What did Paul mean when he said that God's promises are "Yes"

Question

What did Paul mean when he said that God's promises are "Yes" in 2 Corinthians 1:20?

2 Corinthians 1:20 (NIV):

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.

2 Corinthians 1:20 (KJV):

For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.

2 Corinthians 1:20 (CSB):

For every one of God’s promises is “Yes” in him. Therefore, through him we also say “Amen” to the glory of God.

Answer 1

Short Answer: God does not fail in what He promises.

Maybe an illustration would be appropriate.

Let's say your friend comes to you and promises to help you move to a new house. They say, “Yes, I’ll be there to help you on Saturday.” However, when Saturday comes, they call and say, “I’m sorry, something came up, and I can’t make it.” What is displayed is an example of a “yes and no” promise.

Human promises are often unreliable. Why? Humans are subject to change. They can be “yes” one moment and “no” the next.

God’s promises on the other hand, are always trustworthy and consistent. What He promises, He fulfills without fail. He is not a God who is fickle and subject to change.

Hebrews 13:5 says,

“I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

This is a "yes" promise. Believers can count on Him to always be present and faithful, without any equivocation.

Answer 2

Paul regularly talked about Christians being inheritors of the covenant promises made to Israel in places such as:

• Rom 9:8 - So it is not the children of the flesh who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as offspring.
• Gal 4:28 - Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise.
• Eph 3:6 - This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are fellow heirs, fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus.
• Eph 2:12 - remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world.
• Rom 15:8 - For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the circumcised on behalf of God’s truth, to confirm the promises made to the patriarchs,
• Heb 6:17 - So when God wanted to make the unchanging nature of His purpose very clear to the heirs of the promise, He guaranteed it with an oath.

Note especially this next verse:

• Gal 3:22 - But the Scripture pronounces all things confined by sin, so that by faith in Jesus Christ the promise might be given to those who believe.

Further Paul offers some explanation of his intent in the previous few verses:

2 Cor 1:17-20 - When I planned this, did I do it carelessly? Or do I make my plans by human standards, so as to say “Yes, yes” when I really mean “No, no”? But as surely as God is faithful, our message to you is not “Yes” and “No.” For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was proclaimed among you by me and Silvanus and Timothy, was not “Yes” and “No,” but in Him it has always been “Yes.” For all the promises of God are “Yes” in Christ. And so through Him, our “Amen” is spoken to the glory of God.

Thus, in 2 Cor 1:20, we have several ideas coming together that Paul binds up in a single word "promise(s)"

• that Jesus is the promised Messiah in the OT covenants to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob
• that Christians, as spiritual "Israel" are inheritors of the covenant promises made to ancient Israel especially those found in the "Book of the Covenant" (Ex 24:7), namely, Ex 19-23, which lists the great promise of the Angel of the Covenant to protect God's people.
• that there should be no prevarication ("yes and no") about preaching the good news of salvation by faith in Christ Jesus; rather Paul and his colleagues were certain of their preaching about Christ and that He was the fulfilment of all the covenant promises, of which spiritual Israel are inheritors
• that Christians may be confident and certain that God will fulfil these promises to Christians

Barnes says this:

Are yea - Shall all be certainly fulfilled. There shall be no vacillation on the part of God; no fickleness; no abandoning of his gracious intention.

Answer 3

It means God always keeps his word.

(1:18–22) to assure them that he indeed had a good reason for not coming; he was a representative of the God who always kept his word, and he proclaimed a faithful gospel. “Amen” functioned as a positive affirmation at the end of a prayer, and Christ became the amen and yes to all the biblical promises of a truly faithful God. 1:21. The term translated “stand firm” (NIV) or “establish” (NASB, NRSV) or “confirm” was often a business term confirming a sale; it is thus related to “down payment” (“deposit”—NIV) in verse -- Keener, C. S. (1993). The IVP Bible background commentary: New Testament (2 Cor. 1:18–21). InterVarsity Press.

Answer 4

It means that it is impossible for the Father to give and fulfil any of His promises to the Israel unless through Christ. You can paraphrase this sentence like: "All promises of God are realized through or in Christ", just as one says: "All life-giving influence of the sun is realized through its rays".

If so, then Christ is God, just as the Father is God, for what (or who) is necessary and indispensable for the Father in order to fulfill His promises is also a constituent of His divinity.

Answer 5

The Christian belief is fundamentally based on Paul's teachings, emphasizing that salvation is attained through faith alone in Jesus Christ. This faith is rooted in Christ's sacrificial death and resurrection.

2 Corinthians 1:20 highlights that all of God's promises are fulfilled in Jesus Christ: "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" (NIV). If anyone doubts this faith, their salvation will be in vain. Paul further explains in 2 Corinthians 1:21-22;

21 Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, 22 set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. (NIV)

Simply put, anyone who is not in Christ will not be guaranteed salvation.

Paul's letters to the Corinthians address important Church affairs, including the identification of false teachers who preaching "another Jesus" (2 Corinthians 11:4). Although Paul does not describe the characteristic of this "another Jesus", he warns that "Just as Eve was deceived by the serpent's cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ" (2 Corinthians 11:3).

Therefore it is vital to recognize the words in Matthew 28:18-20, where Jesus says:

18 “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (NIV)

God's promises are always "Yes" in Christ, for Jesus inherents all authority from God.