In 2 Corinthians 4, Paul talks about our hope in Christ and compares it to his present time (around 57 AD). In verse 12, he gives us this insight.

So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.

2 Corinthians 4:12 (NIV)

What does Paul mean? You might notice that Paul has been using the pronoun “we” throughout the text and has now changed it to “you.” What’s the significance, if any, of this change?

2 Corinthians is the third letter to the Corinthians (2 Corinthians 2:3-4) that we know of, even though we don’t have the second letter. Still, since we only have two, we call this 2 Corinthians. Like the first two letters, 2 Corinthians is a letter of correction because the Corinthians were a young church with many problems. 

In 2 Corinthians 3:1, we’re given this insight about the church at Corinth.

Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, like some people, letters of recommendation to you or from you?

2 Corinthians 3:1 (NIV)

The church there still had authority issues and thought they were all that and a bag of chips. Which means they had a high opinion of themselves. 

If you examine the context of 2 Corinthians 4 without understanding their issues with arrogance, it’s easy to miss what Paul’s saying in verse 12. However, a key to understanding why Paul changes pronouns in verse 12 is in the first verse.

Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart.

2 Corinthians 4:1 (NIV)

Paul’s ” we ” refers to himself and those in ministry with him. Paul continues talking about the ministry in the next verse.

Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God.

2 Corinthians 4:2 (NIV)

Therefore, if the “we” so far refers to those in ministry, then the “you” in verse 12 contrasts those in ministry with the Corinthians. 

So what does Paul mean when he says, “Death is a work in us, but life is at work in you”? 

The first thing to realize is that Paul’s statement isn’t meant to be encouraging because it contrasts the life of someone who has given up their life for Christ’s sake with those who have not yet gotten to that point. Indeed, the Corinthians are arrogant and think they’ve got it all together when they do not. Evident from something Paul said in 1 Corinthians. 

Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! You have begun to reign—and that without us! How I wish that you really had begun to reign so that we also might reign with you!

1 Corinthians 4:8 (NIV)

Verse 12 in 2 Corinthians 4 is like this one from 1 Corinthians 4:8. It’s ironic and hyperbolic, and it’s meant to grab their attention because the “life” Paul talks about isn’t life at all, not the eternal life we have in Christ. 

What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?

Matthew 16:26 (NIV)

The Corinthians thought they had everything because they were “saved,” but their arrogance precluded them from participating in what it meant to be saved. Although they might have begun to suffer for their faith because they called themselves “Christians,” their grasp of what it meant to be a Christian was faulted by their love for the world. Hence, these statements are at the end of 2 Corinthians 4.

For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal (emphasis added).

2 Corinthians 4:17-18 (NIV)

Okay, we know that Paul was ironic in verse 12 when he said death was at work in him and life in the Corinthians, but that doesn’t mean he was wrong about death working in him. When Paul said death was at work in him, he was referring to something Jesus said about those who choose to become disciples.

Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.”

Luke 9:23 (NIV)

Paul understood what Jesus said and lived accordingly. 

I face death every day—yes, just as surely as I boast about you in Christ Jesus our Lord.

1 Corinthians 15:31 (NIV)

Therefore, the death that was working in Paul was the death of his old self, and those desires contrary to living a holy life pleasing to God, as evidenced by this verse.

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.

2 Corinthians 4:16 (NIV)

Contrasting the outward appearance of death, which involves the natural process of physically dying, suffering from persecution, etc., with the inward renewing of his being by the Spirit of God, we can see how death was at work in Paul to produce eternal life. 

As Christians, we can be like the Corinthians, or we can be like Jesus, who gave up this life and all the pleasures in it to die for our sins so we could have an eternal relationship with God. Indeed, in his “death,” Jesus defeated the power of death, which is sin, so we can spend eternity in heaven. Paul understood this concept and applied it to his life, which he wanted the Corinthians to do. Hence, the “forceful” nature of his letters to the Corinthians, expressing his love for them.