2 Corinthians · chapter 1 of 13
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2 Corinthians 1 begins with the greeting of Paul and Timothy and a praise of the God of all comfort, who comforts us in our afflictions so that we can comfort others. Paul tells of the deadly danger he faced in Asia, explains why he changed his plans to visit Corinth and affirms that all God's promises are Yes in Christ.
2 Corinthians is Paul's most personal letter. It was written after 1 Corinthians and after times of tension with the church in Corinth; many interpreters think there was a painful visit and a severe letter, and that Titus then brought better news. In this first chapter Paul opens his heart about suffering and defends his integrity before those who doubted him.
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy greet the church of God in Corinth and all the saints in Achaia, wishing them grace and peace. Paul blesses the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we may comfort those in any affliction with the comfort we ourselves receive. The sufferings of Christ abound in them, and so does their comfort.
Paul tells of the affliction he suffered in Asia: he was so utterly burdened beyond his strength that he despaired of life itself. He felt he had received the sentence of death, so that he would not rely on himself but on God who raises the dead. God delivered him and will deliver him, and he asks for the Corinthians' prayers so that many may give thanks on his behalf.
He boasts in the testimony of his conscience: he has conducted himself in the world, and especially toward them, with the holiness and sincerity of God. He explains that he wanted to visit them twice, on the way to Macedonia and on the way back, but changed the plan. He did not do so lightly or like someone who says Yes and No at once. God is faithful, and Paul's word has not been Yes and No, because Jesus Christ was not Yes and No but Yes. All God's promises find their Yes in him, and so through him we say Amen to the glory of God. God has established them with Paul in Christ, anointed them, sealed them and given the Spirit as a guarantee.
Paul calls God as witness: it was to spare them that he did not come again to Corinth. Not that we lord it over their faith, but we work with them for their joy, for in their faith they stand firm.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
Paul blesses God as Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we may comfort others. The comfort received is not to be kept but shared.
Paul tells how in Asia he was burdened beyond his strength, so that he despaired of life. God allowed that trial so that he would not rely on himself, but on the God who raises the dead.
All God's promises find their Yes in Christ, and through him we speak our Amen to the glory of God. Jesus is the fulfillment of what God promised.
God himself establishes believers in Christ, anointed them, sealed them and gave the Spirit as a guarantee. The Spirit is the pledge that God will complete what he began.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: The Father of mercies and God of all comfort. — 2 Corinthians 1:3
Answer: So that we can comfort others with the comfort we receive from him. — 2 Corinthians 1:4
Answer: So that he would not rely on himself but on God who raises the dead. — 2 Corinthians 1:9
Answer: To help by their prayers, so that many will give thanks on their behalf. — 2 Corinthians 1:11
Answer: Yes and Amen, to the glory of God. — 2 Corinthians 1:20
Answer: The Spirit in their hearts. — 2 Corinthians 1:22
2 Corinthians 1 invites us to look at suffering in another way. God does not comfort us only to relieve us, but so that we can walk with others. A small group can be a place where someone who has gone through a loss or illness tells how God sustained them, and so comforts someone on the same road.
It also teaches us to trust God when we see no way out. Paul's experience shows that God sometimes works by letting us reach the limit of our strength. And God's promises in Christ hold us up: what he has said, he will do.
2 Corinthians 1 ends with Paul explaining that he did not go to Corinth so as not to grieve them and so that they may live with joy in the faith. In chapter 2 he continues to explain his sorrow in writing to them and asks them to forgive the one who caused pain.
Paul teaches that God's comfort has a community purpose. Someone who has experienced God's care in a trial is better prepared to accompany others with empathy and hope. It is not a mechanical rule but a way God uses his people.
The text gives no details, only that it was so great that he despaired of life. Some link it with what happened in Ephesus, but the letter does not specify. What matters to Paul is the lesson: to trust God and not oneself.
The Corinthians criticized him for changing his itinerary. Paul answers that he did not do it lightly, and later explains he did it so as not to cause them more grief. His integrity rests on God's faithfulness, not on his travel plans.