2 Corinthians 1:20
For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.
2 Corinthians 1:20 (NKJV)
For no matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ. And so through him the "Amen" is spoken by us to the glory of God.
2 Corinthians 1:20 (NIV)
For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.
2 Corinthians 1:20 (KJV)
For all of God's promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding "Yes!" And through Christ, our "Amen" (which means "Yes") ascends to God for his glory.
2 Corinthians 1:20 (NLT)
For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.
2 Corinthians 1:20 (ESV)
For as many as are the promises of God, in Him they are yes; therefore also through Him is our Amen to the glory of God through us.
2 Corinthians 1:20 (NASB)Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.lockman.org
For as many as are the promises of God, in Christ they are [all answered] "Yes." So through Him we say our "Amen" to the glory of God.
2 Corinthians 1:20 (AMP)Scripture quotations taken from the Amplified® Bible (AMP), Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.lockman.org
For as many as are the promises of God, they all find their Yes [answer] in Him [Christ]. For this reason we also utter the Amen (so be it) to God through Him [in His Person and by His agency] to the glory of God.
2 Corinthians 1:20 (AMPC)Scripture quotations taken from the Amplified® Bible (AMPC), Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.lockman.org
Whatever God has promised gets stamped with the Yes of Jesus. In him, this is what we preach and pray, the great Amen, God's Yes and our Yes together, gloriously evident.
2 Corinthians 1:20 (MSG)Scripture quotations from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.
New Covenant Meaning
All the Promises: The Scope Is Total
Paul does not say "many promises" or "most promises" or "the New Testament promises." He says all the promises of God find their yes in Christ. Every promise in the Old Testament that has not yet been fulfilled is not waiting for you to earn it through obedience. It is already yes in Christ. The healing promises of Isaiah 53, the provision promises of Deuteronomy 28, the blessing of Abraham, the peace of Jeremiah 29:11, the protection of Psalm 91: all of these have been answered yes through the work of Christ. The question is not whether God has said yes to the promise. He has. The question is whether you are receiving it in Him.
Yes in Him, Amen through Him
The verse has two directions. God's yes to the promises goes to us through Christ. Our amen to the promises goes back to God through Christ. The nai (yes) is God's affirmation of the promise. The amen is our faith-agreement that what God has said is true and is ours. Together they form the complete circuit: God speaks the promise, Christ is the place where the yes lands, and through Christ we respond with amen, so be it, I receive it. This is the pattern of covenant prayer and faith: not begging God to say yes to something He has already said yes to, but agreeing with the yes He has already spoken.
The context of 2 Corinthians 1:20 is Paul defending his integrity after changing his travel plans. He had promised to visit Corinth but was delayed. He uses his own faithfulness to the Corinthians as a reflection of God's faithfulness: just as Paul's yes is a real yes, God's yes in Christ is a real yes. Paul is not saying God might change His mind about the promises the way Paul changed his travel plans. He is saying the opposite: God's yes is far more certain and stable than any human yes. The promises do not waver because God does not waver. His yes is in Christ, who is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
Application for Your Life
Receiving a Promise Means Agreeing with the Yes Already Spoken
If all the promises of God are yes in Christ, then prayer for those promises is not a request for God to start saying yes. It is an amen, an agreement with the yes He has already spoken. This reframes how you approach Scripture promises in prayer. Instead of "God, would You please heal me?" the posture becomes "Father, Isaiah 53:5 says by His stripes I am healed. You have already said yes to that in Christ. I agree with Your yes. Amen." The agreement is the act of faith. You are not convincing God to make a new decision. You are aligning with a decision He has already made.
Every Promise Is Yours in Him, Not Earned Outside of Him
The location of the yes is "in Him." The promises are yes in Christ. This means you access the promises through your union with Christ, not through achieving a sufficient level of righteousness or obedience on your own. The believer who is in Christ is in the place where every promise of God is already yes. The challenge is not to perform well enough to get God to agree. The challenge is to believe that you are in the One in whom God has already agreed.
Prayer Based on This Verse
Father, all Your promises are yes in Christ Jesus. I do not need to convince You to say yes to what You have already said yes to. I come to You in the name of the One in whom every promise finds its affirmation, and I say amen. I agree with Your yes over my healing. Amen. I agree with Your yes over my provision. Amen. I agree with Your yes over my peace, my purpose, my family, my calling. Amen. I am not begging. I am believing. Not lobbying You to speak but agreeing with what You have already spoken. In Christ, every promise is yes. I receive my portion of that yes today. In Jesus' name. Amen.