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Most Christians fall under two common misconceptions. The first is that when bad things happen, it means something has gone wrong or that I’ve done something wrong. The second is that when I’m hearing the voice of God to direct me, things will always go right, and if things go wrong then I guess I wasn’t hearing correctly.
Both of these misconceptions are not true – and we’ll find out why as we begin our study of 2nd Corinthians.
Although it is called 2nd Corinthians it is probably the 3rd letter Paul wrote to the church he founded in Corinth. From our study in 1st Corinthians you may remember that the church there was filled with division – as people split up into camps and rallied around people, rather than joining together to serve Christ. The church was filled with carnality and tolerance to blatant sin, and the church was filled with philosophies of the day both pagan and Greek – that misshaped their theology. Some even challenged Paul’s authority as an apostle.
Paul was pretty upset and parts of the 1st Corinthians are pretty blunt. When Paul found out how bad things were he wrote a second letter. It seems that Timothy, a young disciple of Paul’s, was to deliver the letter, then Titus was to stay on at Troas in order to give Paul a report of how the letter was received. But Titus didn’t show, so Paul when on to Macedonia where Titus delivered the news – some in Corinth had accepted Paul’s rebuke – but others were really starting to challenge his Apostleship.
So Paul writes a 3rd of at least 4 letters to the Corinthians.
1:1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
To the church of God in Corinth, together with all the saints throughout Achaia:
2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Since Timothy was with Paul in Corinth, the two together write. Notice what Paul says: “an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God.” Paul didn’t wake up one day and decide to get his PhD in Apostleship – God stopped him on the road to Damascus and personally called him into service. This makes sense in light of the attackers – men who had not been personally visited by the Lord. In fact there were three requirements to be an apostle: you had to have seen the risen Lord Jesus, been called specifically by him, and then perform miracles to attest to your apostleship. Paul met all these.
I want to point out as well that it is not by the will of men that you are called to what God wants you to do. Just because someone says “I think you should do this,” or even “I think God wants you to do this or that.” There is no requirement that you listen. Take godly advice from those whom you respect in the Lord, yes, but you need to seek God for what He is calling you to do, not just fulfill what someone else’s idea of ministry is.
How do you know? Without going into great detail – take what you like to do, what you are good at, and see if God isn’t working through you in that area. Maybe you are a salesperson – you sell used cars. Not everyone thinks that a used car salesman could be used by God – but sales is really just identifying a need, helping the customer to see the need, then filling it. How is that different from sharing the gospel? Now we don’t mislead people or use worldly tactics to fool them into salvation – but you get the idea. Pray about what God has you doing to see if He can use it.
Now this next paragraph gets to our first misconception – that if things hurt or go bad, then I must have done something wrong.
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.
Wow – what a section! There are three things I want us to see here (and a fourth that follows).
1. God cares.
God is the “Father of compassion and the God of all comfort.” It could be translated “the God who cares.” When something awful happens do you ever think that God must have been looking the other way – and whoops, sorry, let that one slip through. No. He knew it was going to happen – but He’s not a masochist. He doesn’t enjoy seeing us hurt.
Isaiah 54:7-8 "For a brief moment I abandoned you, but with deep compassion I will bring you back. 8 In a surge of anger I hid my face from you for a moment, but with everlasting kindness I will have compassion on you," says the LORD your Redeemer.
Sometimes we suffer from the consequences of actions we have brought about. Sometimes we suffer because of the fallen world we live in, but no matter what, God can take our suffering and instead of saying “I told you so,” He comforts us.
2. Suffering brings us closer to Christ and makes us more like Him.
The word “comfort” comes from the same root used for the Holy Spirit – parakaleo, which means “one called alongside.” God’s comfort comes in two forms: consoling us, and helping us.
When things are really bad, reach up to God instead of shaking your fist at Him, raise up your hands in praise and submission.
Psalm 119:50 My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life.
What’s the worst that can happen – the very worst? You die. So what? If you know Jesus then your life will just continue on. Anything short of death He is there to hold you and console you if you let Him.
But even more than that, comfort also means to work actively on your behalf. Things may not turn out the way you want them to, but if it makes you more like Him – then it worked.
Philippians 3:10 I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings
James 1:2-4 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4 Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
But there is another purpose for suffering:
3. Suffering comes so that we can give to others
What have you gone through? Maybe you lost your parents in an accident, maybe you lost your job, maybe you had people rip to shreds in ministry, maybe you suffered from illness – whatever it is, God wants to take the comfort you received from Him and turn it to others – encourage them.
And because you went through it, you can deliver not the “it’s all going to work out” kind of thing, but you have specific encouragement that will mean something to that person.
Next Paul gives a specific example:
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.
The fourth reason for suffering is to make us rely on God. Did you know that God purposefully puts you into situations that are beyond your ability to endure?
We misread 1 Cor 10:13 No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.
We think it means “no trial” but it isn’t. Jesus many times put His disciples in a place that overwhelmed them – so that they would be forced to rely on God for everything.
When you face things beyond your ability, be like Paul who “set his hope” on the Lord. Trust Him, no matter what. One thing you can do is pray – pray for your brothers and sisters who are undergoing trials that they would be comforted and helped.
12 Now this is our boast: Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in our relations with you, in the holiness and sincerity that are from God. We have done so not according to worldly wisdom but according to God’s grace. 13 For we do not write you anything you cannot read or understand. And I hope that, 14 as you have understood us in part, you will come to understand fully that you can boast of us just as we will boast of you in the day of the Lord Jesus.
Some of the Corinthians concluded that Paul’s struggles meant he wasn’t hearing from God right – that he must not be an apostle after all. This speaks to our second misconception – that if you are listening to God everything will turn out fine.
First Paul says that he didn’t adopt worldly ways – I wish many ministers of the gospel would hear this. One time I heard a pastor say we should all follow a the tenets of a worldly business book and the church ought to be run more like a Fortune 500 company. I don’t think that’s what Paul would say.
He would say: be sincere, be pure in your motivations and in your doings for Christ.
Paul develops the idea further:
15 Because I was confident of this, I planned to visit you first so that you might benefit twice. 16 I planned to visit you on my way to Macedonia and to come back to you from Macedonia, and then to have you send me on my way to Judea. 17 When I planned this, did I do it lightly? Or do I make my plans in a worldly manner so that in the same breath I say, "Yes, yes" and "No, no"?
18 But as surely as God is faithful, our message to you is not "Yes" and "No." 19 For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by me and Silas and Timothy, was not "Yes" and "No," but in him it has always been "Yes." 20 For no matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ. And so through him the "Amen" is spoken by us to the glory of God.
Some of the Corinthians – spurred on by Paul’s opponents – said that because Paul’s original plans changed that was proof that he wasn’t listening to God and wasn’t a real apostle.
Paul says “look – I wasn’t just shining you on when I planned to see you.” He didn’t say “have your people call my people and we’ll do lunch” type of thing. Jewish tradition said that because people were so fickle, that you should affirm what you plan to do with an oath: “yes, yes!” The second time somehow made it more certain.
Paul says he was sincere in his desire to meet them – but it just didn’t work out. Does it mean that God changed his mind? No. God had always intended for it to be this way. With Him it was always “yes.”
So why didn’t he let Paul in on the plan? For the same reason He doesn’t share His day planner with you – so that’s Him you trust, not the plan. If God told me everything that was to happen, then I wouldn’t need God, would I? I’d just say, okay, here’s what I’m going to do, then here’s what you’re going to do, then he’ll say that and then this will happen and “poof” the whole thing’s done.
No. You see, there is always a large element of the unknown in God for us. In Jeremiah chapter 32 God told Jeremiah that his uncle was going to come to him and offer him a piece of land. At the time Jerusalem was under siege and would be conquered by the Babylonians – a pretty foolish time to buy land. Jeremiah bought it and then said to God “why on earth did you have me do this?”
God told him that it was for an example, that God would return the land to Israel – but not until after Jeremiah obeyed.
So the idea is to trust in the Lord, commit you way to Him, then let it go.
Proverbs 16:3-4 Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed. 4 The LORD works out everything for his own ends — even the wicked for a day of disaster.
This can leave us with a feeling of uncertainty – like if everything is so changeable, how can we have any certainty? Paul answers that next:
21 Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, 22 set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.
Philippians 1:6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
How big is your God? Is your God big enough to work what might seem like random fluctuations in the space/time continuum into His will? Yes. He says I’m working through your life and to prove it I’m going to give you My Spirit like a deposit. He put money down on us, put us on layaway and He will come back to redeem us from this world.
They put a big tag on you that says “owned by God.” You can now walk in confidence.
So finally, Paul reveals the real reason why God changed the initial plan:
23 I call God as my witness that it was in order to spare you that I did not return to Corinth. 24 Not that we lord it over your faith, but we work with you for your joy, because it is by faith you stand firm.
As soon as Paul heard about what was going on in Corinth, he could have come and blasted those that were against him into oblivion – unfortunately it would also have blown away the Corinthian Christians who’d put their faith and trust in these guys. So Paul spares them, writes a letter instead, then comes along later.
This is a real loving side of Paul we don’t often see – he wants them to see that its faith in God, and God’s Son Jesus – not faith in a man, that is important – that is what will stand.
So just to sum up:
1. Bad things happen so that God can bring his consolation and action on our part, then so that we can bring that comfort to others as we rely on Him and become more like Him.
2. When things change on us, it doesn’t mean we heard God wrong. We should trust Him no matter what, letting His overall plan come to fruition, even if He doesn’t share with us every detail.
3. Have confidence that God owns you and makes you stand firm, even if things around you seem out of control.
