The Meaning of 2 Corinthians 1:19 Explained

2 Corinthians 1:19

KJV: For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us, even by me and Silvanus and Timotheus, was not yea and nay, but in him was yea.

YLT: for the Son of God, Jesus Christ, among you through us having been preached -- through me and Silvanus and Timotheus -- did not become Yes and No, but in him it hath become Yes;

Darby: For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, he who has been preached by us among you (by me and Silvanus and Timotheus), did not become yea and nay, but yea is in him.

ASV: For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us, even by me and Silvanus and Timothy, was not yea and nay, but in him is yea.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

For  the Son  of God,  Jesus  Christ,  who  was preached  among  you  by  us,  [even] by  me  and  Silvanus  and  Timotheus,  was  not  yea  and  nay,  but  in  him  was  yea. 

What does 2 Corinthians 1:19 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Consistency is not only a mark of God the Father but also of God the Son.
"The truth asserted is that Christ, the Son of God, had not been manifested among them, or experienced by them to be unsatisfying or uncertain; but in him was yea. That Isaiah , he was simple truth. In him, i.e, in Christ, was truth. He proved himself to be all that was affirmed of him." [1]
"Nothing could be more incongruous than to suspect of insincerity the Apostle whose entire being was dedicated to the service and proclamation of Him who is the Truth and the Same yesterday, today, and forever." [2]
Silvanus was Silas who with Timothy joined Paul in Corinth shortly after his arrival there and helped him found the church along with Priscilla and Aquila ( Acts 17:14-15; Acts 18:1-2; Acts 18:5).

Context Summary

2 Corinthians 1:12-22 - Sincere Like His Master
The Apostle laid great emphasis on the witness of his conscience. See Acts 23:1; Acts 24:16. As we pass out of this life, and stand in the revealing dawn of eternity, it will be a blessed thing if we are able to say this much of ourselves.
Paul had thought of visiting Corinth on his way to Macedonia, and again on his return journey; but this purpose had been defeated. He was eager, however, that his friends should understand that the change was not due to vacillation on his part, for this would be unworthy of one who stood for the great certainties of the gospel.
Christ is God's attestation to His promises. All these have received their seal in the words, sufferings and resurrection of our Lord. In Jesus God says Yea to the yearnings and prayers of human hearts, and Amen (verily) to all the ten thousand promises of Scripture. He who rests on Christ stands in the focal point of certainty and assurance. Not one good thing shall fail him of all that has been promised.
2 Corinthians 1:21 is full of comfort. God alone can give us a settled and established position. He anoints us for service; seals us with His Spirit for safety, likeness, and authentication; and in this way gives us the earnest and foretaste of heaven, as the grapes of Eschol were the pledge and foretaste of Canaan. [source]

Chapter Summary: 2 Corinthians 1

1  Paul salutes the Corinthians;
3  he encourages them against troubles,
5  by the comforts and deliverances which God had given him,
8  so particularly in his late danger in Asia
12  And calling both his own conscience and theirs,
15  he excuses his not coming to them, as proceeding not of lightness,
23  but of his care for them

Greek Commentary for 2 Corinthians 1:19

Was not Yea and Nay [ουκ εγενετο ναι και ου]
“Did not become Yes and No.” [source]
But in him is yea [αλλα Ναι εν αυτωι γεγονεν]
Rather, “But in him Yes has become yes,” has proved true. So Paul appeals to the life of Christ to sustain his own veracity. [source]
Was not [οὐκ ἐγένετο]
Rather, did not prove to be, in the result. [source]
In Him was yea [ναὶ ἐν αὐτῷ γέγονεν]
Lit., yea has come to pass in Him. He has shown Himself absolutely the truth. Compare John 14:6; Revelation 3:7, Revelation 3:14. [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for 2 Corinthians 1:19

Acts 15:40 Commended [παραδοτεις]
First aorist passive of παραδιδωμι — paradidōmi the same verb employed about Paul and Barnabas (Acts 14:26) on their return from the first tour. It is clear now that the sympathy of the church at Antioch is with Paul rather than with Barnabas in the cleavage that has come. The church probably recalled how in the pinch Barnabas flickered and went to the side of Peter and that it was Paul who for the moment stood Paulus contra mundum for Gentile liberty in Christ against the threat of the Judaizers from Jerusalem. Silas had influence in the church in Jerusalem (Acts 15:22) and was apparently a Roman citizen (Acts 16:37) also. He is the Silas or Silvanus of the epistles (1 Thessalonians 1:1; 2 Thessalonians 1:1; 2 Corinthians 1:19; 1 Peter 5:12). It is remarkable that Peter mentions both Mark and Silas as with him (1 Peter 5:12.) at the same time. [source]
Acts 18:5 Was constrained by the word [συνειχετο τωι λογωι]
This is undoubtedly the correct text and not τωι πνευματι — tōi pneumati of the Textus Receptus, but συνειχετο — suneicheto is in my opinion the direct middle imperfect indicative, not the imperfect passive as the translations have it (Robertson, Grammar, p. 808). Paul held himself together or completely to the preaching instead of just on Sabbaths in the synagogue (Acts 18:4). The coming of Silas and Timothy with the gifts from Macedonia (1 Thessalonians 3:6; 2 Corinthians 11:9; Philemon 4:15) set Paul free from tent-making for a while so that he began to devote himself (inchoative imperfect) with fresh consecration to preaching. See the active in 2 Corinthians 5:14. He was now also assisted by Silas and Timothy (2 Corinthians 1:19). [source]
1 Thessalonians 1:1  []
d The address of the first Epistle is shorter than that of any of the Pauline letters. In the other Epistles Paul either indicates the contents of the letter, or adds details concerning the writer or his correspondents, or amplifies the apostolic greeting. The names of Silvanus and Timothy are added to that of Paul as the senders of the letter. They were with him at Corinth when it was written (Acts 18:5; 2 Corinthians 1:19). They had assisted him in the foundation of the Thessalonian Church (Acts 16:1-3; Acts 17:4, Acts 17:10, Acts 17:14). Paul's official title; “Apostle” is omitted in the addresses of both Epistles, although in 1 Thessalonians 2:6he uses ἀπόστολοι apostlesincluding Silvanus and Timothy under that title. The title appears in all the other Epistles except Philippians and Philemon. The reason for its omission in every case appears to have been the intimate and affectionate character of his relations with the parties addressed, which rendered an appeal to his apostolic authority unnecessary. Paul does not confine the name of apostle to the twelve. [source]
1 Thessalonians 1:1 Paul, and Silvanus, and Timothy [Παυλος και Σιλουανος και Τιμοτεος]
Nominative absolute as customary in letters. Paul associates with himself Silvanus (Silas of Acts, spelled Σιλβανος — Silbanos in D and the papyri), a Jew and Roman citizen, and Timothy, son of Jewish mother and Greek father, one of Paul‘s converts at Lystra on the first tour. They had both been with Paul at Thessalonica, though Timothy is not mentioned by Luke in Acts in Macedonia till Beroea (Acts 17:14.). Timothy had joined Paul in Athens (1 Thessalonians 3:1.), had been sent back to Thessalonica, and with Silas had rejoined Paul in Corinth (1 Thessalonians 3:5; Acts 18:5, 2 Corinthians 1:19). Silas is the elder and is mentioned first, but neither is in any sense the author of the Epistle any more than Sosthenes is Corinthians-author of I Corinthians or Timothy of II Corinthians, though Paul may sometimes have them in mind when he uses “we” in the Epistle. Paul does not here call himself “apostle” as in the later Epistles, perhaps because his position has not been so vigorously attacked as it was later. Ellicott sees in the absence of the word here a mark of the affectionate relations existing between Paul and the Thessalonians. [source]
1 Peter 5:12 Silvanus []
Probably the companion of Paul known in the Acts as Silas (Acts 15:22, Acts 15:27, Acts 15:32, Acts 15:34, Acts 15:40, etc.), and called Silvanus by Paul in 2 Corinthians 1:19; 1 Thessalonians 1:1; 2 Thessalonians 1:1. [source]

What do the individual words in 2 Corinthians 1:19 mean?

The - of God for Son Christ Jesus the [One] among you by us having been proclaimed me and Silvanus Timothy not was Yes No but in Him it has always been
τοῦ Θεοῦ γὰρ Υἱὸς Χριστὸς Ἰησοῦς ἐν ὑμῖν δι’ ἡμῶν κηρυχθείς ἐμοῦ καὶ Σιλουανοῦ Τιμοθέου οὐκ ἐγένετο Ναί Οὔ ἀλλὰ ἐν αὐτῷ γέγονεν

τοῦ  - 
Parse: Article, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
Θεοῦ  of  God 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root: θεός  
Sense: a god or goddess, a general name of deities or divinities.
Υἱὸς  Son 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: υἱός  
Sense: a son.
Χριστὸς  Christ 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: Χριστός  
Sense: Christ was the Messiah, the Son of God.
Ἰησοῦς  Jesus 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: Ἰησοῦς  
Sense: Joshua was the famous captain of the Israelites, Moses’ successor.
  the  [One] 
Parse: Article, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
ἡμῶν  us 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Genitive 1st Person Plural
Root: ἐγώ  
Sense: I, me, my.
κηρυχθείς  having  been  proclaimed 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Participle Passive, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: κηρύσσω  
Sense: to be a herald, to officiate as a herald.
ἐμοῦ  me 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Genitive 1st Person Singular
Root: ἐγώ  
Sense: I, me, my.
Σιλουανοῦ  Silvanus 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root: Σιλουανός  
Sense: a Roman citizen, the companion of the apostle Paul on several of his missionary journeys.
Τιμοθέου  Timothy 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root: Τιμόθεος  
Sense: a resident of Lystra, apparently, whose father was a Greek and mother a Jewess; he was Paul’s travelling companion and fellow labourer.
Ναί  Yes 
Parse: Particle
Root: ναί  
Sense: yea, verily, truly, assuredly, even so.
Οὔ  No 
Parse: Adverb
Root: οὐ  
Sense: no, not; in direct questions expecting an affirmative answer.
γέγονεν  it  has  always  been 
Parse: Verb, Perfect Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: γίνομαι  
Sense: to become, i.