2 Corinthians 1: God of All Comfort

The "Las Vegas" of first century Rome has been on a long journey. The Apostle Paul is encouraging them to forgive one another, know who they are in Christ, keep their lives holy, and stay unified. 

Strength in weakness. Jesus is the God of All Comfort! This is the central message of 2 Corinthians. Throughout the letter Paul turns upside down our natural expectations of the way life works. Contrary to the way the world and our own human hearts naturally function, God takes what is low, despised, and weak to accomplish his purposes.

Key Verse:

(2 Corinthians 1:3-4)God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. 4 He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.

Let’s read it together.

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The More We Dig. The More We Find.

Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction to Bible Breakdown Podcast
• 1:36 Background on 2 Corinthians
• 8:36 God of All Comfort Theme
• 11:06 Paul's Trials and Deliverance
• 13:08 All God's Promises Are Yes
• 15:22 Comfort to Comfort Others

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:02

Hey everyone and welcome to the Bible Breakdown podcast. In this podcast, we will be breaking down the Bible one chapter a day. Whether you are a new believer or have been following Christ for a while, we believe that you will learn something new and fresh every single day. So thank you for joining us and let's get into breaking down the Bible together.

Speaker 2: 0:23

Well, hello everybody. Welcome back to the Bible Breakdown Podcast with your host, pastor Brandon, today. 2 Corinthians, chapter 1, and if I could give this whole book a title, it would be the God of All Comfort. The God of All Comfort, this is going to be an amazing book of the Bible. It is one that really is titled incorrectly, and we're going to get into that in just a moment.

Speaker 2: 0:46

But, as always, if you like what we're doing here, make sure you like, share and subscribe to the YouTube channel If you're listening to this on the podcast. Thank you so much. You are still, as always, my favorites and it is an honor to read God's Word with you. Make sure you are leaving us a five-star review. It really does help us get the word out. And then, everywhere we go, we all gather, or wherever we come from, we all gather around at the Facebook group, the Bible breakdown discussion, and I just love that team so much. They're doing a great job sharing God's word every day, and it is just wonderful that the more we dig, the more we find it. Man, we we're just growing. Every single day there's more people subscribing to that, and I just want to say thank you so much for helping us create this community of people and we're just surrounded around reading God's Word together and I just love it so much. And we are slowly making our way through the entire Bible. When we first started this, we were all the way back in the book of Luke. We read the book of Luke, then the book of Leviticus, and we survived. Then John, and we survived. Then John and then Deuteronomy. We're going New Testament, old Testament and we've made our way to 2 Corinthians and we're going to get there along the way. And I don't know if you know this really quickly. Just about the Bible in general, and if you want to go ahead and open up your Bibles with me to 2 Corinthians, chapter 1, I'm going to give you a background about this and jump into this.

Speaker 2: 1:59

But do you know why the Gospels and the letters are organized the way they are? Do you know why? The reason why the Gospels are organized the way they are is Matthew, mark and Luke are called the synoptic Gospels. They're very similar and so that's why they're coupled together. Then you have the Gospel of John, which was written much later, but still, you know, within about 30 years, 40 years, and it is just taking a different idea behind it. So that's why it's separate. But then, when it comes to the letters of Paul, the reason why they're organized the way they are is the size. The book of Romans, the letter to the Romans, is the longest and that is why it is first, then first Corinthians, then second Corinthians, and then Galatians, ephesians, philippians, colossians and all that, and they get smaller, and so that's why they're in the order that they're in, and so we're going through these and as we go, it's not going to take us as long to get through these, as they just get smaller and smaller. So just a kind of interesting thing. But today we are on 2 Corinthians, chapter 1. And once again, if I could give you this overall idea of the entire book would be the God of all comfort.

Speaker 2: 3:10

This is what happened. If you remember, the city of Corinth is like the Las Vegas of the first century Roman world. It's a port city, it's where people go to do things they wouldn't do in their home, you know, just kind of like modern day Las Vegas, nevada in the United States. And that was the idea, and so it looked like a big party. Things are always happening, great things are going on. There's people moving in moving out different types of people from all over the world just diversity everywhere. But the problem with that is is, underneath all of that, partying is a lot of division, or was in the first letter we see that how there's a lot of division, a lot of division, or was In the first letter? We see that how there's a lot of division, a lot of problems, a lot of things. And Paul was kind of having this family therapy session trying to help them find unity in the midst of all this diversity.

Speaker 2: 3:53

And there were all these horrible things happening, including there was a guy in the church who was saying that he was proudly shacking up with his stepmother and I mean it was just proudly saying that this is the thing, this is good, and Paul's just calling them out, saying no, that is sin and there is no place for that in the church. Now, if they're not in the church and they're not Christians, well, of course they're in sin, that's what they do. But we who were in the church, man, we're walking away from that stuff. So you need to confront this guy. I mean, there was just all this stuff going on and what had happened was is there had been a first letter that Paul had written to the church in Corinth. Well, that letter was lost to time. The Holy Spirit didn't inspire that to survive, so we lost that one.

Speaker 2: 4:38

And then what we now have as first Corinthians was actually the second letter that Paul wrote to the church at Corinth telling them in no uncertain terms man, you guys got to straighten up, you got to find some unity in all this. Well, after all of that happened, paul ends up sending Titus to Corinth trying to just straighten some stuff out. He sends Timothy over there and then he ends up going pretty quickly there himself. Well, in the process they really begin to figure out what was going on and they really are just trying to get it all taken care of. And they do. And Paul writes another letter to them just giving them further instructions and answering questions. Well, that was another letter that the Holy Spirit did not inspire to last about time, so it's been lost to us.

Speaker 2: 5:22

And Paul goes to Macedonia and then later to Philippi and he hears about the stuff that's going on in the church in Corinth and so he writes one more letter and that's what we now have. We call it second Corinthians, but it's actually the fourth letter that Paul wrote to this church and things are very different now than when they were. When he wrote the last time that we have. Now that we now call 1 Corinthians 1 Corinthians Paul's frustrated and he's angry and he's saying guys, you're messing this whole thing up, y'all have got to find some unity and all of this and y'all got to repent of some stuff. Well, during that time the church had figured out that they'd messed up and all of this happened over the course of about a year. So this is about a year later. So Paul likely wrote what we have as 1 Corinthians in 55 AD.

Speaker 2: 6:06

Well, now it's 56 AD and now is a very vulnerable time in Paul's life. Over that year a lot of things had happened and now he is hearing that the church at Corinth is deeply repentant, very humbled by what has happened, and they have repented over a lot of the divisions and a lot of the arguments that they were having. But now the message that Paul has for them is it's time to live in unity and humbly forgive one another and begin to follow the leaders. So, yes, you have repented of this and you've repented to God. Now it's time to repent to one another and then to allow forgiveness to happen, like forgive the people who were trying to repent to one another, and then to allow forgiveness to happen like forgive the people who were trying to repent to you and now follow God. But this vulnerable time that Paul is also dealing with is he's really wanting to reach out with love and with kindness and also to reaffirm his leadership in that church, and so this is actually a gem for us because the Holy Spirit has inspired this for us to have, and we get to hear, just in certain places, just the softness of a pastor's heart as he is reaching out to this church. But then also we get to hear more personal details about the life of Paul in second Corinthians, in places that we don't get to hear anywhere else. We get to hear a lot of the personal testimony of a lot of the things that Paul had to go through and had to deal with in his life. So it's very interesting in a lot of ways and you really get to hear him being a lot kinder in this one.

Speaker 2: 7:30

I would say that, other than the book of Galatians, 1 Corinthians is probably the most sharp toned that we are going to hear Paul. This one is a whole lot of mercy, a whole lot of goodness, and that's why we're going to see this in the very first chapter, that the theme of this is that God is the God of all comfort. And if I could give this a kind of a key verse, just to give you an idea of what we're going to hear in 2 Corinthians, the key verse would be 2 Corinthians 1, verse 3 and 4. We're going to read in a moment and it says God is our merciful father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. I don't know about you, but that is a wonderful reminder that there's a reason why God comforts us. The most amazing thing is is God doesn't ever just do one thing, but many times he's doing multiple things at the same time. While he is comforting us, he's also teaching us to comfort others, and we're going to see that throughout 1 Corinthians. So if you have your Bibles ready with me to 2 Corinthians 1, let's read this, and there's also this amazing verse here as well that I would recommend that you memorize. We'll get to that in just a moment, but let's get started.

Speaker 2: 8:37

2 Corinthians 1, verse 1. Here we go. This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and from our brother Timothy. I am writing to God's church in Corinth and to all his holy people throughout Greece. May God, our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, give you grace and peace. Now, remember, this is a customary Roman greeting that would happen in a lot of letters. So that's what Paul's doing. He's basically saying sup y'all, it's me, your pastor, paul, and here I got my friend Timothy over here and it's possible that Timothy's possibly writing this down for him. That's why he's putting his name there and he's also at this point.

Speaker 2: 9:16

Paul isn't just writing to the church at Corinth, but what happened a lot of times is he would tell them to read this letter, because that's what would happen is, these letters were written in order to be read. So the person who would take this maybe in this situation, timothy is they would take this letter and then he would go stand in front of the assembled church and then he would read it in one setting. So if you read this thing all out, it'd probably be a little over an hour long, and that's the goal. He's just reading all of this out, and so they would read this and then he would suggest that other churches read it as well. So likely what would happen is, in the church of Corinth they would write it down, they'd make a copy of it and then they would send it to the church in Laodicea or in Philippi or other places and they'd make copies and send it on, which, also doing that, they were also ensuring that these letters would survive. Because they were doing that, the other reason why they didn't survive is probably they probably didn't pass it on. They probably didn't make copies. So here we go.

Speaker 2: 10:12

Verse three all praise to God, the father of our Lord Jesus Christ. And here's our theme verse. God is our merciful father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When we are troubled, we will be able to give that same comfort that God has given us, for the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ, even when we are weighed down with troubles. It is for your comfort and for your salvation, for when we ourselves are comforted, we will. In other words, when I suffer, I'm able to encourage you, and when you suffer, you're able to encourage me, and that's how the kingdom of God works.

Speaker 2: 11:05

Verse 8. We think that you ought to know, dear brothers and sisters, about the trouble that we went through in the province of Asia. We were crushed and overwhelmed, beyond our ability to endure and we thought that we would never live through it. In fact, we expected to die, but as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and we learned to rely on God, who raises us from the dead. He did. Who raises? Who raises the dead? He did rescue us from mortal danger and he will rescue us again. We have placed our confidence in him and he will continue to rescue us. And you are helping us by praying for us. Then many people will give thanks to God because God has graciously answered so many prayers for our safety. So, in other words, paul is talking about how, as he's going on these different missionary journeys, how it's difficult. And Paul even says there are several times I expected to die, but God is able to be with me. What a wonderful testament for all of us.

Speaker 2: 11:59

Verse 12 says this we can say with confidence and a clear conscience that we have lived with a God-given holiness and sincerity. In all our dealings we have depended on God's grace, not our own human wisdom. This is how we have conducted ourselves before the world and especially toward you. Our letters have been straightforward and there is nothing written between the lines and nothing you can't understand. I hope someday you will fully understand us, even if you don't understand us now. Then, on the day when the Lord Jesus returns, you will be proud of us in the same way that we are proud of you. Since I was so sure of your understanding and trust, I wanted to give you a double blessing by visiting you twice First on my way to Macedonia and again when I returned from Macedonia. Then you could first on my way to Macedonia and again when I returned from Macedonia, then you could send me on my way to Judea.

Speaker 2: 12:51

You may be asking why I changed my plan. Do you think that I make my plans carelessly? Do you think that I am like the world who say yes and then they really mean no? For as surely as God is faithful, our word to you does not waver between yes and no. For Jesus Christ, the Son of God, does not waver between yes and no. For Jesus Christ, the Son of God, does not waver between yes and no. This is what I would recommend, if you ever have a verse for memorize, let me say it again, For Jesus Christ, the Son of God, does not waver between yes and no. He is the one whom Silas, timothy and I preach to you and as God's ultimate yes in the things that he says and does here, it is For all God's promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding yes and through Christ, our amen, which means yes, ascends to God for his glory. So it's a wonderful verse to remember that all the promises of God are yes and fulfilled in Christ Jesus. All right, let's finish this up.

Speaker 2: 13:42

Verse 21,. It is God who enables us, along with you, to stand firm for Christ. He has commissioned us and he has identified us as his own by placing the Holy Spirit in our hearts as the first installment that guarantees everything he has promised. Now I call upon God as my witness that I am telling the truth. The reason I didn't return to Corinth was to spare you from a severe rebuke, but that is not me that I want to dominate you by telling you how to put your faith into practice. We want to work together with you so you will be full of joy, for it is by your own faith that you stand firm.

Speaker 2: 14:22

So, as you can tell, paul is trying to encourage them, he's trying to help them, but at the same time, he's like let me tell you why. I didn't come see you. So I was about to slap you upside the head. So that's what I was telling you that at one point, when he first was getting ready to come see them, he was really frustrated, but now his whole tone has changed.

Speaker 2: 14:38

So what can we take away from this and what can we take away from this book? Can I tell you I'm really excited about this one, and the reason why I'm excited about it is, I feel like everybody that's listening to this, no matter when you listen to this and where you're at, everybody listening to this is in one of three places in your life. You're either getting ready to go into a storm, you're either in the middle of a storm or you're just now coming out of one. Well, pastor, you know I wish you'd be more positive. Okay, I'm positive, you're in one, hovering around a storm in life, and what I love about that, then, is that this book is evergreen for all of us, and that is, we all know what it is to need the comfort of the Lord. Maybe you're going through a season right now when everything is great, but you've been through some battles before, and so maybe what God did to get you out of that situation is the very thing that he wants to use to empower you to make a difference in somebody else's life. Maybe you're going through a difficult season right now, and what God's word for you might be is that he's still the God of all comfort. So I don't know where you may find yourself in your life right now, but I'm excited for God's word to teach us that, even when he is challenging us, even when he is as God's word just says, that even when he is challenging us, even when he is, as God's word just says, sparing us from a severe rebuke, god's plan for us always is yes and amen, and so, as we read this together, my hope for you is that the Lord will be the source of your comfort and that by doing that, he's going to comfort all of us, so that we can comfort one another. So my prayer is, over the next several chapters, that the Lord will encourage you like never before, but then he'll also open your eyes to see all of those people around you that you can encourage as well.

Speaker 2: 16:22

Let's pray together, god. Thank you so much for today. Thank you that your word is true. Thank you, lord, that the more we dig, the more we find. Thank you that, as we dig through 2 Corinthians, there's no way we're going to be able to cover everything because, god, your word is bottomless. We'll never get to the end, to the very bottom of your value and your worth and your goodness. And we read your word so that we can know you more. I pray that as we read over these next several chapters, we will be reminded of your goodness and we will be exposed more fully to your comfort in our lives, so that we can be a comfort to others. We bless this time together. In Jesus' name, we pray Amen, amen, don't forget.

Speaker 2: 17:03

God's word says in 2 Corinthians, verse 1, or chapter 1, 3 and 4, god is our merciful father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. Comfort. He comforts us and all our troubles so that we can comfort others. Who can you comfort today with the comfort you have received from the Lord? I love you. I'll see you tomorrow, for no-transcript.