2 Corinthians 1:1-11
2 Corinthians • Sermon • Submitted
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32 “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.
While this letter is titled 2 Corinthians it is most likely not the second thing ever that Paul has written to the Corinthians. Paul started the church in Corinth some time ago, this Jesus community and you can read about it in the book of Acts starting in Chapter 18. Then he moves on in his missionary journey.
14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
29 And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. 30 For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31 Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you.
32 “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
After a while he heard that things were not going so hot so he wrote the letter that we call 1 Corinthians. He did this to correct these problems. And it appears that many in the church rejected the teachings that he had in those letters and rebelled against his authority.
Luke 12
In this letter we find out that Paul then followed up in person with what he calls the painful visit, in chapter 2. Then after that he he writes this second letter which he says it written with Anguish and tears.
Most of the Corinthians realized their arrogance to Paul and wanted to apologize and reconcile with him. So Paul wrote this letter to assure them of his love and commitment to them.
On the same lines of that. before we dive in, I want you guys to discuss this:
Have you ever had an argument with someone about how they treat you? How did that go?
Have you ever tried to reconcile a relationship with someone? How did you go about it? What was the result?
let’ quick read through it really and then go section by section
1 Corinthians 1:1-
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
To the church of God that is at Corinth, with all the saints who are in the whole of Achaia:
2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 5 For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. 6 If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. 7 Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort.
8 For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. 9 Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. 10 He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again. 11 You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.
1 Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes,
2 To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:
3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
4 I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, 5 that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge— 6 even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you— 7 so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 8 who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
10 I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. 11 For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers.
One of the things that you may have noticed in our quick little read or skimming of this is the large amount of times that suffering and affliction are mentioned. The word for suffering occurs 16 times in the NT 9 times by Paul and 3 times in this short passage. The counterpart to that is Comfort which is mentioned 45 times in the NT and is used by Paul the most 24 times and 9 times in this letter. Paul seems to be the apostle of comfort and suffering talking about both of them more than anyone else. And this letter seems to be the letter of comfort. So we will be addressing them a lot especially the why they both happen today. But before that I want you all to discuss this.
What type of suffering have you had so far in your life?
How have you been comforted and who has comforted you in your life?
Let’s look at a the 1st section to first notice how Paul is addressing this letter. First, let’s look at the key terms after reading through it. The term apostle is Paul’s self designation here that was given to him by Christ. It is an important term that designated those with unique authority from God to proclaim the message that he was proclaiming. He will go on to argue his authority for doing this later in the letter.
The next important term that Paul uses here that sometimes escapes us or that we read over is the term saints. In the NT is always used in the plural except for one case where the singular refers to the group. Why is this important. This means that whenever you see the term saints in the NT it is not being used to refer to me or the elders or the people who are volunteering at the church. This term is used to refer to anyone who is part of the church body. Thus, it is for Christians. So if there is a command or and action addressed to the saints you can have that command also refer to you.
So Paul is this specially designated man by Christ Jesus and this letter is either written by, delivered by, coauthored by or cosent by Timothy. The most likely option of Paul for including Timothy was to reestablish his standing at Corinth. But, this is merely an educated guess.
They are writing to the small house church’s at Corinth and all the Christians who are in the region. He wants grace and peace to over flow to them.
Then in verse three he gives a benediction or a praise to God with Titles which is common of all letters of that time, not just God but to other peoples deities. He calls God:
Father of Jesus
Father of Mercies
God of all comfort
the comforter to us in all of our personal affliction. As Paul will share about his experiences.
Then He continues with the rest of vs 4 with an EXPECTATION for all of those. God Comforts those who are in affliction—> so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction. God’s comfort is given with this assumption that we will take this wisdom and comfort those in any affliction. [ask leaders to take note of how they are comforted so that they can share] +AP- it is important as a Christian to continually be taking note of all of the times that you have suffered and how God has comforted you in that. God will use your comforting that you have received to comfort another. I know that I have not been doing the greatest from this and I felt convicted from this. So help me remember and let’s practice this right now.
Discuss a time where God has comforted you, or a time where God has used someone else to comfort you.
Let’s continue with Paul. Paul wants to be sure that you know that you have the ABILITY to comfort.
5 For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.
5 For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.
The reason that we have to ability to share in this suffering is that just as suffering is expected so is the comfort given by Christ. By why do we experience affliction? Why does God allow bad things to happen to us? WHY is there affliction?
The reason that we have to ability to share in this suffering is that just as suffering is expected so is the comfort given by Christ. By why do we experience affliction? Why does God allow bad things to happen to us?
6 If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. 7 Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort.
2 Corinthians 1:
6 If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. 7 Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort.
2 Corinthians 1:Paul is speaking about why he specifically afflicted and we can apply it to ourselves here with the exception that Paul was promised extra suffering by Christ. In . it seems that the main reason that Christians are allowed to be afflicted is because it can comfort others and help with their acceptance of Jesus. We are comforted to comfort those who undergo the same affliction so that they may be able to endure or so they may see an end. Paul’s & Timothy’s eager expectation and hope is that as they share in sufferings as they go to each other in hope for their sorrows that they go to each other for their comfort. +No matter what affliction you undergo no matter how big or small, try to keep record of it as God is using that instance for either a chance at leading someone to Christ or a Chance to comfort someone in their pain.
Paul is speaking about why he specifically afflicted and we can apply it to ourselves here with the exception that Paul was promised extra suffering by Christ. In . it seems that the main reason that Christians are allowed to be afflicted is because it can comfort others and help with their acceptance of Jesus. We are comforted to comfort those who undergo the same affliction so that they may be able to endure or so they may see an end. Paul’s & Timothy’s eager expectation and hope is that as they share in sufferings as they go to each other in hope for their sorrows that they go to each other for their comfort. +No matter what affliction you undergo no matter how big or small, try to keep record of it as God is using that instance for either a chance at leading someone to Christ or a Chance to comfort someone in their pain.
Discuss a time where suffering has brought you growth
Discuss a time when you have been able to comfort someone
So Paul is going to get specific here about his own affliction to practice what he just talked about:
2 Corinthians
8 For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself.
Paul also wants affliction to be at the forefront of their minds. Paul does not want us to be unaware of the afflictions going on. He will use his examples, but what kind of examples are going on in the world right now for following Jesus?
According to the number of crimes committed specifically to Christians because they are Christians ACN says it is clear that the persecution of Christians is today worse than at any time in history. Additionally, Christianity is the most persecuted faith.
Today more than 200 million Christians in 60 countries experience, imprisonment, torture, and death for their faith.
The number one country where Christians experience the worst treatment is North Korea which has now been ranked number 1 from the 17th year in a row on Open Doors’ most recent list of countries.
Here Christians face horrors such as being hung on crosses over fire,
forced into labor camps
crushed under steamrollers
imprisoned
herded off bridges
trampled underfoot
Currently in the Middle east (countries such as Iraq, Syria, Egypt, and Pakistan) Christians face daily torment from Muslims enforcing Islamic Shariah law which calls for jihad against non-Muslims. Christians in these countries suffer:
heavy taxation
imprisonment
beheading
In Iraq and Syria ISIS has almost completely annihilated the Christian population.
Christian persecution is nothing new Paul himself elaborates on how his suffering made him feel.
Paul is elaborating on his own suffering:
they were burdened beyond strength
they despaired life itself
they felt they had received the sentence of death itself.
This is very bleak imagery Paul could have just left it here. He could have just ended with bleakness here and headed on to the next topic. With this thought of Him having wanted to die. But, Paul does not do that. He gives us this image.
in []
9 Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. 10 He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again.
His personal reason for suffering was a point of Growth. It was to help him grow in his reliance on God. This God has done greater things than just deliver him. Based on the past deliverances Paul has built up this hope of being delivered.
How can we build up that hope?
How can we start gathering hope?
Some of you may have gone with the route where you have to suffer. But, Christians are expected to suffer & be comforted. So don’t go seeking out situations where you will suffer. One thing you can do is read about the history of sufferings or listen to it on the web. David Platt speaks about this a lot and about how it should effect our lives.
But you don’t have to just hear about the suffering you can help the people too.
11 You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.
2 Corinthians
The Corinthians and us can help missionaries like Paul with Prayer. We do this for the purpose of their success in reaching others and that the people that they influence will be thankful for the blessings God granted to them through our prayers.
Remember
There is an expectation that if we are given comfort we remember this so that in the future we can comfort others.
Whenever we suffer it is never beyond our ability if we are relying on Christ.