Comfort & Affliction I--Various, II Cor 1:3ff

Comfort and Affliction I

Various II Cor 1:3ff

I announced that we were going to go through the book of 2 Corinthians in order to look at some of the themes. One of the biggest themes in the first half of the book is that of comfort.

The apostle who in his former life as a Pharisee, made it extremely uncomfortable for those who followed what was called the Way. Therefore, there is a great deal of irony to consider this subject from the writings of the one who made so many so uncomfortable in his former life to one who's main pastoral concern towards the Corinthians is to comfort them.

We will be all over the scriptures as we study out these two themes of comfort and affliction. It is one of the main themes of all the scriptures, not just in this epistle to the Corinthians. The Holy Spirit knew that subsequent ages would need this instruction--and we do more and more as the final day approaches.

Let's read from 2 Cor 1 as our springboard this morning:

The God of All Comfort

3 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, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. 

5 For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. 6 If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. 

7 And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort. 

8 We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. 

9 Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. 

10 He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, 11 as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.

I want to make a few observations based on this text.

1. Based on Verse 3, if there is any real comfort to be found, it must be given by God who alone is the God of all that is really comfort.

To comfort someone is to come along side of them to be their advocate: to help them, to pray for them, to guide them if needed and to give them strength. This is the basic meaning of the word Jesus used for the Holy Spirit he would send to be another comforter of the same kind as he was among the believers. Even though the Spirit's ministry is not mentioned specifically in this place, we understand that He is present in administering comfort-that is one of his main functions. We understand the unity of the Godhead to infer that where one persona is present and at work, they all are there active and working the work of God. 

So, when we read of the God of all comfort there are a number of important realities that we should call to mind. The first being: It is God himself who comforts believers. The second is that God knows all about us and our troubles. There is an old Gospel song that says, "Jesus knows all about our troubles, He will guide till the day is done. There is not a friend like the lowly Jesus, no not one." There is comfort in simply knowing that Jesus knows--is there not?

And, what God knows, he knows perfectly. There is a talk show host who calls his program, "The no spin zone." That's not true. He revises the news as much as anyone. But, with the God of all comfort, there is no need to spin the reality of how we are doing because He already knows without the possibility of error.

This is especially comforting when we are afflicted because of something someone else has said--when we suffer perhaps for saying the truth or when others have misspoken about us to others. This happens in the business world all the time. It is a shame that is also happens in the church.

2. Verse 4 gives us some insight into why God either brings suffering or allows it in our lives. It is, at least in part, "…so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God."

There must have been a lot of affliction and suffering going on in Corinth. With it came the very presence of God as comfort was received. The true source of real comfort is God. We are afflicted so that we can comfort others. Our weakness is manifest in suffering so when we come to our senses or when we are able to put it into perspective, we are able to comfort others.

Our lot is not to withdraw and have a party of self-pity with our three best friends: me, myself and I. Because God has sent us comfort, we are equipped to come alongside of others and help them in distress to the point that they have strength for Christian living. We comfort others with the same comfort we have received.

The English word "comfort" comes from two Latin words which mean with strength. Some of you may be familiar with the music of orchestral playing or choir singing. There are many different notations to give the singers and players direction. The italicized letter f F, means to sing with more strength, or in other words, more loudly. An the M and an F means mezzo-forte or medium loud or to sing the loudest without going out of tune there is fff or the triple forte. 

Just as there are different degrees of strength needed when singing, so too in the comforts we give to one another. Sometimes it is just the quiet tune of the single f. Othertimes, we need to be a bit more vocal in order for our words to accomplish their intended purpose.

3. We must be careful to comfort is God's ways and often it is best to use God's words. Yet, a one-size-fits all use of some passages may be more like beating someone down than building someone up--the Bible is a sword, but there is no need to use it offensively. Let me illustrate. American Christianity (if not all of life) has a tendency to reduce itself to a series of clichés based on verses or Bible phrases. One of these comes out when believers find themselves under affliction. Inevitably, someone hears about the problem and insensitively, while perhaps being well-intended, quotes James 1:2, "Count it all joy…." Have you ever had someone say that to you amid your suffering? Those words have there place and they teach us an important truth. But, that truth is best learned after the softer somforts are applied. James epistle has a "I need to get in your face for you to undetand this" tone. Not everyone needs that loud a comfort at the start. Perhaps when comforts have been applied and the individual has not improved it may be time for a strong word. But as it was originally given to a group in a public epistle, we must be careful not to use it like a bat to beat individuals down.

4. Sometimes our suffering and affliction is not about us. It may be preparing us to minister to others with a more fundamental or more important need. God knows us all and how can handle being equipped to minister to others. Don't always assume your troubles are ultimately about you. That is a difficult observation for self-obsessed people to handle. If you doubt this principal--Jesus did not suffer for himself, but for the good of his people.

Listen to Hebrews 12:1-3 1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 

2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

3 Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.

Thinking about the suffering of the Lord is a pro-active way to put away weariness that comes from the hostility of other sinners against us. And, living among sinners often tempts us to be fainthearted. Jesus has given us the remedies as the God of all comfort.

5. As God ahs acted for us and in us in the past, based on Verse 10, He will do the same in our future. 

We don't need to fall apart and wonder what is going to happen. By faith we do all we can with the expectation that God will make Himself known or that we will learn patience through suffering.

The old joke is about the man who prays for patience and as he prays he says, And I want it right now." God doesn't work on our terms. He might make the way heavy and we may not know why, in many situations we may never know why. We may only know that we have been troubled--that is what we have experienced.

6. Affliction and suffering of all sorts are for our ultimate good. Another one of those clichés is, "All things work together for good…." That's the beginning of Rom 8:28-29. Do you really believe it? If we did, it would come to mind as suffering begins. We would resign ourselves with faith believing good would eventually come out of trouble. Or, perhaps, we might not perceive the good that comes. But, the language of the promise is universal.

Rom 8:28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 

It is not a universal promise to everyone. It is limited to those who God loves. For them and only for them God promises that all things work together for good. We must not give false comfort to unbelievers, or even those living like unbelievers. These words are for those God ahs called to be his own--those upon whom the eternal love of God has been showered.

If God loved you from before the world was made, does it not follow, that he will sustain you through all things? If Christians were to fill their minds with good theology, we would be the most content of all.

Paul continues:

29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.

This is what God is doing--He is using all things in your life to conform you to the image of the Lord Jesus Christ. What you are suffering is exactly what you need at that very moment to chisel off the rough spots and be moulded into the likeness of another, one who is qualitatively more holy than you or me.

Why does God do this? Because He loves us and desires our growth in grace. He wants us to learn patience. He wants us to know his peace.

7. Affliction and suffering come our way because God is always good. We should never doubt this reality. But, every time we ask, Why Me? Or why God? We are doubting his goodness.

• Consider:
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• Exo 33:19 And he said , I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious , and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy .
•  
• Exo 34:6 And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed , The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering , and abundant in goodness and truth,

When the Lord manifested Himself he manifested his ultimate goodness. The basic word for God in English comes from the many words in European languages for the good. It is such a fundamental attribute.

It is this goodness that he shows towards his own in the special blessing of affliction. Yes, you heard me correctly, suffering for God or in his ways or even under his hand can be a tremendous blessing to the soul that submits to his care. He is the God of all make that all caps ALL comfort. It is for his glory, for our ultimate good and for the good of our fellow believers.

All affliction is purposeful. None of it is ever gratuitous. By gratuitous I mean without purpose. Sometimes in movies the producers or directors will put in gratuitous violence of fleshly scenes just because that are expected to be there. They serve no purpose in furthering the story. But, it the outfolding of our life stories individually and corporately, suffering and affliction has purpose. May the Lord help us to not forget that.

Different people will be able to give comfort in varying ways. Don't leave it for the pastor and deacon alone. We must all minister to the body in love.

May the Lord continue to work in us. And, if needed bring the affliction to do the work that is needed. Amen.