FOR THE LOVE OF GOD

Scripture Reference: 2 Corinthians 1:1-11

Remember What God Does Through You – Continued

Please read 2 Corinthians 1:4b-7 for background to this section.

From last lesson: However, Paul made it clear that we do not need to experience exactly the same trials in order to be able to share God’s encouragement and comfort. . . . Of course, if we have experienced similar afflictions and tribulations, they can help us identify better with others and know better how they feel; but our experiences cannot alter the comfort of God.

Later in 2 Corinthians 12, Paul will give us an example of this principle. He was given a thorn in the flesh, some kind of physical suffering that constantly came against him. We do not know what this “thorn in the flesh” was, nor do we truly need to know. What we do know is that Paul experienced the grace of God and because of it and what he learned, shared that encouragement with us. No matter what your trial may be, “My grace is sufficient for you” (2 Corinthians 12:9) is a promise you can claim. We would not have that promise if Paul had not suffered.

The subject of human suffering is not easy to understand, for there are mysteries to the working of God that we will never grasp until we get to heaven. Sometimes we suffer because of our own sin and rebellion, as did Jonah. Sometimes we suffer to keep us from sinning, as was the case with Paul (2 Corinthians 12:7). Suffering can perfect our character (Romans 5:1-5) and help us to share the character of God (Hebrews 12:1-11).

But suffering can also help us to minister to and serve others. In every church, there are mature saints of God who have suffered and experienced God’s grace, and they are the great “encouragers” in the congregation. Paul experienced trouble, not as punishment for something he had done, but as preparation for something he was yet going to do, minister to others in need. Just think of the trials that King David had to endure in order to give us the great encouragement that we find in the Psalms.

Second Corinthians 1:7 makes it clear that there was always the possibility that the situation might be reversed: the Corinthian believers might go through trials and receive God’s grace so that they might encourage others. God sometimes calls a church family to experience special trials in order that He might bestow on them special abundant grace.

God’s gracious encouragement helps us if we learn to endure. “Patient endurance” is an evidence of faith. If we become bitter or critical of God, if we rebel instead of submit, then our trials will work against us instead of for us. The ability to endure difficulties patiently, without giving up, is a mark of spiritual maturity (Hebrews 12:1-7).

To Be Continued

Adapted and modified excerpts from Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary Volume 1.
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, ESV © 2016 by Crossway Bibles.
Where noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®, NKJV © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture Reference: 2 Corinthians 1:1-11

Remember What God Does for You – Continued

Please read 2 Corinthians 1:4a, 8-11 for background to this section.

God is glorified through our trials. When Paul reported what God had done for him, a great chorus of praise and thanksgiving went up from the saints to the throne of God. The highest service you and I can render on earth is to bring glory to God, and sometimes that service involves suffering. “The blessing granted” in 2 Corinthians 1:11 refers to Paul’s deliverance from death, a wonderful blessing indeed!

Paul was never ashamed to ask Christians to pray for him. In at least seven of his letters, he mentioned his great need for prayer support (Romans 15:30-32; Ephesians 6:18-19; Philippians 1:19; Colossians 4:3; 1 Thessalonians 5:25; 2 Thessalonians 3:1; Philemon 22). Paul and the believers in Corinth were helping each other (2 Corinthians 1:11, 24).

Pastor Wiersbe tells the story of a missionary friend who relayed to him the miraculous deliverance of his friend’s daughter from what was diagnosed as a fatal disease. At the very time the girl was so ill, several friends in the United States were praying for the family; and God answered prayer and healed the girl. The greatest help we can give to God’s servants is “helping together by prayer.” Many think of prayer as the “last resort” and yet it should be the very first thing we go to in the tools the Lord has given His people!

The word translated “help us,” in verse 11, or in other translations, “helping together,” is used only here in the Greek New Testament and is composed of three words: with, under, work. It is a picture of laborers under the burden, working together to get the job accomplished. It is encouraging to know that the Holy Spirit also assists us in our praying and helps to carry the load (Romans 8:26).

God works out His purposes in the trials of life, if we yield to Him, trust Him, and obey what He tells us to do. Difficulties can increase our faith and strengthen our prayer lives. Difficulties can draw us closer to other Christians as they share the burdens with us. Difficulties can be used to glorify God. So, when you find yourself in the trials of life, remember what God is to you and what God does for you.

Remember What God Does Through You

Please read 2 Corinthians 1:4b-7 for background to this section.

In times of suffering, most of us are sadly prone to think only of ourselves and to forget others. We become cisterns instead of channels. Yet one reason for trials is so that you and I might learn to be channels of blessing to comfort and encourage others. Because God has comforted and encouraged us, we can do the same for others.

One of my favorite preachers was John Henry Jowett, considered in his day as one of the greatest preachers of the English language, and one of my favorite quotes attributed to him is:

“God does not comfort us to make us comfortable, but to make us comforters.”

However, Paul made it clear that we do not need to experience exactly the same trials in order to be able to share God’s encouragement and comfort. If we have experienced God’s comfort, then we can “comfort those who are in any affliction” (2 Corinthians 1:4). Of course, if we have experienced similar afflictions and tribulations, they can help us identify better with others and know better how they feel; but our experiences cannot alter the comfort of God. That remains sufficient and efficient no matter what our own experiences may have been.

To Be Continued

Adapted and modified excerpts from Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary Volume 1.
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, ESV © 2016 by Crossway Bibles.
Where noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®, NKJV © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture Reference: 2 Corinthians 1:1-11

Remember What God Does for You – Continued

Please read 2 Corinthians 1:4a, 8-11 for background to this section.

He is in control of trials. “For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself” (2 Corinthians 1:8). Paul was weighed down like a beast of burden with a load too heavy to bear. But God knew just how much Paul could take and He kept the situation in control.

We do not know what the specific “trouble” was, but it was great enough to make Paul think he was going to die. Whether it was peril from his many enemies (see Acts 19:23-32; 1 Corinthians 15:30-32), serious illness, or special satanic attack, we do not know; but we do know that God controlled the circumstances and protected His servant. When God puts His children into the furnace, He keeps His hand on the thermostat and His eye on the thermometer (1 Corinthians 10:13; 1 Peter 1:6-7). Paul may have despaired of life, but God did not despair of Paul.

God enables us to bear our trials. The first thing He must do is show us how weak we are in ourselves. Paul was a gifted and experienced servant of God, who had been through many different kinds of trials (see 2 Corinthians 4:8-12; 11:23-33). Surely all of this experience would be sufficient for him to face these new difficulties and overcome them.

But God wants us to trust Him, not our gifts or abilities, our experience, or our “spiritual reserves.” Just about the time we feel self-confident and able to meet the enemy, we fail miserably. “For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10).

When you and I die to self, then God’s resurrection power can go to work. It was when Abraham and Sarah were as good as dead physically that God’s resurrection power enabled them to have the promised son (Romans 4:16-25). However, “dying to self” does not mean idle complacency, doing nothing and expecting God to do everything. You can be sure that Paul prayed, searched the Scriptures, consulted with his associates, and trusted God to work. The God who raises the dead is sufficient for any difficulty of life! He is able, but we must be available, we must be willing vessels to be used.

Paul did not deny the way he felt, nor does God want us to deny our emotions. “We were afflicted at every turn—fighting without and fear within” (2 Corinthians 7:5). The phrase “sentence of death” in 2 Corinthians 1:9 could refer to an official verdict, perhaps an order for Paul’s arrest and execution. Keep in mind that the unbelieving Jews hounded Paul’s trail and wanted to eliminate him (Acts 20:19). “Danger from my own people” must not be overlooked in the list of dangers (2 Corinthians 11:26).

God delivers us from our trials. Paul saw God’s hand of deliverance whether he looked back, around, or ahead. The word Paul used in the original means “to help out of distress, to save and protect.” God does not always deliver us immediately, nor in the same way. James was beheaded, yet Peter was delivered from prison (Acts 12). Both were delivered, but in different ways. Sometimes God delivers us from our trials, and at other times He delivers us in our trials.

God’s deliverance was in response to Paul’s faith, as well as to the faith of praying people in Corinth (2 Corinthians 1:11). “This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles” (Psalm 34:6).

To Be Continued

Adapted and modified excerpts from Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary Volume 1.
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, ESV © 2016 by Crossway Bibles.
Where noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®, NKJV © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture Reference: 2 Corinthians 1:1-11

Remember What God Is to You – Continued

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort. – 2 Corinthians 1:3.

Praise Him because He is the God of all comfort! The words comfort or consolation (same root word in the Greek) are repeated ten times in 2 Corinthians 1:1-11. However, we must not think of comfort in terms of “sympathy,” because sympathy can weaken us instead of strengthen us. God does not pat us on the head and give us a piece of candy or a toy to distract our attention from our troubles. No, He puts strength into our hearts so we can face our trials and triumph over them. Our English word comfort comes from two Latin words meaning “with strength.” The Greek word means “to come alongside and help.” It is the same word used for the Holy Spirit (“the Comforter”) in John chapters 14-16.

God can encourage us by His Word and through His Spirit, but sometimes He uses other believers to give us the encouragement we need (2 Corinthians 2:7-8; 7:6-7). How wonderful it would be if all of us had the nickname “Barnabas, son of encouragement”! (see Acts 4:36).

When you find yourself discouraged because of difficult circumstances, it is easy to look at yourself and your feelings, or to focus on the problems around you. But the first step we must take is to look by faith to the Lord and realize all that God is to us. “I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth” (Psalm 121:1-2).

Remember What God Does for You

Please read 2 Corinthians 1:4a, 8-11 for background to this section.

He permits the trials to come. There are ten basic words for suffering in the Greek language, and Paul used five of them in this letter. The most frequently used word is thlipsis, which means “narrow, confined, under pressure,” and in this letter is most often translated affliction (2 Corinthians 2:4; 4:17), but also tribulation (2 Corinthians 1:4), and trouble (2 Corinthians 1:8) depending on the translation. Paul felt hemmed in by difficult circumstances, and the only way he could look was up.

In 2 Corinthians 1:5-6, Paul used the word pathema, “sufferings,” which was also used for the sufferings of our Savior (1 Peter 1:11; 5:1). There are some sufferings that we endure simply because we are human and subject to pain; but there are other sufferings that come because we are God’s people and want to serve Him.

We must never think that trouble is an accident. For the believer, everything is a divine appointment. There are only three possible outlooks a person can take when it comes to the trials of life. If our trials are the products of “fate” or “chance,” then our only recourse is to give up. Nobody can control fate or chance. If we have to control everything ourselves, then the situation is equally as hopeless. But if God is in control, and we trust Him, then we can overcome circumstances with His help.

God encourages us in all our tribulations by teaching us from His Word that it is He who permits trials to come.

To Be Continued

Adapted and modified excerpts from Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary Volume 1.
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, ESV © 2016 by Crossway Bibles.
Where noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®, NKJV © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.