Second Corinthians One
Second Corinthians One
2 Corinthians 1 (KJV 1900)
1 PAUL, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, unto the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints which are in all Achaia: 2 Grace be to you and peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Whenever Paul writes to the assembly of believers (the church) he is sure to call them saints. The word translated saints means holy ones. For one to be holy one must be sanctified—that is to say, set apart for a purpose.
That Paul is so consistent in using this term is, I think, important. For us to know the truth that we are holy ones set apart for God is a strong defense against the lies of the enemy and the temptation toward worldly ways of life. Being often reminded of this fact is comforting as we face various pressures and troubles.
If we fail to grasp that this is a statement about our status and instead think that it is a goal, we begin striving to obtain it. The fact is that we have been made free from the need to work to obtain right standing with God. That work was done by Jesus on our behalf, and it is finished. Since His work is completed, He is seated at the right hand of the Father and when He returns it will be without reference to sin.
When we strive to obtain what we already have, we begin to focus on ourselves rather than on Jesus and manifesting Him to the world through love. This is the faith that works itself out through love as we read in Galatians 5:6 (KJV 1900) For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.
Now returning to 2 Corinthians 1 at verse 3, Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; 4 Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. 5 For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ. 6 And whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer: or whether we be comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation. 7 And our hope of you is stedfast, knowing, that as ye are partakers of the sufferings, so shall ye be also of the consolation.
We participate in the sufferings of Christ. Obviously, most of us are not beaten and whipped for our faith—though some throughout the world certainly are. Yet we still participate in His suffering. Jesus experienced all the same things in life that we do. Isaiah 53:3 (KJV 1900) says that He is despised and rejected of men; A man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief:
We face things of this kind. Friends may turn on us, family members may hurt us, we suffer loss, grief, and sorrow. Even so, we are more than conquerors because the Source of Life lives within us. The great love of God is a massive sea, a spring of living water, a flood over our souls. We are told in Romans 8:35–37 (KJV 1900) that can never lose it, 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
Everyone suffers, but the Comforter lives in us. Jesus promised this in John 14:16–18 (KJV 1900) 16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; 17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. 18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.
This is good news indeed. Romans 12:15 (KJV 1900) encourages us to Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep. We can do this because of the One who lives in us. His life and love overflow from us, sometimes in ways we do not expect or even notice.
Because His love has been poured all over our hearts, we have compassion for those in bondage to sin. Because the Spirit is producing love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control in us, we are naturally drawn to comfort others, to mourn with those who mourn. We have an innate desire to reach out to others, often in the midst of our own pain, because the Comforter Himself is our life and in Him we live and move and exist.
Back now to 2 Corinthians 1 and verse 8 For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of [beyond] measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life: 9 But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead: 10 Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us; 11 Ye also helping together by prayer for us, that for the gift bestowed upon us by the means of many persons thanks may be given by many on our behalf.
It is common to hear people say that God will not give us more than we can handle. When pressed, some say that He makes it possible for us to handle anything that happens. Neither of these statements is the teaching of scripture. In this passage Paul makes it clear that he was in such a dire situation that it was beyond measure, above strength, and caused him to think he was going to die.
The real point to take from this passage is that Paul and his companions had the sentence of death in themselves, so that they would not trust in themselves, but in God who raises the dead. We see the same sort of faith demonstrated by Abraham. In Hebrews 11:17–19 (KJV 1900) we find this: 17 By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, 18 Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called: 19 Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure. We can read it for ourselves in Genesis 22:7–8 (KJV 1900) 7 And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? 8 And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.
So it is with us. We will encounter situations that are beyond our ability to bear. In those times we really have no other choice than to trust God. Such situations bring us to a place where we can easily see that if it were not for God, we would have no hope. If not for God all would be lost. When we pause to realize that we have no power to resolve a situation it becomes perfectly clear that trusting in God is the only option available.
This is a very good thing for us to see. It paves the way for us to trust God for less severe problems. It gives us cause to trust Him even for minor issues that we face daily. Finally, it brings us to the place where we truly live by faith and not by sight in all things. It is there that we find true rest. We learn that there is no other option than to trust God in everything.
Jesus modelled this lifestyle. His words to the Jews in John 8:28 (KJV 1900) are one great example. There we read, “Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things.”
12 For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world, and more abundantly to you-ward.
13 For we write none other things unto you, than what ye read or acknowledge; and I trust ye shall acknowledge even to the end;
14 As also ye have acknowledged us in part, that we are your rejoicing, even as ye also are ours in the day of the Lord Jesus.
The idea of living by faith in God comes through again in this passage. I find this particularly helpful as I preach and teach in various ways. Paul is defending himself a bit here. Apparently there were some who thought that he was not being sincere in some things he had written to them. The verses that follow talk about his plans to visit Corinth. This had not worked out as he had hoped and it is obvious from the text that some thought that he had just said he would come flippantly.
All that aside, Paul says that he had lived in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God. It is easy for us to feel like we are not doing enough, or that we are not doing things well enough. The accuser loves to take advantage of the fact that we live in a world where everything encourages us to live by what seems right to our senses. For many Christians this becomes a heavy weight. It pulls them down and instills fear that not only are their actions not helping, but they are actually hindering the plan of God in their lives, the lives of loved ones, or the lives of others.
That sort of fleshly, or earthy, wisdom is not applicable to the things of God. Paul says that he lives a simple and sincere lifestyle and that his approach to the Corinthians is the same. Moreover, He makes it clear that he is not concocting complicated plans or playing politics but is instead relying on the grace of God to guide his decisions. This includes what he writes to them.
In other words, Paul is just being Paul. He is not putting on airs or trying to engineer the way he appears to anyone. He is not writing things that require reading between the lines or contain hidden messages to one group over another. He relies on God to guide him and does not try to manipulate the outcome.
Picking up now at verse 15 And in this confidence I was minded to come unto you before, that ye might have a second benefit; 16 And to pass by you into Macedonia, and to come again out of Macedonia unto you, and of you to be brought on my way toward Judaea. 17 When I therefore was thus minded, did I use lightness? or the things that I purpose, do I purpose according to the flesh, that with me there should be yea yea, and nay nay? 18 But as God is true, our word toward you was not yea and nay. 19 For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us, even by me and Silvanus and Timotheus, was not yea and nay, but in him was yea. 20 For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.
Paul carries on here in explaining that he had been sincere when he planned a trip that would have brought him to Corinth twice. That trip did not work out, but it was not because he was being two-faced or flippant.
In Christ, all the promises of God are yes and amen—yes, it’s done. This is a truth to which we can cling in dark times. Whatever God had promised is completed in Jesus Christ. We can rely on His promises. He delivered on His promise of a Savior and through Jesus He delivers on every promise.
Hebrews 6:17–19 (KJV 1900) talks about this. 17 Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath: 18 That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: 19 Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil;
Father’s counsel, His promise, is immutable. It cannot change. He swore an oath by two unchangeable things, God, and God.
It is impossible for Father to lie and we can take great comfort in this truth. As the great hymn by Edward Mote (1797-1874) says,
“My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.
I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus’ name.
When darkness veils His lovely face, I rest on His unchanging grace.
In every high and stormy gale, my anchor holds within the veil.
His oath, His covenant, His blood support me in the whelming flood.
When all around my soul gives way, He then is all my hope and stay.”
In verses 21 and 22 of our text we read, “Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God; 22Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.”
Jesus Himself is all our hope and stay. An anchor for our souls. Father establishes us in Christ. He has anointed us and sealed us in Christ and He has given us the Holy Spirit to prove to us that He has given us eternal life. John agrees, saying in 1 John 4:13 (KJV 1900) Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit.
Finally, Paul says that He did not make it to Corinth as planned to spare them pain. In the closing verses of this chapter he wrote, “23 Moreover I call God for a record upon my soul, that to spare you I came not as yet unto Corinth. 24 Not for that we have dominion over your faith, but are helpers of your joy: for by faith ye stand.”
The chapter break between chapters one and two of Second Corinthians is a good example of the reason we should ignore chapter and verse numbers and simply read the text. The numbers are there only to assist us in locating specific things and should not be taken to reflect breaks in thought.
The beginning of chapter two provides details about the pain Paul might have caused by visiting the Corinthians. It has to do with the topic addressed in his first letter, which was what they got instead of a visit from him.
We will end this study here, however. Paul adds one more important truth, and we can apply it today. Like Paul, we are not in charge of the faith of others. Rather we are helpers designed to build others up and to encourage them. We stand by faith and they do as well. It is not our job to evaluate and test the faith of others. Neither do we need to prove our faith to anyone.
Rather we all walk by faith and the Holy Spirit within us guides us into all truth. We trust in the Lord with all our hearts and He directs our paths. We walk through the valley of the shadow of death, and He is right there with us leading us beside still waters and restoring our souls.
