Do you ever find yourself longing for the promise of something truly great? A promise that people say ‘Yes’ to without a hesitation? Or perhaps a promise that says ‘Yes’ to you wholeheartedly?
Let’s look at 2 Corinthians 1:12-22 as we consider the fullness of God’s promises.
“For our boast is this, the testimony of our conscience, that we behaved in the world with simplicity and godly sincerity, not by earthly wisdom but by the grace of God, and supremely so toward you. For we are not writing to you anything other than what you read and understand and I hope you will fully understand— just as you did partially understand us—that on the day of our Lord Jesus you will boast of us as we will boast of you.
2 Corinthians 1:12-22
Because I was sure of this, I wanted to come to you first, so that you might have a second experience of grace. I wanted to visit you on my way to Macedonia, and to come back to you from Macedonia and have you send me on my way to Judea. Was I vacillating when I wanted to do this? Do I make my plans according to the flesh, ready to say “Yes, yes” and “No, no” at the same time? As surely as God is faithful, our word to you has not been Yes and No. For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, whom we proclaimed among you, Silvanus and Timothy and I, was not Yes and No,but in him it is always Yes. For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory. And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.”
The promise of establishing a dream can be a strong motivator. But even more so is a promise that provides a fresh perspective on past failures.
Self Promises
A street performer in Los Angeles dedicated to his musical craft, promised himself that he wouldn’t let his dream of making it as a musician die.
He poured himself into his music, promising to break through the city noise and rise from obscurity. He invested everything he had into his music. Hundreds of songs and ideas later, his promised dream received ‘No’ answer. But he came away with a different perspective that promised to establish him in a different way: he wrote “AI is a tool. It doesn’t replace us — it extends our capabilities.”
AI helped to establish his original dream. I can relate. While I enjoy producing my own written work, I saw an early AI tool that promised to create a hero’s journey outline from a short story I’d already written, but could never quite organize that well. I had longed to make the story better, but I couldn’t. However, I promised myself I wouldn’t give up.
Disappointing Promises
People make a lot of promises. We make promises to ourselves and others, while relying on their promises to us. But relying on peoples’ promises can also be disappointing at times. When we do that we can easily miss out on what God has for us.
Paul had sincerely wanted to visit the Corinthians again, but that promise didn’t come to pass. They were already skeptical of Paul because of those attacking Paul’s credibility, so Paul wrote them second Corinthians to reassure them, while defending his apostleship. In verses 12-22 the promise he wanted them to know was:
Because God establishes us together in Christ:
- We can be interested in others
- We can celebrate others’ success
- We can be confident in others
Let’s look at how we can take an interest in others.
Interested in Others
We can be interested in others. We see Paul wanted to come to the Corinthians because he expressed this strong desire twice in verses 15 and 16. His interest actually went beyond a nice thought about the Corinthians or even a plan to take action on their behalf. He wanted to exercise his will to make this happen. He wanted them to experience the joy, pleasure and delight God’s grace produced through his behavior. Paul took an interest in the Corinthians, even though the visit didn’t actually happen.
God’s grace can cause us to take interest. Wanting them to experience joy, pleasure and delight.
Intending to Visit
A young lady named Brittney had been asking her father to go to Kenya since 1997. She was financially supporting a young Kenyan boy named Newton and had to visit Kenya. Tragically, Brittney passed away in college and never got to visit her young Kenyan friend. Although Brittney never got to make the trip, her dad Steve James has visited Kenya many times as he started an aid organization called Kenya Relief.
Not Interested
Unlike the story above, we know that others may not always long to see us. But, we can still be interested in them. However, taking an interest in others is not a feeling or fleeting thought. Taking an interest in others that could care less about us bends our will to God’s will. It’s supernatural.
It is unnatural to take an interest in those who don’t take an interest in us. It is an act of the will that can only happen through understanding God’s grace. But, when we understand the kind of gracious behavior he wants to produce in our lives for others benefit, God is glorified.
And you know what, that can feel really good. But it starts by admitting we don’t really like certain people. Asking God for a better understanding of his grace can cause us to take an interest in them.
Celebrating Others Success
When people take an interest in us, it inspires confidence. We can celebrate others’ success. We can celebrate others’ success understanding that the credit for boasting in others ultimately belongs to Jesus Christ.
In verse 14 we see Paul confidently sharing his hope that the Corinthians will gain even greater understanding of the importance of celebrating others’ success in Christ at his coming. Mutual boasting in one another’s success will be revealed at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The “Winning” Ticket
Celebrating others’ success isn’t always easy, however. The company Loteria Nationale produced a heartwarming ad about a small Spanish town pulling together to celebrate a beloved mother and grandmother who believes she has this year’s winning lottery ticket.
The townspeople go to great extents to celebrate her “success” such that it eventually brings the entire town together. At the end of the celebration, the son approaches his mother to tell her the truth that the lottery winner will actually be announced tomorrow. She celebrates her son and gives him the “winning” ticket.
Just as the mother didn’t care about the credit for bringing the town together, we too can rally around another’s success in Christ. For example, when God blesses a member with a promotion or a better job it takes confidence to boast in another’s good fortune, especially if your outcome or situation is much different than theirs. But, that also means we have to share good things with each other and not hide accomplishments when appropriate.
Confidence in Others
We can be confident in others. We can be confident in one another because all of God’s promises are fulfilled in Jesus Christ the Son of God. In verses 19-21 Jesus Christ always gave the same answer in fulfilling all of God’s promises. It’s always yes.
Promises only have power if the one fulfilling them always answers yes through word and deed. Without a doubt, without hesitation, without inconsistency. The only one who answered yes to all of God’s promises in word and deed was the Son of God Jesus Christ. God in human form, Jesus Christ the perfect promise keeper, picked up all of our broken promises. All that’s left to do is agree with Jesus who establishes all of God’s promises, anointing each one of us for service. All we do is agree by saying “so be it”. Through Christ we say amen and God is glorified.
What has Jesus Promised?
Jesus, can you heal the blind? Jesus, can you liberate captives? Jesus, can you preach good news to the poor? Jesus Christ the Son of God perfectly fulfilled these promises. Therefore, we can confidently live into his anointing for our lives because God establishes us together in Christ. God fulfills all of his promises in Jesus. Therefore, we can selflessly be confident that God establishes us together in Christ. He did that by dying for all of our broken promises and rising on the 3rd day to fulfill God’s promise to liberate captives like us.
Jesus fulfilled some very important promises in his hometown of Nazareth.
Fulfilling ALL the Promises of God
One day he stood up in a synagogue that he was used to attending and read this out loud:
““The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
Luke 4:18-19
And he sat back down. With all eyes on him, Jesus had just fulfilled the scripture that the Jewish people were waiting on. His ministry would continue to establish every answer as yes when it came to fulfilling God’s promises.
Resolute Confidence
If the same Spirit that empowered Jesus Christ the Son of God to perfectly fulfill God’s promises lives in us, we can remain confident, even when we are disappointed or let down entirely by fellow Christians. When your spouse disappoints you and utterly lets you down, you can be confident because Jesus never will. When a dear friend forgets a promise or answers “no” to your big ask when you were really hoping for a “yes”, Jesus provides confidence in his promises.
Established in Christ
When we compare ourselves with others and think “If I could only be like so and so, then I’d:
[be a better mother],
[be more creative],
[be used by God in a greater way]”
[fill in the blank]
At that very moment, God reminds us that he has established us in Christ. He redirects our gaze to him and his universal anointing for each believer’s role in glorifying him.
We live for an audience of one in a community established by God’s promises. We gain confidence as we encourage one another for the day of Christ. We can be confident on that day, because God establishes us in Christ.
Confident ALL the Way Home
We can be confident in whatever comes our way. Celebrating others’ success is possible because God’s grace enables us to take an interest in them. Interest grows into confidence as we are established together by God, in Christ. The purpose of celebrating others culminates in God being glorified on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Different Boasts
A Japanese industrialist of the Edo period named Eiichi Shibusawa believed in celebrating others’ success. He desired their flourishing.
So much so that the promises of his words and deeds ushered in modern Japan. He was part of the first national bank in Japan and established over 500 banks and business corporations. He was involved with 600 social and public welfare projects during his life, including welfare and medical institutions.
Eiichi Shibusawa took an interest in others through fulfilling the promise of making people more affluent, as he pursued profits, alongside social good. He refused to ignore people’s best interests, celebrating success in public and private spheres, while pursuing the promises of a vibrant economy for Japan. He largely fulfilled his two sided promise of maintaining morals while pursuing human flourishing.
And for all of that, his likeness will be on the new ¥10,000 Japanese bank note releasing in July 2024. As great as these accomplishments are, why does boasting in the promises of people ultimately fall short? Why do we have to change the pictures on money and focus on different boasts?
Powerful Promises Can Fall Short
Anything that starts and ends with humans will let us down or break down over time. If we’re honest with ourselves all of the accomplishments that cause people to boast in each other ultimately fall short. But we are established together in Christ by God’s promises for the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Best Promise
Following Christ is better than capitalism, confucianism, buddhism and any other “ism” because it centers on celebrating each other in a way that doesn’t start or end with us. Instead, it shows us our desperate need for God’s grace because Jesus Christ the Son of God is the only one who can establish us together. And that’s worth boasting about!
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