COMFORT IN CRISES

2 Corinthians 1:1-11

The Author

Verse 1a: Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

1a Like other letters, Paul begins this letter with his signature: "Paul." He is not just Paul, he is "Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus." An apostle is messenger who is sent from God. Being an apostle is one of the five major gifts (or offices) Christ gave to His church (Ephesians 4:11). There are no greater gifts than the gift of an apostle. This is why many Pentecostals covet that title.

Paul emphasizes that his authority comes from God. He is not just "Paul, an apostle," he is "Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God." Paul's apostleship came from God, not by human authorization. God has willed Paul to be an apostle and has given him the authority that goes with it. This authority is awesome; to reject it is to reject the authority of God Himself.

Paul does not write alone. He is a team player, not a lone ranger. He names Timothy as the cosender of the epistle, not necessarily a coauthor. Timothy is Paul's beloved brother in Christ. He is also a brother in Christ to the recipients of this letter. Paul saw Timothy's potential and recruited him as a missionary coworker. Timothy was a native of Lystra, the son of a mixed marriage; his mother was Jewish, while his father was Greek (Acts 16:1).

The Recipient

Verses 1b,2: To the church of God in Corinth, together with all his holy people throughout Achaia: 2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

1b This epistle was addressed to the church of God in Corinth and to those in Achaia, a Roman province of which Corinth was the capital. Greece was divided into two provinces by Augustus Caesar–Macedonia and Achaia. Achaia was the southern Greece and it included Corinth, Athens, and Cenchreae. Corinth was also the place Paul gained his first converts in Achaia. The readers are God's holy people or saints since they are separated unto God by faith. Each member is set apart by God and for God, living a holy life, and can be regarded as a saint.

2 Paul desires grace and peace to the Corinthians and Achaians. "The order is always 'grace and peace,' the former is the source of the latter. Without grace there is no peace, but with grace peace is certain." Grace is God's undeserved favor. Peace is the same as well-being and inner tranquility. Each comes from the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. The Father is the source, while Christ is the means.

Comfort in Suffering

Verses 3-7: Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. 5 For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. 6 If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. 7 And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.

3 Paul has learned that praise changes things just as prayer changes things. He praises God for His blessings. He praises Him for who He is and what He does.

He describes God using three titles. First, He is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Some may wonder why the Father is referred to as the God of Jesus Christ if they are equal. We must understand that in His deity Jesus is equal with the Father, but in His humanity He submitted to the Father. Jesus is the same essence as the Father and the exact representation of His nature (Hebrews 1:3). With the phrase "our Lord Jesus Christ," Paul is identifying Jesus as His Master and the promised Messiah of the OT.

Second, He is the Father of compassion. God is compassionate and gracious. He has compassion on those who fear Him (Psalm 103:3,13,17). As Warren Wiersbe said, "God in His grace gives us what we do not deserve, and in His mercy He does not give us what we do deserve."

Third, He is the God of all comfort. The word "comfort" is used nine times in this section and in each verse. It means to call someone to one's side for exhortation or consolation. God comforts His people in their affliction (Isaiah 40:1; 49:13). He comforts those who suffer for Christ, not for those who suffer for their unconfessed sin. God "is the God of all comfort. That is to say, He has an absolute monopoly on it. All true and lasting comfort comes from Him."

4 The God of comfort comforts us in all our troubles so that we may in turn comfort those who are in trouble with the comfort with which we were comforted by God. The main purpose of comfort is to equip us to be able to comfort others in trouble. This is like a chain reaction. As Paul has been comforted by God, he is able to comfort others with the same comfort that he has received from God.

People often ask, "Why do bad things happen to good people?" Trouble is a reality we must face in this fallen, sin-cursed world. Job said, "Mortals, born of woman, are of few days and full of trouble" (Job 14:1). Life is often filled with inescapable trouble, crises, pain, sorrow, and disappointment.

5 Paul was one of the most afflicted persons ever. He suffered beatings, imprisonments, nakedness, desertion, and more. He has shared abundantly in the sufferings of Christ. Here "sufferings" refers to the hardships that come to those involved in the service of Christ. Someone has said that "Suffering is a page in the textbook used in God's school of faith." Paul does not glory in sufferings per se, but he knows that sufferings are inevitable. Each of Paul's sufferings was attended to by God's comfort. The result was that he was able to comfort others with the comfort with which he was comforted by God.

6 Paul and his coworkers have experienced a lot of sufferings, but this has resulted in the comfort and salvation of the Corinthians. Abundant suffering produces abundant comfort. The Corinthians have a strong connection with Paul, their spiritual father and mentor. Paul links the Corinthians' experience of God's comfort to their patient endurance of sufferings. Someone has defined patience as...