Key Verse: 2 Corinthians 4:5 –

“For we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus’ sake.”

Has anyone ever doubted your knowledge or advice? If so, how did you respond? In some cases, knowing your audience, you may have judged that defending your expertise might not be worth the effort. In other situations, you may have explained how your age, education, or previous experience had prepared you to know what you were talking about.

In 2 Corinthians, Paul was writing to a church torn by strife and weakened by misguided behavior. Some within the church did not accept Paul’s right to advise the congregation, but the apostle was determined to have his say. [DD] In today’s text, Paul insists his focus is on Christ, whose light he has received, and on serving others for Christ’s sake. [DD]

Paul had begun the letter with typical greetings, then spoke of his suffering for the gospel and his desire to see the Corinthians face-to-face, though he had decided to delay rather than make another “painful visit” (2:1). Paul had written “with much distress and anguish of heart,” he said, “not to cause you pain, but to let you know the love that I have for you” (2:3). A brief discourse on the importance of forgiving others (2:4-11) led Paul into a lengthy defense of his position as an authoritative apostle whose ministry had borne much fruit and brought glory to God (2:14-4:6). Today’s text is the closing argument in that section.

Bold apostles (vv. 1-2)

Paul insisted that he had not sought to lord his authority over the Corinthians, noting that his ministry had also derived from God’s mercy: “since it is by God’s mercy we are engaged in this ministry …” (v. 1). [DD]

By “this ministry” (diakonos), Paul refers to his proclamation of the new covenant in Christ, which he referred to in the previous chapter as a “ministry of the Spirit” (3:6, 8).

Paul knew that he was no less in need of God’s mercy than anyone else. He had been guilty of persecuting Christians when Christ appeared to him in a light from heaven and led him to someone who could explain to him how God’s mercy and forgiveness had been made available through Christ (Acts 9, 1 Cor. 15:10). [DD]

The apostle had suffered much for the gospel, and nearly died due to various persecutions (2 Cor. 1:8-11). Yet, because Paul remembered the mercy he had been shown, he did not lose heart, but persevered with boldness despite opposition from both outside and inside the church.

Paul wanted the Corinthians to appreciate his unselfish service to them – but some members of the church had apparently accused him of religious hucksterism, twisting the gospel to serve his own ends. Few things bring more hurt or frustration than being wrongly accused or criticized by someone we’re trying to help.

Some must have accused Paul of hidden motives, for he insisted that he had no secret agenda to serve his own purposes, and he refused “to practice cunning or to falsify God’s word” (v. 2a). Had someone criticized him because he no longer believed it necessary to follow the purity laws of Leviticus or Numbers? Did some think Paul was mistreating the scriptures by preaching grace over obedience to rabbinic law? Many churches faced conflict when Jewish-Christian preachers arrived to “correct” Paul and insist that believers had to keep the Jewish law in addition to following Jesus’ teachings. Had this happened in Corinth?

Paul insisted that he always spoke the truth. He had not watered down the gospel in order to increase its appeal, but preached what had been revealed to him through Christ. Anyone who judged him with a clear conscience in God’s sight, he said, should be able to see that (v. 2b).

Blinded minds (vv. 3-4)

Perhaps some had charged Paul with preaching an obscure message that was hard to understand, for he went on to say “even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing” (v. 3). Here and in the following verses Paul was alluding to the Old Testament story of how Moses had to veil his face after meeting with God because his visage shown so brightly that the Israelites were afraid to come near him. [DD]

He first declared that if people didn’t understand his gospel, it was because they had become blind to it – in other words, the veil was on their eyes, not on his words. They were too involved with “the god of this world” to hear Paul’s words clearly (v. 4a). Paul appeared to be suggesting a supernatural cause for disbelief. In his mind, perhaps, only some evil power could keep people from joyfully receiving the gospel of grace, “from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (v. 4b).

Paul would have known, however, that claiming “the devil made me do it” is a false premise. We make our own decisions, whether good or bad, including the choice of whether we will be open or closed to the gospel message. It’s possible that Paul spoke metaphorically of the temptations of society and culture as “the god of this world.” He would have understood, as we do, that whatever we give our primary allegiance to effectively becomes a god to us – a false god, but a god nonetheless. (See “The Hardest Question” online for more on this.)

Shining glory (vv. 5-6)

Paul’s continued defense appears to be a response to critics who charged that he was too proud or overbearing, or that he talked about himself too much – although defending himself against their criticism required him to speak of his own beliefs and actions even more.

On the tail of his comments about those whose insight is veiled by “the god of this world,” Paul asserted “For we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus’ sake” (v. 5).

Paul maintained that he did not wish to promote himself but to promote Christ, and his method was not to lord it over the Corinthians (1:24), but to serve them – indeed, to be their “slave.” Some, no doubt, would have laughed at this notion, for Paul also spoke of the Corinthians as his spiritual children, challenged them to imitate him, and expected them to answer to his authority (1 Cor. 4:14-21).

Was Paul’s rhetoric effective? We might argue, as Queen Gertrude charged in Shakespeare’s Hamlet, that he “doth protest too much.” Some may have charged Paul with talking out of both sides of his mouth, acting like an authoritative parent while also claiming to be their slave.

But isn’t that the role of parents when their children are young? Parents must exercise authority in caring for their children, keeping them safe, and teaching them to be responsible persons. On the other hand, parents are essentially slaves of their children: they get up for 2:00 a.m. feedings, they cook and clean and provide clothing for their offspring, they cart them around to school and sports and other activities.

Good parents have to play the roles of both authority figures and slaves, and they do it for the good of their children. So Paul could speak of himself in both ways without dissimulation despite the critique of his opponents.

Perhaps Paul’s strongest defense was his apostolic call, the blinding vision on the way to Damascus through which Jesus challenged him to stop persecuting Christians and become one (Acts 9). The very God who created the world and sent Christ into it was the source of his authority, Paul believed. “For it is the God who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness’ who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (v. 6).

Some critics may have scoffed at Paul’s account of his vision and called him crazy, for later he would say “For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you” (5:13).

As Paul had been overwhelmed by the light of Christ on the Damascus Road and through later revelations, so he sought to overwhelm his opponents by piling up impressive images of “the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (v. 4), and God’s initiative “to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (v. 6).

Again, Paul was looking back to the image of Moses, whose face shone after being in the presence of God. Paul believed he had seen the bright glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ, and that vision had changed his life. It was the bedrock of his faith, and he wouldn’t back down from it. Paul hoped the Corinthians would accept the story of his call as a mark of his authority, while also appreciating his role as a servant of the church who was willing to suffer deprivation and accusation to bring the gospel to all people. Paul wanted others to experience the grace and glory of God-in-Christ even as he had, and gladly defended his efforts to that end.

Paul’s defense of his own devotion challenges us to examine our relationship with Christ. Is it a life-changing reality that inspires us to testify of God’s grace through service to others – or must we confess that our faith is a thin veneer that has little effect on our daily living?

What do we want it to be?