2 Corinthians 1:19

For the Son of God, Jesus Christ St Paul now labours to impress the Corinthians with the weight of the commission with which he had been entrusted to them. It was nothing less than Jesus, the Promised and Anointed One, the Son of God, Whom he had preached.

was preached Literally, proclaimed, as by a herald. The word has come usually to mean an exposition of God's Word in the Christian congregation.

Silvanus Called Silas in the Acts. He was sent with Paul and Barnabas, as -a chief man among the brethren," to guarantee the authenticity of the Apostolic letter which the former brought back with them from Jerusalem to Antioch after the discussion recorded in Acts 15, since, had Paul and Barnabas returned alone, their opponents might not improbably have disputed its genuineness. See Acts 15:22; Acts 15:25; Acts 15:27. He was a prophet, Acts 15:32 (see 1 Corinthians 14), and was chosen by St Paul, after his dispute with St Barnabas, as his fellow-traveller, by the advice of the Churches. Some have thought that he was the brother mentioned in ch. 2 Corinthians 8:18; 2 Corinthians 12:18. He is mentioned by St Paul with himself in the opening of each of the Epistles to the Thessalonians. He was with the Apostle at Philippi (Acts 16:19-40), at Thessalonica (Acts 17:1; Acts 17:4; Acts 17:10), at Berea (Acts 17:10), at Corinth (notat Athens, Acts 17:15; Acts 18:5). He is not mentioned again in Scripture save by St Peter in his first Epistle (ch. 2 Corinthians 5:12), in which he speaks of him as one with whom he has little personal acquaintance, but much confidence. Silas is contracted from the fuller form Silvanus as Lucas from Lucanus. The similar signification of the two words Lucasand Silvanushave led some to suppose that St Luke and St Silas were the same person. But a perusal of the narrative in Acts 16:17, especially Acts 16:4-8; Acts 16:10-17; Acts 16:19-20, will shew that they were two distinct persons. See Alford, Prolegomena to Acts of the Apostles, for a fuller investigation of this point. We may observe that not only does St Paul, in his humility, identify himself with the Corinthians (2 Corinthians 1:14) but he takes care to associate his subordinates with him as fellow labourers in a common work. Paley, Horae Paulinae, remarks on the undesigned coincidence between this verse and Acts 18:5. The two books are not written by the same person. There is no particular stress laid on the fact of Silas and Timotheus having been with the Apostle in either book, but the reference to them slips out quite accidentally. But bothdeclare in this accidental way that Silas and Timotheus werewith the Apostle at Corinth. Such minute agreement is beyond the power of the compiler of fictitious narrative. See a fuller discussion of this subject in the Introduction.

was not yea and nay, but in him was yea The Son of God, the subject-matter of the Gospel, was no uncertain conception, sometimes affirmed and sometimes denied. The preaching of Him was the constant affirmation of a truth, an unchangeable blessing vouchsafed in Him to mankind. For - in Him wasyea;" the original has the perfect, -in Him i.e. in God, 2 Corinthians 1:18) hath been(or become) yea." For in Him -is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." Numbers 23:19; James 1:17. How then could the change of purpose in His minister be ascribed to the capricious infirmity of the mere human will? Cf. also Romans 15:8; Hebrews 13:8.