2 Corinthians 4:1

This ministry. That is, the ministry of the “new testament,” by which men are freed from bondage to the “letter” of the law (see on chapter 3:6, 17), and have its principles engraved on the heart (verse 3). This ministry of the “spirit” (verse 6), of “righteousness” by faith (verse 9), of the “new testament” (verse 6), of true “liberty” (verse 17), restores the believer to the likeness of Christ. This glorious ministry ever sustains its adherents and its ambassadors through every trial and every suffering, and even these redound to the glory of God.

Faint. Greek egkaked, “to be weary,” “to lose courage,” “to lose heart.” Paul had supreme confidence in the integrity and value of his message, and God had greatly blessed his ministry. He was altogether unworthy. He had been a persecutor and a blasphemer. He considered himself the “chief” of all sinners (1 Timothy 1:15). But he had “received mercy.” He owed his ordination as a minister of the gospel entirely to the grace of God (1 Corinthians 7:25; 15:9, 10; Galatians 1:15, 16; 1 Timothy 1:12-16). Nothing subdues pride, conceit, and self-confidence like an honest retrospect of one’s own life. Paul’s conversion and commission to the gospel ministry were due to divine favor (1 Timothy 1:13, 14).