to preach themselves. They are not concerned to be ostentatious or make much of themselves as though they had spiritual importance. Rather their aim is to preach ‘Christ Jesus as Lord’, and themselves as mere slaves of Jesus Christ. And they had also come to them as slaves for His sake. They sought nothing for themselves but service. The... read more

Arthur Peake

Arthur Peake's Commentary on the Bible - 2 Corinthians 4:1-6

2 Corinthians 4:1-Joshua : . In this paragraph the apostle recurs to the thought of 2 Corinthians 3:12, 2 Corinthians 2:16, 2 Corinthians 1:12; a ministry of such surpassing splendour demanded in himself and his comrades unflinching courage, and a life that commended itself by uprightness and straightforwardness to the judgment of other men. There were those who were still blind to the truth. They were “ blinded by the god of this world,” i.e. by Satan. This striking phrase calls attention... read more

Matthew Poole

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible - 2 Corinthians 4:5

For we preach not ourselves: for a man to preach himself, is to preach the devices and imaginations of his own heart, instead of the revealed will of God; to make his discourses the evomitions of his own lusts and passions; or to make himself the end of his preaching; preaching merely for filthy lucre sake, or to supply himself with bread, or for the ostentation of his own wit, and learning, and parts. But we preach Christ Jesus the Lord; we preach what he hath commanded us to preach, and he is... read more

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