2 Corinthians 12:18 (GNV)

Passage

I haue desired Titus, and with him I haue sent a brother: did Titus pill you of any thing? walked we not in the selfe same spirit? walked we not in the same steppes?

Nearby Context

2 Corinthians 12:16 But bee it that I charged you not: yet for as much as I was craftie, I tooke you with guile.

2 Corinthians 12:17 Did I pill you by any of them whom I sent vnto you?

2 Corinthians 12:18 I haue desired Titus, and with him I haue sent a brother: did Titus pill you of any thing? walked we not in the selfe same spirit? walked we not in the same steppes?

2 Corinthians 12:19 Againe, thinke yee that wee excuse our selues vnto you? we speake before God in Christ. But wee doe all thinges, dearely beloued, for your edifying.

2 Corinthians 12:20 For I feare least when I come, I shall not finde you such as I would: and that I shalbe found vnto you such as ye woulde not, and least there be strife, enuying, wrath, contentions, backebitings, whisperings, swellings and discord.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "Spirit", "haue", "desired", "titus", "sent", "brother", and "pill". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "Spirit" and "haue", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 17's "Did I pill you by any of..." into verse 19's "Againe thinke yee that wee excuse our...", so "Spirit" and "haue" 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 "Spirit" and "haue" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.