2 Corinthians 1:18 (DRB)

Passage

But God is faithful: for our preaching which was to you, was not, It is, and It is not.

Nearby Context

2 Corinthians 1:16 And to pass by you into Macedonia: and again from Macedonia to come to you, and by you to be brought on my way towards Judea.

2 Corinthians 1:17 Whereas then I was thus minded, did I use lightness? Or, the things that I purpose, do I purpose according to the flesh, that there should be with me, It is, and It is not?

2 Corinthians 1:18 But God is faithful: for our preaching which was to you, was not, It is, and It is not.

2 Corinthians 1:19 For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us, by me and Sylvanus and Timothy, was not: It is and It is not. But, It is, was in him.

2 Corinthians 1:20 For all the promises of God are in him, It is. Therefore also by him, amen to God, unto our glory.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "faith", "faithful", and "preaching". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "faith" and "faithful", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 17's "Whereas then I was thus minded did..." into verse 19's "For the Son of God Jesus Christ...", so "faith" and "faithful" 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 "faith" and "faithful" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.