2 Corinthians 1

2 Corinthians 1:1

I. PAUL’S EXPOSITION OF THE MINISTRY (Chaps. 1-7) A. Salutation (1:1, 2) 1:1 Paul introduces himself at the outset of his letter as an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God. It is important that he should strike this note at the very beginning, because there were those in Corinth who raised the question as to whether Paul had ever really been commissioned by the Lord. His answer is that he did not choose the ministry by his own will, neither was he ordained by men, but he had been sent into the work by Christ Jesus through the will of God. His call to the apostleship took place on the road to Damascus. It was an unforgettable experience in his life, and it was the consciousness of this divine call that sustained the apostle during many bitter hours. Oftentimes when, in the service of Christ, he was pressed beyond measure, he might well have given up and gone home if he had not had the assurance of a divine call. The fact that Timothy is mentioned in verse 1 does not mean that he helped to compose the Letter. It only signifies that he was with Paul at the time the Epistle was written. Beyond this fact, there is a great deal of uncertainty about Timothy’s movements during this period. The letter is addressed to the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints who are in all Achaia. The expression church of God means that it was an assembly of believers belonging to God. It was not a heathen assembly, or some nonreligious gathering of people, but a company of born-again Christians, called out from the world to belong to the Lord. Doubtless as Paul wrote these words, he remembered how he had first gone to Corinth and preached the gospel there. Men and women steeped in idolatry and sensuality had trusted Jesus Christ as Lord, and had been saved by His marvelous grace. In spite of all the difficulties that had later come into the assembly at Corinth, the heart of the apostle doubtless rejoiced to think of the mighty change which had come into the lives of these dear people.

The letter is addressed not only to Corinth but to all the saints who are in Achaia. Achaia represented the southern part of Greece; whereas Macedonia, of which we shall also be reading in this Epistle, was the northern section of that same country. 1:2 Grace … and peace form the lovely salutation that we have come to associate with the beloved Apostle Paul. When he wishes to describe his greatest desires for the people of God, he does not wish for them material things such as silver and gold. He knows only too well that these can quickly vanish. But rather he wishes for them spiritual blessings, such as grace and peace, which include every good thing that can come to a poor sinner on this side of heaven. Denney says, Grace is the first and last word of the gospel; and peaceperfect spiritual soundnessis the finished work of Christ in the soul. These blessings flow from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

God our Father is the source, and the Lord Jesus Christ is the channel. Paul does not hesitate to place the Lord Jesus Christ side by side with God the Father, because, as a member of the Trinity, Christ is equal with the Father.

2 Corinthians 1:3

B. The Ministry of Comfort in Suffering (1:3-11) 1:3 From verse 3 through verse 11, the apostle bursts forth into thanksgiving for the comfort that has come to him in the midst of his distress and affliction. Undoubtedly, the comfort was the good news which Titus had brought to him in Macedonia. The apostle then goes on to show that whether he is afflicted or comforted, all turns out for the eventual good of the believers to whom he ministers. The thanksgiving is addressed to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. This is the full title of God in the NT. No longer is He addressed as the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, or the God of Jacob.

Now He is the God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ. This name, incidentally, implies the great truth that the Lord Jesus is both God and Man. God is the God of our Lord Jesus Christ; this refers to His relation to Jesus, the Son of Man. But God is also the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ; this refers to His relationship to Christ, the Son of God. In addition, God is described as the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort. It is from Him that all mercies and comforts flow. 1:4 In all Paul’s afflictions, he was conscious of God’s comforting presence. Here he gives one of the many reasons why God comforted him. It was so that he in turn might be able to comfort others with the very same comfort with which he was comforted by God. To us, the word comfort usually means consolation in time of sorrow. But as it is used in the NT, it has a wider meaning. It refers to the encouragement and exhortation that come to us from one who is beside us in time of need.

There is a practical lesson in this verse for us all. We should remember when we are comforted that we should seek to pass on this comfort to others. We should not avoid the sick room or the house of death, but rather fly to the side of any who are in need of our encouragement. We are not comforted to be comfortable but to be comforters.1:5 The reason Paul can comfort others is that the comforts of Christ are equal to the sufferings that are endured for Him. The sufferings of Christ here cannot mean the Savior’s atoning sufferings. These were unique, and no man can share them.

But Christians can and do suffer because of their association with the Lord Jesus. They suffer reproach, rejection, hostility, hatred, denial, betrayal, etc. These are spoken of as the sufferings of Christ because He endured them when He was on earth, and because He still endures them when the members of His Body experience them. In all our afflictions, He is afflicted (see Isa_63:9). But Paul’s point here is that there is a rich compensation for all these sufferings, namely, there is a corresponding share in the consolation of Christ and this consolation is abundantly sufficient. 1:6 The apostle could see good emerging both from his afflictions and his comfort. Both were sanctified by the cross. If he was afflicted, it resulted in consolation and salvation for the saintsnot the salvation of their souls, but the strength that would see them through their trials. They would be encouraged and challenged by Paul’s endurance, and would reason that if God could give him grace to suffer, He could give them grace too. When Samuel Rutherford found himself in the cellar of adversity, as he often did, he began to look around for some of the Lord’s best wines. Perhaps he learned to do this from the example of Paul, who always seemed to be able to trace the rainbow through his tears. The comfort which the apostle received would fill the Corinthians with consolation and inspire them to patient endurance as they passed through the same kind of persecution as he did. Only those who have gone through deep testings know how to speak a fitting word to others who are called upon to go through the same. A mother who has lost an only child can better comfort another mother who has just been crushed by that heartache. Or, best of all, a Father who has lost an only Son can best console those who have lost loved ones. 1:7 The apostle now expresses his confidence that just as the Corinthians had known what it was to suffer on behalf of Christ, so they would experience the comforting help of Christ. Sufferings never come alone for the Christian. They are always followed by the consolation of Christ. We, too, can be confident of this, as Paul was. The Living Bible paraphrases verses 3-7 as follows: What a wonderful God we haveHe is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the source of every mercy, and the one who so wonderfully comforts and strengthens us in our hardships and trials. And why does He do this? So that when others are troubled, needing our sympathy and encouragement, we can pass on to them the same help and comfort God has given us. … In our trouble God has comforted usand this, too, to help you: to show you from our personal experience how God will tenderly comfort you when you undergo these same sufferings. He will give you the strength to endure. 1:8 Having spoken in general terms of affliction and comfort, Paul now mentions more specifically a severe testing through which he had recently gone. He does not want the Corinthian brethren to be ignorant of the trouble which befell him in Asia. (Asia here does not mean the continent, but rather a province in the western section of what is now Asia Minor.) Just what was the trouble to which the apostle refers here? Perhaps it refers to the dangerous riot which took place in Ephesus (Act_19:23-41). Some suggest that it was a deadly sickness, and still others think that it might refer to disheartening news from Corinth. Fortunately, the value and enjoyment of such a passage does not depend on knowing the exact details. The trouble was, however, so serious that Paul was weighed down greatly, so beyond the ordinary natural powers of endurance that he despaired even of life itself. Phillip’s paraphrase of this verse is helpful: At that time we were completely overwhelmed; the burden was more than we could bear; in fact we told ourselves that this was the end.1:9 The apostle’s outlook was so grim that he had the feelings of a man sentenced to death. If someone had asked him, Is it going to be life or death? he would have had to answer, Death. God allowed His servant to be brought to this place of extremity in order that he would not trust in himself but in the God who raises the dead. The God who raises the dead is here used doubtlessly as a synonym for the omnipotent God. One who can raise the dead is the only hope of a man who is doomed to die, as the apostle considered himself to be. 1:10 In the King James tradition (and the majority of manuscripts) Paul is speaking of deliverance in its three tenses: past (delivered), present (does deliver), and future (will … deliver). If the riot in Ephesus is in view, then Paul refers to the way in which it stopped suddenly and he escaped (Act_20:1). The apostle knows that the same God who delivered him in the past is able to deliver him day by day, and will continue to deliver him until that final, grand moment when he will be completely released from the tribulations and persecutions of this world. 1:11 Here Paul generously assumes that the Corinthian Christians had been praying for him while he was going through this time of deep testing. Actually, many of the believers had become critical of the great apostle, and there could have been a serious question whether they were remembering him before the throne of grace at all. However, he is willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. The expression the gift granted to us through many refers to the gift of Paul’s deliverance which was brought about through the prayers of many persons. He sees his escape as a direct result of the intercession of the saints. He says that because many had prayed, many persons can now give thanks because their prayers were answered.

2 Corinthians 1:12

C. Explanation of Paul’s Change of Plans (1:12-2:17) 1:12 The reason Paul feels he can depend on the prayers of the believers is that he has always been straightforward in his dealings with them. He can boast of his integrity toward them, and his conscience bears witness to the fact that his conduct was characterized by simplicity and godly sincerity, that is, the transparent genuineness that comes from God. He did not stoop to the methods of fleshly men, but acted openly before all with the undeserved strength (grace) which God supplied. This should have been apparent in a special way to the Corinthians. 1:13 The integrity which characterized his past dealings with the Corinthians is true also of this letter. He is writing exactly what he means. There is no need for them to read between the lines. The meaning is on the surface, simple and obvious. It is exactly what they read or understand, and he hopes that they will continue to acknowledge it even to the end, that is, as long as they live. 1:14 The assembly in Corinth had acknowledged Paul in part, that is, some of the believers had acknowledged him but not all. The loyal ones understood these two factsthat they would be proud of him and that he would be proud of them in the day of the Lord Jesus. The day of the Lord Jesus looks forward particularly to the Judgment Seat of Christ when the service of the redeemed will be evaluated and rewarded. When Paul looked forward to that tribunal, he invariably saw the faces of those who had been saved through his ministry. They would be his joy and crown of rejoicing, and they, in turn, would rejoice that he had been God’s instrument to lead them to Christ. 1:15 The expression in this confidence mean with the confidence that they rejoiced in him as a true apostle of Jesus Christ, and as one whose sincerity was above question. He wanted to come to them with the assurance of their trust, esteem, and affection. He intended to come first to them before he went into Macedonia, and then again on the return from Macedonia. They would thus have had a second benefit in the sense of two visits rather than one. 1:16 The second benefit is further explained by verse 16. As mentioned, the plan was that when Paul left Ephesus he would cross over into Achaia, where Corinth was located, and then travel north into Macedonia. After having preached there, he would retrace his steps south to Corinth. He hoped that the Corinthian believers would then help him on his way to Judea probably by their hospitality and prayers, but not by their money, since he later states his determination not to accept funds from them (11:7-10). 1:17 Paul’s original plan never came to pass. He journeyed from Ephesus to Troas, and when he did not find Titus, he went directly to Macedonia, omitting Corinth from his itinerary. So here he asks, Therefore when I was planning this, did I do it lightly? This is probably exactly what his detractors were saying. Fickle, changeable Paul! He says one thing and does another!

Could such a man be a true apostle? The apostle challenges the Corinthians as to whether he is undependable. When he plans, does he plan according to fleshly motives with the result that it is Yes one minute and No the next? Is he guided simply by considerations of comfort and expediency? Phillips catches the spirit of this verse in his paraphrase: Because we had to change this plan, does it mean that we are fickle? Do you think I plan with my tongue in my cheek, saying ‘Yes’ and meaning ‘No’?1:18 Paul seems to pass from his word concerning his travel plans to his preaching.

Perhaps his critics were saying that if he was undependable in his ordinary conversation, then his preaching could not be trusted. 1:19 Paul argues that his actions were not untrustworthy because the Savior he preached was the divine, unchangeable One in whom there was no vacillation or changeableness. When he first visited Corinth with Silvanus and Timothy (Act_18:5), they had preached the trustworthy Son of God. The message was not unstable because it concerned the Son of God who was not vacillating. The argument is that no one who preaches the Lord Jesus in the Spirit could possibly act the way his critics had accused him. Denney says, Paul’s argument here could have been used by a hypocrite, but no critic could ever have invented it. How could he preach a faithful God and himself be unfaithful to his own word? 1:20 All the promises of God, no matter how many they are, find their fulfillment in Christ. All who find in Him the fulfillment of God’s promises add their Amen: We open our Bibles at a promise, we look up to God, and God says, You can have all that through Christ. Trusting Christ, we say, Amen to God. God speaks through Christ, and we believe in Christ; Christ reaches down and faith stretches up, and every promise of God is fulfilled in Jesus Christ. In and through Him we appropriate and take them to ourselves and say, Yes, Lord; I trust You. This is the believing yes. All of this is to the glory of God through us. Denney writes: He is glorified when it dawns on human souls that He has spoken good concerning them beyond their utmost imaginings, and when that good is seen to be indubitably safe and sure in His Son.The two words through us, remind the Corinthians that it was through the preaching of men like Silvanus, Timothy, and Paul that they had ever come to claim the promises of God in Christ. If the apostle was a fraud, as his enemies charged, then could it be that God had used a cheat and a liar to effect such marvelous results? The answer, of course, is no. 1:21 Paul next shows that the Corinthians and he were all bound in the same bundle of life. God had established them in the faith, confirming them in Christ by the ministry of the word of God. He had also anointed them with the Spirit, qualifying, empowering, and teaching them. 1:22 He also had sealed them and given them the Spirit in their hearts as a guarantee. Here we have two more ministries of the Holy Spirit. The seal is the mark of ownership and security. The Spirit indwelling the believer is the mark that the believer now belongs to God and that he is eternally secure. The seal, of course, is invisible. People do not know that we are Christians by some badge we wear, but only by the evidences of a Spirit-filled life.

God has also given them the Spirit in their hearts as a guarantee or downpayment in pledge that the entire inheritance will follow. When God saves a man, He gives him the indwelling Holy Spirit. Just as surely as a man receives the Spirit, so surely will he enter into the full inheritance of God. The same kind of blessings which the Holy Spirit makes real in our lives today will be ours in full measure in a day yet future. 1:23 From verse 23 through verse 4 of chapter 2, Paul returns to the charge of vacillation that had been made against him and gives a straightforward explanation of why he did not visit Corinth as planned. Since no man could discern the real inward motives of Paul’s action, he calls God to witness to this fact. If the apostle had visited Corinth at the time planned, he would have had to deal very firmly with the situation there. He would have had to deliver a personal rebuke to the saints because of their carelessness in tolerating sin in the assembly. It was to spare them pain and sadness that Paul delayed his trip to Corinth. 1:24 But having said that, the Apostle Paul would not want anyone to think that he was acting as a dictator over the Corinthians. And so he adds here, Not that we have dominion over your faith, but are fellow workers for your joy; for by faith you stand. It was not that the apostle wanted to lord it over their Christian faith. He did not want them to think of him as a tyrant. Rather, he and his co-workers were merely helpers of their joy, that is, he only wanted to do what would assist them in their Christian pathway and thus add to their enjoyment. The latter part of verse 24 may also be rendered for in faith you stand fast. That is, there was no need for them to be corrected as to their faith, for in that sphere they stood firm enough. The matters he sought to correct were not matters of doctrine as much as of practical behavior in the church.