2 Corinthians: 1:1 - 1:11
Passage Outline
1:1,2 Greeting
Notice Paul's use of standard cultural elements:
Greetings (v1,2) :
Greco-Roman Letters : (From...To..., Greetings) e.g. Acts 23:26 "Claudius Lysias, to his Excellency, the Governer Felix, Greetings"
Jewish Letters/Greetings : Shalom, Peace
Paul uses the From/To, then drops greetings in favor of something more Jewish...But adds 'grace' to his 'peace'
This may be happening in 3 with a modification of a Jewish form as well ("Blessed be God", baruk adonai...)

1:3-7 Principle of affliction and comfort
1:3,4 Blessing to God for comfort
1:5 Paul affirms personal affliction and comfort
1:6,7 Paul affirms mutual affliction and comfort

1:8-11 Specifics of affliction and comfort
1:8,9 Paul's affliction in Asia
1:10 Paul's hope in God
1:11 Paul's affirmation of prayer
Notice that Paul ties his suffering and comfort to the suffering and comfort of the corinthians.
Paul is establishing a link between he and them;he will go to pains in 2 cor to show his connectedness to them.

 
Major Principles
Comfort is needed
1. Paul establishes his need for comfort (as well as the Corinthians need)
1:4 "who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God."
1:5 "for just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through christ"
1:6 "but if we are afflicted,...it is for your comfort, which is effective in the patient enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer;"
1:7 "and our hope for you is firmly grounded, knowing that as you are sharers of our sufferings, so also you are sharers of our comfort."
1:8 "For we do not want you to be unaware, brethren, of our affliction which came to us in Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life;"
1:9 "indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead;"
1:10 "who delivered us from so great a peril of death, and will deliver us, He on whom we have set our hope. And He will yet deliver us,"
1:11 "you also joining in helping us through your prayers, so that thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf for the favor bestowed on us through the prayers of many."
A. Paul had some terrible experience in Asia (1:8)
What was this affliction in Asia? Nobody really knows.
- some say it was a persecution in ephesus
- some say it was a terrible illness
- some say the 'thorn in his flesh' (12:7-10)
- some say other millions of things
who knows

B. Paul in general seems to have suffered affliction
see 2 cor 4:8-10 (11:23-29, etc)
8. we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing;
9. persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;
10. always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.
also col 1:24, etc.

C. Paul indicates that the Corinthians share this need
v6b "it is for your comfort, which is effective in the patient suffering of the same sufferings which we also suffer"


 
2. Affliction seem to be presented as a normal part of Christianity.
in 2 cor, Paul makes no reference to any specific circumstance in Corinth causing them to need comfort.
further, this usually seems the case in Paul's writings; he seems to expect hardship for everyone.
 
Rom 8:16-18
16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God;
17 and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if indeed we suffer with him, that we may also be glorified with him.
18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which will be revealed toward us.
1 Pet 4:13
13 But because you are partakers of Christ’s sufferings, rejoice; that at the revelation of his glory also you may rejoice with exceeding joy.

Suffering seems to be the expectation of much of the New Testament (read 1 Peter or even Acts)

 
3. Suffering and Affliction? Me?
> A. For some of us, this is easy
natural :
death, sickness
human :
violent persecution (e.g. sudan), mockery of an unbelieving spouse or family, etc

B. For some of us, this seems wierd. But still...
Am I afflicted?
evidentally, yes
 
1. the fight with our own sin
rom 7:14-28 (v25, "Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?")
matt 16:24-26 (v24, "if anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me")
2. the reality of sin and death in the world
john 11:35, ("jesus wept" at the death of lazarus)
paul discusses the "sting of death" in 1 cor 14:54-57
3. our hunger for heaven and the eternal
the contrast of our hope vs the current reality is expressed by paul in 2 cor beautifully :
2 Cor 5:1-5
For we know that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
For indeed in this house we groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven,
inasmuch as we, having put it on, will not be found naked.
For indeed while we are in this tent, we groan, being burdened, becuase we do not want to be unclothed but to be clothed, so that what is mortal will be swallowed up by life.
Now He who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave to us the Spirit as a pledge.

 
What does this say about life?
i hate to sound like a pessimist, but...
Christianity demands that we believe that our joy is yet to come (isn't in this life)

 
God gives comfort
God is clearly identified as the source of comfort.
1:3 "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,
1:4 "who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God."
1:5 "for just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ"
1:6 "but if we are afflicted,...it is for your comfort, which is effective in the patient enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer;"
1:7 "and our hope for you is firmly grounded, knowing that as you are sharers of our sufferings, so also you are sharers of our comfort."
1:8 "For we do not want you to be unaware, brethren, of our affliction which came to us in Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life;"
1:9 "indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead;"
1:10 "who delivered us from so great a peril of death, and will deliver us, He on whom we have set our hope. And He will yet deliver us,"
1:11 "you also joining in helping us through your prayers, so that thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf for the favor bestowed on us through the prayers of many."

 
Contrast this with the existentialist view of Camus/Sartre...
Sartre and Camus present the dilemna of life without a God; the dilemna of man facing a "cold and uncaring universe".

 
How does God give comfort?
Paul doesn't identify how God gives comfort in this passage; how should we expect to receive this comfort from God?
1. Spiritually?
Perhaps this happens directly to our souls (or some other such transaction)?
No verse directly teaches this, but perhaps one would employ Romans 8:26,27 this way?
26. In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; 27. and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
Anyway, nothing to definite, but it would be hard to be definite here.
One example that is spiritual (via the mind/emotion) might be 2 Cor 12:9 where Paul seems to take comfort from Christ's encouragement "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness"

2. Intellectually/Emotionally?
Intellect and emotion are not separate...both are conscious, good luck separating them.
Anyway, one place we see this Biblically (esp from Paul) is in the 'hope of eternity', e.g. :
2 cor 5:6-10 (right after our groaning in our 'tent') 6. Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord-- 7. for we walk by faith, not by sight-- 8. we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord. 9. Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him. 10. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.
 
paul's motivation for the future in 1 cor 15:19 "if we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied."

3. Socially?
Paul's comfort in this context seems to be predominantly social
He speaks of giving comfort to the Corinthians, making that a social transaction.
He speaks of receiving comfort (respite from the anguish he was having over the Corinthians) from Titus in 7:6
"But God, who comforts the depressed, comforted us by the coming of Titus"

 
What does this say about God?
Do not forget that God cares for you
A loving God is difficult (for me) to grasp; it is core to Christianity however (the cross is the supreme demonstration).
God is not cold, unaware, or uncaring.

 
The result of this suffering and comfort?
Please note that this is not the same as saying "why" suffering exists...these are merely effects of the suffering.
The Bible frequently doesn't tell us why suffering occurs; it does often state the positive effects of suffering however.
Examples where a why isn't given must include job (i think the questioning in romans 9 and paul's answer about justice there "who are you to ask?" is apropos as well).
Examples of the positive effects include Rom 5:3,4 :
Not only this, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering works perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope:

 
1. Paul blesses God because of the comfort.
v3 "Blessed by the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort..."

2. Paul says that he is forced to trust in God through his sufferings
v9 "indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead;"

3. Paul says that it causes thanksgiving and prayer.
v11 "so that thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf for the favor bestowed on us through the prayers of many."

Ultimately, we don't know why God gives us suffering. But God does assure us that there are positive effects.
Further, God provides comfort to us in suffering; God's love remains constant.