Christ, God’s Yes

Sermon Text

2 Corinthians 1:12-22

12 For our boasting is this: the testimony of our conscience that we conducted ourselves in the world in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom but by the grace of God, and more abundantly toward you. 13 For we are not writing any other things to you than what you read or understand. Now I trust you will understand, even to the end 14 (as also you have understood us in part), that we are your boast as you also are ours, in the day of the Lord Jesus.

15 And in this confidence I intended to come to you before, that you might have a second benefit— 16 to pass by way of you to Macedonia, to come again from Macedonia to you, and be helped by you on my way to Judea. 17 Therefore, when I was planning this, did I do it lightly? Or the things I plan, do I plan according to the flesh, that with me there should be Yes, Yes, and No, No? 18 But as God is faithful, our word to you was not Yes and No. 19 For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us—by me, Silvanus, and Timothy—was not Yes and No, but in Him was Yes. 20 For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us. 21 Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, 22 who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.

New King James Version (NKJV) Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.

• God is completely truthful and faithful, so none of his promises fail even when his plans unfold in ways that confuse or disappoint us.
• Every divine promise reaches its fulfillment and final focus in Jesus Christ, from the first gospel promise to the hope of resurrection and a world without tears.
• The cross seemed to shatter the disciples' hopes, but the resurrection revealed that God's surprising path was the very means by which he kept his promises.
• The Holy Spirit establishes believers in Christ as God's seal and down payment, assuring them that he will finish the saving work he began.
• Word and sacraments communicate God's gracious promises rather than functioning as magic or merely displaying human resolve; the Spirit uses them to strengthen faith.
• Believers respond with ‘Amen’—staking life on God's yes in Christ—and therefore should become dependable people whose words and vows reflect the faithful God they serve.

• When God's plan differs from mine, do I interpret him through the disappointment or the disappointment through his proven faithfulness?
• Am I trying to manipulate events as Abraham did with Hagar instead of waiting for God to keep his promise in his way?
• Which promise of God am I tempted to seek apart from Christ?
• How does the resurrection turn the apparent defeat of the cross into the clearest display of God's faithfulness?
• What does the Spirit's presence guarantee about God's unfinished work in me?
• Do Word and sacrament direct my confidence to God's gracious promise or to the quality of my own response?
• What does it mean for me to say ‘Amen’ to God's promises in a present struggle?
• Would the people closest to me describe my speech, vows, and commitments as reflecting the trustworthy God I profess?

Faithfulness of God

God's unchanging truthfulness and reliability by which he always keeps every promise he makes.

Covenant promise

A gracious commitment God makes to be his people's God and to accomplish salvation for them.

Christ-centered fulfillment

The truth that the Bible's promises reach their intended completion and meaning in Jesus Christ.

Amen

A confession meaning ‘so be it’ that expresses settled agreement and trust in God's promises.

Seal

A mark of ownership and confirmation; the Spirit confirms that believers belong to God in Christ.

Guarantee

The Holy Spirit as God's down payment assuring believers that the full promised inheritance will come.

Assurance

Confidence in God's saving grace grounded in his promises in Christ, accompanied by faith's confession, changed life, and the Spirit's witness.

Sacrament

A sign and seal through which the Spirit applies and confirms God's gospel promises rather than a work that operates automatically.