Charles Spurgeon Commentary 2 Corinthians 4:5

"For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus` sake." — 2 Corinthians 4:5 (ASV)

For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake.

Therefore, we learn that anything like priestcraft is altogether foreign to the Bible. The "priest" preaches up himself, the extraordinary value of his ordination, the occult influences which flow from his touch, the mysterious power which dwells in baptismal water, and in "consecrated" wafers and poured-out wine.

This is preaching themselves with a vengeance; but Christ's apostles did not preach themselves; they preached up Christ and him crucified.

Paul wrote, God forbid that I should glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ; and this was the constant theme of all the apostles. If they mentioned themselves at all, they simply said, as Paul does here, Ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake.

For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake.

Christ Jesus the Lord is to be the great theme of our preaching; and when it is so, we naturally take our right position with regard to our hearers, as Paul and Timothy did: and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake.