2 Corinthians 1:15-2:4 - Reasons for change

Paul had planned to visit the Corinthians twice, once on his way to Macedonia, and then again on his return.

Before going on to explain why this did not happen, Paul gets sidetracked and talks about the general issue of yes and no. Jesus taught that we should let our yes mean yes and our no mean no (Matthew 5:37), and James (James 5:12) says the same thing. God is very straightforward, and we too are to be straightforward. We are representatives of the king, and so we must be reliable and straightforward. As Paul says, in Christ every promise is yes. Now we find this hard to believe, we find it hard simply to take God at His word. Why is this? There are many reasons, but one of them is that we are used to living in a duplicitous society, where everything has to be questioned and doubted, and no one can be trusted. Now if we are to know Christ properly we do need to take Him at His word, we do need to simply trust Him. This does not mean we do not try to understand anything, or ask questions (the Bible is full of people asking questions of God), but our starting point needs to be that what God says is right. So following Christ needs a different approach than the one we are used to. This is difficult, but we can make it easier for people if we ourselves are reliable people.

Paul knows that the questioning of himself by some is really a doubting of God. So he assures the people that the Holy Spirit within them is a guarantee of the good things to come.

Paul then returns to the matter in hand. Paul had changed his plans for the benefit of the Corinthians. Either there had been an extra visit, or it is the first of Paul's planned two visits, either way, Paul had changed his plans. For on the visit major problems had arisen, serious matters within the church that needed to be dealt with. After the visit Paul had written a "severe" letter to them. Paul acted out of love.

As an aside, this means that sometimes it is permissible to change our minds, even if we have made a promise, if the circumstances permit it. Here Paul acted out of love and out of the best interests of the Corinthians.