2 Corinthians 1:15 (ASV)

Passage

And in this confidence I was minded to come first unto you, that ye might have a second benefit;

Nearby Context

2 Corinthians 1:13 For we write no other things unto you, than what ye read or even acknowledge, and I hope ye will acknowledge unto the end:

2 Corinthians 1:14 as also ye did acknowledge us in part, that we are your glorying, even as ye also are ours, in the day of our Lord Jesus.

2 Corinthians 1:15 And in this confidence I was minded to come first unto you, that ye might have a second benefit;

2 Corinthians 1:16 and by you to pass into Macedonia, and again from Macedonia to come unto you, and of you to be set forward on my journey unto Judaea.

2 Corinthians 1:17 When I therefore was thus minded, did I show fickleness? or the things that I purpose, do I purpose according to the flesh, that with me there should be the yea yea and the nay nay?

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "confidence", "minded", "come", "first", "might", "second", and "benefit". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "confidence" and "minded", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 14's "as also ye did acknowledge us in..." into verse 16's "and by you to pass into Macedonia...", so "confidence" and "minded" belong inside that flow. In 2 Corinthians context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "confidence" and "minded" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.