1 - 11 Paul's Greeting
Paul must be speaking who are suffering because he says, "For as Christ's sufferings overflow to us, so through Christ does our encouragement also overflow." (5)
12 - 24 Paul's Conduct
Paul apologizes for not going to Corinth. And for being "wishy-washy" - "Or do I make my plans according to human considerations, so that with me it is "yes, yes" and "no, no"? As God is faithful, 11 our word to you is not "yes" and "no." (17-18)
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One of the first things I notice is Paul's implication of the Trinity. 2 "Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." The Holy Spirit isn't mentioned here but we know he's part of it also.
3-7 Paul speaks of God comforting us in our sorrows.
"Father of compassion" and "God of comfort"
Paul tells us that God comforts us so that we can comfort others when they need it; all through his power. If we are distressed it serves as a reminder of Christ's suffering and produces endurance in our lives.
8-11 Paul tells the Crointhians that he and Timothy suffered greatly in their journey through Asia, so much that they felt like dying! They didn't think they could endure it. "But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God." God delivered them.
12-14 Paul and Timothy have conducted themselves with Godly holiness and sincerity that they and the Corinthians may boast of each other to God.
15-24 Paul had originally planned to visit Corinth on his way to and coming back from Macedonia but decided to only visit once to avoid any confusion in his message he brought them. He wanted to be absolutely sure of his message because God and Christ are absolutely certain in their message.
QUESTION: Describe an occasion when you have been able to give comfort to someone by sharing a story of how God comforted you.
Hello again. Sorry I haven't posted in a while. I've read some but have been falling asleep at the same time.
In my line of work I see a lot of people at bad times. I remember one lady who's husband died. And a week or so later she was in the hospital for someting and we were tranporting her to another hospital. She felt like she was falling apart (a la vs 8-11). I asked her if her and her husband were Christians and she said yes. We went through the whole "he's in a better place now" thing. Then I started asking her about him...things he did and such. It was like all her ailments were healed while she was telling me about him.
I think comfort comes from just having somebody that will listen to you for a little while. How many times do we "vent" to God. I remember girls in high school and I guess women now. They're always telling their "girlfriends" about their sorrows and what boy did what. They really depend on their friends to get them through things. We need to have that kind of relationship with God where we talk to Him about everything.
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