2 Corinthians Chapter 1:1-11/Commentary

Second Corinthians Chapter 1:1-11

Outline: I.

Greeting: 1:1-2

II.

Gratitude for God's comfort in affliction: 1:3-7

III.

Deliverance from the affliction In Asia: 1:8-11

IV.

Paul's sincerity: 1:12-14

V.

Change of plans explained: 1:15-24

2 Corinthians 1:1 “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God, and Timothy our brother, unto the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints that are in the whole of Achaia” “Through the will of God”: “Paul's apostleship is not something vague and mystically ill-defined. Further, Paul's apostleship is not something derived from man.

The apostolate, as K.H. Rengstorf says, ‘Is not an office created by the community or a synonym for its leaders, but an appointment of Jesus’” (Hughes pp. 2-3). See Galatians 1:1,11-12; Acts 9:15-16; 22:14-15; 26:16-18. This first phrase gets to the heart of the epistle, because there existed in Corinth a minority who rejected Paul's status as a legitimate apostle.

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Being called to be an apostle some years later than the original 12 (1 Corinthians 15:8), and especially being called to be the apostle to bring the gospel to predominately Gentile regions (Acts 26:17), made it particularly difficult for Paul.

From a human point of view he had three strikes against him. He was a former persecutor of the church or a Jewish traitor (depending on your perspective). He claimed to have seen Jesus long after (some 4-6 years) the original resurrection appearances, and he preached to Gentiles. The amazing thing is that Paul never blamed God for putting him in this tough spot. Paul had more reason to quit and give up than most people, but he did not.

“Timothy our brother”: Who had helped found the church in Corinth (Acts 18:5); and had recently returned from Corinth. (Acts 19:22; 1 Corinthians 4:17; 16:10-11).

“We have no record of the success or failure of Timothy's mission” (Tasker p. 39).

“With all the saints that are in the whole of Achaia”: “The whole area south of the province of Macedonia” (Hughes p. 5). “All Christ's people throughout Greece” (TCNT). Other congregations existed in Greece, besides this one in Corinth (Romans 16:1). “Saints”: “This word (saints) did not denote moral perfection but the high privilege and objective and destiny of those who, as the result of a divine call, were holy, separated unto God; those who, as His people, were expected to keep themselves from sin and to serve His Son” (Erdman p. 22). This is simply one more passage that reveals that the New Testament Epistles were intended for a wider audience than the initial recipients (Colossians 4:16).

2 Corinthians 1:2 “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” “Grace to you and peace”: A similar greeting is found in the other Epistles (1 Corinthians 1:3). “God is set before the Corinthians as the sole true source of grace the peace. As Charles Hodge says, ‘grace and peace, the favor of God and its fruits, comprehend all the benefits of redemption. This is no mere perfunctory combination of the Greek ‘greetings’ or ‘good wishes’ and the Oriental ‘salaam’. The Apostle is dealing with souls, not ciphers” (Hughes pp. 6-7). “And”: Note that Jesus is also the source of grace the peace. “Lord”: “The very term which is used in the Septuagint version of the Old Testament to translate the sacred four-letter name of God (Yahweh)” (Hughes p. 7).

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Divine Consolation “He expresses two reasons for thanksgiving. First he gives thanks for divine comfort (1:3-7), and second, for divine deliverance (1:8-11)” (Erdman p. 24). Having changed his travel plans (1:15-17), some had accused Paul of being fickle. One reason behind such a change was that Paul was trying to spare them (1:23). Yet another good reason is the tremendous persecution that he had just endured in Asia (1:8). “An incapacitating experience of this kind explained much, and called for sympathy rather than censure. Chrysostom gives it as his opinion that, while the leading object of this introduction is to excuse himself for his delay, Paul is at the same time by implication censuring the false apostles who had invaded Corinth (cf. 11:13), ‘those vain boasters who sat at home and lived in luxury’” (Hughes p. 9), while Paul was out preaching and risking His life for the Corinthians and others.

2 Corinthians 1:3 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort” “Blessed be”: “Thanks be to” (Con). “Praise be to” (NEB). “There is too little contemplation of God and too little praise of Him” (Lenski p. 813). “God and Father”: We must never forget that God is a personal being, especially considering the New Age thinking that abounds in our culture. “Of our Lord Jesus Christ”: See 1 Peter 1:3; Ephesians 1:3). This is not teaching that the Father created the Son (John 1:1), rather, Jesus voluntarily assumed this role (Philippians 2:5ff). “The Father”: Someone has well pointed out, that without the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, none of us could call God "Our Father" (Galatians 4:5). “Óf mercies”: “From whom merciful acts proceed” (Gr. Ex. N.T. p. 38). “The compassionate Father” (Vincent p. 290). See Psalm 86:15; 103:13. “God of all comfort”: “The all both excluding any other source of comfort and also emphasizing the complete adequacy of that comfort for every circumstance that may arise. No suffering, however severe, can separate the believer from the tender care and compassion of his Heavenly Father” (Hughes p.

11). “He is the source of encouragement and consolation to believers under all circumstances” (Tasker p. 41). “Comfort”: This word "comfort" is mentioned 9 times in verses 3-6. This word rendered "comfort" can mean admonition, encouragement, or consolation according to the context. “Paul employs the term here in its basic (Greek) sense of standing beside a person to encourage him when he is undergoing severe testing” (Hughes p. 11).

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2 Corinthians 1:4 “who comforteth us in all our affliction, that we may be able to comfort them that are in any affliction, through the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God” “Who comforteth us in all our affliction”: “The present tense of the verb shows that this God of ours comforts us constantly and unfailingly, not spasmodically and intermittently; and He does so in all our affliction, not just in certain kinds of affliction. If any one person knew the experimental proof of this great assurance it was the Apostle Paul” (Hughes p. 12). See 2 Corinthians 11:23. “Who consoles us in our every trouble” (Ber). These are not the words of a pampered and well-off scholar who simply needs to write another book. Often people (who are hurting) tend to discount such words, yet what they forget is that Paul suffered more than they will probably ever suffer! Paul had found this to be true. In every tough situation he had faced thus far, God had been faithful to His promise (1 Corinthians 10:13).

“The means by which the comfort was given Paul does not state. In the case of other Christians it comes sometimes by the reading of Scripture, sometimes by the sympathetic ministries of friends (2 Corinthians 7:6), sometimes by the removal of the affliction” (Erdman p. 25). Even the "comfort" that non-Christians render to us, can be linked with God, becauseGod created mankind in His image (Genesis 1:2627), therefore even the comfort that non-Christians extend to us, God must be given the final credit, for God created them with the potential for such.

Some people try to argue against the above. They will tell us, “Just because I am helping you, don't get the impression that I am religious or believe in God”. They try to place all "help" in the category of "we need each other”, “the brotherhood of man”, or “it's my civic duty." Yet the very moment they feel compassion for someone who is suffering, at the moment they start to help, at that moment they are contradicting the atheism, agnosticism, evolutionary development of mankind or humanism they profess. Because none of those human theories can properly explain the origin of or logic behind human "compassion". In fact, evolution teaches the exact opposite, that is, the survival of the fittest. Hence in evolutionary theory (and every religion that uses it as its base to explain "origins") "compassion and pity" are traits to be despised, they are handicaps. When a non-Christian helps me, he or she is demonstrating that Genesis 1:26-27 is correct.

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“That we may be able to comfort them that are in any affliction”: “It is Paul's claim that the things which have happened to him and the comfort which he has received have made him able to be a source of comfort to others. Barrie tells how his mother lost her dearest son, and then he says, ‘That is where my mother got her soft eyes and why mothers ran to her when they had lost a child’. It is worth experiencing suffering and sorrow if that experience will enable us to help others who are struggling with life's waves and billows” (Barclay p. 191). Thus suffering is a "school" where one has the opportunity to grow spiritually (Romans 5:3-5), and acquire the frame of mind that will enable them to be effective in comforting others. God wants us to share with others, what we have learned during the period of our trials. All suffering does have purpose! For the Christian there exists no "needless” or “purposeless" suffering. “Paul here gives the purpose of affliction in any Christian's life, to qualify him for ministry to others” (Robertson p. 209).

“Through the comfort”: “To share with them the consolation we ourselves receive from God” (NEB). One has really profited from affliction, when one can share with those who are suffering, how important God was during the whole time. Any Christian who comes out of suffering, with less love and appreciation for God, has failed to learn the lesson.

2 Corinthians 1:5 “For as the sufferings of Christ abound unto us, even so our comfort also aboundeth through Christ” “Sufferings of Christ”: The sufferings that come from following Christ (John 15:20; Matthew 20:23; Romans 8:17; Acts 14:22; 2 Tim. 2:12; 1 Peter 2:21). “Abound unto us”: “More than our share of” (Wey). This letter reveals just how much they had "abounded" (1:8; 4:8-12; 6:4-10; 11:23-28; 12:10). “Even so our comfort also aboundeth”: “No matter how great the sufferings a Christian is called upon to endure, they are matched by the comfort which God bestows. The comfort is never outweighed by the suffering” (Hughes p. 13).

Paul, who suffered tremendously (1:8), had always found God to be faithful, even the most severe persecution had passed this test. Therefore, something must be wrong with us and our attitude, if we fail to endure or if we complain, “God didn't help me”, or “God didn't come through for me”. It could be that one of our problems is: First Century Christians like Paul just wanted to live and serve God. 5

Paul was grateful that he had survived, yet some Christians today have different expectations and demands. At times do not think God is helping us, unless life is smooth and free of troubles. “It is important to observe that the Apostle is speaking here of the suffering of Christ, and not suffering in general. Suffering which is the consequence of disobedience and selfishness has no blessing in it and cannot possibly be described as ‘of Christ’. Apart from Him, suffering leads to despair, not consolation” (Hughes p. 14). See 1 Peter 2:20; 4:15-16.

2 Corinthians 1:6 “But whether we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; or whether we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which worketh in the patient enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer” “It is for your comfort and salvation”: “This means that if we experience trouble we can pass on to you comfort and spiritual help” (Phi). “If distress be our lot, it is the price we pay for your consolation, for your salvation”. (NEB) “Whether we be afflicted, it is for your good; or whether we be comforted, it is for your good” (Tasker p. 42). “Not only is the believer bound to Christ, but he is also bound, in Christ, to every other believer. He cannot act as an isolated individualist (1 Corinthians 12:26ff). Lack of sympathy on their part betrayed an unspiritual insensitivity; but, more than that, it betrayed a failure to appreciate that Paul's afflictions had in a special sense been endured on their behalf--his meaning is that his sufferings were endured in the course of bringing them the Gospel. As their messenger of salvation he had passed through the severest affliction” (Hughes pp. 14-15). “Or whether we are comforted”: Paul and Timothy were experiencing such at the present time (7:6).

“Which worketh”: “Which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer” (RSV). “How deeply they should have felt their Apostle's sufferings to be their sufferings! How zealously they should have emulated his selflessness in propagating at all costs this same message of salvation!” (Hughes p.

15).

“Patient enduring”: “The remaining under, brave, steady holding out, perseverance” (Lenski p. 824). “Same sufferings”: The trials that Christians face are common (1 Corinthians 10:13; 1 Peter 5:9).

2 Corinthians 1:7 “and our hope for you is steadfast; knowing that, as ye are partakers of the sufferings, so also are ye of the comfort”

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“Is steadfast”: “Firmly grounded” (NASV). “It is firm as it has ever been” (Lenski p.

825). Paul could make this statement based on how they had responded to the visit of Titus (Chapter 7). We give people the opportunity to commend us and say good positive things about us, when we give them cause to think (by our words and actions) that we want to do the right thing. “Knowing that”: Paul was confident that just as sure as suffering happens, so does comfort. The Corinthians had caused him a tremendous amount of personal heartache, worry, concern, anxiety and sorrow. He had nearly died in Asia (1:8). He was sacrificing himself to bring the gospel to them, yet Paul never blames God! Paul says, “And in it all God came through”: Christians let Paul down (the Corinthians had), yet Paul never starts on a tirade concerning all the things that are wrong with the church of Christ. Neither does he argue that nonChristians are just as "loving and caring" as Christians, or, that the pagan religions in town can "comfort" you just as well as members of the Lord's church. Paul was surrounded by imperfect, fickle, selfish, ignorant, misguided, and false brethren, yet he never allowed such to decrease his love for God's people. Therefore, any Christian who comes out of suffering blaming his or her brethren, or reaches the end of life with bitter and resentful feelings against Christians, stands as a person that suffering has defeated.

The Recent Suffering in Asia “Having spoken in general terms of the Divine comfort in times of trouble, he goes on to mention his own particular case” (Gr. Ex. N.T. p. 40).

2 Corinthians 1:8 “For we would not have you ignorant, brethren, concerning our affliction which befell us in Asia, that we were weighed down exceedingly, beyond our power, insomuch that we despaired even of life” The Corinthians apparently had been ignorant of the "intensity" of this trial. This affliction had occurred after the writing of 1 Corinthians; otherwise it would have been mentioned in that letter, and prior to his crossing from Troas to Macedonia (2:12); for Paul specifies "Asia". In the previous letter Paul had mentioned that "many adversaries" to the Gospel message were present in Ephesus (16:9). In Acts 19, Luke records the uproar in Ephesus created by Demetrius and the other silversmiths (Acts 19:23ff), yet that persecution does notseem to fit the intensity of the persecution being mentioned in this verse. "Our affliction--we were burdened-we despaired", indicates that this trial came upon Timothy, as well as Paul. Hence 7

the idea that this trial was some sort of physical disease that afflicted Paul must be discounted.

“Weighed down exceedingly”: “He was without any way of escape, was ‘utterly at a loss’” (Erdman p. 28). “Beyond our power”: “It was beyond Paul's power to endure it left to himself” (Robertson p. 210). This verse is not teaching that God allowed Paul to experience a trial that was beyond his ability (1 Corinthians 10:13), rather it was a trial under which every avenue of human ingenuity or self-deliverance looked futile. It was one of those trials, when you look at your comrade and say, “I don't think we are going to make it alive out of this one”. “Insomuch, that we despaired even of life”: “So that we renounced all hope even life” (Wey). “In fact we told ourselves that this was the end” (Phi). “There seemed no way out” (Robertson p.

210). That is, no way out in which they could preserve their physical lives.

2 Corinthians 1:9 “yea, we ourselves have had the sentence of death within ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God who raiseth the dead” “Had the sentence of death within ourselves”: “Indeed, we personally passed the sentence of death on ourselves” (Ber). “Whatever the exact nature of the trouble may have been--when Paul asked himself at the time what the issue would be, the 'answer' he found present in his mind was 'death'” (Tasker p. 43). “When this letter was read in Corinth there must have been some who were thoroughly shamefaced!”

(Hughes p. 18). “That”: Why had God allowed Paul and Timothy to come so close to death? “But, when he looked back on the hours when he had stood at death's door, he knew that he had been allowed in the providence of God to go through that terrible experience, that he might be brought to a full recognition of his own utter helplessness and, abandoning all self-confidence, learn to trust in God which raiseth the dead” (Tasker p. 43). “God in allowing him to come to such a place of hopelessness. It was that Paul might be stripped of all self-confidence and inspired with a new trust in God. Thus, in this bitterest experience Paul had ever known, he found faith born of despair” (Erdman p. 29). “Should not trust in ourselves”: Yet this is what many "humanistic" religions advocate. "No God will save us, we must save ourselves", is the statement of faith for many in our own society. Paul had learned a very valuable lesson. One can only do so much, the James Bond type of character who is able to get himself out of any jam, is a myth. Family and friends, even brethren can only do so much. In addition, they are all human and may fail you (2 Timothy 4:16). Plus when facing death, they cannot walk with you into the next 8

life. Paul had learned that in the end, all one has is God. “Who raiseth the dead”: Which should have reminded the Corinthians of his first letter (Chapter 15). Belief in the resurrection is more than theology, it's what enables one to face the difficulties of life. A faith that does not help one live, is a worthless faith. “This is, indeed, a theme which provides a key to the whole epistle” (Hughes p. 20). No matter how bad things get, Paul always comes out on top, Paul never finds himself beaten to the point of giving up, of abandoning faith, or becoming hopeless, in contrast, “God, who always leads us in His triumph in Christ” (2:14). “We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed” (4:8-9).

“Yet your inner man is being renewed day by day” (4:16). “As dying yet behold, we live” (6:9). “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness” (12:9).

“For when I am weak, then I am strong” (12:10).

2 Corinthians 1:10 “Who delivered us out of so great a death, and will deliver: on whom we have set our hope that He will also still deliver us” “Who delivered us”: Not only can God raise the dead, but He can also deliver people from seemingly hopeless circumstances. “So great a death”: “So imminent a death” (TCNT). “He had considered himself as good as dead” (Robertson p. 211).

“From a death that seemed so terrible and so inevitable” (Tasker p. 44). God will deliver the body of the believer from the grave, He will deliver the repentant sinner from the guilt of his sins, and He can deliver his servants out of the most hopeless of situations. “And will deliver”: One act of deliverance does not exhaust the power of God. (2 Corinthians11:23ff). Paul anticipates troubles—and deliverance in the future. The thought in not that God would forever keep Paul from dying, for Paul did die (2 Timothy 4:6-8. Yet, God will deliver in one way or another. The Christian will eventually die, and yet God will deliver that body from the power of death. The Christian will die, but God has delivered such a one from the penalty due their sins (Daniel 3:16-18). “On whom we have set our hope that He will also still deliver us”: “And He will yet deliver us” (NASV). “If God could bring him through that, God could bring him through anything” (Barclay p. 193).

2 Corinthians 1:11 “ye also helping together on our behalf by your supplication; that, for the gift bestowed upon us by means of many, thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf” 9

“Helping together on our behalf by your supplication”: “Let me have your cooperation in prayer” (Mof). “Only you, too, must help us with your prayers” (Knox).

“And here you can join us and help by praying for us” (Phi). Paul often asked other Christians to pray for him (Ephesians 6:19; Colossians 4:3; 1 Thessalonians 5:25; Philemon 22). Praying for others is a very practical way of expressing our fellowship with other Christians.

We may not know what to say to someone who is hurting, we might be unable to financially assist them, but the Christian can never say, “There is nothing I can do”, because we can always pray for them. “In prayer human impotence casts itself at the feet of divine omnipotence” (Hughes p. 23).

“That, for the gift bestowed upon us”: “The favor bestowed upon us” (NASV). The gift appears to be their deliverance from death, and this deliverance was the result of many who prayed to God for Paul and Timothy. “Thanks may be given by many persons”: The word "person" here literally means "face". “The expression is pictorial; that thanksgiving may be given from many faces; the cheerful countenances being an offering of thanks to God” (Vincent p. 292). “So that the good that is done to us in answer to many prayers will mean eventually that many will thank God for our preservation” (Phi). “God, he implies, will be well pleased when He sees the gratitude beaming from the many countenances (faces) of those who thank Him for His answer to their prayers on his behalf” (P.P. Comm. pp. 3-4).

Underlying this positive exhortation is a hint of shame for the Corinthians, because while Paul was in the toughest situation of his career, and while many other Christians were fervently praying for his deliverance, where had the Corinthians been? Many of them had not been praying for Paul, sadly, many of them had been listening to all the complaints and gripes that a vocal minority in Corinth had with Paul. The very one who had brought them the gospel in the first place, had almost died, and their minds had been occupied with "all the things wrong with Paul".

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