2nd Corinthians Empowering the Church

By Practical Christianity Foundation

Empowering the Church In his second epistle to the Corinthian Church, the apostle Paul empowered the church by affirming that God's strength and power is revealed and works in our weakness. The apostle empowered the church with God's strength after having confronted the immorality, doctrinal confusion and frequent disputes that had become commonplace among the Corinthian believers. Paul's message to this church was simple yet powerful: Consider the values of Christ's redemption and realign your thinking with God's instructions.
Although this letter was written to admonish, instruct and encourage the early church, they are just as relevant to us today.
This verse-by-verse devotional study, complete with engaging commentary and practical life applications, will challenge you to pursue a closer walk with Jesus Christ and grow in the faith.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Practical Christianity Foundation
• Release date: Aug 21, 2020
• ISBN: 9781600980848

Book preview

3:18).

INTRODUCTION

Paul(view image) penned his second letter to the Corinthian church while he was still teaching at the School of Tyrannus in Ephesus(view image) (1 Corinthians 5:9; Acts 19:9).¹ After eighteen months of hard work in Corinth(view image), Paul continued on his missionary journeys. He left Corinth to return to the cities where he had preached earlier. He went to Syria and stopped briefly at Ephesus after which he traveled throughout the region of Asia Minor. He finally returned to Ephesus for a two-year interval of teaching in the School of Tyrannus (Acts 18:18–23; 19:1, 8–12).

During that two-year stay, Paul received information that the Corinthian believers were deeply involved in disputes over many issues. This was the reason for his first letter, which unflinchingly demanded that the believers consider the value of Christ’s redemption and realign their thinking with God’s instructions. The tone of that letter reflected his apostolic authority without apology. It would not have created much happiness in the Corinthian congregation.

Paul took some time away from his teaching task to travel to Macedonia(view image) where he visited the churches in the area of Philippi(view image) and Thessalonica. He then returned to Ephesus(view image) and again took up his teaching post. During this whole time, Paul waited anxiously for some word from the Corinthian church. Finally, Titus, who had been dispatched to Corinth by Paul, sent word back that his letter was having a significant impact on the believers. However, he also reported that some leaders continued to question his apostolic authority.

Therefore, Paul again took pen in hand to address his beloved friends in the Corinthian church. The tone of this letter significantly differs from the first letter. He addressed them as his co-laborers in the work of the Gospel, seeming to embrace them as one with him in their love for Christ and their willingness to share in the suffering as well as the joy of his labors (2 Corinthians 1:10–11). He expressed his deep desire to return to them again and share the gospel message in all its fullness face-to-face. Nevertheless, he was somewhat fearful that they had not grown in the faith, as he would have wished. When he came to see them again, he wanted to come in the spirit of reconciliation and encouragement (13:10).

As Paul(view image) closed his letter, he begged the Corinthians to pay attention to his instructions and to accept his encouragement. He bid them farewell in God’s love and grace through Jesus Christ and the presence of the Holy Spirit (13:13).

PAUL THE APOSTLE—Outstanding missionary, theologian, and writer of the early church. Paul is a very important figure in the NT and in the history of Christianity. He wrote 13 epistles that comprise almost one-fourth of the NT. Approximately 16 chapters of the book of Acts (13–28) focus on his missionary labors. Thus Paul is the author or subject of nearly one-third of the NT and the most important interpreter of the teachings of Christ and of the significance of His life, death, and resurrection.

Paul was bom in a Jewish family in Tarsus of Cilicia (Acts 22:3), probably sometime during the first decade of the first century. Paul’s family was of the tribe of Benjamin (Phil. 3:5), and he was named for the most prominent member of the tribe—King Saul. Paul probably came from a family of tentmakers or leatherworkers and, according to Jewish custom, was taught this trade by his father. Apparently the business thrived and Paul’s family became moderately wealthy.

Paul was born a Roman citizen. The book of Acts states three times that he possessed it, and his citizenship was accompanied by important rights that would benefit him in his missionary labors. The Roman citizen had the right of appeal after a trial, exemption from imperial service, right to choose between a local or Roman trial, and protection from degrading forms of punishment like scourging.

Paul was educated in Jerusalem in the Jewish religion according to the traditions of his ancestors (Acts 22:3). Acts 22 says that Paul was trained by Rabbi Gamaliel I, the member of the Sanhedrin mentioned in Acts 5:33–39. Gamaliel was a leading Jewish teacher in Paul’s day. Paul quickly excelled as a Jewish rabbinical student. As Paul says in Gal. 1:14, I advanced in Judaism beyond many contemporaries among my people, because I was extremely zealous for the traditions of my ancestors.

Paul, more than his mentor Gamaliel (Acts 5:34–39), recognized the serious threat that the followers of Jesus posed to the traditional Jewish religion. Paul was probably in his thirties when he, with authorization from the chief priest, began to imprison believers first in the synagogues of Jerusalem and then later in Damascus.

While Saul was on his way to Damascus to arrest and imprison believers there, the resurrected and glorified Christ appeared to him with blinding radiance. At the appearance of Christ, Saul immediately surrendered to His authority and went into the city to await further orders. There his blindness was healed and he received the Holy Spirit and accepted believer’s baptism. Ananias told Paul the message that the Lord had given him in a vision: This man is My chosen instrument to carry My name before Gentiles, kings, and the sons of Israel. I will certainly show him how much he must suffer for My name!

The res of Paul’s life was consumed by his commitment to the call that the Lord laid upon him. He made three major missionary journeys throughout the eastern region of the Roman Empire, staying eighteen months in Corinth and nearly three years in emphasis. At the end of his third journey, he carried an offering from the churches in Europe and Asia minor to relieve the suffering of the saints in Jerusalem.

While in the temple performing a ritual to demonstrate his Jewish faithfulness to some of the Jerusalem believers, Jewish opponents incited a riot, and Paul was arrested (A.D. 57).

TYRANNUS—Place in Ephesus where Paul taught daily for two years (Acts 19:9). Paul’s ministry in Ephesus began at the synagogue, where he preached for three months. Finding increasing opposition there, Paul withdrew with his converts to the Hall of Tyrannus, where he began a ministry to both Jews and Greeks (Acts 19:10).

In Greek, the term hall literally means leisure or rest. It eventually became associated with the kind of activity carried on during times of leisure, that is, lectures, debates, and discussion. Finally, the term came to mean the place where these leisure activities occurred.

Virtually nothing is known about Tyrannus himself. Some scholars have suggested that he was a Greek rhetorician, possibly a sophist, sympathetic to Paul’s preaching. This suggestion is made plausible by the addition of the Western text that states that Paul taught in the hall from the fifth hour until the tenth, that is, from 11 AM until 4 PM. This would mean that Paul used the hall only during afternoon rest periods; for in all Ionian cities, work ceased at 11 AM and did not resume until late afternoon because of the intense heat. Possibly these rest periods made the hall available for Paul’s use, and Tyrannus himself lectured there before and after these hours. There is no way to determine whether Paul was required to rent the hall or whether Tyrannus, in sympathy to Paul’s work, simply made it available without cost.

If the western text is correct, it points to both the zeal of Paul for his ministry and the desire of his followers to learn. Undoubtedly, Paul and the Ephesian Christians rose early in the morning to engage in manual labor (Acts 20:34; 1 Corinthians 4:12). To follow this with five additional hours of teaching and dialogue (especially during a time when most of the city slept) is a testimony to the enthusiasm of this early Christian community and the priority they gave to the proclamation of the gospel.¹

¹ Walter A. Elwell and Barry J. Beitzel, Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1988), 2110–2111.

EPHESUS — Ephesus, capital of the wealthy province of Asia. This city was home to Paul for more than two years. This proud city, whose heritage reached back a thousand years to the Ionian Greeks, boasted of her fame as the Warden of the great temple of Artemis, an ancient fertility/mother goddess worshiped by the Romans as Diana. One of the seven wonders of the ancient world, the Artemision was the largest marble temple of the Greek world (about 420 × 240 feet); it replaced an earlier structure burned in 356 B.C. The temple stood northeast of the city on a marshy plain beneath a hill. Ionic capitals crowned over a hundred columns set in double rows around the shrine. Some of the columns were sculpted with mythological scenes and overlaid with gold. A U-shaped altar stood in a forecourt. The Artemision was burned by the Goths in A.D. 263, and the emperor Justinian cannibalized the ruins shortly after A.D. 500 for building materials. Little remains of this once mighty edifice, but in Paul’s day pilgrims from all over Asia Minor and beyond converged on Ephesus annually in the spring to pay homage to the mother goddess with special celebrations. Images of the goddess found in excavations show Artemis wearing an unusual corselet composed of eggs or multiple breasts.

Ephesus’ political importance increased when Domitian awarded the city a provincial imperial temple dedicated to the Flavian Dynasty. As a temple warden (Greek Neokoros) of a provincial imperial temple, Ephesus received political and commercial benefits and increased status among the cities of Asia. Prominent Ephesians served the Provincial Assembly (Koinon) whose mission was to cultivate and enforce emperor worship within the province. Several scholars identify this assembly with the second beast in Revelation 13 who made war on the Christians of Asia by requiring worship of the emperor (Revelation 13:11–18).

Ephesus’ strategic location ensured the city was a large, important commercial center. A well-protected harbor at the mouth of the Cayster River afforded good anchorage despite the continual problem of silting. Links with the Meander and Hermus Valleys afforded access to the agricultural wealth and interior cities of western Asia Minor. Paul evangelized the interior by sending his disciples from Ephesus (for example, Epaphras, (Colossians 1:7), and carried on correspondence from Ephesus with churches (the Corinthian correspondence; perhaps the Prison Epistles—Colossians, Ephesians, Philippians, and Philemon—according to some scholars).

Hellenistic/Roman Ephesus occupied an area south of the Artemision between two prominences, Mounts Pion and Koressos. Lysimachus built the new city about 290 B.C., forcing the inhabitants of the earlier city to move from the earliest site. Ephesus was the fourth or fifth largest city of the empire when Paul visited the city, with a population estimated at 250,000. As the administrative capital of Asia, Ephesus was well endowed with monumental buildings, whose remains are impressive even today. An upper agora contained civic buildings, including an Odeum used as a town council chamber, the Prytaneion used as a town hall, and an imperial temple dedicated to Augustus and Rome.

The large imperial temple built by Domitian stood nearby at the beginning of Curetes Street. Later, Hadrian and Trajan added a fountain and temple along this impressive street known for its fine monuments. Shops lurked behind colonnaded street ways, while fine houses crept up the slopes of the hill. The Library of Celsus, built shortly after 100 A.D., stood at the intersection of Curetes and Marble Streets. Close by, the 360-foot-square commercial agora with its many shops tucked behind a double-aisle stoa served the business needs of the city. A large theater built into Mount Pion seated about twenty-five thousand people and overlooked the harbor. From the theater, the Harbor Road stretched westward toward the busy port facilities. Later, the emperor Arcadius (A.D. 383–408) rebuilt this road into a spacious colonnaded thoroughfare with shops on either side. Several large bath complexes and gymnasia bordered the harbor area near the Harbor Road.

Ephesus’ stature as a center of banking, commerce, provincial government, and religion made it one of the major centers of the Roman world. Little wonder that Paul spent more time in Ephesus than any other city on his missionary journeys. Ephesus provided a strong base of operations to evangelize the province of Asia, a province that fostered a large Christian community by A.D. 100.¹

Images of Ephesus²

¹ Thomas V. Brisco, Holman Bible Atlas, Holman Reference (Nashville, TN: Broadman& Holman Publishers, 1998). 255.

²Bible Places Pictorial Library of the Bible Lands, Copyright 2012 (Used with permission)

CORINTH — Prominent city of Greece, formerly the capital of the ancient province of Achaia, in which the apostle Paul preached. The site of ancient Corinth lies to the west of the isthmus separating the Peloponnesian peninsula from mainland Greece. The ancient ruins, largely of Roman origin, are situated about eight/tenths of a mile (1.3km) from present-day Corinth. The area was inhabited from Neolithic times.

Corinth is dominated by an outcrop of rock known as Acrocorinth (Upper Corinth). The grandeur of the Greek period is evident in the remains of the temple of Apollo, whose massive columns dominate the site. Entrance to the ancient city is by means of a very broad avenue which lies in a straight line from the city gate. That avenue ends in the marketplace, with roads leading from there to the Acrocorinth. In the apostolic period the city was a bustling commercial and industrial center boasting a population of almost 700,000.¹

¹ Walter A. Elwell and Barry J. Beitzel, Baker encyclopedia of the Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1988) 513–514.

MACEDONIA —Roman province in NT times, beginning as a kingdom in the 7th century B.C. Little is known about the first several centuries of its history, but with the coming to power of the Greek king Philip II (359–336 B.C.), and especially his son Alexander III (the Great, 336–323 B.C.), Macedonia became a world power. After Alexander’s death, the empire was divided among his successors into several regions, one of them the original Macedonian kingdom. Instability held sway for the next 150 years, and in 167 B.C. Macedonia came under Roman rule. Initially divided into four districts by the Romans (Acts 16:12 is a possible reference to this division), this territory was made into a Roman province in 14 B.C. with Thessalonica as its capital. Briefly, from A.D. 15–44, Macedonia was combined with Achaia and Moesia (other parts of Greece) into one large province; however, in A.D. 44, the three were again separated. Macedonia’s importance continued through the Roman era, and it remained a separate entity down to modern times, though at present no Macedonian state exists.

The Roman province of Macedonia included the northern region of Greece and southern sections of present-day Yugoslavia and Bulgaria. Noted for its gold, silver, timber, and farm lands, the region also served as a land route for trade between Asia and the West. Shortly after the Romans incorporated Macedonia as a province they built the Via Egnatia, a paved road over 500 miles long, running from the Adriatic coast to the Aegean, no doubt traveled by the apostle Paul as he moved through the Macedonian cities of Neapolis, Philippi, Amphipolis, Apollonia, and Thessalonica (Acts 16:11, 12; 17:1).

The gospel was introduced to Europe by way of Macedonia when Paul responded to a vision while on his second missionary journey (Acts 16:9–12). Details of that work, centering in Philippi and Thessalonica, are described in Acts 16:11–17:15. On his third journey, though delayed initially (19:21, 22), Paul later returned to Macedonia, and again after a stay in Corinth (20:1–3; see 1 Corinthians 16:5; 2 Corinthians 1:16 and 2:13 for other references to Macedonian visits).

Macedonian believers played an important part in the collection Paul gathered for the poor in Jerusalem (Romans 15:26; 2 Corinthians 9:2, 4); Paul commended them for their liberality (2 Corinthians 8:1, 2). He also praised them for their example of faith, even in times of adversity (7:5; 1 Thessalonians 1:7), and for their love of others (1 Thessalonians 4:10). Some of the Macedonians worked directly with Paul in carrying out the gospel commission (Acts 19:29; 20:4; 27:2), and he addressed letters to churches in two Macedonian cities, Philippi and Thessalonica.¹

¹ Walter A. Elwell and Barry J. Beitzel, Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1988). 1372-73.

PHILIPPI —A city in eastern Macedonia, situate in a fertile plain on the Roman military and commercial highway known as the Via Egnatia. Some of the city’s prosperity came from gold in the mountains surrounding the city. Philippi was in the first district of the Roman province of Macedonia (as one possible reading of Acts 16:12 notes). It received its name from Philip II of Macedonia, but Greek and Thracian settlements had been located here before his refounding of the city. Its greatest growth came with its designation as a Roman colony in 42 BC and the settlement of Roman veterans there. Philippi was inhabited until the late Middle Ages, and extensive ancient and medieval ruins survive.

Paul visited Philippi during his second missionary journey after crossing the Symbolon Mountains en route from Philippi’s port city Neapolis, 15km(9mi) to the south (verses 11–12). After they arrived in Philippi, Paul, Silas, Timothy, and possibly Luke preached on the Sabbath to a group of women from the city at a place of prayer located outside the gate by the Gangites (Gangas) River (verse 13). One of their first converts was Lydia, a seller of purple fabric and apparently a prosperous woman (verses 14–15). Sometime later Paul and Silas were arrested, beaten, and imprisoned (verses 16–24; compare 1 Thess. 2:2). They were set free at night when the prison was shaken by an earthquake that opened the doors and broke loose the prisoners’ chains; the next day they were released and asked to leave the city (Acts 16:25–40). On a later occasion Paul and his traveling companions stopped at least briefly at Philippi (Acts 20:6). The Christian congregation that Paul and his coworkers founded there was notable for its generosity (Philippians 1:5; 4:10, 14–18; compare 2 Corinthians 8:1–5). It remains uncertain at what stage of his ministry Paul wrote his epistle to the Philippians.¹

Images of Philippi²

¹Allen C. Myers, The Eerdmans Bible Dictionary (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1987), 827.

²Bible Places Pictorial Library of the Bible Lands, Copyright 2012 (Used with permission)

TITUS —Gentile companion of Paul (Galatians 2:3) and recipient of the NT letter bearing his name. Titus may have been converted by Paul who called him my true child in our common faith (Titus 1:4 HCSB). As one of Paul’s early associates, Titus accompanied the apostle and Barnabas to Jerusalem (Galatians 2:1), probably on the famine relief visit (Acts 11:28–30).

Though Acts does not mention Titus, he was quite involved in Paul’s missionary activities as shown in the Pauline letters. He was evidently known to the Galatians(Galatians 2:1, 3), possibly from the first missionary journey to that region. Titus also seems to have been a very capable person, called by Paul my partner and coworker (2 Corinthians 8:23 HCSB). He was entrusted with the delicate task of delivering Paul’s severe letter (2 Corinthians 2:1–4) to Corinth and correcting problems within the church there (2 Corinthians 7:13–15). Titus’ genuine concern for and evenhanded dealing with the Corinthians (2 Corinthians 8:16–17; 12:18) no doubt contributed to his success, which he reported in person to Paul, anxiously awaiting word in Macedonia (2 Corinthians 2:13; 7:5–6, 13–15). Paul responded by writing 2 Corinthians that Titus probably delivered (2 Corinthians 8:6, 16–18, 23).

Paul apparently was released after his first Roman imprisonment and made additional journeys, unrecorded in Acts. One of these took him and Titus to Crete, where Titus remained behind to oversee and administer the church (Titus 1:5). It was to Crete that Paul wrote his letter, asking Titus to join him in Nicopolis on the west coast of Greece (Titus 3:12). Following Paul’s subsequent re-imprisonment, Titus was sent to Dalmatia (2 Tim. 4:10). According to church tradition, Titus was the first bishop of Crete.¹

¹ Daniel C. Browning Jr., Titus, ed. Chad Brand et al., Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2003), 1601.

Acts 18:18–23

¹⁸ After staying in Corinth quite a while longer, Paul left [for Ephesus]. Priscilla and Aquila went with him. In the city of Cenchrea, Aquila had his hair cut, since he had taken a vow. From Cenchrea they took a boat headed for Syria ¹⁹ and arrived in the city of Ephesus, where Paul left Priscilla and Aquila. Paul went into the synagogue and had a discussion with the Jews. ²⁰ The Jews asked him to stay longer, but he refused. ²¹ As he left, he told them, I’ll come back to visit you if God wants me to.

Paul took a boat from Ephesus ²² and arrived in the city of Caesarea. He went [to Jerusalem], greeted the church, and went back to the city of Antioch.

²³ After spending some time in Antioch, Paul went through the regions of Galatia and Phrygia, where he strengthened [the faith of] all the disciples.

Acts 19:1, 8–12

¹While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled through the interior provinces to get to the city of Ephesus. He met some disciples in Ephesus

⁸ For three months Paul would go into the synagogue and speak boldly. He had discussions with people to convince them about the kingdom of God. ⁹ But when some people became stubborn, refused to believe, and had nothing good to say in front of the crowd about the way [of Christ], he left them. He took his disciples and held daily discussions in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. ¹⁰ This continued for two years so that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord.

¹¹ God worked unusual miracles through Paul. ¹² People would take handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched Paul’s skin to those who were sick. Their sicknesses would be cured, and evil spirits would leave them.

2 Corinthians 1:10–11

¹⁰ He has rescued us from a terrible death, and he will rescue us in the future. We are confident that he will continue to rescue us, ¹¹ since you are also joining to help us when you pray for us. Then many people will thank God for the favor he will show us because many people prayed for us.

1.       Kistemaker and Hendriksen, New Testament Commentary: Exposition of the First Epistle to the Corinthians, 32.

2 CORINTHIANS

2 Corinthians 1:1–7

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1:1 From Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and from Timothy our brother. To God’s church in the city of Corinth and to all God’s holy people everywhere in Greece.

Paul(view image) opened his second letter to the Corinthians with a remark that confirmed his position as an apostle of Jesus Christ. God had determined Paul’s apostleship. He neither earned the position nor in any way acquired it. It was an office assigned to him by God’s appointment (Galatians 1:15–17). Paul identified his spiritual office at the outset so that he could command the attention of his audience in order to clearly and directly convey God’s message with authority. It was important for the Corinthian church to realize that Paul served Jesus Christ under the authority of God’s appointment.

Paul’s opening greeting to the Corinthians included Timothy’s greetings as well. Timothy was Paul’s spiritual son and companion in ministry (1 Timothy 1:2). Paul sent Timothy to Corinth(view image) to minister to them on his behalf (1 Corinthians 16:10–11). Timothy also cared greatly for the Corinthians. Although we are not told whether Timothy made it to Corinth or not, the present letter was sent after receiving word of the Corinthians’ reaction to the first letter.

This second letter to the Corinthians as well as all the saints in Greece targeted a more focused audience than the general audience addressed in the first letter because it was sent as a response to the reaction of the Corinthians to the first letter and, perhaps, other letters as well (1 Corinthians 5:9; 2 Corinthians 2:23–24; 7:12).

1:2 Good will and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ are yours!

The second letter to the Corinthians reaffirmed Paul’s(view image) apostleship and invoked God’s grace and peace as the framework in which the Gospel was being proclaimed. In a deeply caring Christian attitude, Paul greeted the Corinthians with the good will and peace of God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. In typical Pauline fashion, Paul acknowledged God’s all-sufficient grace revealed in His goodness, perfect will, and peace as the reason for and the substance of his letter. Paul carefully pointed to God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ so that they would not miss the essence of the Gospel he was explaining to them.

God’s good will reflects the redeeming and sustaining grace by which the Lord has saved them, emphasizing those believers are, indeed, God’s ransomed children (Galatians 4:6). The prince of peace offers rest to those who come to him in faith and accept His lordship (Isaiah 9:6; Matthew 11:28–29). Paul wanted to instill this fundamental truth in the hearts of all believers so that they could understand his message and be comforted by God’s grace and rest in His peace. The Corinthians were thereby reminded that God’s divine favor had rested upon them as it does upon all the redeemed across the ages through God’s good will and the peace of the Lord Jesus Christ.

1:3 Praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! He is the Father who is compassionate and the God who gives comfort.

Paul praised and glorified God as a prelude to his letter. He praised God’s Name and worshiped Him emphasizing the benefits of His salvation—compassion and comfort. Coupled with his warm greeting and the invocation of God’s good will and peace, Paul’s recognition of God’s surpassing goodness was intended to prepare his audience for the rest of his letter.

Those who are saved through the Redeemer’s finished work can truly rest in His grace and be comforted by His peace. God is mercy (Hebrews 8:12). He is the God of all comfort, and there is total assurance and complete rest in His Name (1 Thessalonians 1:3). The Gospel Paul preached to the Corinthians came from God, Who dispensed His mercy and comfort to the world through His Son.

By pointing to the source of mercy and comfort, Paul set the context of his letter. By directing the Corinthians’ attention to God as the Father from Whom their help came, he encouraged them to trust God for the message that he was about to share with them.

1:4 He comforts us whenever we suffer. That is why whenever other people suffer, we are able to comfort them by using the same comfort we have received from God.

God, Who is the only source of all comfort, will certainly bring comfort to His children especially when they encounter difficult circumstances. Not only will He comfort them in their predicament, but He will also use their situations to provide relevant, practical experiences that will help them grow in their faith. Christians who share similar experiences can minister to one another by telling the way that God comforted them.

The Lord graciously gives His comfort to sustain believers during their trials. God-given comfort given throughout the Christian life also provides the experience needed to minister to others. God’s comfort makes believers the agents of God’s grace and comfort for others.

1:5 Because Christ suffered so much for us, we can receive so much comfort from him.

Suffering is an aspect of the Christian life because of the world’s opposition to Christ. Once regenerated by faith in Christ, Christians will become more like Jesus and draw a similar reaction from the world as Jesus did (Colossians 3:10; John 15:18–21). Suffering is an integral part of the Christian’s earthly life and should be accepted as normal.

The suffering that Christians experience because of Christ is not the same as the hardship that everyone encounters. Christians experience their fair share of suffering as a part of the human race. But many believers also suffer for their identification with Christ. Certainly they endure persecution because of their faith in Christ, but their spiritual support comes from Christ Himself. Because Christ Himself endured suffering and emerged victoriously in the end, those who suffer for His sake will also be sustained and delivered by His grace and mercy (John 16:33).

1:6 Besides, if we suffer, it brings you comfort and salvation. If we are comforted, we can effectively comfort you when you endure the same sufferings that we endure.

Paul(view image) unfolded the core truths of his message with a paradox that revealed the benefit received from adversity. Paul was not attempting to elicit their pity by telling them about his suffering.

The suffering endured by believers was beneficial for the consolation of believers and the salvation of unbelievers. The suffering of Christians effectively enhanced the means by which God proclaimed the message of His salvation to the lost.

Paul’s suffering gave him God-empowered courage as he faced those who opposed the Message. While the suffering of the saints is a difficult ordeal, it results in spiritual profit when authored by God and experienced in full awareness of His love and comfort as well as His sovereign will (Roman 5:3–5).

1:7 We have confidence in you. We know that as you share our sufferings, you also share our comfort.

Paul expressed his confidence in the Corinthians. The Lord provides His comfort to all who believe in the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. He encouraged them with the same hope he had for himself in light of the persecution he suffered for the gospel’s sake. Those who suffer persecution for Christ’s sake will be consoled by Christ’s victory over sin, death, and hell. This would also be true for the Corinthians who believed in the Gospel and received God’s salvation.

Paul did not welcome persecution and he did not minimize its severity. Nevertheless, he emphasized its value in the lives of believers when they face the hostile world as a Christian. Although suffering cannot be avoided, Christ’s victory ultimately brings comfort to those who have been redeemed by Him. Christians who follow Christ’s example in His persecution will also conquer affliction by His saving power.

Notes/Applications

Jesus told His disciples that they would be persecuted for His sake. Because the world hated Him, it would hate those who followed Him. The world does not know Jesus Christ and it does not welcome those who belong to Jesus.

Suffering is the natural outcome of this conflict. It is an ongoing reality of the believer’s life on earth. God’s children face it from two perspectives. First, they experience daily hardships like all human beings. Second, they face hardships and persecution because of the hostilities waged against them by the world because they are followers of Jesus Christ. However, God refines His children through these hardships and persecution.

The world does not realize that its hatred has no effect on God’s children when it sees that the redeemed are not discouraged in the face of adversity. This hostile attitude simply exposes their rebellion against the Lord and justifies God’s judgment on unbelievers. Persecution is also the means by which God’s people grow in their faith, confident in the security received from God’s providence. God’s children who suffer adversity will also be instrumental in ministering to others who have suffered similar circumstances. Believers should recognize suffering as the normal condition of life on earth, trusting that the Redeemer would firmly establish them in His security even as He uses suffering in the advancement of His Kingdom.

2 Corinthians 1:8–14

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1:8 Brothers and sisters, we don’t want you to be ignorant about the suffering we experienced in the province of Asia. It was so extreme that it was beyond our ability to endure. We even wondered if we could go on living.

Paul(view image) wanted the Corinthians to know about the life-threatening suffering he endured in Asia. He wanted them to realize that suffering was an expected aspect of the believer’s life. Once the believer commits to God by faith in Christ, the world becomes hostile because the believer no longer belongs to this world. He belongs to Christ’s Kingdom.

Paul faced tremendous persecution in Asia while preaching the Gospel. The Jews chased him from Philippi(view image), through Thessalonica and Berea, all the way to Athens. He had been beaten with rods, whipped, and imprisoned (Acts 16–17). The persecution grew so intense that he wished to die. The opposition was incredibly intense. His enemies aggressively tried to kill him many times. His anguish became virtually too much to bear. He came close to death at the hands of an unruly mob. Although his situation was desperate, he did not give up on the Gospel because he trusted that God had planned all that happened to him.

1:9 In fact, we still feel as if we’re under a death sentence. But we suffered so that we would stop trusting ourselves and learn to trust God, who brings the dead back to life.

Paul and his colleagues felt that death was their constant companion. They had no confidence in themselves. Their human resolve eroded because their human resources could not overcome the adversities directed toward them by the enemy.

Nevertheless, Paul’s despair was not all that bad. While proving that he could not rely on himself, the intensity of his suffering made him depend on God for his protection and daily strength. He was encouraged by God’s trustworthiness to raise him from the dead if that was God’s will. This actually happened to him. In Lystra Paul was stoned and left for dead (Acts 14:19–20). But this kind of persecution gave the Lord the opportunity to show His strength in the life of His servants (Jeremiah 9:23–24).

1:10–11 ¹⁰He has rescued us from a terrible death, and he will rescue us in the future. We are confident that he will continue to rescue us, ¹¹since you are also joining to help us when you pray for us. Then many people will thank God for the favor he will show us because many people prayed for us.

Paul’s(view image) trust in God was grounded in the promises of God’s deliverance. The same God Who protects His children by setting them free from the fear of death would also deliver them from persecution. The Lord was trustworthy and dependable, and His promises were absolutely reliable.

Because God gave His Son to die as the sacrifice that atoned for sin, Paul was saved from a terrible death. Since the Lord had given Paul His salvation, he was free from the fear of death, knowing that he was always in the Lord’s hands throughout his life and for eternity. The believers in Corinth(view image), therefore, should have faith in God and trust in His providence because He had already proved His Word in Paul’s life. Thus, the lesson was: Trust God, not only because He will, but because He already has.

Paul acknowledged God’s absolute power in saving him from terrible persecution. But he also recognized the value of prayers offered by many believers for his safety and protection. He considered the Lord’s deliverance and the believers’ prayers as gifts—integral ingredients of God’s comfort given to him during his suffering. The Corinthians ministered to Paul through their prayers by pleading with God for his safety from persecution.

1:12 We are proud that our conscience is clear. We are proud of the way that we have lived in this world. We have lived with a God-given holiness and sincerity, especially toward you. It was not by human wisdom that we have lived but by God’s kindness.

Paul’s ministry in particular, and the preaching of the Gospel in general, was sustained by God’s grace and supported by the intercessory prayers of believers. He and his companions in ministry served the Lord in total dependence upon God. They did not depend on their own wisdom and gave little credence to human wisdom. They were confident in the way that God’s power and sustaining grace was revealed by their ability to face persecution without fear. Their labor was sustained by God’s grace through the prayers of believers who valued their ministry.

Everything Paul had stated since verse five could be interpreted as the bragging of some gospel hero, but now he made it clear that his suffering taught him to depend entirely on God’s provision. With a clear conscience and without bragging, Paul could say that he boldly proclaimed the Gospel and was pleased that the Corinthian believers supported him in that effort by their prayers.

1:13–14 ¹³We are only writing you what you already knew before you read this. I hope you will understand this as long as you live, ¹⁴even though you now understand it only partially. We are your reason to be proud, as you will be our reason to be proud on the day of our Lord Jesus.

Paul(view image) wrote exactly what he meant. He had no hidden agendas in any of the letters he sent to them. The message was not his to give but was given by God and was inspired by the Holy Spirit. Paul refused to take God’s position and be held responsible for the persecution that God’s truth imposed.

Paul was comforted by the words that Titus brought from Corinth(view image) (2 Corinthians 7:4–7). He was pleased that they understood his message and took his instructions to heart. He was glad that they understood his call for repentance from their sinful ways. They shared the same faith in the same Lord. Therefore, as equal partners of the same family of faith in Christ, they shared in the sufferings and the glory of their Redeemer. Although he admonished them as their spiritual father, he acknowledged that they were equally witnesses of God’s grace in each other’s lives. The Corinthians were the fruit of Paul’s ministry and their prayers sustained Paul’s labor for the Gospel. Their greatest joy was yet future when Christ will return and they discovered that they were all co-laborers in the work of God’s Kingdom.