The God Who Comforts

 

Blessed be the God and 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 be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort. (2 Corinthians 1:3–7 ESV).

 

Paul the Apostle was born and raised a Jew (cf. Philippians 3:4–5), and his Jewish heritage comes out in today’s reading. The Apostle’s opening benediction of this letter is similar in form to the benedictions used in the Jewish synagogues during the first century. These benedictions, like the one Paul pronounces, offered blessings to God for His great mercy. That is no surprise, because the Old Testament frequently highlights the merciful nature of God (ie.: Exodus 34:6). However, Paul does not merely repeat the Jewish benediction; rather, he makes it distinctively Christian, referring to God as the “Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (v. 3).

 

In this benediction Paul also speaks of the Lord as the “God of all comfort” (v. 3). Indeed, the idea of comfort from God appears frequently in these opening verses and the rest of this epistle. The Apostle does this intentionally. The Prophet Isaiah highlights the comfort that the Lord will provide when He inaugurates the messianic age (cf. Isaiah 40-66), so Paul’s stress on divine comfort is a subtle reminder that believers are living in the messianic age. Although the fullness of this age awaits the return of Christ to bring the new heavens and earth (cf. Revelation 21:1–22:5), we are in the era of His salvation even now and should expect to receive great comfort from the hand of God.

 

Paul also that the comfort of God comes to us “in all our afflictions” (v. 4). Here, “afflictions” refers to the inner turmoil and trouble we feel from external difficulties, particularly those difficulties that we face from a world that is hostile to Christ. Later in this epistle, Paul warns against the false apostles who troubled the church at Corinth and called Paul’s Apostleship into question because of his suffering for the sake of Jesus (cf. 2 Corinthians 11:1–12:10). Paul will expand on the idea that suffering actually demonstrates the validity of his Apostolic call, but here the idea that the Lord comforts believers in their afflictions is a reminder that suffering for the gospel is part of true Christian discipleship. Moreover, we should note that the comfort promised is for the inner turmoil we experience when we suffer. God never promises to free us from suffering entirely. Instead, He promises to be with us in our suffering to comfort us and to give us the grace to endure (cf. Deuteronomy 31:8; 2 Corinthians 12:8–9).

 

Suffering should be understood as a gift from God. It is not that pain in itself is a good thing; rather, as we share in Christ’s sufferings—as we suffer for His name’s sake—we are granted the privilege of sharing in God’s comfort. This, in turn, allows us to comfort others (vv. 5–7). John Calvin comments on today’s passage that “The riches of the Spirit … are not to be kept by us to ourselves, but everyone must communicate to others what he has received.” God allows us to suffer for Christ so that we may encourage others who are suffering for Christ. This means that our suffering can actually be used for the benefit of others.

 

This is the kind of God we have. He is a Father who does indeed comfort us in a way that is inexplicably good!