October 11 Click on verses for Full Scripture

previous - - - - - - - - - - next

Today's Pathway: II Corinthians 1:18-22 But as God is true, our word toward you was not yea and nay. For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us, even by me and Silvanus and Timotheus, was not yea and nay, but in him was yea. For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us. Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God; Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.

Yesterday we saw that Paul's opponents in Corinth had accused him of being untrustworthy because he had not been able to make the trip to visit them that he had planned. They claimed that when he said "yea" he really meant "nay", and thus his words could not be believed. In verse 18 Paul states that this was not the case. He appeals to the fact that God is always true in what He says. In verse 19 he reminds the Corinthians that he and others had preached to them about Jesus Christ, and Jesus never spoke out of "both sides of His mouth", but was always 100% truthful in what He said. Paul is not claiming to be infallible here. What he is stating is that he is a follower of God and a preacher of Christ, and thus he is endeavoring to live in such a way that would honor Them. Because the Godhead would never lie or mislead, so Paul does not intentionally lie or mislead either. Albert Barnes commented,

"Paul states that he felt himself bound to maintain the strictest veracity, for two reasons: the one, that Jesus Christ always evinced the strictest veracity; the other, God was always true to all the promises that he made, and as he felt himself to be the servant of the Savior and of God, he was bound by the most sacred obligations also to maintain a character irreproachable in regard to veracity."

In verse 20 Paul writes that all the promises of God are found in Jesus Christ, and thus everything that God has promised is going to take place. The word "amen" means "yes" or "so be it". It comes from a Hebrew word which means "truly" or "trustworthy". In Revelation 3:14 Jesus Himself is called "the Amen, the faithful and true witness". Paul is saying that God and His Word are trustworthy, and so believers can always respond "Amen" to whatever the Lord says, and in so doing they bring glory to God.

In verses 21-22 Paul reminds the Corinthians that it was God Who established them and anointed them. Paul is saying that he was established and anointed just like the Corinthian believers were. This would help to add to his credibility. In addition, having already spoken of the authority and truthfulness of God the Father and of Christ, he now brings the Holy Spirit into the conversation. His use of the word "anointing" coupled with verse 22 indicates that he is referring to God's gift of the Holy Spirit to believers. In I John 2:20 we read,

"But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things".

"But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things".