You have probably heard someone say that God's promises are yes and amen, maybe in a song or at the end of a prayer. It is a good thing to say. It is even better when you know where it comes from, because the story behind it is surprisingly human.
Here is the verse in the King James Version. Paul wrote it in Greek, but the King James words carry the same plain yes:
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)
Two small words carry the weight: yea and Amen. Before we look at them, look at what made Paul write the sentence at all.
Why Paul wrote it: a change of plans
Paul had started the church in Corinth and loved those people. He told them he planned to visit them twice: once on his way north into Macedonia, and again on his way back, before heading on toward Judaea.
And in this confidence I was minded to come unto you before, that ye might have a second benefit; And to pass by you into Macedonia, and to come again out of Macedonia unto you, and of you to be brought on my way toward Judaea.
2 Corinthians 1:15-16 (KJV)
Then the plan changed, and he did not come when he said he would. The way Paul answers shows that some people in Corinth held that against him. If Paul cannot keep a travel plan, they said, why trust anything he says? Is his word yes one day and no the next?
Paul answers that charge head on. A few verses later he explains that he stayed away to spare you. He did not want another painful visit. Then he does something wise. He moves the conversation from his own reliability to God's.
Walking through 2 Corinthians 1:17 to 22
The famous verse sits in the middle of a short argument. Read it in order and it becomes clear.
- Verse 17: the chargePaul asks whether he made his plans lightly, saying yea yea and nay nay in the same breath, the way people do when they are only trying to please.
- Verse 18: God is trueHe appeals to God's own truthfulness. The message he brought them was not a mix of yes and no.
- Verse 19: Jesus is the yesThe Son of God, preached in Corinth by Paul, Silvanus and Timotheus, was never a maybe. In Him was yea.
- Verse 20: every promiseSo every promise God has made finds its yes in Christ, and through Him the church answers Amen, to God's glory.
- Verses 21 to 22: God holds usGod is the one who makes believers firm, anoints them, seals them, and gives the Spirit in their hearts as a down payment.
What yea means, and why it matters here
Yea is simply the older English word for yes. Jesus used the same pair of words when He taught that a plain yes or no should be enough:
But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.
Matthew 5:37 (KJV)
Paul is echoing that teaching. People who say yea and nay in one breath cannot be trusted. God is not like that. When God makes a promise, there is no hidden no tucked inside it.
Notice the small phrase in him. Paul does not say the promises are yes because we are good enough to earn them. He says they are yes in Christ. Jesus is the place where every promise of God lands and is kept.
What amen means in the Bible
Most of us say amen at the end of a prayer without thinking about it. In Scripture it is a word of agreement, and you can watch people use it that way.
Moses gave Israel orders for a day in the land when the Levites would read the curses of the law aloud, and the people were to answer each one with it: And all the people shall answer and say, Amen. When Ezra blessed God, the crowd answered with their hands lifted: Amen, Amen.
Jeremiah used it to mean, may it happen. When another prophet predicted good news, Jeremiah said, Amen: the LORD do so, and then went on to warn that time would show whether that prophecy was true.
Paul expected ordinary church members to say it. He asked how someone could say Amen at thy giving of thanks if he could not understand the words.
Then, in Revelation, Jesus takes the word as one of His own names:
And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;
Revelation 3:14 (KJV)
Putting it together
Read the verse again with all of that in mind. God speaks the yea: every promise is settled and certain in Christ. Then in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us. We are the ones who say Amen. Our part is to agree with what God has already decided.
That is the order. God does not wait for our amen before He makes up His mind. His yes comes first. Our amen is the answer of faith that takes Him at His word, and that answer brings Him glory.
What the verse does and does not say
It does say
- God is not double-minded about anything He has promised.
- Every promise of God is kept and confirmed in Jesus Christ.
- Believers are invited to agree with those promises out loud.
- God Himself keeps believers steady and has given them His Spirit as a pledge.
It does not say
- That anything you want becomes a promise if you call it one.
- That God will do it on the schedule you choose.
- That a promise spoken to one person in the Bible is now spoken to you in the same way.
- That conditions attached to a promise have disappeared.
None of that makes the verse smaller. It makes it trustworthy. If you know which promises God has made to you in Christ, you never need to wonder whether He has changed His mind about them. For help telling which ones those are, see Promises of God to Us.
Sealed, with a down payment
Paul ends the thought by talking about what God has done to make His yes certain for believers:
Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God; Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.
2 Corinthians 1:21-22 (KJV)
An earnest is a down payment, money given at the start of a deal to show the rest is coming. Paul uses the same picture in Ephesians, where he calls the Holy Spirit the earnest of our inheritance. God did not just say yes. He paid in advance.
How to say amen to a promise this week
Pick one promise that was clearly made to believers. Read it out loud. Then answer it with your own words of agreement, like this: Lord, You told me You would stay with me and not walk away. I agree with You. Amen.
Do it again the next morning, even if nothing feels different. You are not trying to talk God into it. He already said yes. You are training your own heart to rest in what He said. If you need somewhere to start, the list of God's promises in the King James Version is sorted by need.
Read them one at a time
Every Promise of God goes through the Bible in order and gives each promise its own page, ending with a short prayer you can say out loud, your own amen to what God said. Book One covers Genesis, Exodus and Leviticus.