What is the meaning of 2 Corinthians 1:18? But as surely as God is faithful • Paul grounds everything he says in God’s unchanging character. Numbers 23:19 reminds us, “God is not a man, that He should lie,” and 1 Corinthians 1:9 echoes, “God is faithful, who has called you.” • By tying his statement to the Lord’s faithfulness, Paul assures believers that whatever follows carries the weight of divine reliability, not mere human intention. • Lamentations 3:23 points out that God’s mercies are “new every morning,” underscoring how steady He is even when circumstances shift. our message to you • Paul’s “message” (literally, what he preached and taught) came from God, not from personal agenda. He stressed the same truth in 1 Thessalonians 2:4: “We speak not to please men, but God.” • 1 Corinthians 2:2 shows his focus: “For I decided to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.” • Because the content originates with a faithful God, the message itself carries that same integrity. is not “Yes” and “No.” • Paul is denying any vacillation or double-talk. His critics claimed he was unreliable (v.17), but he answers that God-given words cannot be both affirming and denying at once. • James 1:17 says that with the Father of lights there is “no variation or shadow of turning,” so a gospel rooted in Him cannot be fickle. • Jesus taught in Matthew 5:37, “Let your ‘Yes’ be yes, and your ‘No,’ no.” Paul imitates that same straightforwardness. • In the very next verses (2 Corinthians 1:19-20) he adds that all God’s promises are “Yes” in Christ; therefore, any seeming contradiction would undermine the certainty secured in Jesus. summary God’s flawless faithfulness guarantees that Paul’s gospel is clear, consistent, and trustworthy. The apostle’s words do not swing between “Yes” and “No” because they flow from the God who never changes and whose promises find their unwavering “Yes” in Christ. |
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