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| Chapter 1 |
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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 who are in all Achaia: 2 Grace be to you and peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. 3 ¶ Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforted us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted by 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 for you is steadfast, knowing that as ye are partakers of the sufferings, so shall ye be also of the consolation. 8 For we would not have you ignorant, brethren, of our trouble which came to us in Asia: that we were pressed beyond measure, beyond 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 who raiseth the dead, 10 who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver us, in whom we trust that He will yet deliver us. 11 Ye also helped by praying together for us, so that for the gift bestowed upon us by means of many persons, thanks may be given by many on our behalf. 12 ¶ For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience: that we have had our discourse in the world, and more abundantly toward you, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God in simplicity and godly sincerity. 13 For we write no other things unto you than what ye read or acknowledge; and I trust ye shall acknowledge even to the end, 14 as ye also have acknowledged us in part, that we are your rejoicing, even as ye also are ours in the Day of the Lord Jesus. 15 ¶ And in this confidence, I was minded to come unto you before this, that ye might have a second benefit: 16 to visit you on my way to Macedonia, and to come again to you on my way out of Macedonia, and be sent by you on my way toward Judea. 17 When therefore I was thus minded, did I decide lightly? Or the things which 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 Timothy, 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. 21 Now He who establisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God, 22 who hath also put His seal upon us, and given us the pledge of the Spirit in our hearts. 23 Moreover I call God for a record upon my soul, that it was to spare you that I came not as yet unto Corinth, 24 not that we have dominion over your faith, but are helpers for your joy. For by faith ye stand. |
Key words used in this letter are comfort or encouragement, the verb is used 18 times and the noun 11 times. Despite having many problems Paul is able to write a letter of encouragement, his secret is that he has put all in the hands of God. v1 Greetings. Paul used the title "Apostle" to emphasis his commission. The greetings included Timothy and the saints in all of Achaia. v2 Grace given by God results in peace. v3 What God is to you, The father of our Lord, the source of mercy and comfort. We should praise Him. "Blessed be God." (present blessing) Eph 1:3 (past blessing); 1 Peter 1:3 (future blessing). What ever God the Father did for Jesus while He was on earth are now available for us today, for we are citizens of His kingdom Col 1:13. v4 In the next few verses Paul gives a list of what God does for us:- "comforts us," in our trials, Paul used a word which indicated the trials surrounded us and we had to look up to God for help. "Comfort" does not mean a hand on the shoulder in sympathy, it means a source of strength to face the trials. Because of this we are able to help others. v5-8 Paul used a different word, "suffering," the same word was used for the "suffering of Christ" 1 Peter 5:1 Christ had to suffer physically because of His human nature, just like us He felt pain, but He also suffered because of who He was, and as His followers we must also suffer, especially if we want to serve Him. We must realize that troubles are not just an accident, for the followers of Christ they come by the will of God for our "consolation" (someone that is a comfort in a time of suffering) and "salvation." For God to be in charge of all that happens is a wonderful situation because we can just let Him, in faith, control all the situations. Paul appears to have gone through a real time of trials and suffering in Asia v8. It was so bad that they thought he was about to die. We are not told what this problem was, Acts 19:21ff might be to what he was referring. It could have been illness or a severe Satan attack, what ever it was God was in control. 1 Cor 10:13; 1 Peter 1:6-7. v9-12 We are weak, we are really not able to look after ourselves, Paul realized that he could only trust God in all things, with all the experience he had of God at work he knew that he was in good hands. But even with Paul’s faith and experience of God he was still put through this time of trial, because God wanted it, and for Paul to trust Him in everything. God often waits until it may be physically impossible for a promise to be fulfilled. God’s promise to Abraham. Rom 4:16-22. We must remember that because God is in control one trial may not end but we move onto another trial instead, just look at the different things which happened to the disciples in the early church. v11 As Christians heard of Paul’s experiences they were able to praise and thank God for His care, to give God the glory should be our aim. "praying together for us." Paul often encourage prayer support for his ministry. Rom 15:30-32; Eph 6:18-19; Phil 1:19. v12-24 Paul talks of his "conscience," this is part of our personality, a person of good conscience can usually be trusted. Unfortunately the Corinthian church felt that Paul had deceived them, he had promised to stay with them 1 Cor 16:1-8 but Paul had been forced to change his plans. The church were accusing Paul of "fleshly wisdom," v12, mis-using God’s will v17, doing things for himself. Paul points out that he is subject to God’s leading in all he does, after all in his original plan he had added "if the Lord permits" 1 Cor 16:7; Worth noting James 4:13-15. Paul felt that his behaviour would be presented before the Judgement Seat, "the day of the Lord" v14 with joy and rejoicing by all. v15-18 Paul felt that he was serious about seeking God’s will, he had plans to visit them on the way to and from Macedonia. When we preach Christ to you did he not always say "yes" or "no" and meant it. When God says "yes" then we also will say "yes," this is what we have always preached. By the Spirit of God he has stamped us with His promise, I did not visit you in Corinth because I wanted to spare you pain, we are not in charge of your lives, we are partners together, in joy I know that you are strong in your faith. v19-20 Paul and his friends had preach Christ to them, how could God reveal the truth through false preaching. There is no "maybe" about Jesus or the promises of God, for all the promises of God have been made to be fulfilled through His Son Jesus. All the promises were revealed through Jesus, and this allows us to claim these promises. v21,22 All Christians have been anointed by the Spirit and as we yield to the Spirit He will give us the power to serve God and live in a way which is pleasing to the Father. All Christians are also sealed by the Holy Spirit so that we are the property of Jesus and so He will protect us. v23-24 The power of the Spirit helps us serve others, not trying to tell others what to do, but as servants. This was the opposite to those who were the false teachers 2 Cor 11. Live to please God in all things. |
Easy English Translation
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| The 2nd Letter to Corinthians |
| Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 |
| Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 |
| Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 |
| Chapter 10 | Chapter 11 | Chapter 12 |
| Chapter 13 | Introduction page |
