2 Corinthians 4:12 (LSB)

Passage

So death works in us, but life in you.

Nearby Context

2 Corinthians 4:10 always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.

2 Corinthians 4:11 For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.

2 Corinthians 4:12 So death works in us, but life in you.

2 Corinthians 4:13 But having the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, “I believed, therefore I spoke,” we also believe, therefore we also speak,

2 Corinthians 4:14 knowing that He who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and will present us with you.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "death", "works", and "life". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "death" and "works", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 11's "For we who live are constantly being..." into verse 13's "But having the same spirit of faith...", so "death" and "works" belong inside that flow. In 2 Corinthians context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "death" and "works" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.