2 Corinthians 12:19 (ASV)

Passage

Ye think all this time that we are excusing ourselves unto you. In the sight of God speak we in Christ. But all things, beloved, [are] for your edifying.

Nearby Context

2 Corinthians 12:17 Did I take advantage of you by any one of them whom I have sent unto you?

2 Corinthians 12:18 I exhorted Titus, and I sent the brother with him. Did Titus take any advantage of you? walked we not in the same spirit? [walked we] not in the same steps?

2 Corinthians 12:19 Ye think all this time that we are excusing ourselves unto you. In the sight of God speak we in Christ. But all things, beloved, [are] for your edifying.

2 Corinthians 12:20 For I fear, lest by any means, when I come, I should find you not such as I would, and should myself be found of you such as ye would not; lest by any means [there should be] strife, jealousy, wraths, factions, backbitings, whisperings, swellings, tumults;

2 Corinthians 12:21 lest again when I come my God should humble me before you, and I should mourn for many of them that have sinned heretofore, and repented not of the uncleanness and fornication and lasciviousness which they committed.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "all things", "think", "time", "excusing", "ourselves", "sight", "speak", and "christ". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "all things" and "think", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 18's "I exhorted Titus and I sent the..." into verse 20's "For I fear lest by any means...", so "all things" and "think" 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 "all things" and "think" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.