2
Corinthians 1:4 ( ESV )
4who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
·
Quick review of our last lesson: Writes to a
church that he birthed, rebelled against him and is now moving forward. He told
them about who there God is. He is the source of GRACE, PEACE and our focus the
very source of COMFORT in our lives. He wants to be the one who will comfort us
in all of our afflictions or the presses in our life.
·
Now Paul shifts his focus as he now brings out
what we as believers should do when we see others faced with the presses of
life. Let's pick up the last part of verse 4.
·
WHY DOES GOD COMFORT US when we go through
trials. Well one of the main reasons may not be what you would think that it
would be. Simply put in verse 4 SO THAT WE CAN COMFORT OTHERS WHO ARE GOING
THROUGH TRIALS. We are to share His comfort with others. We are now told that
as HE WALKS ALONGSIDE OF US, we are TO WALK ALONGSIDE OF OUR BROTHERS AND
SISTERS. We are not comforted by God just for our own selfish needs but we are
to ACTIVELY GET INVOLVED in the lives of others.
·
Notice what he also states in this verse, WITH
THE COMFORT WITH WHICH WE OURSELVES ARE COMFORTED BY GOD. In the same way that
we are comforted by God He wants us to comfort others. From a practical
standpoint that means asking ourselves how would God want me to walk alongside
of my brother at this time? (Think about Job as he suffered, he probably needed
just someone to be there but instead he was not comforted by a group of men who
had all the answers. It is important to speak and sometimes to confront even
when we comfort but we are also to be those who sometimes just say, I'm here
for you buddy. Its still a lesson I need to learn.)
2
Corinthians 1:5 ( ESV )
5For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.£
·
Paul would write to the Philippians the following
words.
Philippians 3:10 (
ESV )
10that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,
·
I love the first part of that verse but it’s the
second part that is a little harder for me to deal with, Paul wanted to not
only know the power of Jesus resurrection in his life but to also suffer for
His namesake. It is a fools paradise to associate suffering with a sinful
lifestyle. As even Christ would suffer for us. Paul not only suffered for the
name of the Lord but as the verse says he did so ABUNDANTLY. Literally he was
saying to the church of Corinth that had more than enough to spare when it came
to suffering for the name of Christ. How have you suffered for His namesake?
What about our brothers in other lands? Yet in the midst of His trials he also
uses that same word again in that he shared ABUNDANTLY in God's Comfort. Listen we maybe going through much in this
life but during those times as much as we suffer God offers us an abounding
comfort to go through it. When we suffer for His sake and His glory He suffers
right alongside of us.
·
Remember one of their big problems had been that
of unity. Now Paul encourages them to go forward together and to comfort one
another through it all.
WHY
ARE WE AFFLICTED THOUGH GOD? LOOK AT ONE OF THE REASONS AS STATED AGAIN IN
verse 6.
2
Corinthians 1:6 ( ESV )
6If 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 endure the same sufferings that we suffer.
·
One of the purposes of us going through trials is
not just for me and my good but for the sake of individuals around us so that
they can see how GOD works through us. So that they can be encouraged in their
walks 1. To draw closer to Christ, 2. So that they can be encouraged as they go
through their fires. He wants to give us supernatural strength that only can be
claimed as from Him. Why? So that He may receive all the glory.
·
I don't know about you but when I am going
through trials I am constantly reminded of the OT Saints and Paul Himself.
·
Job, "And when I am tried I shall come forth
as Gold."
·
Joseph, " You meant evil against me but God
meant it for good."
·
Paul and Silas at Midnight because they were
comforted by God Prayed, and sang praises to him though there bodies were worn
and torn. When I read of these men I am comforted to be a part of a group that
according to Hebrews, "The world is not worthy of."
·
I also know by reading this verse that in the end
when I suffer or am afflicted I know that He WILL COMFORT ME.
2
Corinthians 1:7 ( ESV )
7Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort.
o Paul apparently
knew that they had or were going through a time of suffering as well. The
church of Corinth was going through the press. Yet I love how he starts verse 7
with the words HOPE and UNSHAKEN. He was confident just like the Philippians
that, "He who had begun a good work in them would continue it until the
day of Christ Jesus. Brothers encourage each other that God will complete His
good work in them and walk alongside of them in the trial. We do not have a
faith that is built on shifting sands but on the firm foundation of Jesus
Christ Himself who is the ROCK Of AGES. Paul knew with this type of confidence
based on Christ that just as they were suffering they would just as sure share
in the comfort that only God could give alone.
2
Corinthians 1:8-9 ( ESV )
8For we do not want you to be ignorant, brothers,£ of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself.
9Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.
·
Why does Paul now bring up the following two
verses? Why does he now let them know about his suffering? Brothers and
sisters, Paul wanted them to understand that Christ will comfort us and this he
is confident of, but he also wanted them to know just how hard it can get for
us as the press crushes us. He was saying to them, " The trials sometimes
will be beyond human comprehension but there is always hope.
·
He did not want to leave them in the dark but
speaks about a time when he was in Asia. It was a time of INTENSE affliction.
What specific time we are not told of clearly in the passage. It may refer to
the mob violence he experienced in Acts 19:23-41 or some other time but we know
that he had experienced many times of intense affliction.
2 Corinthians
11:23-28 ( ESV )
23Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one—I am talking like a madman—with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death.
24Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one.
25Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea;
26on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers;
27in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure.
28And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches.
§ Paul
knew what it was like to be burdened beyond his strength. He had felt the
pressure and had been weighed down by the load. He knew what it was like to
feel the pain around him and in him. Yet it was even more than that don't miss
the last part of verse 8 it was to the point that, "HE DESPAIRED OF LIFE
ITSELF."
§ Paul
had went through such a rough time that he had grown despondent of even life.
Does this sound so harsh? Lord, I wish that I were dead. He was not alone in
such pain. (JOB, DAVID, ELIJAH and JONAH went through times in their lives in
which they felt like they just could not go on.) It was to the point of in
verse 9 that he felt he had received the sentence of death. Paul may have been
speaking of this as a true sentence of death as during the times people wanted
him dead for sharing the gospel. He may also be speaking of like a physical
illness that had overtaken him to the point of death. Maybe to where he felt
such personal distress he could not go on. I believe all of this could have
been a part of what was going on.
§ WHY
GOD? WHY? So that we may learn not to rely upon our own strength but upon Him
alone. It is only God who will help us through it all. Yet he will not only
help us through it but he allows us to experience resurrection power when we
rely upon Him.
Romans
8:11 ( ESV )
11If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.
Ephesians
6:10 ( ESV )
10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.
§ With
Paul's authority being questioned why would Paul share this with them? Paul
wanted them to WALK ALONGSIDE OF HIM as he faced his trials and by sharing his
weaknesses with them they could relate to him.
§ ARE WE
WILLING TO DO THIS WITH OUR BROTHERS?
ANOTHER
THING THAT WE CAN SHARE WITH ONE ANOTHER AS WE WALK ALONGSIDE. WE HAVE A GOD
WHO WILL DELIEVER.
2
Corinthians 1:10 ( ESV )
10He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again.
·
I love the song, We shall be free.
One day brothers and sisters we will be delivered from this house of flesh,
which is but a prison, and one day we shall see Him Face to face and it will be
worth it all. Why do I know this because just like Paul we have seen God
deliver us from situations that seemed hopeless. He has come to my rescue time
and time again and he will be there walking alongside of me. Now He may not
deliver me from my trials physically but He will deliver me through the trial
with His hand in mine.
·
We can not rest on our own hands to
deliver us but we must set our hope in Him alone. How many saints I have seen
go through trials and seen my God deliver them. Yet I have also seen God
deliver by taking them home. "HOW PRECIOUS IN THE SIGHT OF THE LORD IS THE
DEATH OF HIS SAINTS."
·
When walking alongside, remember to
share the promise of hope with our brothers.
LASTLY HOW CAN WE WALK ALONGSIDE OF ONE ANOTHER? PRAYER.
2
Corinthians 1:11 ( ESV )
11You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.
·
I like how Paul says, You also MUST.
Paul wanted them to pray for him desperately. He saw this as one of the
greatest ministries that the church of Corinth could have in his life. The
ministry of prayer is one of the most underused ministries in the church today.
Oh, that we would get a burden to pray for one another instead of panic or
worry. We can go to the God of all COMFORT to pray that he will grant COMFORT
to his sheep.
·
That word help is used today often as
it is the word synergize or to energize another and to assist them. Paul
constantly made this a request in Rom. 15:30-31, Phil. 1:9 and Col. 4:12 This
is the key to walking alongside of one another that we might be known as a
people who will energize one another not by our strength but by calling out to
the God of all COMFORT to help out our brothers and their needs.
No comments:
Post a Comment