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 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ…

People attending the synagogue of that day would pray, ‘Blessed art thou, O Lord our God and God of our fathers.’ It’s been pointed out that the re-shaping of this prayer, so that it is now directed to ”the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ…” gives some insight into the impact of Jesus, the Son of God on early Jewish Christian believers like Paul and Peter. It should not be lost on us that in a number of New Testament letters the Name of Jesus is spoken of in the closest possible connection with God the Father. Also, that this is done by Jews who were so wary of slipping into blasphemy. But they could speak of Jesus and God in the same breath. Other parts of Paul’s writings reveal that he clearly believed Jesus to be God.

Paul was aware that there were those who preached ‘another’ Jesus (see 11:4-6). He wanted his readers to be clear about the identity of the real Jesus.

 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, ⁴ who comforts us in all our troubles…

Here thanks are given to God for Who He is: ”…the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort…” and for what He does: ”…comforts us in all our troubles…” Note that big little word ”all”. We will face many trials in the course of our Christian lives, as we move through this God-hating, Christ-rejecting territory. But not one will come our way without God being able to reach us with His comfort. It may come directly to our souls. But it is often the case that He delivers His comfort through many an errand boy, or girl. Someone speaks a kind word, writes a letter or card which you receive just when you need it most; someone shares a meal with you, or expresses kindness in some other way. Need I go on? The Lord has multiple ways of getting His aid to us. Still today He has His ‘ravens’ (see 1 Kings 17:2-6).

David Pawson said that a lady told him once that she would like to hear him preach about comfort. When he asked her what kind of comfort she meant, he realised it was more about being ‘comfortable.’ The word ‘comfort’ may conjure in our minds the idea of a hot water bottle. However, when Jesus spoke of the Holy Spirit as a ”comforter” the word means ‘one called alongside to help. On another occasion, Pawson pointed out that the English word has at its heart the Latin word ‘fort‘. He said, ‘The Holy Spirit comes to turn you into a fortress for the day of battle.’ Someone else observed that the word has less of the ‘There, there now’ about it, and more of the ‘Up troops and at ’em!’

I understand that in the Bayeux Tapestry, which depicts the events of 1066 and all that, there is a caption which reads, ‘Bishop Odin comforteth his troops.’ What is Bishop Odin doing? He is prodding them back into the battle with his sword!

This is the type of comfort we all need at times, and will need in the future. It cannot be separated from the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

To the church of God in Corinth, together with all his holy people throughout Achaia:

² Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Do you know who you are? What God has called you to do with your life? I believe you can, and that it is indeed what God wants for each of us. You may, or may not be able to put a label on it as Paul could, when he affirmed that he was ”an apostle”. But there are certain things that, when you do them, your heart sings. You feel, ‘I was made for this.’ As someone I heard put it, you are in the ‘sweet spot’ of your calling. For Eric Liddle, it included running. In the film, ‘Chariots of Fire’, he says to his sister, ‘When I run, Jenny, I feel His pleasure.’ As a Christian Olympian, he ran for the glory of God. The will of God isn’t just about making preachers. (Although Liddle went on to also be a great missionary in China).

But being in the will of God does not guarantee you an easy life. In the background of 2 Corinthians there is much about Paul’s suffering. He was being scandalously attacked. In this letter he frequently defends himself against these accusations. He does so, not for his own sake, but for the sake of the gospel. If mud was thrown, he didn’t want any of it to land on the gospel message itself and tarnish it. This is why he is so vigorous in his defence.

‘One key word in 2 Corinthians is comfort (encouragement), used in one form or another twenty-nine times. Yet there are many references to suffering, too. In this very personal letter Paul opens his heart and shares his deepest joys and sorrows. After all, Christians are human and must be honest in expressing in expressing their feelings.’ Warren W. Wiersbe: ‘With the Word’, p.756.

(Note: Some time after writing 1 Corinthians, Paul heard that the situation in Corinth had deteriorated. So he wrote a severe letter to the Corinthians, from Ephesus, and sent it with Titus (2 Corinthians 2:3-4). But this letter has now been lost. For that reason we refer to Paul’s third letter as ”2 Corinthians”.)