The God of all Comfort

Corinth was city established by Julius Caesar around 44 BC. It was a Roman colony established in Greece. It was located on a major trade route. As a result, the city was culturally diverse. It was highly populated with Greeks, Romans (Gentiles) and Jews as well. It was home to much idolatry. The temple of Aphrodite was there. She was known as the goddess of love. One thousand temple prostitutes contributed to the worship of this false goddess.

The slave trade was one of the biggest industries. In Paul’s day about one third of the population consisted of slaves.

Paul established a church here around 52 AD (Acts 18:1-11). Sometime after the establishment of the church (possibly about three years) Paul wrote the first epistle of the Corinthians to this group. The letter gave detailed instructions concerning various matters in the church.

Second Corinthians was written around one year after First Corinthians was written. The church continued to struggle with carnality. Paul used the opportunity to try and correct some of the problems.

v.1 Paul introduces the letter by identifying himself.

* He is an apostle. The term literally means “one sent”. The title also puts him in the same category as the original twelve (11:5, 12:11). Paul had no problem as seeing himself in equal authority with the twelve that Jesus chose while on earth. Paul’s enemies would question his authority as an apostle. Paul opens the letter by putting the issue away. He is indeed an apostle.

* He is an apostle Of Jesus Christ. That is, Jesus Christ has sent Him. It was Christ who came to Paul personally and sent him out as an apostle (Acts 9:15).

* He is an apostle by the will of God. Paul did not choose this ministry. It was the will of God for Paul to be an apostle. Man had nothing to do with it.

Next Paul introduces Timothy. Paul had encouraged the Corinthians to receive Timothy (1 Cor. 16:10-11). Apparently Timothy was not very outgoing and maybe a little timid (2 Tim. 1:7, 2:1). He calls Timothy a brother in the faith. The young pastor had credibility with Paul. Paul knew that faithful men would have to continue the work he started. It was important that Paul not be alone in his work. As well, the instructions given to the Corinthians were not only given by Paul. Timothy was present to add his “Amen” to the letter.

Paul calls the church at Corinth the “church of God”. The church does not belong to Paul or the Corinthians. It is God’s church. The term church is “ekklesia”. It means “called out ones”. The church at Corinth was those people who had been called out of darkness and into the light. These people now belonged to God.

Paul is sure to make clear that the church at Corinth is not the only church. They exist as the church together with all the saints in Achaia. Caesar Augustus divided Greece into two provinces. The northern province was known as Macedonia and the southern province was known as Achaia. Paul’s point was probably to remind the Corinthians that the church was not centered on them. They were merely a small part of the body of Christ.

The term saints is a word that means “one who is set apart”. Paul saw no special class of believers as saints. All believers had been set apart by God’s grace. The term saint is synonymous with believer.

v.2 Paul extends a common greeting to the congregation. Grace is the unmerited favor of God. Peace is the result of receiving that grace. Peace is easier experienced than explained. It is the certainty that the favor of God rests upon you. It is based on a personal understanding that Christ endured the wrath of God in your place. Therefore, you are no longer condemned for your sin (1 John 4:17-18, Romans 8:1, Romans 5:1). God’s grace is received through faith in Christ (Eph. 2:8). It is important to see that Paul recognizes both the Father and the Son as the author of grace and peace. He clearly is asserting their equality.

Some points on “peace”:

Some people have false peace. (Matt. 7:22) Seared consciences may allow this. “Lord, Lord...”

Some have no peace because they will not accept God’s grace (Acts 24:25). “Felix trembled…a more convenient season.”

Some have no peace because they do not understand justification.

Some have no peace because they have extremely low self esteem.

Some have no peace because they are living in sin.

Some have no peace because they are not growing in their faith.

Sometimes we are not experiencing peace, yet we have peace with God. Our emotions can sometimes cause us to doubt or worry about things that are not true. Peace is appropriated through faith. We all experience days when our faith is weak. On those days we may not experience the peace we have with God. Peace must be based on the finished work of Christ.

v.3 Paul starts his letter by praising God. He acknowledges God as “the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ”. What exactly does Paul mean by this title?

Let’s start by stating what Paul does not mean:

In reference to “the God”:

* He does not mean that Jesus is not God.

* He does not mean that the Father is greater in power and authority than the Son.

In reference to “Father”:

* He does not mean that Christ is the biological Son of God.

* He does not mean that Christ is the adopted Son of God as believers are.

Paul uses this terminology to:

* Recognize the Godhead. (1 Tim. 3:16)

* Distinguish the true God from the various pagan gods worshipped by many.

Paul describes the true God as:

* The Father of mercies. It is the true that judgment comes from God. However, we should recognize that our God is the Father of mercies as well. The term “mercies” means “pity, compassion for the ills of others.” This is part of the character of our great God. He is compassionate. It is this part of His character that compels us to appeal to Him in our time of need. We know, through Christ, that God cares for us.

* The God of all comfort. The term means to encourage or exhort. The context Paul sets forth is tribulation. God sees us in our trials and comes along side us to comfort us. God ministers to us by giving us mercy while we are in our trials. A great example of this is the children of Israel while they were in Egyptian bondage (See Exodus 3:7-8). They cried out to God because they knew He cared. The greatest comfort we may have in our trial is simply knowing that our God cares for us. I read a church sign that said “Joy is not the absence of trials but the presence of Jesus.” Because Christ lives in us we know that God cares for us.

v.4 Paul tells us that God comforts us in all our affliction or tribulation.

This not only tells us that believers will have times of trial, but they will often have a significant number of trials! Paul certainly knew about tribulation (11:23-33). God comforts us in our tribulation. He does this through the Holy Spirit who lives inside of believers (John 16:6-7).

His presence comforts us. Psalm 23:4 “Thou art with me…Thy rod and staff comfort me”

His purposes comfort us. Romans 8:28 “all things”

His word comforts us. Psalm 119:92 “Unless thy law had been my delights, I should have perished in mine afflictions.”

The hope of heaven comforts us. Romans 8:18 “The sufferings of this present time…”

Paul explains further the purpose of suffering. Simply put he says that God comforts us in our troubles so we may be able to comfort others in their trouble.

Suffering is abundant. Everyone has and will experience suffering. The degrees of suffering are different, but all suffer.

We suffer physically. We are a dying race. Our bodies are slowly shutting down. Sickness, injury, and death are all a part of our existence.

We suffer emotionally. Because God has given us the ability to love, we suffer emotionally. It could be through the loss of someone, an estranged relationship, or personal insult, etc.

One of the greatest ministries we can have is the ministry of comforting others. If God allows us to suffer through some terrible ordeal, it could be that He is preparing us for a ministry in the future. If we fail to allow God to comfort us in our trial, however, we will not be able to fulfill that ministry.

We are to extend the same comfort God gave us to others. We are not to be selfish with lessons learned during our tribulation. It often requires humility on our part, but God desires we share the love He shared with us. In Paul’s life, suffering was for a purpose “For I will show him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake”(Acts 9:15-16). It is in ours as well. We must simply recognize it. However, we are not to focus on why God is allowing our suffering. We are to seek God’s comfort in our trial. That is where the lessons are learned.

v.5 When Paul mentions the sufferings of Christ we should not necessarily interpret them as the sufferings He personally endured while on earth. Paul said that the sufferings of Christ are shared abundantly by us.

“Abundantly” means to “overflow”. As believers we are an extension of the ministry of Christ. Jesus rebuked Paul for persecuting Him through believers (Acts 9:4). In a spiritual sense, Christ continues to suffer through His church even today.

Just as the sufferings of Christ are overflowing into today, the comfort that Christ gives us in our suffering is to be overflowing as well.

Even while Christ suffered, He continued to comfort. The cross is a perfect example of this.

He comforted the dying thief with the hope of Paradise.

He comforted his mother with John to take care of her.

He comforted the world by asking the Father to forgive them.

It is only through Christ that we can be a comfort to others as we experience the trials of life. By His empowering we do not have to wait until the trial is over to comfort others in their trial.

v.6 The term “afflicted” means “to suffer”. Paul uses “we” probably in reference to those who preach the gospel. In the direct context it would refer to himself and Timothy. Paul says that those who preach the gospel suffer for a purpose:

* They suffer in order to bring comfort to the Corinthians. Preachers of the gospel must be able to relate to those they preach to. God allows faithful preachers to suffer so they may minister comfort to others.

* They suffer so that they may bring salvation to the Corinthians. Most of Paul’s sufferings were directly connected to him preaching the gospel. If he had ceased preaching the gospel, his suffering would have stopped. Paul endured suffering in this life so the Corinthians would not suffer in the next.

Paul uses the word “experience” which means “to produce”. The comfort that Paul gave to the Corinthians produced something in them. The comfort was not static. When Paul shared the comfort that God gave him it would enable the Corinthians to endure their sufferings.

God uses others to help us grow in grace.

v.7 Pau’s hope is “unshaken” toward the Corinthians. The term means “fixed, sure, certain”. Paul is certain that the Corinthians will be victorious as they experience tribulation. His certainty is based on his knowledge of the principle he has been sharing. As the Corinthian’s experience the sufferings of this world they will also experience the comfort of God. It is God’s comfort that keeps the believer from falling away in the hour of trial. As we persevere through trials, we should remember this. Our steadfastness in the faith must be attributed to God. He alone keeps us from falling.