2 Corinthians 4:5

Even though Paul occasionally needed to commend himself to every man’s conscience (2 Corinthians 4:2; 2 Corinthians 6:4), he never promoted himself. Instead he proclaimed Jesus Christ as a faithful slave announces his master rather than himself. This is what he had done in Corinth. He did not conduct himself as the spiritual overlord of these Christians (2 Corinthians 1:24). A herald draws attention to himself only to promote the one he or she announces. This is also what Jesus did in the Incarnation. Both Paul and Jesus took the role of a servant and bound themselves to fulfill God’s mission for them, which involved serving others.

"What humbler view of himself could a messenger of the gospel take than to regard himself not only as a bondservant of Jesus Christ (as Paul delights to call himself; cf. Romans 1:1; Galatians 1:10; Philippians 1:1) but even as the bondservant of those to whom he ministers?" [Note: Hughes, p. 131.]

"It would be hard to describe the Christian ministry more comprehensively in so few words." [Note: C. K. Barrett, A Commentary on the Second Epistle to the Corinthians, p. 134.]

Paul in his preaching presented Jesus as the sovereign God to whom everyone must submit in faith. He did not make total submission to the lordship of Christ a condition for salvation, however. Voluntary submission to the lordship of Christ was a message that he reserved for believers (Romans 6:13; Romans 12:1-2). When Paul preached Christ to the unsaved, he presented Him as God who by virtue of His deity is sovereign over all people (cf. Romans 10:9; 1 Corinthians 12:3; Colossians 2:6).

"The implication here is that lordship equates with deity. ’LORD’ regularly translates ’Yahweh’ in the LXX, and there are numerous NT references to Jesus as ’Lord’ that echo OT (LXX) passages that refer to Yahweh." [Note: Barnett, p. 222.]

To become a believer an unsaved person must submit to Christ’s lordship to the extent that he or she acknowledges that Jesus is God and is therefore over him or her in authority. Trusting in the person and work of Christ is submission to His lordship to that extent. However when one becomes a believer and appreciates what God has done for him or her in salvation, yielding every area of one’s life to Christ’s control becomes a voluntary act of worship (Romans 12:1). To make what is voluntary for the Christian necessary for the unsaved to obtain justification is adding to what God requires for justification.