"Moreover I call God as witness against my soul, that to spare you I came no more to Corinth" (1 Cor. 1:23).
Some people in Corinth accused Paul of being untrustworthy because he had not come directly to Corinth after leaving Ephesus as he had said he would do. His critics inferred from Paul’s change of plans that he could not be trusted in anything even in matters that extended to doctrine.
Before dealing with their personal charges, Paul immediately defends the Gospel. He maintains that the Gospel is true because God Himself is trustworthy. The preaching of the apostles was God’s Word, not their own, and is to be relied upon as true (as yea and amen). “Paul’s confidence in the truth of the Gospel as he preached it was one and the same with his confidence in God,” Hodge wrote. “To tell him that his preaching was not to be depended upon was in his mind the same as to say that God was not to be believed; for he knew that he was the infallible organ of God in all his teaching (1 John 5:10).”
Because God is true, all the promises in Christ are true. God has rendered His people secure in their union with Christ and in their participation in the benefits of redemption. We have been sealed by the Holy Spirit, which secures us in our faith. Our salvation is not dependent upon anything we have done, and the certainty of the Gospel does not rest on the words of man, but on the power of God. He has promised to give His people eternal life, and He has given us His Spirit as a seal of that promise. We need never doubt the promises of God in Christ because He is true to His Word.
Having declared to the Corinthians that the doctrine he taught was true, that the Lord would fulfill all His promises, Paul finally explained, by an oath (v. 23), why he did not come to Corinth: he wanted to give the church time to deal with problems he had addressed in prior letters. If he had come immediately, he would have had to exercise discipline. Instead, he wanted to give them time to repent. By this he did not mean to imply that he was lord over their faith, a harsh task-master, for they stood independently on their own faith. But as a minister, he was a helper to them, a guide to promote their spiritual welfare.
Do you ever doubt the truth of God’s Word because of the insincerity of men, or because you question the truthfulness of church leaders? Many people have become prejudiced against the Gospel because of man’s sinfulness. Where do you put your confidence? Meditate on verses 20–22. Praise God for being trustworthy.
