Second Letter to the Corinthians -- Chapter 1
The second letter of Paul to the church at Corinth begins with his greeting: “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, to the church of God in Corinth, together with all the saints throughout Achaia: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 1:1-2). Paul commences by reaffirming his call to be an Apostle of Jesus Christ, not by his choice, but by God’s will and call. This affirmation is very important for it immediately establishes the authority of this letter and Paul’s call to speak on behalf of God Himself. It is also important to note that this letter from Paul and Timothy is written not exclusively for Corinth but also with the intention that it would be circulated throughout the region. This means that even though Paul addresses initially the Corinthians, his words are truly meant for all the saints who will ever come across this letter.
Continuing on Paul praises and thanks God for all the comfort He provides thru Jesus Christ in the face of all the troubles we see in this life: “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4). God Almighty is a God of comfort, one who uplifts those who are troubled, mourning, hurting, and suffering. “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me” (Psalm 23:4). Therefore as followers of Christ we are called to spread the comfort we receive from God to all those around us; the comfort and blessings of God are to flow thru us to our fellow man. It is because we ourselves are comforted that we are now able to give the true comfort and consolation to our fellow man; the comfort of the cross. The “comfort” of the cross? Isn’t that like saying “the comfort of pain, misery, and torture”? Yes, the cross is indeed the point of God’s condemnation, wrath, and destruction of sin, but the cross is also the point of God’s unfathomable mercy, grace, joy, reconciliation, propitiation, and comfort. Thru being united in Christ crucified we share in not only the suffering but also in the comfort: “For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows” (2 Corinthians 1:5). It is important for us to realize that we are blessed to partake in the sufferings of Jesus Christ crucified, for in that sharing we are assured of having died with Him to sin and of being raised with Him in the comfort of God’s mercy. “We share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory” (Romans 8:17). “It has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him” (Philippians 1:29). “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead” (Philippians 3:10-11). The Christian life is never “easy” and it is always full of troubles, trials, tribulations, and sufferings for the sake of the cross, but we also receive the comfort and peace of God that passes all understanding so that we may be firm and strong in Christ within these difficulties.
Paul continues on to address how the Body of Christ shares in this suffering and comfort together: “If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer” (2 Corinthians 1:6). As Christians it is our duty to bear with one another. What we undergo in this life is for the good of the whole, for the good of the entire Church and Body of Christ. “Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn” (Romans 12:15). At some points certain members of the Body will suffer so that other members may find comfort and relief, and those that are relieved and comforted are done so that those who are suffering will see that in Christ there is sweet relief from the pain of this life. “And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort” (2 Corinthians 1:7). Our hope remains firm because we know that thru it all God is working for our ultimate good in Jesus Christ. Those who suffer today will be comforted tomorrow, and those that receive comfort today will suffer tomorrow so that another may receive comfort. The entire Body shares the burden of carrying one another as Christ continues to carry us all.
As he continues Paul illustrates the great purpose of suffering in this life. “We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death” (2 Corinthians 1:8-9). Thru the real life example of his own sufferings Paul looks to teach us many important things. The pressures, anxieties, and sufferings that Paul underwent in Asia were “far beyond our ability to endure.” But what does that mean? Paul is telling us that what he underwent was far more than the human Paul could ever endure. The troubles and sufferings were so great that they despaired of life itself, feeling the sentence and burden of death on their hearts. The trials were so great that death itself would have been a welcome end. But if these pressures were beyond the ability of man to endure then how did they survive? Because as followers of Christ Paul and Timothy do not walk alone, they have One who bears their burdens for them: “But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead” (2 Corinthians 1:9). In these powerful words Paul tells us the very purpose of suffering in this life: we suffer so that we will stop relying on “me” and “my” abilities, and start relying on the only One who can truly bear our troubles, burdens, and sins: Jesus Christ. “Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens” (Psalm 68:19). Our sufferings are great gifts from God that help keep us humble and clinging to Christ crucified. Thru His law God breaks us of our idols and our reliance on self so that we might be driven to the gospel of Jesus Christ. When our pride and self-assurance need to be knocked down God will graciously send us His discipline of the Law so that thru our troubles we might run back to Christ, fully trusting the promises of God to preserve us thru all things. “My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life…May your unfailing love be my comfort, according to your promise to your servant” (Psalm 119:50, 76). Therefore it is only thru our suffering that we find comfort in this life, without the suffering and the discipline of the law we would never be led to quiet and restoring waters of the gospel promises.
Paul tells us of the assurance we have in God’s promises: “He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us” (2 Corinthians 1:10). God not only has delivered us in the past (look at all we have come thru in this life!) but He has promised to continue to deliver us forevermore. This eternal promise is where our hope is set, but we also have the aide of the Church, of our fellow believers: “On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers” (2 Corinthians 1:10-11). The prayers of the Church have been given the promise of God for the sake of Jesus Christ. By going to God our Father thru our Mediator Jesus Christ we have the promise that God will hear and answer our prayers and petitions. Therefore like Paul we have the assurance of God thru the promise that the prayers of our fellow man will be answered, delivering us from the troubles and tribulations of this life for the sake of Jesus Christ crucified. Even these prayers however serve the purpose of witnessing to God’s glory and promise in Jesus Christ: “Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many” (2 Corinthians 1:11). As our prayers for deliverance for our fellow man are answered we are reassured ever more firmly in the grace of the cross. Therefore let us pray that thru the sufferings of this life we see how God is graciously working in our lives thru the Law, pushing us away from “me” and towards the only One that matters: Jesus Christ. Even though we deserve eternal damnation, in our sufferings God graciously only shows His anger to the point that we will wake up to the depths of our helplessness and depravity in sin, so that we might run to the comforting arms of the gospel of Jesus Christ. “I was enraged by his sinful greed; I punished him, and hid my face in anger, yet he kept on in his willful ways. I have seen his ways, but I will heal him; I will guide him and restore comfort to him” (Isaiah 57:17-18). “I will turn their mourning into gladness; I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow” (Jeremiah 31:13). “Although you were angry with me, your anger has turned away and you have comforted me” (Isaiah 12:1).
Having taught us the duality of suffering and comfort in the Christian life Paul continues on to address an important matter that had arisen amongst the Corinthians. Paul’s reputation as a man of his word (and therefore his Apostleship) was being put into question: “Now this is our boast: Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in our relations with you, in the holiness and sincerity that are from God” (2 Corinthians 1:12). Paul begins by defending the fact that in his ministry he had always been completely sincere and without ulterior motive or inconsistency. However this boast of Paul is not in the strength of himself but in the grace of God who made him what he is: “We have done so not according to worldly wisdom but according to God’s grace” (2 Corinthians 1:12). It is God’s grace alone that is responsible for Paul’s sincerity and consistency; he does nothing on his own strength but does all things on the grace of God who called and appointed him. “For we do not write you anything you cannot read or understand” (2 Corinthians 1:13). Paul proclaims that all he has written has been clear and succinct, with single-minded focus on Jesus Christ and His message. His words have not been double-minded or contradictory, sure they may have been difficult to accept for our sinful flesh but they certainly have not been unclear. It is thru this appeal to clarity that Paul hopes that the Corinthians will see that he has faithfully been carrying out his ministry and commission in their church. “And I hope that, as you have understood us in part, you will come to understand fully that you can boast of us just as we will boast of you in the day of the Lord Jesus” (2 Corinthians 1:14). As Christians we go thru daily growth and maturity in our understanding of the Message of the Cross. The depth of our understanding is not what saves us, for that is only done thru the promise and grace of God in Jesus Christ, but we are still called to be diligent in our study and understanding of the Scriptures and our faith. When we are mature and knowledgeable in our faith and the teaching of the Scriptures “then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming” (Ephesians 4:14).
In his hope that the Corinthians were growing in maturity of faith Paul planned to visit them: “Because I was confident of this, I planned to visit you first so that you might benefit twice. I planned to visit you on my way to Macedonia and to come back to you from Macedonia, and then to have you send me on my way to Judea” (2 Corinthians 1:15-16). Paul made plans to visit the Corinthians but these plans (as so many do) fell thru because it was not God’s will at the time. God saw that the Corinthians were not prepared for a visit from Paul so He changed the plans. So why is Paul making such a big defense of his sincerity in making these plans? What is going on here that concerns Paul? The issue is that some of the Corinthians had started spreading lies about Paul claiming that he was unreliable, inconsistent, fickle, and half-hearted because of his failure to follow thru with his plan to visit them. These lies were undermining Paul’s authority amongst the Corinthians and they were possibly starting to doubt the legitimacy of his claim to Apostleship because of these lies. It is for this reason that Paul continues on to ask these questions which were surely on the minds of the doubting Corinthians: “When I planned this, did I do it lightly? Or do I make my plans in a worldly manner so that in the same breath I say, ‘Yes, yes’ and ‘No, no’?” (2 Corinthians 1:17). If the Corinthians were truly beginning to think that Paul was inconsistent then this was a true danger to His proclamation of the Gospel to them. Paul could not afford to lose the confidence of the Corinthians for he realized that their weak faiths could be torn asunder if they saw him as a double-minded or hypocritical man. So now we must ask: Did Paul say “yes” to visit the Corinthians just to make them feel better and in reality mean “no” in his heart? Absolutely not. Paul seriously intended to visit the Corinthians it is just that his human plans changed because God determined otherwise. “Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Yahweh's purpose that prevails” (Proverbs 19:21). At the time Paul thought a visit to the Corinthians was necessary but God knew what really needed to take place.
“But as surely as God is faithful, our message to you is not ‘Yes’ and ‘No’” (2 Corinthians 1:18). Paul is adamant here that the Message he brought was not one of fickleness and inconsistency. He has not been saying “yes” out of one side of his mouth while saying “no” out the other, and his actions and life have always lined up with these bold words; what Paul had taught the Corinthians is in accord with the life he was living to God’s glory. As surely as God Himself is faithful and never changed, so too the proclamation of Paul had been consistent: “The plans of the Yahweh stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations” (Psalm 33:11). Paul does not appeal to himself (for surely the sinful human being of Paul was inconsistent from time to time) but to the message of the cross and to Jesus Christ. “For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by me and Silas and Timothy, was not ‘Yes’ and ‘No,’ but in him it has always been ‘Yes’” (2 Corinthians 1:19). This message of Jesus Christ as the Son of the Living God is not inconsistent, and that is what truly matters when all else falls to the wayside. God has spoken in Jesus Christ once and for all: “He spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm” (Psalm 33:9). This world and everything it holds will pass away, change, be fickle and inconsistent, “this world in its present form is passing away” (1 Corinthians 7:31), however despite the fleeting ways of this world we have the eternal and unchanging assurance of God’s Word: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away” (Matthew 24:35). Therefore Paul firmly proclaims and assures us: “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are ‘Yes’ in Christ. And so through him the ‘Amen’ is spoken by us to the glory of God” (2 Corinthians 1:20). In these authoritative words we have one of the great proclamations of the gospel: all the promises of God are ours because of what Jesus Christ has done on our behalf. From the very beginning of the Scriptures to the very end, every single promise that God has made to protect us, forgive us, and love us are fulfilled and ensured thru Jesus Christ. Where we could never put ourselves in the good graces of God, Jesus Christ came along and perfectly fulfilled God’s will in our stead. “The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever” (1 John 2:17).
In conclusion Paul once again points us away from ourselves and towards the cross of Jesus Christ: “Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come” (2 Corinthians 1:21-22). It is never because of “me” that we stand firm in Christ, it is always because of God. God is the one who came down to earth as a Man, it is God who shows us our utter sinfulness and inability to measure up, it is God who died for our sins, it is God who melts our hearts with the gospel of the cross, it is God who gives us the faith to cling to Christ crucified, it is God who brought us into the Church thru our Baptism, it is God who sustains in the fellowship of the Body of Christ thru the Lord’s Supper, it is God who works in our hearts to love Him and be obedient, it is God who creates fruit of good works in our life, it is God who compels us to do His will in this life. It is not “me” who does or can do anything; it is always God’s gracious work thru Jesus Christ our Lord. Since God’s will is the only course in life that matters Paul calls God as His witness, stating that he broke his plans to visit them for the sake of their faith and good, because it was God’s will. “I call God as my witness that it was in order to spare you that I did not return to Corinth. Not that we lord it over your faith, but we work with you for your joy, because it is by faith you stand firm” (2 Corinthians 1:23-24). If it had been in the best interest of the Corinthians for Paul to return he would have done so, but because it was God’s will for him to stay away he had no choice. Paul was willing to do whatever was needed for the good of the congregation; just like Jesus Christ he knew that God’s will was the only will worth living for. Let us pray that we never let our will matter, but that we only live for God’s will as revealed in Jesus Christ: “For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day” (John 6:38-40).
Continuing on Paul praises and thanks God for all the comfort He provides thru Jesus Christ in the face of all the troubles we see in this life: “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4). God Almighty is a God of comfort, one who uplifts those who are troubled, mourning, hurting, and suffering. “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me” (Psalm 23:4). Therefore as followers of Christ we are called to spread the comfort we receive from God to all those around us; the comfort and blessings of God are to flow thru us to our fellow man. It is because we ourselves are comforted that we are now able to give the true comfort and consolation to our fellow man; the comfort of the cross. The “comfort” of the cross? Isn’t that like saying “the comfort of pain, misery, and torture”? Yes, the cross is indeed the point of God’s condemnation, wrath, and destruction of sin, but the cross is also the point of God’s unfathomable mercy, grace, joy, reconciliation, propitiation, and comfort. Thru being united in Christ crucified we share in not only the suffering but also in the comfort: “For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows” (2 Corinthians 1:5). It is important for us to realize that we are blessed to partake in the sufferings of Jesus Christ crucified, for in that sharing we are assured of having died with Him to sin and of being raised with Him in the comfort of God’s mercy. “We share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory” (Romans 8:17). “It has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him” (Philippians 1:29). “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead” (Philippians 3:10-11). The Christian life is never “easy” and it is always full of troubles, trials, tribulations, and sufferings for the sake of the cross, but we also receive the comfort and peace of God that passes all understanding so that we may be firm and strong in Christ within these difficulties.
Paul continues on to address how the Body of Christ shares in this suffering and comfort together: “If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer” (2 Corinthians 1:6). As Christians it is our duty to bear with one another. What we undergo in this life is for the good of the whole, for the good of the entire Church and Body of Christ. “Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn” (Romans 12:15). At some points certain members of the Body will suffer so that other members may find comfort and relief, and those that are relieved and comforted are done so that those who are suffering will see that in Christ there is sweet relief from the pain of this life. “And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort” (2 Corinthians 1:7). Our hope remains firm because we know that thru it all God is working for our ultimate good in Jesus Christ. Those who suffer today will be comforted tomorrow, and those that receive comfort today will suffer tomorrow so that another may receive comfort. The entire Body shares the burden of carrying one another as Christ continues to carry us all.
As he continues Paul illustrates the great purpose of suffering in this life. “We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death” (2 Corinthians 1:8-9). Thru the real life example of his own sufferings Paul looks to teach us many important things. The pressures, anxieties, and sufferings that Paul underwent in Asia were “far beyond our ability to endure.” But what does that mean? Paul is telling us that what he underwent was far more than the human Paul could ever endure. The troubles and sufferings were so great that they despaired of life itself, feeling the sentence and burden of death on their hearts. The trials were so great that death itself would have been a welcome end. But if these pressures were beyond the ability of man to endure then how did they survive? Because as followers of Christ Paul and Timothy do not walk alone, they have One who bears their burdens for them: “But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead” (2 Corinthians 1:9). In these powerful words Paul tells us the very purpose of suffering in this life: we suffer so that we will stop relying on “me” and “my” abilities, and start relying on the only One who can truly bear our troubles, burdens, and sins: Jesus Christ. “Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens” (Psalm 68:19). Our sufferings are great gifts from God that help keep us humble and clinging to Christ crucified. Thru His law God breaks us of our idols and our reliance on self so that we might be driven to the gospel of Jesus Christ. When our pride and self-assurance need to be knocked down God will graciously send us His discipline of the Law so that thru our troubles we might run back to Christ, fully trusting the promises of God to preserve us thru all things. “My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life…May your unfailing love be my comfort, according to your promise to your servant” (Psalm 119:50, 76). Therefore it is only thru our suffering that we find comfort in this life, without the suffering and the discipline of the law we would never be led to quiet and restoring waters of the gospel promises.
Paul tells us of the assurance we have in God’s promises: “He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us” (2 Corinthians 1:10). God not only has delivered us in the past (look at all we have come thru in this life!) but He has promised to continue to deliver us forevermore. This eternal promise is where our hope is set, but we also have the aide of the Church, of our fellow believers: “On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers” (2 Corinthians 1:10-11). The prayers of the Church have been given the promise of God for the sake of Jesus Christ. By going to God our Father thru our Mediator Jesus Christ we have the promise that God will hear and answer our prayers and petitions. Therefore like Paul we have the assurance of God thru the promise that the prayers of our fellow man will be answered, delivering us from the troubles and tribulations of this life for the sake of Jesus Christ crucified. Even these prayers however serve the purpose of witnessing to God’s glory and promise in Jesus Christ: “Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many” (2 Corinthians 1:11). As our prayers for deliverance for our fellow man are answered we are reassured ever more firmly in the grace of the cross. Therefore let us pray that thru the sufferings of this life we see how God is graciously working in our lives thru the Law, pushing us away from “me” and towards the only One that matters: Jesus Christ. Even though we deserve eternal damnation, in our sufferings God graciously only shows His anger to the point that we will wake up to the depths of our helplessness and depravity in sin, so that we might run to the comforting arms of the gospel of Jesus Christ. “I was enraged by his sinful greed; I punished him, and hid my face in anger, yet he kept on in his willful ways. I have seen his ways, but I will heal him; I will guide him and restore comfort to him” (Isaiah 57:17-18). “I will turn their mourning into gladness; I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow” (Jeremiah 31:13). “Although you were angry with me, your anger has turned away and you have comforted me” (Isaiah 12:1).
Having taught us the duality of suffering and comfort in the Christian life Paul continues on to address an important matter that had arisen amongst the Corinthians. Paul’s reputation as a man of his word (and therefore his Apostleship) was being put into question: “Now this is our boast: Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in our relations with you, in the holiness and sincerity that are from God” (2 Corinthians 1:12). Paul begins by defending the fact that in his ministry he had always been completely sincere and without ulterior motive or inconsistency. However this boast of Paul is not in the strength of himself but in the grace of God who made him what he is: “We have done so not according to worldly wisdom but according to God’s grace” (2 Corinthians 1:12). It is God’s grace alone that is responsible for Paul’s sincerity and consistency; he does nothing on his own strength but does all things on the grace of God who called and appointed him. “For we do not write you anything you cannot read or understand” (2 Corinthians 1:13). Paul proclaims that all he has written has been clear and succinct, with single-minded focus on Jesus Christ and His message. His words have not been double-minded or contradictory, sure they may have been difficult to accept for our sinful flesh but they certainly have not been unclear. It is thru this appeal to clarity that Paul hopes that the Corinthians will see that he has faithfully been carrying out his ministry and commission in their church. “And I hope that, as you have understood us in part, you will come to understand fully that you can boast of us just as we will boast of you in the day of the Lord Jesus” (2 Corinthians 1:14). As Christians we go thru daily growth and maturity in our understanding of the Message of the Cross. The depth of our understanding is not what saves us, for that is only done thru the promise and grace of God in Jesus Christ, but we are still called to be diligent in our study and understanding of the Scriptures and our faith. When we are mature and knowledgeable in our faith and the teaching of the Scriptures “then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming” (Ephesians 4:14).
In his hope that the Corinthians were growing in maturity of faith Paul planned to visit them: “Because I was confident of this, I planned to visit you first so that you might benefit twice. I planned to visit you on my way to Macedonia and to come back to you from Macedonia, and then to have you send me on my way to Judea” (2 Corinthians 1:15-16). Paul made plans to visit the Corinthians but these plans (as so many do) fell thru because it was not God’s will at the time. God saw that the Corinthians were not prepared for a visit from Paul so He changed the plans. So why is Paul making such a big defense of his sincerity in making these plans? What is going on here that concerns Paul? The issue is that some of the Corinthians had started spreading lies about Paul claiming that he was unreliable, inconsistent, fickle, and half-hearted because of his failure to follow thru with his plan to visit them. These lies were undermining Paul’s authority amongst the Corinthians and they were possibly starting to doubt the legitimacy of his claim to Apostleship because of these lies. It is for this reason that Paul continues on to ask these questions which were surely on the minds of the doubting Corinthians: “When I planned this, did I do it lightly? Or do I make my plans in a worldly manner so that in the same breath I say, ‘Yes, yes’ and ‘No, no’?” (2 Corinthians 1:17). If the Corinthians were truly beginning to think that Paul was inconsistent then this was a true danger to His proclamation of the Gospel to them. Paul could not afford to lose the confidence of the Corinthians for he realized that their weak faiths could be torn asunder if they saw him as a double-minded or hypocritical man. So now we must ask: Did Paul say “yes” to visit the Corinthians just to make them feel better and in reality mean “no” in his heart? Absolutely not. Paul seriously intended to visit the Corinthians it is just that his human plans changed because God determined otherwise. “Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Yahweh's purpose that prevails” (Proverbs 19:21). At the time Paul thought a visit to the Corinthians was necessary but God knew what really needed to take place.
“But as surely as God is faithful, our message to you is not ‘Yes’ and ‘No’” (2 Corinthians 1:18). Paul is adamant here that the Message he brought was not one of fickleness and inconsistency. He has not been saying “yes” out of one side of his mouth while saying “no” out the other, and his actions and life have always lined up with these bold words; what Paul had taught the Corinthians is in accord with the life he was living to God’s glory. As surely as God Himself is faithful and never changed, so too the proclamation of Paul had been consistent: “The plans of the Yahweh stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations” (Psalm 33:11). Paul does not appeal to himself (for surely the sinful human being of Paul was inconsistent from time to time) but to the message of the cross and to Jesus Christ. “For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by me and Silas and Timothy, was not ‘Yes’ and ‘No,’ but in him it has always been ‘Yes’” (2 Corinthians 1:19). This message of Jesus Christ as the Son of the Living God is not inconsistent, and that is what truly matters when all else falls to the wayside. God has spoken in Jesus Christ once and for all: “He spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm” (Psalm 33:9). This world and everything it holds will pass away, change, be fickle and inconsistent, “this world in its present form is passing away” (1 Corinthians 7:31), however despite the fleeting ways of this world we have the eternal and unchanging assurance of God’s Word: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away” (Matthew 24:35). Therefore Paul firmly proclaims and assures us: “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are ‘Yes’ in Christ. And so through him the ‘Amen’ is spoken by us to the glory of God” (2 Corinthians 1:20). In these authoritative words we have one of the great proclamations of the gospel: all the promises of God are ours because of what Jesus Christ has done on our behalf. From the very beginning of the Scriptures to the very end, every single promise that God has made to protect us, forgive us, and love us are fulfilled and ensured thru Jesus Christ. Where we could never put ourselves in the good graces of God, Jesus Christ came along and perfectly fulfilled God’s will in our stead. “The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever” (1 John 2:17).
In conclusion Paul once again points us away from ourselves and towards the cross of Jesus Christ: “Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come” (2 Corinthians 1:21-22). It is never because of “me” that we stand firm in Christ, it is always because of God. God is the one who came down to earth as a Man, it is God who shows us our utter sinfulness and inability to measure up, it is God who died for our sins, it is God who melts our hearts with the gospel of the cross, it is God who gives us the faith to cling to Christ crucified, it is God who brought us into the Church thru our Baptism, it is God who sustains in the fellowship of the Body of Christ thru the Lord’s Supper, it is God who works in our hearts to love Him and be obedient, it is God who creates fruit of good works in our life, it is God who compels us to do His will in this life. It is not “me” who does or can do anything; it is always God’s gracious work thru Jesus Christ our Lord. Since God’s will is the only course in life that matters Paul calls God as His witness, stating that he broke his plans to visit them for the sake of their faith and good, because it was God’s will. “I call God as my witness that it was in order to spare you that I did not return to Corinth. Not that we lord it over your faith, but we work with you for your joy, because it is by faith you stand firm” (2 Corinthians 1:23-24). If it had been in the best interest of the Corinthians for Paul to return he would have done so, but because it was God’s will for him to stay away he had no choice. Paul was willing to do whatever was needed for the good of the congregation; just like Jesus Christ he knew that God’s will was the only will worth living for. Let us pray that we never let our will matter, but that we only live for God’s will as revealed in Jesus Christ: “For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day” (John 6:38-40).
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