II Corinthians 1:3 Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort;
4 Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.
5 For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ.
6 And whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer: or whether we be comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation.
7 And our hope of you is stedfast, knowing, that as ye are partakers of the sufferings, so shall ye be also of the consolation.
8 For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life:
9 But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead:
10 Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us;
11 Ye also helping together by prayer for us, that for the gift bestowed upon us by the means of many persons thanks may be given by many on our behalf.
When we study the life of the apostle Paul, he paints a very clear picture of what Jesus warned of in John 15. Those who love the Lord will be hated by the world. Those who want to pretend and be compromisers will find many friends in the world, but they will not have a friend in God.
There is no substitute for having the God of all comfort by your side. The apostle Paul was directed first of all to bless God. He identified who this God is. He is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ and He is the Father of mercies.
The true God is a just and good God. He is a Father to those who know Him. Everyone needs a good relationship with their father. Sometimes that relationship can be strained. It can be both the father and the son who cause the strain. When God rules in the life there will be a good relationship between a father and a son. Sometimes a son chooses to go against the wishes of the father because he is too self-centred. God gives us fathers for a reason. It is important to come to know the God of Creation as your Father. He is a Father Who understands you 100 percent. He is a Father Who wants to bless you. He is the Father of mercies. He does not strike out in a fit of rage. He is just in everything that He does.
In verse 4 we see that the saints will find the comfort of God in all our tribulation. The apostle Paul certainly knew what he was writing about here. He faced much tribulation. Since he was saved, he spent his life seeking to make Christ known to his own people, the Jews. After they continued to reject him, he focused more on the Gentiles. The Jews would follow him around to try to make trouble for him.
The apostle Paul did not allow that trouble to slow him down. He kept serving the Lord. Paul tells us here that when we find comfort in God, we can then comfort others who are in any trouble. God shows us how to be a real comfort. A real comfort is not condoning sin. A real comfort is there to show us where we are wrong and shows us how to make it right. A real comfort is to understand the depth of the sorrow we face at times in life and being there to walk us through that and bring us through the other side successfully.
In verse 5 Paul spoke of the sufferings of Christ. We, those who are saved, will suffer because we identify with Christ. We will face some of the sufferings of Christ as we identify with Him. As we go through that with Christ, we can abound in consolation or comfort for others by Christ. It is not in us. We can be a blessing to others because we submit to God’s will.
The true child of God does not run from trouble. Paul faced stoning and when he recovered he went back and strengthened the brethren. He did not enjoy the stoning. He had aches and pains from that. However, he was not going to allow that to keep him from being a blessing to others who needed to be encouraged. The family of God is unique. We can be honest with one another. We do not try to flatter others. We do not lie about what is going on. There is great comfort in Truth for those who love the Truth.
In verse 6 the apostle was directed to remind the saints in Corinth that whether he and other saints suffered, it was for their benefit. If they were comforted it was also for their benefit. He did not seek to live a lie for his own benefit or to try to shield them from reality.
We need to keep in mind that this second epistle was an answer to what God told him to write in the first epistle. They had been quite carnal. They had been quite careless in their Christian lives. That was unacceptable to God. That needed to be exposed and repented of. In this epistle we see that they listened to the rebuke. They repented and they now needed to know how to move forward after their carnality.
Unlike the New Evangelical philosophy which has rewritten God’s Word by corrupting it, Paul was going to show the saints what they had in Christ and also of his constant hope and love for them.
Sometimes Christians are slow learners. Sometimes we just don’t seem to get it. However, the true Christian leader does not give up on the child of God. There are those who are not saved and they prove that. There are those who are saved, but struggling due to a lack of exercising the faith they have in Christ.
The saints in Corinth were also suffering persecution due to their faith in God. They had tried carnality and that did not work. A true child of God cannot remain in that state. They need to get past that. When a true child of God behaves as they are designed to be in Christ, they will be partakers of the sufferings of Christ.
True saints care for one another and when one saint is suffering persecution, the rest do not hide or rejoice in that. They too are suffering, even though they may not be getting the brunt of the persecution. The apostle Paul spent time in prison. Silas was there with him. There were other saints who did not face prison. They were not whipped or stoned. However, they cared for Paul and Silas and they were an encouragement to them.
In verse 8 Paul was directed to remind the saints that he was not some superhero. He was affected by the trouble they had in Asia. They were pressed quite hard by the opposition. They could not draw from their own strength. No true child of God can do that. Sometimes life can look quite bleak and a leader can wonder if it is worth it.
Spiritual leaders are still flesh and blood just like others are. We do not have an impenetrable shell that just lets everything bounce off.
In verse 9 Paul stated that he had learned not to trust in himself. That never works for the child of God.
Philippians 1:21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
Paul was not born with that attitude. He learned that after he was saved. The closer he drew to God, the more real that fact was to Him. Paul understood that God was there with him, and He was keeping him going. There were things that Paul faced that could have killed him, but God kept him alive and kept him going. The sufferings were manageable because he walked with God.
In verse 11 Paul encouraged the saints as they prayed for him and the other apostles. The prayers of God’s people are important. Lost people talk of praying, but their prayers are worthless. They make noise but their prayers go nowhere. They might feel good about what they do, but it is meaningless to God.
Paul understood that having a good testimony was necessary to be a blessing to others who were watching him and looking for someone who would show them that steadfastness in Christ is possible and is a blessing.
Earlier in his ministry as an apostle, he had gone out with Barnabas and John Mark. John Mark witnessed the persecution that Paul faced and he chickened out. He ran home to Mamma. Later Barnabas wanted to take John Mark with them again, but Paul said no. He was not ready at that time to deal with the harsh realities of serving the Lord. Later, John Mark became an asset to Paul. He had to get over himself and surrender his will to God so that he could know the blessings of God for himself and also not be a drain on others.
True Christians will face challenges. Each one will deal with the challenges differently. Those who are leaders can only be legitimate leaders because they have learned how to trust God in the midst of the sufferings, so that they are not a drain on others, but rather an asset to the cause of Christ.
Pastor Bartel