Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary 2 Corinthians 1:20

"For how many soever be the promises of God, in him is the yea: wherefore also through him is the Amen, unto the glory of God through us." — 2 Corinthians 1:20 (ASV)

Paul now elaborates this last point. The message originally proclaimed at Corinth (Acts 18:5) by the threefold testimony (cf. 13:1) of Paul, Silas, and Timothy centered in none other than God’s Son, in whom inconsistency and indecision have no place. So Paul contrasts the humanity of the messengers and the divinity of the Person who was the essence of their message. Indeed, in and through him the divine “Yes” has come into effect as a permanent reality (v.19), because all God’s promises (cf. 7:1; Romans 9:4; Romans 15:8), whatever their number, find their fulfillment in him (v.20a). “They are ‘Yes’ in Christ,” since he forms the climax and summation of the divine self-revelation. That is why, in their corporate worship offered to God through Christ, Christians joyfully utter the “Yes” or “Amen” of agreement (cf. Revelation 1:7; 3:14; 22:20). Such a response enhances God’s glory (v.20b).

The Corinthians’ “Amen” (GK 297) to the Gospel declaration itself validated the apostolic preaching (cf. 1 Corinthians 1:6; 2 Corinthians 3:2–3; 2 Corinthians 13:5–6). With his consistency confirmed here, was it likely that Paul would act in a worldly manner in relatively trivial affairs? How could they distrust the apostle who himself had taught them to affirm the trustworthiness of God by repeating the “Amen”?