2 Corinthians 1:3-7 says...
Today's verses are 2 Corinthians 1:3-7, which read,
v.3, 4 - 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 will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
Paul starts by giving the Christians in the Corinthian church a command that they are able to follow because something has been given to them and that is the comfort of God. The literal definition of the word comfort is "one who comes alongside to help." God is the one who came alongside to help the Christians in Corinth in their affliction and because of that comfort Paul is instructing them to do the same with others.
To come alongside to help is probably one of the first signs to others that God loves them when one of His children gives real comfort in a time of need. God's comfort in our lives led to transformation and also the strength to endure what was ahead or what we were going through. The comfort we give to others that we have received from God is to do the same. If we are giving comfort to others that we are able to give because that comfort has been given to us by God then I would venture to believe that it would include the speaking of the Author of that comfort. At some point we would share with them in their time of need about a God who saves and gave His only Son to come alongside to help and defeat the sin of our lives.
v.5-7 - For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ. But if we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; or if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which is effective in the patient enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer; and our hope for you is firmly grounded, knowing that as you are sharers of our sufferings, so also you are sharers of our comfort.
If we suffer for the sake of Christ then we can know that He has sufficient comfort and even abundant comfort for us in those times of need. If we are afflicted then it is a time to receive and experience the comfort of God and be reassured of your salvation because you are receiving comfort from God.
Also, as you are being comforted by God and His people because of affliction you can related to all those who have come before in the name of Jesus and Jesus Himself in the sufferings of the gospel. Those sufferings show that the message is firmly grounded in you, otherwise you would not receive the comfort of God and just walk away like seed thrown on the bad soil.
No, the seed, which is the word of God planted in our lives, has found good soil that can take the adversities of a harsh weather season and still produce something. It receives the comfort of God and His people coming alongside to help at just the right time to assure us that God is here and has not left us and is actually real. A sign of a true believer is suffering for the sake of the gospel of Jesus Christ and that is a sign that we don't talk much about or promote.
"Lord, thank You that You not only are the Father of mercy and grace through the giving of Your Son Jesus Christ but You are the God of all comfort. You have given us salvation but You also continue to give us comfort to carry on that salvation in our lives. Your Son, Jesus Christ, relied on the comfort of God in the garden and the cross and we have them same comfort to rely on in our times of need. Help me to give that comfort given to me to others today. Help me to tell them of the Author of the comfort as I give them comfort. Amen."
Pastor Adam
v.3, 4 - 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 will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
Paul starts by giving the Christians in the Corinthian church a command that they are able to follow because something has been given to them and that is the comfort of God. The literal definition of the word comfort is "one who comes alongside to help." God is the one who came alongside to help the Christians in Corinth in their affliction and because of that comfort Paul is instructing them to do the same with others.
To come alongside to help is probably one of the first signs to others that God loves them when one of His children gives real comfort in a time of need. God's comfort in our lives led to transformation and also the strength to endure what was ahead or what we were going through. The comfort we give to others that we have received from God is to do the same. If we are giving comfort to others that we are able to give because that comfort has been given to us by God then I would venture to believe that it would include the speaking of the Author of that comfort. At some point we would share with them in their time of need about a God who saves and gave His only Son to come alongside to help and defeat the sin of our lives.
v.5-7 - For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ. But if we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; or if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which is effective in the patient enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer; and our hope for you is firmly grounded, knowing that as you are sharers of our sufferings, so also you are sharers of our comfort.
If we suffer for the sake of Christ then we can know that He has sufficient comfort and even abundant comfort for us in those times of need. If we are afflicted then it is a time to receive and experience the comfort of God and be reassured of your salvation because you are receiving comfort from God.
Also, as you are being comforted by God and His people because of affliction you can related to all those who have come before in the name of Jesus and Jesus Himself in the sufferings of the gospel. Those sufferings show that the message is firmly grounded in you, otherwise you would not receive the comfort of God and just walk away like seed thrown on the bad soil.
No, the seed, which is the word of God planted in our lives, has found good soil that can take the adversities of a harsh weather season and still produce something. It receives the comfort of God and His people coming alongside to help at just the right time to assure us that God is here and has not left us and is actually real. A sign of a true believer is suffering for the sake of the gospel of Jesus Christ and that is a sign that we don't talk much about or promote.
"Lord, thank You that You not only are the Father of mercy and grace through the giving of Your Son Jesus Christ but You are the God of all comfort. You have given us salvation but You also continue to give us comfort to carry on that salvation in our lives. Your Son, Jesus Christ, relied on the comfort of God in the garden and the cross and we have them same comfort to rely on in our times of need. Help me to give that comfort given to me to others today. Help me to tell them of the Author of the comfort as I give them comfort. Amen."
Pastor Adam
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