Dave's Diary

Today we start reading 2 Corinthians. After writing 1 Corinthians, it seems that Paul actually briefly visited Corinth (a visit referred to in 2 Corinthians 2 as ‘a painful visit’) and then wrote them a letter which was not preserved for us, addressing some of the matters he observed on that visit. 2 Corinthians is a follow-up (third) letter. All of this correspondence and input from Paul shows how intensely he felt his responsibility to teach and disciple the Corinthian Christians to maturity in Christ.

Daily Readings: 2 Corinthians 1 and Psalm 119:161-176

Let’s reflect on the section from v.16-23:

16 I wanted to visit you on my way to Macedonia and to come back to you from Macedonia, and then to let you send me on my way to Judea. 17 Was I fickle when I intended to do this? Or do I make my plans in a worldly manner so that in the same breath I say both ‘Yes, yes’ and ‘No, no’? 18 But as surely as God is faithful, our message to you is not ‘Yes’ and ‘No’. ¹⁹ For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us – by me, Silas and Timothy – was not ‘Yes’ and ‘No’, but in him it has always been ‘Yes’. ²⁰ 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. … ²³ I call God as my witness – and I stake my life on it – that it was in order to spare you that I did not return to Corinth.

Paul wrote such beautiful words about the Lord while defending himself from certain Corinthians who accused him of not keeping his promise to visit them again. They assumed the worst of Paul and accused him of saying, ‘Yes’, but meaning, ‘No’. Paul responded, assuring them that he had meant every word he said and that he had only changed his plans out of a desire to protect and spare the Corinthians from some unnamed trouble. Perhaps he knew that another visit there would attract further persecution to them from the authorities?

But, be that as it may, and whether they believed his explanation about his motives or not – Paul’s most important desire was for them to understand that regardless of what Paul was, Jesus Christ the Son of God is The Truth, and there is no half-truth or falsehood in Him. What they believed about Paul was of secondary importance. What really mattered is that they did not let their doubts about Paul affect their faith in Jesus! Paul was willing to be unfairly maligned and disbelieved, as long as they did not malign and disbelieve Jesus.

Life Application: The integrity and truthfulness of Jesus was Paul’s highest motive for his own commitment to integrity and truth. Let us live in such honesty and truth that our consciences will always be clear before the Lord the way Paul’s was (v.12). Let us also be less concerned about what others think of us, and most deeply concerned that they should know and trust the truth about Jesus our Lord.