2 Corinthians 1 Part 1
2 Corinthians • Sermon • Submitted
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2020 has not been an easy year. It has had its challenges for sure. Twitter has several funny quotes about 2020.
If the year 2020 was a floor, then it would be nothing but solid legos.
If 2020 was a drink, then it would be unsweet tea. (put some sugar in the tea)
If 2020 were an object, then it would be a McDonald’s ice cream machine
This morning we are going to start a series on 2 Corinthians. We will seek to expository preach through the book. That is to go verse by verse and chapter by chapter.
Today we start with chapter 1 and I feel this is very fitting for where we are in 2020.
A year after Paul writes 1 Corinthians he writes 2 Corinthians. He dearly loves this body of believers and you can see it throughout.
Today in chapter 1 of scripture we will see Paul addressing struggle.
We sometimes adopt the idea that believers should not struggle.
Hear these quotes from a couple of the greatest preachers.
The Bible Exposition Commentary Chapter One: Down—But Not out! (2 Corinthians 1:1–11)
“You seem to imagine that I have no ups and downs, but just a level and lofty stretch of spiritual attainment with unbroken joy and equanimity. By no means! I am often perfectly wretched and everything appears most murky.”
So wrote the man who was called in his day “The Greatest Preacher in the English-speaking World”—Dr. John Henry Jowett. He pastored leading churches, preached to huge congregations, and wrote books that were bestsellers.
“I am the subject of depressions of spirit so fearful that I hope none of you ever get to such extremes of wretchedness as I go to.”
Those words were spoken in a sermon by Charles Haddon Spurgeon whose marvelous ministry in London made him perhaps the greatest preacher England ever produced.
You can hear the struggle of some of the greatest preachers in history.
2020 has not been easy. It has not been easy from the standpoint of church leadership as well. In one zoom call with other pastors they asked what are your struggles and I said that it is very hard to navigate this coronavirus. You have church members that are on all ends of the spectrum and everyone is an expert on their end.
You have some that could care less about the virus and others who care a great deal. You have some that follow all the rules and others who don’t even know there are some rules.
We kind of start to see a little light at the end of the tunnel with this issue and then you bring on the topic of racism. I know we are united on this issue that it should never exist but many differ on how this should be handled. As a leader you once again have to handle this issue with a great deal of care.
I don’t mention this for sympathy, but just to use this as an example that things may not always be as they appear.
I love all of you and desire that we seek Jesus and His word together. It’s intense when you are striving not to be a stumbling block but desiring to lead everyone to our Savior.
Listen to scripture here in 2 Corinthians 1
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by God’s will, and Timothy our brother: To God’s church at Corinth, with all the saints who are throughout Achaia.
2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
3 Praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort.
This phrase in verse 3 is used in two other places throughout the New Testament. Ephesians 1:3 and 1 Peter 1:3. In Ephesians, Paul speaks of the past in what God has done and 1 Peter he speaks of future blessings.
Here in verse 3 He uses present tense. Praise God now. For Paul, this was in the present sufferings praise!
Praise is a tool that we can use to achieve victory over discouragement and depression.
In Struggle, praise! Write down the blessings God is giving you in struggle. Record the blessings of 2020. Look at the things God has done for you this year. Praise is a tool that can help bring victory.
It is because of Jesus that we can call God Father. Jesus’s death on the Cross allows us to approach God as His Children. We can come near to a Holy God because of the blood shed of Jesus.
MERCY
The Bible Exposition Commentary Chapter One: Down—But Not out! (2 Corinthians 1:1–11)
Praise Him because He is the Father of mercies! To the Jewish people, the phrase father of means “originator of.” Satan is the father of lies (John 8:44) because lies originated with him
God in His grace gives us what we do not deserve, and in His mercy He does not give us what we do deserve.
COMFORT
The word comfort is more than sympathy.
Sympathy can weaken us instead of strengthen us. I have the picture of my child swimming and starting to struggle. Sympathy looks on and says I am sorry you are struggling but I will just stand by and be sorry about your struggle.
Comfort here is that God puts strength into our hearts so we can face our trials and triumph over them.
The Bible Exposition Commentary Chapter One: Down—But Not out! (2 Corinthians 1:1–11)
Our English word comfort comes from two Latin words meaning “with strength.” The Greek word means “to come alongside and help.”
When my kid is struggling in the water it means I get in the water with them and strengthen them or come alongside and help them so they can over come the trial and triumph over it.
As the trials come, we must get our eyes off of ourselves, the trial or others and get our eyes on Jesus. We can use praise for this.
1 I lift my eyes toward the mountains. Where will my help come from?
2 My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.
4 He comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any kind of affliction, through the comfort we ourselves receive from God.
v. 4
God comforts us in our affliction
why?
So that we can comfort those who are in any kind of affliction
(This fits with the series we have been on this year. You are created to grow God’s Kingdom and bring Glory to Him) God wants to use your trials to comfort others.
How?
The comfort (strength or coming alongside) you received from God. Remember what got you through. God brought you through so you can use what God did for you to come alongside others.
It is so important to recognize the original strength is from God and not you.
5 For as the sufferings of Christ overflow to us, so through Christ our comfort also overflows.
We have a Savior who suffered and His suffering overflowed to us.
Christ death on the cross overflowed to us in that He paid the penalty for our sins. We should have died on the cross but Jesus died in our place.
His suffering has overflowed to us.
Just as Christ sufferings overflow to us
10 My goal is to know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death,
The Bible Exposition Commentary Chapter One: Down—But Not out! (2 Corinthians 1:1–11)
Paul was referring here to “the fellowship of His sufferings” (Phil. 3:10), the trials that we endure because, like Christ, we are faithfully doing the Father’s will. This is suffering “for righteousness’ sake”
Christ suffered and he strengthens us and walks alongside us in our sufferings. (Hosea)
The word overflow here means to supply in abundance or go beyond.