Christian composer Michael Card is noted to have once said, “We were created to live in a garden with God, yet we wake every morning in the desert of a fallen world.”
Every morning when our eyes open we are faced with the fact that the world we live in is not the utopia it was designed to be. Even if we have a good night’s sleep and we wake up refreshed, it is not long until we are pricked with the two great realities of sin and suffering.
John Calvin is noted to have said that “We go through this life with groans of suffering.” And you’ll likely agree. Each day we deal with different adversities and trials. We might even say that the day is filled with a fight to overcome the flood of griefs that come our way.
You may even be here today because it affords you some reprieve. This time of worship may be something of a remedy for you; a balm that provides you with some assistance in coping with the troubles that are handed to you on a daily basis. That’s not a bad thing. As a matter of fact, that’s a good thing.
I believe that it is the very thing you should do. Here in the church we find our source of help. We come to center ourselves in the one thing that can offer us the comfort that we need to endure our difficulties. It is the Lord himself.
As a matter of fact, that is what this passage of Scripture is all about. As we read through it you probably noticed that it is all about being comforted in times of adversity. You cannot miss it because the word comfort is repeated so many times.
Paul had gone through many troubles. The Corinthians had as well. And Paul begins this letter with an exclamation of resplendent praise because God affords us every comfort we need to face each day.
You need comfort, so look to God. Look to his person, people, and promises. In times of trouble we look to God. Where do we find comfort in times of trouble?
I. It’s found in the comforts of God’s Person
Some commentators say that God is the source of our comfort. I’d rather say that God is the substance of our comfort. The truth is that he doesn’t just send us comfort, like it is a UPS package from heaven. But he himself is the comfort that we need.
Just looking at the first verse we read reveals that. Paul begins by lifting up praise to God and, as he does so, he lists some descriptions of God. These things he says about God are not just grandiose expressions of adoration. Really, it is a log—a listing of the very comforts we need in the midst of our trials. Let’s look at them.
We find our comfort in God’s…
A. Paternal care (Father)
You’ll notice that in verse 3 God is called father two times. He is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ and the father of mercies. You could also back up to verse 2 and catch it again. In his greeting Paul says, “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
So three times in the two verses mentioned we see a reference to the fatherhood of God. Now, of course, we recognize that Paul is pointing to the first person of the trinity. The Father is the way we distinguish the first person of the trinity from the second and third.
But we recognize it is more than a mere denomination to help us understand the relations between the persons of the Godhead. It also expresses his relation to us. It reminds us that we’ve been adopted into his family. It is a reminder that, in all our difficulties, we are constantly under his paternal care, and he watches over us with the deepest affection.
There is no denying the fact that children find their comfort in their parents. When a child has a strong, loving father, that child, when afraid, will cling to him. You’ve all seen children hide behind a father’s legs or jump into his lap when something frightens them. Why does the child do that? It is because he knows his father loves him and will protect him. His father pitties him, and will do what he can to protect and provide for him.
That is what we have in our Heavenly Father. We have one who looks upon us as His children and we can be assured that he will demonstrate his supreme care towards us.
B. Sovereign might
Again, if you look in verse 3 you see that it mentions the “Lord Jesus Christ.” And you could also look at verse 2 and see that there Jesus is referred to as the “Lord Jesus Christ.”
Now, the word here is the Greek word “adonai” which we could also translate “Master.” It is the word that emphasizes the sovereign power of God and his ownership of us. A master is one who owns a slave. But you recognize too that the Master is the one who is responsible for the slave and in a position of power over the slave. So to call him lord is to recognize that he is the supreme ruler. The sovereign one who controls, not just us, but everything in all creation.
Now, put these two concepts together: his lordship and fatherhood. Here is a treasure trove of comfort. He is not only deeply interested in your well being, but he has power over everything.
You know, when there’s a point in your children’s life when they think that you as a father have superhero like powers. They think that you are the strongest, most powerful person in the world. I remember that when Katelyn was 2-3 years old she asked me to move the house. She was being completely serious. She really thought I could lift it up by the foundations and plop it down wherever I wanted. I remember being quite flattered by that. Unfortunately, kids grow out of that.
Perhaps that’s why kids so young find so much comfort in their parents. Maybe that’s the reason they run to their parents when there is something wrong. They have one whom they know loves them so much they believe has these superhero powers that can keep them completely safe.
Unfortunately, kids grow and come to find that they don’t have the power to ward off every difficulty. But we as Christians know that there is one who can.
But along with his fatherhood and lordship, we see the comfort of his mercy.
C. Infinite grace
We should not gloss over the fact that the Lord is called the “father of mercies.” Sin can be a rather difficult trial in a person’s life. Guilt and shame are often cause a lot of grief in a person’s life. When you are not living the way God wants you to, there will often be repercussions. You will likely suffer. Your conscience might not be able to rest because you feel terrible.
The comfort you need in this time is the realization that God is merciful. He relates to us, not as our sins deserve, but on the basis of his grace.
And we see something of the abundance of his mercy being emphasized here. The word is not just mercy, but mercies. It is in the plural form. So the idea is that there are many mercies that God offers. There is a mercy for every sin. So you may argue that you have a great many sins. But the Lord says, that’s not a problem at all. I have a great deal of mercy. There’s plenty to go around.
You’ll notice that Paul concludes this tally of attributes by calling the Lord the “God of all comfort.”
D. Inexhaustible support
I wonder if Paul is like me and thinks, if I list every way God is our comfort, we’ll never get through this sermon. I think this is a summary statement saying, “This list cannot exhaust all the ways which God is our comfort.” Every ill or evil that we may face can be met in God. As a matter of fact, the word for comfort here is the same word that is used to describe the Holy Spirit in the book of John. Jesus says that when he ascends into heaven He will send the Comforter, the Holy Spirit.
So we can be assured that at every moment of our lives, in every conceivable adversity that we may face, no matter how terrifying or dreadful, we have an inexhaustible fountain of eternal comfort.
Application: We do not escape our sufferings, we endure them. The problem the world has is that the try forms of escapism…a pill, a bottle, a book, or their headphones. They are trying to create an alternate reality wherein they can find some sort of comfort. They cope by escaping the realities that surround them.
This is not how we operate. Ours is not an escapism, ours is true perseverance. We cope by finding our comfort in God. And in doing so we are able to truly face our dilemma and deal with the realities at hand.
II. It’s found in the comforts of God’s People
We recognize that God is our primary source of comfort. But we recognize that God often works through means. And one of the means that God uses is His church. As this passage points out, we become the agents that God uses in bringing comfort to each other. And what we see here is that there are two basic ways we are able to supply this comfort. The first is the fellowship we have with one another.
A. We comfort each other by means of the fellowship we have with one another
You see this spoken of in verse 4. It says, “[God] comforts us in all our afflictions, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”
Notice what Paul is saying here. He’s saying that other people have experienced trials and pains in their lives. And God is giving you the opportunity to be around them so that they can share their experience. During their tribulations, God taught them certain things. Now they have the opportunity to share those lessons with you. They had to rely on God’s paternal care. And that ordeal equipped them with the spiritual dexterity that was needed to minister now to you.
This is a good lesson to keep in mind while you are going through trials. We usually see them as opportunities to whine or complain. But we should see it as a time of serious education. Trials are God’s training sessions; a time when he is making you competent to counsel others down the road.
So, again, the point is that God has plunged us into the local church. And he has done so for the purpose of allowing us to gain strength from each other’s mutual encouragement.
But you’ll notice that our comfort isn’t just found in the fellowship we have with one another, it is also found in the prayers we offer for one another.
B. We comfort each other by means of the prayers we offer for one another [11]
If you skip down to verse 11 you see that Paul asks the Corinthians to pray for him. It says, “You also must help us by prayer.”
I actually like the KJV a little better here. It says, “You also, helping together by prayer.” In the Greek, it is not just the word help. It actually has two prefixes, which basically correspond to our words “with” and “under.” It is like saying, “With your help undergirding us in prayer.” That’s why a little better translation would be “helping together.”
But think of the image that this word evokes. There are people with you, under you, helping. You’ve probably been in a situation where there was a car that was stuck. Perhaps it ran out of gas or it was stuck in some mud. No matter how hard you pushed the gas or tried to accelerate, the wheels just spun out and the car didn’t go anywhere. The car and driver were completely helpless. But the driver recruits some help. A couple other guys come along side the car and they all begin pushing together. With their mutual force they are able to get the car through and back on track.
That is what praying for one another looks like. When someone is going through a trial they feel completely helpless. They have lost the power to move forward. And as we pray for one another we are essentially surrounding them with the help they need to get along.
I think you see here how important the local church is. You see how important you are to one another and what a detriment it is when people choose not to affiliate with a particular church. This fellowship is the cradle of God’s care. We are each other’s coping mechanism in times of hardship. And we should never forget that God uses this body as the special conduit of His comfort.
There is one other item of note in this passage. It is true that we can find comfort in God’s person, and God’s people. But we should not miss what is said in verses 5-10. In these verses we see the promises God makes—promises of comfort and deliverance.
III. In the comforts of God’s Promises
And the promises are replete throughout these verses. We can start in verse 6. Notice Paul’s logic. He says, “if we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation.” But then he goes on to say, “If we are comforted, it is for your comfort.” Isn’t that a good deal. Either way, it is for their comfort.
It is like saying, “If I win the lottery, I’ll pay you a million dollars. But if I don’t win it, I’ll still give you the million.”
Paul’s saying that God’s care and comfort is certain. It is a promise that he guarantees and no matter how things pan out, you are the beneficiary.
He goes on to reiterate this promise in verse 7. It says, “Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort.”
The promise is so sure that Paul can say that his hope is unshakeable. He has absolute certainty that God will afford the Corinthian people His comfort.
In verses 8-9 Paul describes his predicament. He says that at one point they despaired of life itself. But in verse 10 he says, “He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and He will deliver us.” He’s so absolutely sure that he even repeats the promise, “He will deliver us again.”
All these verses are emphasizing one thing: God has promised to comfort you.
But I’d like you to back up to verse 5 for a moment. I really want you to see what is said there. Verse 5 helps us see the proportions in what is promised.. That is to say, we get a glimpse of the suffering to comfort ratio.
It says, “As we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.” The commentators say that the way this is phrased in the original language makes it sound this way, “The sufferings we experienced were tremendous, but the comfort that we experienced was even more tremendous.”
I think we can understand it if we use understand the word abundantly. I think that using the word abundantly makes it sound like a zero sum game. Our afflictions were abundant. Our comfort was abundant. So it cancels out.
But that’s not what is being said. The word we translate abundant can also be translated “overflow.” Think of it using that imagery, the image of overflowing waters. Trials overflowed. Sufferings were so great they seemed overwhelming. But then in came the comfort. And it came in an overflowing fashion too. So overwhelming were the tides of comfort that it the trials almost seemed unnoticeable.
I have always been infatuated with tsunamis. This phenomena is amazing in that the oceans can send a surge of raging flood waters onto the shores of some country. So much havoc can be wrought on a city because of the sheer amount of liquid being vomited from out of the sea.
Imagine if there could be a double tsunami though. Imagine if there could be two waves, one that devastates but another that could set at ease. The first one comes on and hurls you into a panic, but another comes on and swallows up the turmoil caused by the second.
That’s essentially what is being said here. There is a flood of super-abounding comfort that God sends your way when the tides of trial come upon you.
And the promises of comfort are so overwhelming, because God himself is greater than all our sorrows.
The trials will still be painful, obviously. We are not scientologists that say that the pain is a figment of our imagination. But the comfort we have in them is much greater—because our God is much greater.
Conclusion:
At the Nicene Council there were over 300 delegates who gathered. They came together to discuss some of the essential matters pertaining to our God and salvation. Of those men who came together to decide the particulars regarding our faith, it is said that there were only 12 who had not lost an eye, a hand, or were lame in the leg.
These men were not just great theologians, they were men who had suffered for the faith. They had been tortured and suffered for Christ. But that did not stop them from coming. They gathered because Christ was everything to them. He was not just the source of their comfort. He was the sum and substance of it.
These men should be examples to us. That in all our woes and sorrows, there is a reason to press forward in the faith. Even if we must limp along in life, we will always have the great support of our Father in heaven.
Every morning when our eyes open we are faced with the fact that the world we live in is not the utopia it was designed to be. Even if we have a good night’s sleep and we wake up refreshed, it is not long until we are pricked with the two great realities of sin and suffering.
John Calvin is noted to have said that “We go through this life with groans of suffering.” And you’ll likely agree. Each day we deal with different adversities and trials. We might even say that the day is filled with a fight to overcome the flood of griefs that come our way.
You may even be here today because it affords you some reprieve. This time of worship may be something of a remedy for you; a balm that provides you with some assistance in coping with the troubles that are handed to you on a daily basis. That’s not a bad thing. As a matter of fact, that’s a good thing.
I believe that it is the very thing you should do. Here in the church we find our source of help. We come to center ourselves in the one thing that can offer us the comfort that we need to endure our difficulties. It is the Lord himself.
As a matter of fact, that is what this passage of Scripture is all about. As we read through it you probably noticed that it is all about being comforted in times of adversity. You cannot miss it because the word comfort is repeated so many times.
Paul had gone through many troubles. The Corinthians had as well. And Paul begins this letter with an exclamation of resplendent praise because God affords us every comfort we need to face each day.
You need comfort, so look to God. Look to his person, people, and promises. In times of trouble we look to God. Where do we find comfort in times of trouble?
I. It’s found in the comforts of God’s Person
Some commentators say that God is the source of our comfort. I’d rather say that God is the substance of our comfort. The truth is that he doesn’t just send us comfort, like it is a UPS package from heaven. But he himself is the comfort that we need.
Just looking at the first verse we read reveals that. Paul begins by lifting up praise to God and, as he does so, he lists some descriptions of God. These things he says about God are not just grandiose expressions of adoration. Really, it is a log—a listing of the very comforts we need in the midst of our trials. Let’s look at them.
We find our comfort in God’s…
A. Paternal care (Father)
You’ll notice that in verse 3 God is called father two times. He is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ and the father of mercies. You could also back up to verse 2 and catch it again. In his greeting Paul says, “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
So three times in the two verses mentioned we see a reference to the fatherhood of God. Now, of course, we recognize that Paul is pointing to the first person of the trinity. The Father is the way we distinguish the first person of the trinity from the second and third.
But we recognize it is more than a mere denomination to help us understand the relations between the persons of the Godhead. It also expresses his relation to us. It reminds us that we’ve been adopted into his family. It is a reminder that, in all our difficulties, we are constantly under his paternal care, and he watches over us with the deepest affection.
There is no denying the fact that children find their comfort in their parents. When a child has a strong, loving father, that child, when afraid, will cling to him. You’ve all seen children hide behind a father’s legs or jump into his lap when something frightens them. Why does the child do that? It is because he knows his father loves him and will protect him. His father pitties him, and will do what he can to protect and provide for him.
That is what we have in our Heavenly Father. We have one who looks upon us as His children and we can be assured that he will demonstrate his supreme care towards us.
B. Sovereign might
Again, if you look in verse 3 you see that it mentions the “Lord Jesus Christ.” And you could also look at verse 2 and see that there Jesus is referred to as the “Lord Jesus Christ.”
Now, the word here is the Greek word “adonai” which we could also translate “Master.” It is the word that emphasizes the sovereign power of God and his ownership of us. A master is one who owns a slave. But you recognize too that the Master is the one who is responsible for the slave and in a position of power over the slave. So to call him lord is to recognize that he is the supreme ruler. The sovereign one who controls, not just us, but everything in all creation.
Now, put these two concepts together: his lordship and fatherhood. Here is a treasure trove of comfort. He is not only deeply interested in your well being, but he has power over everything.
You know, when there’s a point in your children’s life when they think that you as a father have superhero like powers. They think that you are the strongest, most powerful person in the world. I remember that when Katelyn was 2-3 years old she asked me to move the house. She was being completely serious. She really thought I could lift it up by the foundations and plop it down wherever I wanted. I remember being quite flattered by that. Unfortunately, kids grow out of that.
Perhaps that’s why kids so young find so much comfort in their parents. Maybe that’s the reason they run to their parents when there is something wrong. They have one whom they know loves them so much they believe has these superhero powers that can keep them completely safe.
Unfortunately, kids grow and come to find that they don’t have the power to ward off every difficulty. But we as Christians know that there is one who can.
But along with his fatherhood and lordship, we see the comfort of his mercy.
C. Infinite grace
We should not gloss over the fact that the Lord is called the “father of mercies.” Sin can be a rather difficult trial in a person’s life. Guilt and shame are often cause a lot of grief in a person’s life. When you are not living the way God wants you to, there will often be repercussions. You will likely suffer. Your conscience might not be able to rest because you feel terrible.
The comfort you need in this time is the realization that God is merciful. He relates to us, not as our sins deserve, but on the basis of his grace.
And we see something of the abundance of his mercy being emphasized here. The word is not just mercy, but mercies. It is in the plural form. So the idea is that there are many mercies that God offers. There is a mercy for every sin. So you may argue that you have a great many sins. But the Lord says, that’s not a problem at all. I have a great deal of mercy. There’s plenty to go around.
You’ll notice that Paul concludes this tally of attributes by calling the Lord the “God of all comfort.”
D. Inexhaustible support
I wonder if Paul is like me and thinks, if I list every way God is our comfort, we’ll never get through this sermon. I think this is a summary statement saying, “This list cannot exhaust all the ways which God is our comfort.” Every ill or evil that we may face can be met in God. As a matter of fact, the word for comfort here is the same word that is used to describe the Holy Spirit in the book of John. Jesus says that when he ascends into heaven He will send the Comforter, the Holy Spirit.
So we can be assured that at every moment of our lives, in every conceivable adversity that we may face, no matter how terrifying or dreadful, we have an inexhaustible fountain of eternal comfort.
Application: We do not escape our sufferings, we endure them. The problem the world has is that the try forms of escapism…a pill, a bottle, a book, or their headphones. They are trying to create an alternate reality wherein they can find some sort of comfort. They cope by escaping the realities that surround them.
This is not how we operate. Ours is not an escapism, ours is true perseverance. We cope by finding our comfort in God. And in doing so we are able to truly face our dilemma and deal with the realities at hand.
II. It’s found in the comforts of God’s People
We recognize that God is our primary source of comfort. But we recognize that God often works through means. And one of the means that God uses is His church. As this passage points out, we become the agents that God uses in bringing comfort to each other. And what we see here is that there are two basic ways we are able to supply this comfort. The first is the fellowship we have with one another.
A. We comfort each other by means of the fellowship we have with one another
You see this spoken of in verse 4. It says, “[God] comforts us in all our afflictions, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”
Notice what Paul is saying here. He’s saying that other people have experienced trials and pains in their lives. And God is giving you the opportunity to be around them so that they can share their experience. During their tribulations, God taught them certain things. Now they have the opportunity to share those lessons with you. They had to rely on God’s paternal care. And that ordeal equipped them with the spiritual dexterity that was needed to minister now to you.
This is a good lesson to keep in mind while you are going through trials. We usually see them as opportunities to whine or complain. But we should see it as a time of serious education. Trials are God’s training sessions; a time when he is making you competent to counsel others down the road.
So, again, the point is that God has plunged us into the local church. And he has done so for the purpose of allowing us to gain strength from each other’s mutual encouragement.
But you’ll notice that our comfort isn’t just found in the fellowship we have with one another, it is also found in the prayers we offer for one another.
B. We comfort each other by means of the prayers we offer for one another [11]
If you skip down to verse 11 you see that Paul asks the Corinthians to pray for him. It says, “You also must help us by prayer.”
I actually like the KJV a little better here. It says, “You also, helping together by prayer.” In the Greek, it is not just the word help. It actually has two prefixes, which basically correspond to our words “with” and “under.” It is like saying, “With your help undergirding us in prayer.” That’s why a little better translation would be “helping together.”
But think of the image that this word evokes. There are people with you, under you, helping. You’ve probably been in a situation where there was a car that was stuck. Perhaps it ran out of gas or it was stuck in some mud. No matter how hard you pushed the gas or tried to accelerate, the wheels just spun out and the car didn’t go anywhere. The car and driver were completely helpless. But the driver recruits some help. A couple other guys come along side the car and they all begin pushing together. With their mutual force they are able to get the car through and back on track.
That is what praying for one another looks like. When someone is going through a trial they feel completely helpless. They have lost the power to move forward. And as we pray for one another we are essentially surrounding them with the help they need to get along.
I think you see here how important the local church is. You see how important you are to one another and what a detriment it is when people choose not to affiliate with a particular church. This fellowship is the cradle of God’s care. We are each other’s coping mechanism in times of hardship. And we should never forget that God uses this body as the special conduit of His comfort.
There is one other item of note in this passage. It is true that we can find comfort in God’s person, and God’s people. But we should not miss what is said in verses 5-10. In these verses we see the promises God makes—promises of comfort and deliverance.
III. In the comforts of God’s Promises
And the promises are replete throughout these verses. We can start in verse 6. Notice Paul’s logic. He says, “if we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation.” But then he goes on to say, “If we are comforted, it is for your comfort.” Isn’t that a good deal. Either way, it is for their comfort.
It is like saying, “If I win the lottery, I’ll pay you a million dollars. But if I don’t win it, I’ll still give you the million.”
Paul’s saying that God’s care and comfort is certain. It is a promise that he guarantees and no matter how things pan out, you are the beneficiary.
He goes on to reiterate this promise in verse 7. It says, “Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort.”
The promise is so sure that Paul can say that his hope is unshakeable. He has absolute certainty that God will afford the Corinthian people His comfort.
In verses 8-9 Paul describes his predicament. He says that at one point they despaired of life itself. But in verse 10 he says, “He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and He will deliver us.” He’s so absolutely sure that he even repeats the promise, “He will deliver us again.”
All these verses are emphasizing one thing: God has promised to comfort you.
But I’d like you to back up to verse 5 for a moment. I really want you to see what is said there. Verse 5 helps us see the proportions in what is promised.. That is to say, we get a glimpse of the suffering to comfort ratio.
It says, “As we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.” The commentators say that the way this is phrased in the original language makes it sound this way, “The sufferings we experienced were tremendous, but the comfort that we experienced was even more tremendous.”
I think we can understand it if we use understand the word abundantly. I think that using the word abundantly makes it sound like a zero sum game. Our afflictions were abundant. Our comfort was abundant. So it cancels out.
But that’s not what is being said. The word we translate abundant can also be translated “overflow.” Think of it using that imagery, the image of overflowing waters. Trials overflowed. Sufferings were so great they seemed overwhelming. But then in came the comfort. And it came in an overflowing fashion too. So overwhelming were the tides of comfort that it the trials almost seemed unnoticeable.
I have always been infatuated with tsunamis. This phenomena is amazing in that the oceans can send a surge of raging flood waters onto the shores of some country. So much havoc can be wrought on a city because of the sheer amount of liquid being vomited from out of the sea.
Imagine if there could be a double tsunami though. Imagine if there could be two waves, one that devastates but another that could set at ease. The first one comes on and hurls you into a panic, but another comes on and swallows up the turmoil caused by the second.
That’s essentially what is being said here. There is a flood of super-abounding comfort that God sends your way when the tides of trial come upon you.
And the promises of comfort are so overwhelming, because God himself is greater than all our sorrows.
The trials will still be painful, obviously. We are not scientologists that say that the pain is a figment of our imagination. But the comfort we have in them is much greater—because our God is much greater.
Conclusion:
At the Nicene Council there were over 300 delegates who gathered. They came together to discuss some of the essential matters pertaining to our God and salvation. Of those men who came together to decide the particulars regarding our faith, it is said that there were only 12 who had not lost an eye, a hand, or were lame in the leg.
These men were not just great theologians, they were men who had suffered for the faith. They had been tortured and suffered for Christ. But that did not stop them from coming. They gathered because Christ was everything to them. He was not just the source of their comfort. He was the sum and substance of it.
These men should be examples to us. That in all our woes and sorrows, there is a reason to press forward in the faith. Even if we must limp along in life, we will always have the great support of our Father in heaven.