2 Corinthians 1:12 - Meaning and Application

In these verses, the apostle defends their integrity by pointing to the sincerity of their way of life. He does not speak this way to boast or to seek praise for himself. Rather, he gives this as one reason to ask for prayer, to trust God more fully, and to clear himself from the false charges made by some people in Corinth, who criticized his character and questioned his authority as an apostle.

He first appeals to the witness of his own conscience with joy (2 Corinthians 1:12). Conscience is a strong witness, almost like a thousand witnesses at once. It is God’s appointed witness in the soul, and when conscience speaks rightly, it speaks with God’s voice. Paul and his companions could rejoice in this witness even when enemies attacked them and grew angry against them. If our conscience truly supports us, and does so on good grounds, that will be a cause for joy in every kind of circumstance.

This witness spoke about their manner of life. It was not based on one isolated action, but on the steady pattern of their conduct. Conscience also testified about the kind of life they lived. It was marked by simplicity and godly sincerity. Paul was a man of plain dealing. You could know where he stood. He was not one person on the outside and another in his heart. He was a sincere man.

Conscience also testified about the principle that guided them in everything they did, both in the world and among the Corinthians. They were not led by fleshly wisdom, meaning clever human planning driven by selfish or worldly aims. Instead, they acted from the grace of God, the living gracious work of God in the heart, which comes from God and leads back to God. Our lives are ordered well when we live under the rule and influence of such grace within us.

Paul then appeals to the Corinthians’ own knowledge of him with confidence and hope (2 Corinthians 1:13-14). Much of his conduct had been open before them, and they knew how he behaved, how holy, just, and blameless he was. They had not found anything in him that was unfit for an honest man. They had already admitted this in part, and he was sure they would continue to do so to the end. He expected that they would never have good reason to think or say otherwise of him, but would keep recognizing his honesty.

So there would be a shared joy between them. “We are your reason for rejoicing, just as you are ours, on the day of the Lord Jesus” (2 Corinthians 1:14). It is a happy thing when ministers and people rejoice in one another here on earth. That joy will be made complete on that day when the great Shepherd of the sheep appears.