Skip to content 2 Corinthians 1-2: Embracing God's Comfort in Trials Oct 6 · 14 min ...more
2 Corinthians 1-2: Embracing God's Comfort in Trials
October 6, 2025 · 14 min
Discover how God's comfort equips us to comfort others in their trials and tribulations.
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The God of All Comfort 0:10 Good morning. Welcome to Stand on the Word. Alright. The pace is, starting to pick up as we move toward the end of our 2 year journey through the Bible. Today, we begin yet another book. We're looking at second0:21 Corinthians chapters 1 and 2 verses 3 and 4 of chapter 1. Blessed be the god and father of our lord Jesus Christ, the father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in0:32 all tribulations that we may be able to comfort. Second Corinthians is Paul's second canonical letter to the church at Corinth, a port city notorious for its moral0:44 corruption, first Corinthians. In first Corinthians, as we read, Paul confronted the congregation's carnality and its disorder. Now many scholars reconstruct a 40:56 letter exchange between Paul and the Corinthians. Letter number 1, a now lost previous letter that, we made reference to in first Corinthians chapter 5 verse 9. Second is then1:08 our first Corinthians. Third is a tearful or severe letter of rebuke made reference to in second Corinthians chapters 2, chapter 2 verses 3 and1:20 4, also in chapter 7. That also is lost. And then number 4 is what we have here, second Corinthians. Most date second Corinthians,1:31 somewhere around 55 to 57 AD, likely written from Macedonia after Titus reported to Paul that the church had, in large measure, responded to1:43 his instructions regarding church discipline. And so he writes them a letter. Alright. We start with, as Paul goes into this, the comfort of God. Look at verse1:55 3, chapter 1. Blessed be the god and father of our lord Jesus Christ, the father of mercies and god of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we may be able to comfort2:07 those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ, we2:19 share abundantly in comfort too. Now God has assured us that he will comfort us in our time of tribulation. That's what Paul is saying, and Paul knows a little bit about this. But notice the purpose.2:32 Why? It's so we can come alongside others in their time of need. So God comforts us so that we can comfort others. Comfort is a is a defining attribute of2:43 God and therefore should also be seen in his children. So let's let's define the word comfort here. Okay? It's not like a really soft couch or something like that.2:55 Which is coming alongside, comforting, aiding. The masculine noun version is the comforter as Christ referred to the holy spirit. It is from this first3:07 portion of the Greek word that we get our word para, as in paralegal, paramedic, parachurch. So let me just ask you, you know, have you ever experienced a difficult or a3:19 life altering event in which you experienced the comfort of God? During COVID, my wife was, diagnosed with cancer, and we thank the Lord last week. Her oncologist3:31 said she is now cancer free. And so we're grateful. We praise the Lord for that. But as a result of this tribulation of cancer, in which she was comforted by the Lord with a peace that passes all human understanding,3:43 she is now able to provide comfort and counsel to a number of other women who are walking through very similar challenges. I remember many, many years ago, I was, actually working as a TV3:55 reporter, and it was a a very, very difficult challenging time for me. And I remember someone came by and, in fact, I still have this note on my desk.4:09 I'll show you. This was, it's a note. I keep it on my desk because it was this is probably4:21 30 years old. But it's Proverbs 3 and 5. And I was going through a very difficult time, and someone just came by, wrote a note to encourage me, put this scripture on there. And4:33 it it was a form of tremendous comfort. As I said, I keep it. I mean, it's 30 years old. I keep it here on my desk because it's a reminder of the faithfulness of God to comfort us. Verse 6, if4:45 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 endured the same sufferings that we suffer.4:57 Our hope for you is unshaken. For we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort. For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the5:09 affliction with we experienced in Asia, for we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Now there's something we just need to come to terms with. Tribulation5:21 and trouble will come even to those who are walking in the will of God. I noticed how Paul starts his letter. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of5:33 God. He was doing exactly what God had called him to do. Yeah. Just a few sentences later, he begins a discussion of the tribulations they were facing facing even to the point of saying this in verse 9. Indeed,5:44 we felt that we had received the the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves, but on God who raises the dead.5:56 This kinda reminds me of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego when they were faced with, the choice of either bowing down to Nebuchadnezzar, his idol, or being thrown into the fiery furnace.6:09 Let me just read that over in Daniel chapter 3. 0, Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If this be so, our god whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will6:21 deliver us out of your hand, oh king. You know, from from, discouragement of death and everything in between, god will come alongside us. He will deliver us either from death6:33 or he will deliver us through death, and that's what Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were saying. So comfort is is assured. Alright? Now that doesn't mean doesn't necessarily mean that you're going to be plucked6:45 out. It's not the god of extraction. It's the god who comes alongside. Look at, the confidence that Paul had. Yes. We had the sentence of death in ourselves that we should not trust in ourselves,6:57 but in God who raises the dead, who delivered us from so great a death and does deliver us in who we trust that he will still deliver us. Look.7:08 God has it covered. He has delivered us. He is delivering us. He will deliver us. And comfort is available in all tribulation. Whatever you may be facing, discouragement,7:20 depression, sorrow, or sickness, God will come alongside you and comfort you if you are his child. He will come alongside you in these challenging and7:32 sometimes very dark times. Now look where else we can find comfort. Look at verse 11. You also must help us by prayer so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the7:44 blessings granted us through the prayers of many. So through the prayers in the intercession of others, we find comfort. Now, you know, the world often mocks prayer as in7:56 the secular age prayer has been reduced to kind of a psychological exercise. It's an inward monologue meant to soothe the soul rather than engage with and talk with our creator.8:08 That is a message, by the way, from the father of lies. Why? Because if Satan can disarm Christians from 1 of their most valuable weapons in this spiritual war8:20 that we are in, that is prayer. Guess what? He wins the battle. Consider what Paul had just described, a life and death situation that8:32 he he repeatedly finds himself in as he carries the forth the gospel. So he's not trying to make people feel good by talking about prayer. He's appealing to them to8:44 join him in the effort to advance the kingdom of God against the forces of darkness. And and and these forces of darkness often manifest himself in physical resistance and dangers.8:55 So how can they join? Pray. He is asking them to intercede. This is so important. I mean, so important, especially right now. Paul believed in interceding for others through prayer. He9:07 prayed for the believers and the churches that he had established and he administered to, and he asked them to pray for him. In Ephesians 6, 1 of my favorite passages, which, by the way, is what this Bible9:19 study is named after, stand on the word, Paul closes the chapter after telling the believers to put on the whole armor of God and to stand, having done all, stand. He writes9:31 this in verse 18, praying always with all prayer and supplication in the spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplications for the saints. He's he's praying. He's saying pray, pray, pray,9:42 intercede. Look look what he says in verse 19. And for me, that utterance may be given to me that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel for which I am an ambassador in chains,9:54 that in it I may speak boldly as I ought to speak. Here he is. He's in prison for preaching the gospel, and he says pray for me. Pray for me that I will speak boldly as I ought to speak.10:08 Like Paul, I believe in the power of intercessory prayer. And since the first day that I stepped into the public arena over 30 years ago, I have had intercessors praying for me, my family, and the ministry that10:20 the Lord has called me to. And and like Paul, I'm not afraid to say that I need your prayers for the spiritual warfare that that we face today. You know, pray that the word of10:31 God and its relevance to today will get out through the doors of communication that the Lord has opened for me in government, in state, or or in the church and in the culture.10:44 Okay. Jumping over to chapter 2, Paul follows up on the man from first Corinthians who was involved in the incestuous relationship but has now repented. And he repented after the church cut him off from10:56 fellowship. They actually used church discipline. Verse 6, chapter 2. For such a 1, this punishment by the majority is enough. So you should rather turn to forgive and11:08 comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. So I beg you to affirm your love to him. So comfort is available in repentance. And by the way, this11:20 is a a great example of church discipline, which resulted in the man repenting and being welcomed back into fellowship and being comforted by fellow believers. There's11:32 also comfort in our purpose and in the victory that comes. Verse 14, but thanks be to God who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads11:43 the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved, among those who are perishing. To, 1, a fragrance11:55 from death to death to the other, fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things? For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God's word, but as men of sincerity,12:07 as commissioned by God, in the sight of God, we speak Christ. I was, in Denver this this weekend for the memorial service of doctor James Dobson, and and doctor Dobson became a friend and colleague after he12:19 hired me here at Family Research Council over 20 years ago. And while there's always sadness, in saying goodbye to to friends and those that we love, there is there is comfort when we celebrate the12:31 lives of those like like Paul and doctor Dobson, who are not like so many peddlers of God's word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God,12:44 we speak in Christ. We should all live that way. People of sincerity commissioned by God to speak Christ. And as we do, we'll have the comfort of knowing, the12:55 comfort of knowing that God in Christ always leads us in triumph. Father, we thank you for your word and the comfort that we find in your13:07 word because you come alongside us. You promised us that. And so, father, I pray that even in those that may be going through difficulty, tribulation, whether it's sickness, finances, relationships that,13:19 lord, you are with them and you are with us. May we be aware of your presence. May we lean upon you. Paul says he he says, we we thought we would've lost13:31 it all if it were not for God. And and through this tribulation, we have learned to lean on the 1 who comes beside us, alongside us. And so, father, I pray that in the13:42 difficulty, in the tribulation, that we will learn to lean upon you, the 1 who comes alongside. We thank you for the comfort you provide for we pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.13:54 Alright. Thanks for joining me this morning, and until next time, keep standing on the word.14:01 Today's study comes from the Stand on the Word Bible Reading Plan, available for free at frc dot org slash bible. By following along in just a few minutes a day, you14:13 can read through the entire Bible in just 2 years. Learn more and request the free reading guide at frc dot org slash bible.In this video 0:00 The God of All Comfort
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