SSL 9 - 2 Cor. 1:3-14
Prayers & Announcements: Hand out Overview of 2 Corinthians.
Last Week: We covered 1 Cor. 13:1-13 in which, in the context of using your spiritual gifts, Paul gave us detailed illustrations of what Agape love should look like in the exercise of those gifts. Paul's main point is that type of love is an action, not an emotion, something that is seen, experienced, and demonstrated. There were five main points of practical application: 1. When we use our spiritual gift, we must do it with love. As Paul explained in vv. 1-3, if we exercise these gifts without love, we say nothing, are nothing, and gain nothing. 2. According to Paul, love is an action, not a feeling. Love is a word that can only be properly defined in terms of action, attitude, and behavior. 3. Agape, the Greek word used for love in all of these verses, pictures the self-sacrificing type of love displayed by Jesus when He died on the cross for us. This type of love is evident when we perform unselfish actions for people who don't necessarily appreciate it or even love us in return. 4. Agape love, as illustrated by Paul in this chapter, has its source in God. The type of love pictured in vv. 4-7 describes a lifestyle that's beyond mere human abilities. We can never achieve it unless we abide in Christ and ask Him to live His supernatural love in and through us. 5. Love lasts forever. The earth, as we now know it, will pass away and with it, the need for gifts of the Spirit. But in eternity, God's love for us, our love for God, and our love for each other, will last forever.
This Week: Today we move into the Book of 2 Corinthians. As we know from our previous study, the Corinthian church, founded by Paul in 50 A.D, was plagued by a host of problems. In about 55 A.D. he wrote the letter we now know as 1 Corinthians. This was followed by a short but painful visit to Corinth when he tried to put things in order only to have his authority challenged. Now he has enemies in the church who are challenging his apostolic authority in order to gain power for themselves. On two occasions, Paul had planned visits to the church but cancelled them when he realized the timing was wrong. Added to that, Paul had gone through one of the most difficult periods of his life, which included physical threats, severe depression, and deep anguish over the troubled Corinthian church. Now, it is 56 A.D., and Paul is with Timothy in Macedonia, and after receiving encouraging news about the church in Corinth from his co-worker, Titus, he writes yet another letter, seeking to repair this discord between the founding apostle and the church that has broken his heart. The theme of today's lesson is the "comfort" we receive from God and how we can use it to comfort others.
Read 2 Cor. 1:3-7 - Comfort from God in the Mist of Trials
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 will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 5 For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ. 6 But if we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; or if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which is effective in the patient enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer; 7 and our hope for you is firmly grounded, knowing that as you are sharers of our sufferings, so also you are sharers of our comfort.
Note: Paul's salutation in vv. 1-2 contained the conventional greetings of letters of that period.
v. 3: "Blessed bethe God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort" - Paul opens his letter by praising the God who gives so much mercy and comfort to the apostle and to all who believe in Him. The term "all comfort," derived for the Greek word paraklesis, means much more than sympathy and conveys the sense of helping to make the person stronger, in mid, body, and faith. God's mercy towards us comes from His compassion for our helpless (and not always innocent) state and results in His comfort being shown to us.
v. 4: "who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God" - Note that God comforts us "in all our affliction," which means that He doesn't pick and choose when He will comfort us but is available (when we ask Him for it) in every affliction we go through. Even when your suffering is the consequence of your own sin, God will draw near to comfort you if you allow Him by seeking His presence. Yet, God does this not only for us to experience His love and help, but expects us, as Christians, to minister that same help to those in need of God's comfort. Thus, God comforts us, by His grace, to equip us to help others who are suffering. This is at the heart of the Gospel.
v. 5: "For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ" - This isn't referring to Jesus' sufferings on the cross in atonement for our sins, which is unique to Him, but to the sufferings endured by Paul in his faithfulness in spreading the Gospel. Suffering for Christ is something every Christian encounters as Christ lives in us. 1 Pet. 4:13-14 states,
"but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation. If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you." This reminds us that Christ lives in us, and we are the current expression of His kingdom, a big responsibility. In the last statement, Paul affirms that the more he suffers, the more he experiences comfort through Christ. And note the particular emphasis is being comforted in the midst of suffering, rather than being removed from the suffering itself. If we are suffering for Christ, we are doing something right-do you agree? Do you think God was comforting Paul and Silas while they were in the Philippian jail at midnight? (Acts 16).
v. 6: "But if we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; or if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which is effective in the patient enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer;" - Based on the context of the verse, when Paul uses the plural "we," he is actually referring to himself individually. In this verse Paul picks up the general idea of v. 4: God comforts us to equip us to comfort others who are suffering. Paul goes on to make two points here: (1) Paul's sufferings in the course of his ministry resulted in the salvation of many who heard his Gospel message, which, of course included the Corinthians. (2) The fact that Paul is comforted by God in his sufferings, by extension, demonstrates to the Corinthians that they, too, can be comforted by God. While Paul doesn't specify the particular sufferings of the Corinthians, he is trying to wake them up to availability of God's comfort. The conclusion we reach here is that everything God accomplished through Paul not only benefitted him but also benefited the Corinthians.
v. 7: "and our hope for you is firmly grounded, knowing that as you are sharers of our sufferings, so also you are sharersof our comfort" - The sufferings that Paul is referring to are unique to the Christian-that is, the sufferings any Christian undergoes as a consequence of being a believer in Jesus Christ in a fallen world. Since the Corinthians, as Christians, are also sharing in these suffering, Paul expresses confidence that the church will, like him, experience God's comfort, and as "a sharer," Paul's is also confident that God will extend to them the comfort He's given to Pau. Finally, this implies that the Corinthians, too, will be able to comfort one another in the sufferings they are enduring.
Read 2 Cor. 1:8-11 - Paul's Hardships in Asia
8 For we do not want you to be unaware, brethren, of our affliction which came to us in Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life; 9 indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead; 10 who delivered us from so great a peril of death, and will deliver us, He on whom we have set our hope. And He will yet deliver us, 11 you also joining in helping us through your prayers, so that thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf for the favor bestowed on us through the prayers of many.
v. 8: "For we do not want you to be unaware, brethren, of our affliction which came to usin Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life;" - Again, where Paul says "we" or "our," he's actually referring to himself. "Asia" refers to a Roman province in southwest Asia Minor (see map), today a part of modern Turkey. Though Paul doesn't explain the nature of his "affliction," scholars have speculated things like drowning, fighting wild animals, serious illness, and rioting crowds, especially the many hostile Jews in the area. Whatever it was, it made him fear for his very life.
v. 9: "indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead;" - Paul is saying that he felt as if a verdict had been rendered against him with sentence of death. His words here clearly give the impression that he believed death was inevitable, so much so that he regarded his survival as tantamount to being raised from the dead. This tells us that Paul viewed all of his life as being in the sovereign hands of God for His purposes. Moreover, Paul knew that God had permitted all of his afflictions to occur for many reasons, the chief one being the apostle's dependence on God. In the same way, we, as Christians are striving to rely on Christ, not ourselves. When we, like Paul, are afflicted with a deep feeling of death, the deeper our cry goes out to the One who can save us from death (physical and eternal). So what does this do: gives us a greater God-given ability to comfort others who are suffering.
vv. 10-11: "who delivered us from so great a peril ofdeath, and will deliver us, He on whom we have set our hope. And He will yet deliver us, 11 you also joining in helping us through your prayers, so that thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf for the favor bestowed on us through the prayers of many. - We see here-rightly so-Paul is totally convinced that God delivered him, and those with him from nearly certain death, and that God would continue to do so in the future.
Yet, at the same time, he lets the Corinthians know that such deliverance comes about when God's people pray and petition to Him in such cases. And the prayer is for more than just deliverance; it's also for the whole work of proclaiming the Gospel and all that enterprise entails. Finally, the end result of such prayers is that many will give thanks and praise to God for His gracious deliverance of Paul and his continued advancement of the Gospel.
Read 2 Cor. 1:12-14 - Paul Defends His Minintry
12 For our proud confidence [Lit., boasting] is this: the testimony of our conscience, that in holiness and godly sincerity, not in fleshly wisdom but in the grace of God, we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially toward you. 13 For we write nothing else to you than what you read and understand, and I hope you will understand until the end; 14 just as you also partially did understand us, that we are your reason to be proud as you also are ours, in the day of our Lord Jesus.
v. 12: "For our proud confidence is this: the testimony of our conscience, that in holiness and godly sincerity, not in fleshly wisdom but in the grace of God, we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially toward you" - Some translations say "our boast is this." In defense of his honesty and integrity against the slanders being spread against him in the Corinthian church, Paul appeals to the "witness of his own conscience" and to the Corinthian's firsthand knowledge of his character. In short, he simply states that he has a clear conscience before God, and the Corinthians should understand this aspect of his character. The slanderers the Corinthians had been dealing with were devious and manipulative people, causing some member to conclude that all "preachers" must be that way, even Paul. But his statement, "in holiness and godly sincerity, not in fleshly wisdom but in the grace of God," defines the way he conducts himself both in the world and to them, which was to remind them of who he is-the apostle of Christ who founded their church, not one of these pretentious preachers. What happened to them can easily happen to us when we are bombarded with a lot of conflicting information-just watch Fox and CNN sometimes. We have to stop and center our minds on God and seek the truth, which isn't always easy. Paul is telling them the truth.
vv. 13-14: "For we write nothing else to you than what you read and understand, and I hope you will understand until the end;14 just as you also partially did understand us, that we are your reason to be proud as you also are ours, in the day of our Lord Jesus." - Paul is informing these Corinthian believers that there is no hidden meaning, nor any hidden motive or subterfuge in his letters; they mean, very simply and literally, what he has put into words. The words "partially understand" refer to those in the church who fully recognize his apostleship and authority, as opposed to the factions against him. He concludes the chapter by telling them that he is proud of them and would boast of them, too, "in the day of our Lord Jesus."
APPLICATION:
1. When Paul says God comforts us "in all our affliction" (v. 4), it means if we hold fast to God, He will comfort us in every affliction we go through. Even when your suffering is the consequence of your own sin, God will draw near to comfort you if you allow Him in by seeking His presence.
2. God does this not only for us to experience His love and help, but expects us as Christians, in turn, to minister that same help to those who need God's comfort. Thus, God comforts us, by His grace, to equip us to help others who are suffering. This is at the heart of the Gospel.
3 .Suffering for Christ is something every Christian encounters as Christ lives in us. 1 Pet. 4:13-14 states, "but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation. If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you." This reminds us that Christ lives in us, and we are the current expression of His kingdom, a big responsibility. If we are suffering for Christ, we must be doing something right-do you agree?
