2 Corinthians 4:5

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

We preach not ourselves ... As Lipscomb declared, "This cannot mean that Paul excluded all reference to himself or his faith and maintained altogether an impersonal tone in his preaching."[20] The meaning is that Paul rejected all personal claims to any human authority on his part, preaching only what Christ commanded him to preach. "All is of God; nothing is of self."[21]

But Jesus as Lord ... The supreme Lordship of Christ was central in all apostolic preaching. This is recognized by every Christian whose very confession, at the time of his conversion, begins with "confessing Jesus as Lord" (Romans 10:9).

And ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake ... The Greek word here rendered "servants" is [@doulos]; and it means SLAVES. "Paul is not suggesting, however, that he is a slave of the Corinthians."[22] There is but one Master, who is Christ the Lord; and it is purely "for his sake" that the apostle assumed the role of a slave of the Christians at Corinth.

[20] David Lipscomb, op. cit., p. 60.

[21] Philip E. Hughes, op. cit., p. 132.

[22] Ibid.