2 Corinthians 1:3-14, God of All Comfort

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.

12 For our boast is this, the testimony of our conscience, that we behaved in the world with simplicity and godly sincerity, not by earthly wisdom but by the grace of God, and supremely so toward you. 13 For we are not writing to you anything other than what you read and understand and I hope you will fully understand— 14 just as you did partially understand us—that on the day of our Lord Jesus you will boast of us as we will boast of you.

Comments:

Paul’s approach is to urge and persuade, not command, the Corinthians into more godly behavior. This letter is full of evidence that Paul underwent considerable physical suffering and spiritual anxiety over his converts. Paul believes there are significant benefits that go with suffering for Christ’s sake, namely the joy and encouragement one gets from seeing others come to and grow in Christ. He stresses that the comfort he has received through Christ is the comfort he can share with them.

The Greek word translated “death” is found only here in the New Testament. It seems to mean that Paul had an illness within him, perhaps the later “thorn in his flesh,” from which he could have died. Perhaps it was a terminal illness, but he has been healed somehow by God, which has led him to be more dependent upon him. Paul sees that hardships can lead us into an ever closer, more dependent relationship with God. He desires a closer, more dependent relationship with the Corinthians through a partnership in prayer.

Boasting is a major theme in this letter, namely the reasons for boasting and its variations. Paul says the Corinthians are his reason for boasting. They are the evidence and the testimony that assures Paul’s conscience that he has been doing things in a good and godly way. Paul stresses that he boasts of them and that they too will one day boast of him. In this beginning section, Paul establishes his fellowship with them, and the mutual nature of that fellowship, for the sake of reconciliation.

Reflection:

Empower me

to be a bold participant,

rather than a timid saint in waiting,

in the difficult ordinariness of now;

to exercise the authority of honesty,

rather than to defer to power,

or deceive to get it;

to influence someone for justice,

rather than impress anyone for gain;

and, by grace, to find treasures

of joy, of friendship, of peace

hidden in the fields of the daily

you give me to plough.

-- Ted Loder