"Comforted to Comfort"
Overview
Comforted to Comfort
Paul opens his second letter to the Corinthians with a burst of praise: "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" 2 Corinthians 1:3-4. Notice the repetition of all. God is the source of all consolation, and He meets us in all our affliction—grief, broken relationships, job crises, perplexities, and the unique troubles of this present moment. Scripture testifies to this throughout: "Comfort, comfort my people, says your God" Isaiah 40:1, and "Let your steadfast love comfort me" Psalm 119:76. God Himself is our refuge.
But why does God comfort us? Paul tells us plainly: "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" 2 Corinthians 1:4. God does not waste suffering. He uses it to mature us, to deepen our dependence on Him, to bring us to repentance—and also to equip us to minister to others. Many believers have testified that when they shared a hardship, others "came out of the woodwork" to console them with the very comfort they themselves had received from God.
Three specifics emerge from the text. First, comfort always matches the suffering. "For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too" 2 Corinthians 1:5. Paul knew this firsthand—beatings, shipwrecks, and constant dangers 2 Corinthians 11:24-26—yet God's consolation arrived in measure, sometimes through the simple presence of a brother like Titus 2 Corinthians 7:5-7. Second, comfort is always for the benefit of others: "If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort" 2 Corinthians 1:6. Whether God rescues us from a trial or strengthens us to endure it, the consolation we receive is meant to flow outward. Third, comfort births confidence: "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 1:7.
The greatest comfort we have to share is the gospel itself—that Christ has borne our sin on the cross, that His blood has paid our debt, that He is risen, that God claims us in baptism, feeds us with His Word, walks with us by His presence, and will bring us home to see Him face to face. The temptation is to hoard this message; the calling is to share it. As Paul prays, may God "comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word" 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17. God continually places people in our path—some we see daily, some we may meet only once. Ask yourself today: who has God put before me, and how can the comfort I have received from Him become comfort for them?
Transcript
Would you open your Bible please with me to second Corinthians the first chapter, second 1s
Corinthians the first chapter for our study this morning? 7s
We're continuing on in the sermon series, encouragement and hope. 11s
At each and every week we're looking at a different portion of God's Word, just great 16s
passages that give us encouragement and hope. 21s
And second Corinthians the first chapter certainly falls in that framework. 25s
Let me begin by asking you a question. 32s
If you had to describe God in just a few words, how would you do it? 36s
That could be a tough question to answer, can't it? 44s
Because as God reveals himself in Holy Scripture, there is so much to draw on and to 48s
reduce it down to a few words would be hard. 55s
Maybe you talk about his attributes or his blessings, what he has done. 59s
It would be difficult to come to a few words. 64s
The Apostle Paul in second Corinthians gives us a phrase that, well, could be added to a 68s
long list of how one describes God. 74s
Look when he plays at verse 3 of chapter 1, the Apostle Paul writes, 78s
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies. 86s
Just to break that down a little bit, blessed here means to speak well of Lord Jesus Christ, 95s
Lord speaks of His deity and mercies. 102s
The expression of God's mercy is throughout Holy Scripture. 107s
I think of Psalm 85, but you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious. 112s
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies. 122s
It is hard to read that without smiling. 128s
It is a burst of praise. 132s
And then the verse continues to go on. 136s
This burst of praise with continued depth and richness. 139s
The verse ends by saying, and the God of all consolation, 147s
that is such a beautiful word isn't it? 158s
Consolation, comfort. 164s
What I'd like to lift from this text and examine with you today is the source of consolation, 167s
the significance of consolation and the specifics of consolation. 177s
The source, the significance and the specifics. 185s
So first, the source of consolation. 190s
Isaiah 40 of chapter says, comfort, O comfort, my people, says your God. 197s
Psalm 119. 204s
Let your steadfast love become my comfort. 206s
God is the source of all consolation, the source of all comfort. 211s
One of the most beautiful liturgies in the Lutheran Church is the liturgie for the 222s
funeral service, for a memorial service. 227s
And it starts with this very verse from Holy Scripture. 230s
The pastor stands at the back of the sanctuary. 235s
It says, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the source of all mercy 239s
and the God of all consolation. 243s
And that word from Scripture, it pierces the silence of the moment. 247s
It fills the sanctuary, that word, that word of comfort. 254s
Look, please, at the beginning of verse 4. 264s
Right after it says, that God is the God of all consolation. 267s
It says, who can soles us in all our affliction. 272s
Notice the use of all in verse 3 and all in verse 4. 278s
All consolation and all affliction. 283s
Affliction encompasses grief, of course, but affliction encompasses all of the 290s
affliction that we experience. 296s
A broken relationship, a job crisis, a difficulty, a perplexity, a problem. 299s
The situation that we find ourselves in right now. 307s
The consolation of God touches all areas of affliction. 311s
I came across this week, a quote in a Lutheran periodical called Lutheran Witness. 320s
It's still published today. 326s
And the day that it was published was 1918, the pandemic. 329s
The author wrote this, he has forcibly reminded us of our frailty. 334s
He would have a acknowledged humbly, our dependence upon his favor, 342s
repent of the things we have done amidst and flee for fatherly refuge and divine forgiveness 348s
to the Savior. 357s
Fleeing to the Father, fleeing for refuge. 359s
What a beautiful image of consolation. 366s
Look again with me, please, at verse 3. 372s
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of Mercy's 376s
and the God of all consolation who consoles us in all our affliction. 382s
The source then of consolation is God Almighty, all consolation, all comfort. 391s
But for what purpose? 403s
Why does God console us? 406s
Remind that of a conversation I had with the lady several years ago, 411s
the topic turned to suffering. 416s
And she shared a comment that just distills scriptural truth. 420s
Because as if she took a whole host of scriptural truth and just distilled it down to a phrase, 427s
she said this, God doesn't waste suffering. 433s
God doesn't waste suffering. 443s
We study in the past how God can use suffering to mature us, how God can use suffering to make us 447s
more dependent upon him, how God can use suffering to bring us to our senses and 454s
as the word is proclaimed, we repent of our sins. 462s
But also there's another use of affliction. There's another use of what God accomplishes 469s
through difficulties. Look again at verse 4, speaking of God, describing him as who 475s
consoles us in all our affliction. So that, there's the purpose statement. 483s
We may be able to console those who are in any affliction with the consolation, with which we 491s
ourselves are consoled by God. The significance then of the consolation that we receive from God 500s
is so that we are equipped to console others. I think of another conversation I had this time with a 514s
gentleman. He was sharing a difficult time that he went through in his life and he said, 524s
that as I shared that with people, as I asked for prayer, he goes, I was amazed at the people that 530s
would say, oh, I went through that. He said, people seemed to come out of the woodworks and they 537s
were just consoling me and they were consoling me with the consolation they had received from God. 544s
The source of consolation God, the significance of consolation so that we will be equipped to 555s
console others. Through the specifics of the consolation. Look when we please, at verse 5, 571s
for just as the sufferings of Christ are abundant for us. So also our consolation is abundant 586s
through Christ. Just as the sufferings of Christ are abundant for us, so also our consolation is abundant 595s
through us. Well, what are the sufferings? The sufferings here of which Paul talks about here, 604s
the sufferings of Christ. Those are the sufferings that one experiences for being a Christian. 611s
Paul talks about it, for example, in Philippians, the third chapter when he wants to share and the 619s
sufferings of Christ. In the words, he so wants to be a follower of Jesus Christ 624s
that whatever sufferings would come along because of that. He wanted to share in those sufferings. 630s
Jesus said in John 15, he said, if they persecuted me, they will persecute you. 638s
In 2 Corinthians, the 11th chapter, Paul says, five times, I've received from the Jews, the 646s
times I was beaten with rods. Once I received a stoning. Three times I was shipwrecked for a night 654s
in a day, I was adrift at sea. On frequent journeys and danger from rivers, danger from bandits, 661s
danger from my own people, danger from gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, 668s
danger at sea, danger from false brothers and sisters. See those are the sufferings of Christ. 675s
Paul says as he experienced the sufferings of Christ that were abundant. What he also experienced 684s
was the abundant consolation. As the sufferings were abundant, the consolation was abundant. 694s
So here's the first specific that we see in the text. We've seen the source, we've seen the 708s
significance. Now we see the specifics. Here's the first specific, comfort always matches the suffering. 715s
Let me show it to you. In 2 Corinthians, the 7th chapter, Paul writes this, 732s
for even when we came into Macedonia, our bodies had no rest, but we were afflicted in every way 741s
disputes without infuse within, but God who can soles the downcast, consoled us by the arrival 750s
of Titus and not only by His coming, but also by the consolation with which He was consoled by you. 761s
You hear the sufferings? For Christ, you hear the afflictions they were going through. 773s
We were afflicted in every way disputes without and fears within and in the source of 779s
consolation, but God who can soles the downcast, consoled us. And how were they consoled? 785s
By the arrival of Titus, just simply His presence was a consolation. And then Titus shared 795s
how He had been consoled and now He passes that consolation onto them. You see, abundant 803s
sufferings and there was abundant consolation. God always matches the consolation needed for the suffering 814s
that one is going through. Here's the second specific. 829s
Consolation is always for the benefit of the other. Consolations always for the benefit of the other. 835s
Let's go to verse 6, please, of our text. Paul writes, 845s
If we are being afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation. If we're being consoled, 851s
it is for your consolation, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings 860s
that we are also suffering. If we're being afflicted, he says, it's for your consolation. 868s
If we're being consoled, he says, it is for your consolation. The consolation then that is received 878s
is always for the sake of the other. Whether God rescues us out of a situation or gives us the 889s
strength to endure. We are consoled so that we then will console the other so that we can see 902s
the difficulties and the challenges and the heartaches that we go through. We can see those then. 916s
As times, where God is going to express His consolation to us. And now, that consolation that we 924s
receive is for the other. Here's the third specific. Consolation, births, confidence, 932s
consolation, births, confidence. Look at verse 7, please. Our hope for you is unshaken. 946s
For we know that is you share in our sufferings. So also you share in our consolation. 957s
Remember that hope that it doesn't mean wish. It doesn't mean longing. It means confidence. 966s
So Paul says, our confidence for you is unshaken. We know that as you share in our suffering, 972s
so also you share in our consolation. He was confident that the word of consolation 978s
would be of a comfort to them. And that they then would take that word of consolation and comfort 986s
others. God continually puts people in our path. He continually puts people in our path for us to minister 996s
to. These may be people that we see every single day or maybe once a week or maybe just someone 1011s
that we've never met that just comes into our life and we might never ever see them again. 1019s
God puts people into our path for us to minister to them. We have been given the greatest 1024s
word to share that could ever be given. That the Lord Jesus Christ has taken our sin on the 1037s
cross, that the debt for our sin that we've amassed has been paid through His blood, 1047s
that Jesus has been raised out of the tomb and the sacrifice for sin has been accepted, 1055s
that we have been redeemed by the gracious act of God. That God comes and claims us as his own 1062s
in the waters of baptism and says, Your mind, know if hands are butts about it, 1072s
that God is with us always with His promise, that God is with us with His presence, 1080s
that God continues to feed us through His word, that each day has meaning and purpose because 1085s
we are followers of the Lord Jesus Christ living in His grace until the day that He calls us home 1095s
and we see Him face to face. There is no greater message that we can share than that. 1104s
And what's our temptation? Our temptation is the hoard the message to keep it to ourselves 1116s
instead of share. I think of Paul's words in 2nd Thessalonians 2nd chapter. 1130s
Now, may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father who loved us and through grace gave us eternal 1139s
comfort and good hope. Comfort your hearts and strengthen them in every good work and word. 1152s
God continues to strengthen us so that in every work done in His name as we minister to others, 1165s
every word of the gospel that is shared as we share that glorious message for the other 1175s
that we are strengthened for that purpose to be a people that comfort others through work and word. 1184s
The source of consolation, the significance of consolation, the specifics of consolation. 1201s
Who is it that God has put in your path today? 1218s