[Steve Myers] All right. Well, we're going to get into 2 Corinthians. So we'll begin our studies in the book of 2 Corinthians. We have a number of things that are connected to 1 Corinthians, so I won't take a whole lot of time to go over some of the background of Corinth. We'll touch on a couple of things as we begin today. Of course, if you turn to the beginning of 2 Corinthians, it tells us right off the bat that the apostle Paul wrote this letter. He wrote this letter, was probably with Timothy at this time. And as you read through the letter, he even tells us where it was written from, probably someplace in Macedonia. Macedonia being an area of the Roman Empire, a province there, probably from Philippi. So he probably wrote it from this area right in here, Macedonia. This would be the area of Macedonia, actually part of Europe. And so probably Philippi. I can't identify exactly, but he's wanting to come back to visit Corinth. And when he writes this letter, by this time, he's on his third journey. You'll study that pretty thoroughly as you go through the book of Acts. But this would have been during his third journey. And you can read about that journey through Acts 20. So if you make a note of Acts 20, that will put you kind of in the framework of when he would have written this letter to the Corinthians.

Now, we know 1 Corinthians was written at the time of the spring holy days. You put together some of the dates, some of the different events that happened, who was the rulers at this time. You can zero in pretty closely to the spring of 55 A.D. when 1 Corinthians was written. Now, 2 Corinthians was probably written in the fall of that same year. So we're not all that far removed from when 1 Corinthians was written. Maybe beginning of 56 A.D., but definitely by the fall of that time or just that turn of the year, this letter would have been written. He had visited Corinth. If you remember initially when the Church began, do you remember how long he stayed in Corinth? He stayed there a year and a half. So he stayed 18 months in Corinth. And so the Church would have begun at that time. Acts 18 kind of records that for us. That would have been on his second journey when that had happened. He returns on his third journey, which was when he stays and was there during that 18-month time. That's Acts 19. So you can make a note of that. And probably wrote 1 Corinthians after leaving from Ephesus.

We had talked about that when we did a little bit of the background to 1 Corinthians. And so it seems that this letter, 2 Corinthians was after he leaves Ephesus and probably at the end of that year of 55 AD or so. Now, as we read through the letter itself, we can find out who was the one who brought this letter. If you take a look at Chapter 8, verse 16, right in that section, we can find that Titus was the one and a couple of other people were the ones that brought this particular letter. And it becomes pretty evident why Paul began to write it. So as we think about this just a little bit, just a tiny bit of background. Paul comes to Corinth on a second journey to begin with. He spends 18 months there, serving there. We can read that story through the book of Acts. After leaving Corinth, what happens? He hears about the immorality. He hears about the division. And he has to confront that sin. Now, it is interesting that there was a letter that was written to deal with the problems in Corinth initially. If you turn over to 1 Corinthians for just a minute, one of the things that is kind of interesting in Chapter 5:9, Paul's in Ephesus, stays there, church begins, he leaves. He hears about problems after he leaves initially. He writes a letter that's recorded for us or at least mentioned.

1 Corinthians 5:9 Notice what it says here, "I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people."

What is that letter? Well, we don't have it. So maybe that was really 1 Corinthians, and then that would mean 1 Corinthians would be 2 Corinthians and 2 Corinthians would be 3 Corinthians. Does that make sense? So there was a letter written before 1 Corinthians that was dealing with some of those issues that we read about in 1 Corinthians. Now, what happens? After hearing about these things that he had initially written about, it didn't fix the problem. Didn't fix the problem. So then he writes what we know as 1 Corinthians. Sometimes this letter of 1 Corinthians is known as the harsh letter or the severe letter, probably one of the most corrective letters in all of the New Testament. So he writes 1 Corinthians, and then what happens? He gets more news of other problems from Corinth, some different problems, but some similar problems. After writing 1 Corinthians, didn't solve all the issues, he hears about false teachers and false apostles who are undermining the congregation. And so he begins to write about those issues. We'll read about it as we go through 2 Corinthians. What were they doing? Assaulting the character of Paul. They were undermining his ministry, claiming that he wasn't a true apostle. They were also trying to convince people that what he taught them wasn't really true.

And so in a sense, they've got this kind of divide and conquer mentality on the Corinthian church, which is kind of a tactic that Satan uses as well, kind of divide and conquer. And so when we read through the story in the book of Acts of what Paul was about, he leaves Ephesus. He goes to Troas, which is kind of over in this area of the world, and then crosses over into Macedonia. And probably from Philippi is where he writes this letter. He's anxious to hear, well, what's going on in Corinth? What's happening there? Remember, he had spent all that time there. He had sent this very severe, harsh letter, corrective letter to them. How did they take it? What was going on? And as he's waiting, he wants to know what happened. So if we look to, if we go back to 2 Corinthians for just a moment, we can find here in Chapter 9, as we take a little bit of a sneak peek ahead in 2 Corinthians, here we see a little bit about writing of this letter.

2 Corinthians 9:2 "I know your willingness, about which I boast of you to the Macedonians, that Achaia was ready a year ago, and your zeal has stirred the majority."

So here he's in Macedonia at the time of writing 2 Corinthians. And he intends to come back to Corinth. If you take a look at Chapter 13.

2 Corinthians 13:2 "I have told you before, and foretell as if I were present a second time, now being absent, I write to those who have sinned before, to all the rest if I come again, I won't spare."

So he wants to come back to Corinth. And so he writes to them this letter in the meantime. And so I suppose if we summarize, what about the background here? 2 Corinthians is written after Titus brings a report back to Paul that they actually received that harsh letter and some of them actually began to change. Some of them began to change. Now, there's some other problems going on, but the news wasn't all bad. Some of the news was really good news. And so he writes 2 Corinthians. So let's think about some of the reasons why he would write this particular letter. Of course, after receiving the report back, he had promised he'd come back. Did he make it back to Corinth right away? No. He doesn't get back right away. So one of the reasons he writes this letter of 2 Corinthians is to explain why he didn't make it back to Corinth as he had said he would. If you remember way back in 1 Corinthians, I believe it's Chapter 4, he talked about coming back to Corinth. And he said it'd be shortly he would come to them. Well, he didn't make it there. So we'll see him explain why he didn't make it back there.

As you might imagine, some people were using that against him. "Oh, he said he'd come back. He hasn't come back. You can't believe that guy," those kinds of things were some of the accusations made against Paul. Now, of course, one of the other reasons he writes this letter is to commend them, encourage them because some of them did change. Some of them had repented. Some of them began to do things God's way. And so he tells them that's a good job, and we'll read about that in 2 Corinthians. He also tells them that they need to restore that individual who they had removed from the fellowship. If you remember from 1 Corinthians, he told them to get rid of that offender, kick him out of the Church, disfellowship him. Now, that man has repented. And so he tells them in 2 Corinthians, "Bring him back, restore him." And so the whole aspect of discipline worked with that man, and, now, he's to be restored. So 2 Corinthians will deal with that as well.

You might also remember at the end of 1 Corinthians, he told them to prepare a collection, get things together to help those in Judea who were suffering from a famine. 2 Corinthians, remember, we're just a couple of months later, he reminds them to do just that. Since Paul hadn't come back, no one had taken that collection for those in Judea back yet, and so he's going to remind them that collection should be ongoing, and then it will be taken to Jerusalem. So he's going to remind them of that again. He'll also tell them...which is another important reason for writing this letter, he tells them, "Watch out for these false teachers, false prophets, false ministers that were causing division in the Church." So these individuals were dividing the Church and as Paul writes to them, he's reminding them that there are those who would corrupt the Word of God, who weren't preaching the truth of God. In 2 Corinthians 11, he calls them false prophets, false apostles. And so he's going to emphasize that as he writes this second letter to Corinth.

Some of these individuals that he even mentioned in 1 Corinthians, they hadn't changed, they hadn't repented. And so he tells them in 2 Corinthians, if they don't repent, there's going to be a price to pay. There will be consequences, that ultimately Paul would come, and he'd remove them himself if they don't take care of this problem. And so that was a big issue. And he writes to them in 2 Corinthians about that problem. Now, of course, you can imagine what would also go hand in hand with that issue is another reason why Paul wrote this letter. He also writes the letter to defend himself, to show them, no, he is an apostle of Jesus Christ. I mean, there are those who were questioning Paul's authority, those that were putting him down. These teachers, these false teachers were undermining the true teachings of Jesus Christ. So they had questioned the teachings. They were talking about Paul and his problems and his issues, and that he wasn't that great of a speaker, those kinds of things. They put him down for those things. So Paul has to defend himself against their accusations. So we'll see that come out as we go through 2 Corinthians as well. So it's an interesting story.

When you put it all together, I think in a way you've got the story of an apostle who is writing to a troubled church, a church with lots of different issues. We'll see in 2 Corinthians, there's not a lot of doctrinal things going on here. Pretty straightforward that he's writing about these other kinds of issues. And even though Paul cares so much about these people in Corinth, spent so much time with them, do they really return the love that he expresses for them? I mean, in some ways, 2 Corinthians is a story about a church that really doesn't return the kind of love that the apostle shows for them. So kind of an interesting story about this troubled church and unreturned love. A lot of it will come out as we study the book of 2 Corinthians. Now, to kind of put things in order as well, you might remember our handout that we had given about the major events in the apostle Paul's life. This is one that would kind of help keep things in order when different letters were written at different times and where Paul was on the various journeys. So, hopefully, that'll help kind of keep things in order for you as well.

Now, we also want to remember the kind of city Corinth was. Don't forget the atmosphere of this interesting place. We're on the Isthmus of Corinth. Surrounded by water, there's a 4-mile stretch of land here that joined the oceans here. And that caused it to be this important place of commerce and trade, harbor city. We talked about those things as we got into 1 Corinthians. The other big issues, of course, was it was a center for the worship of Aphrodite. All the sexual immorality that came with worshiping pagan gods was what Corinth was famous for. There was also the worship of Dionysius, was an important factor. We'll talk about that as we go through 2 Corinthians as well. Even the worship of Mithras was another cult that was prominent in Corinth. So all kinds of pagan gods to go around for everybody. So we'll see that become clear as we go through 2 Corinthians as well. So an interesting place, a thriving big city, it was the capital of Achaia by this time.

So that's also important to remember as it's kind of the heart of the Roman system of roads to distribute all those goods that came into Corinth throughout the rest of the empire. So we'll see how all of that begin to come into play as we go through 2 Corinthians. So if you want to turn to the beginning of the book with just that little bit of background, we'll go ahead and start right into the letter itself. So here we are at the beginning of 2 Corinthians 1. It starts as a typical letter from the apostle Paul. Remember, a first-century letter begins with who it's from.

2 Corinthians 1:1 It's from, "Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother." Second-century letter, who it's from, then who it's to, "To the Church of God, which is at Corinth with all the saints who are in Achaia."

So interesting beginning. Paul starts to defend his apostleship right off the bat. What kind of an apostle is he? Self-appointed? No, he is an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God. He didn't make himself an apostle. It was by God's will. He didn't have private ambitions to be some great leader in the Church.

You remember his story getting knocked down on the road to Damascus, that he had to be drawn into the ministry. And so he makes that point very clearly. That's a little bit different than these self-appointed false apostles. So he's drawing that contrast as he begins this letter written to the Church of God. We talked about the name of the Church is the Church of God, those that are called out by God, and of course, those in Corinth, specifically this particular letter, he says, "With all the saints." Well, what are the saints? Well, obviously, these are people who are alive. You know, the whole Catholic system of saints about all these dead people that supposedly did all these miracles, that's not what a saint is in the Bible. That's just a false teaching. The saints are living, breathing, converted individuals.

This is the word hagios. Hagios is the word here. Those who are striving to be holy, literally, connected to that word hagios, not about dead people who are declared to be some kind of special Christians or something like that. No, these are alive. These are people who are striving to live by God's way. They're set apart. They're holy to God. And so that's what makes them unique, as they are God's people. And so no wonder he writes, "To the Church of God at Corinth with all the saints who are in Achaia," in that whole province. And so we see that's who this letter was written to. Of course, it also includes Timothy. Interesting that, how does he refer to Timothy? See this in verse 1, "Timothy, our brother," our brother. Of course, you remember back in 1 Corinthians 12, he talked about the body of Christ. We're all a part of the body. We all have a place in the body to serve and to give from. Timothy being a brother in the faith, written here in 2 Corinthians. Why do I draw your attention to that?

Well, it's interesting calling him a brother in this letter. But when he writes to Timothy himself, if you read through the letters of 1 Timothy and 2 Timothy, Paul doesn't call him a brother there. You know what he calls him? A son. He calls him a son. And if you remember, why remind the Corinthians about Timothy? Well, if you go all the way back to Acts 18, when Paul first visited Corinth, guess who was with him? Timothy. Timothy was right there at the founding of the Church. So he would remind the Corinthians about that as well. He's a brother. And, of course, even more than that to Paul, he was a son. So in the faith, Paul was like a father to Timothy. And so we remember that very fact. So interesting that he draws their attention to that. As a typical Pauline letter, verse 2.

2 Corinthians 1:2 He says, "Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ."

Paul begins his letters like this, sending them grace, giving them the favor, reminding them that they have been favored of God, that they are blessed by God. Interesting, he mentions God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. What's left out? That's right, no Holy Spirit mentioned here. So Paul does not identify with the triune God, right? No Holy Spirit, but this would be an affront to God Himself, not mentioning the Holy Spirit if the Trinity were true. But this is another one of those passages that remind us there is no Trinity. Paul himself focuses on God the Father and Jesus Christ. And so you won't find that in any of Paul's letters where he talks about the Father, Christ, and the Spirit. Never does it. His letters always begin like this, pointing to God the Father and Jesus Christ. So just an important point to remember that here as he begins to write to the Corinthians, he's describing in a way the nature of God. And so notice what he says, verse 3.

2 Corinthians 1:3 He says, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort."

So he describes God to begin with as Father of mercies, which is this mercies word is a big word. In the Greek, it can mean a compassionate God. It can mean a God who has pity on us, one who loves us, one that is merciful to us, one that...well, God has emotions, and He has desires for us. And so He is the God of mercies, Father of mercies. So important point that he brings that out. In a sense, the way we would feel about it today, here is a Father that we have who is a compassionate God who has love for us. He has a heart of compassion. Of course, contrast that with the pagan gods. Pagan gods weren't always favorable to people as the Greeks and the Romans would view them. No, you always had to appease the gods and try to please them and the gods were always, you know, out to get them at times, trip them up at, "Well, that's not our God."

The one true God is the Father of mercies, and he says, "The God of comfort." Oh, the God of little comfort? What kind of God do we have? We don't have a God of just a little bit of comfort. We have a God of all comfort, all comfort. So we don't want to exclude that word, the God of all comfort. And that comfort word can mean encouragement, the God of all encouragement. The God of, sometimes that word is translated, exhortation or admonition. We have a God of comfort. This particular word is the word...let's get an L in there, paraklésis. Paraklésis is the word here. Different ways to spell it in the English transliteration, but paraklésis is the base word here. Paraklésis, and it means comfort or encouragement. It can mean consolation. It can also take on the meaning that is refreshing, which is kind of interesting. It's the same base word that's used for the comforter, the comforter, the paraclete. The paraclete is the comforter. What does that refer to? The Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the comforter.

In fact, if you want to hold your place here, we could turn over to the Gospel of John. Take a look at John 14, verse 26. John 14:26, we'll see the same base word used here to describe the Spirit of God. John 14, notice what Christ said. Christ tells the disciples.

John 14:26 He says, "The Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name. He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you."

Now, the Holy Spirit isn't a he, it's an it, not the best translation here in the New King James. But the important word we're focusing on here at the moment is the word helper in the New King James. Old King James says, "Comforter." So to be comforted is to be helped, to be encouraged. So we have a God of all encouragement, all comfort. Literally, this word, paraklésis or the paraclete, can literally mean to come alongside, to come alongside to help.

And so in a way, God's Spirit comes alongside us to help us. And so when we submit to God and we follow Him, God's Spirit helps us. And so we see that God gives His Spirit. God gives His Spirit. And that Spirit is to bring things into remembrance. You know, we don't need those old covenant trappings of tassels or anything like that to remind us. We don't have to put the Ten Commandments on our doorposts like ancient Israel did because we have God's Spirit. God's Spirit brings how much into remembrance? All things, all things into remembrance. So by the power of God's Spirit, we certainly can be encouraged and comforted and bring all of God's ways into remembrance by the power of God's Spirit. So no wonder if you flip back to 2 Corinthians, no wonder we're told here that "He is the God of all comfort." We serve the God of all comfort. And so God comes alongside us, and literally, He comes in us, and He guides us, and He leads us when we submit to His Spirit. And so kind of interesting here that not only is this paraklésis a word of comfort and the paraclete being the Holy Spirit, we're also referred to Jesus Christ as one who comforts us.

If you turn to the book of Philippians for just a moment, we can be reminded of that as well. Take a look at Philippians 2, and we'll see this example used here as well. So Philippians 2 reminds us of the fact this can point to Christ as well being the comforter.

Philippians 2:1 He says, "If there's any consolation in Christ," kind of a rhetorical point he's making here, "if any comfort of love, any fellowship of the Spirit, any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded."

Well, what was Christ like? There's consolation in Christ. There's comfort and encouragement. There's this paraklésis that's found in Christ. So Christ is an encourager as well. He encourages us. He comes alongside us in that sense. And so here as you read through some of these things, Paul's reminding us that God is the God of all mercies. Let's make our way back to 2 Corinthians. He is the God of all encouragement. And so he's going to show in the next couple of verses here in 2 Corinthians 1, that God did that very thing for the apostle Paul, encourages him, has mercy on him, and guides us. And he's going to show that this applies to all of us. Take a look at verse.

2 Corinthians 1:4 He says, "He's the God who comforts us in all of our tribulation."

Not just some of our tribulations, and that word, tribulation, can mean trials and difficulties. Yes, certainly it can mean those things. But there's a sense of pressure, more of an overriding kind of crushing pressure that can come on us through the difficulties that we face. And in those times when we're feeling the weight, we're feeling the pressure, God is there for us. We recognize the fact He is the God who comforts us in all of those kinds of circumstances. Did that happen to the apostle Paul? Did he have to go through those difficulties? Did he go through those trials? Did he go through those kinds of tribulations? Absolutely, he did. There's no doubt.

God's comfort wasn't restricted just to Paul. You know, there were those attempts, certainly by false teachers, by powers that were against Paul to try to crush him out, to try to snub him, and try to push him out so that he couldn't teach God's way or wouldn't teach God's way. And yet, we serve the Father of all mercies and the God of all comfort. And so He comforts us in those situations. And notice and notice something that's interesting about that. Does God just comfort us to help us, just to... "Well, it's all about me," right? Is that what it's all about? Is that why God comforts me? Just to relieve me, to help me, to guide me? Yeah, He does it for those reasons. There's no doubt about that. But does it end there? Well, notice what he says.

2 Corinthians 1:4 "He comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble." So it's not just about me. God encourages us. God comforts us. God, in a sense, steps in and guides us so ultimately we can help others.

We can be a paraclete. We can be an encourager. We can be a comforter to help other people. And so God can use us as an instrument in His hands to serve others. What an amazing blessing that God comforts us so we pass it on. We pass it on. We need to be the comforter and the encourager in others' lives as well. So comfort from God is not just an end in itself. It's something that we have to pay forward, something that we encourage others in as well. So imagine this scene then, once he says, "God comforts us, we're supposed to then encourage and comfort others." And it says, how? How do we do it? He says, "With the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God." So we're encouraged by God. We have consolation. We're admonished. We're exhorted by God. And so with that same type of encouragement, we're supposed to encourage others. Kind of a big job. Kind of a big job when you think about it. God comforts us with that same godly encouragement. We pay it forward and comfort others. And so we see this ongoing process that God's called us to.

And so it's interesting as we're going through these tribulations, as we're going through the stresses in life, he gives us some guidelines. What do we need to do? I think there's a couple of things as we face tribulation, as we face trials and sufferings. First of all, we've got to pray for God to encourage us. Pray for God's comfort. That's a good place to start. When we feel the stresses of life, remember, pray and ask for God's guidance, ask for His comfort, ask for His encouragement. When we're down and we're stressed, we can ask God to send an encourager, to send a paraclete, to send someone to help us and guide us. Here in verse 4, we're told that "when some are comforted by God, they're supposed to comfort others." Well, we can pray and ask God, "Help me, guide me, lead me, send me an encourager. I need encouragement." And then I think when we're up, when we are encouraged, then what are we supposed to do? I think that brings us to a third thing, that when we're up, then allow God to use us to encourage others. And so I think you have this beautiful cycle of events that are supposed to take place.

When we're stressed and we're down, pray to God and ask Him to send an encourager. When we're up and God has encouraged us, now it's our turn. We step up, and we help and encourage others. And what a beautiful pattern that God's mapped out for us right here at the very beginning of 2 Corinthians. As he goes on from there in verse 5.

2 Corinthians 1:5 He says, "For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ."

Of course, he brings us right back to the heart of the matter. Did Christ suffer for us? Yes, He certainly did. He took a beating and He died. He was crucified for us. He was sacrificed for us. We keep that in mind and the sufferings that He went through so that we also then recognize that suffering that can then abound through us in Christ. And so what a blessing, our consolation abounds through Christ, our encouragement. We recognize what Christ went through, and He did it on our behalf.

Now, some of the challenges that we face, as sometimes our sufferings are a result of our own problems, our own faults, our own sins, our own mistakes. Now that wasn't the sufferings of Christ at all. Sometimes we have the consequences that are a result of those problems and issues that we face. He also reminds us sometimes our sufferings are like Christ's sufferings. Sometimes we will suffer for righteousness sake, for doing what's right. Sometimes that's the way that it is. We're told many times throughout Scripture, sometimes there'll be persecution. Sometimes there will be trials because we do what's right, because we're following God. There were those that were in Corinth that were suffering for righteousness' sake. That was part of the package. For doing what's right, sometimes we face difficulties, we face trials. We're kind of reminded of that over in the book of 1 Peter. If you want to turn with me, hold your place here in 2 Corinthians. Go over to 1 Peter for just a moment. We can be reminded of that very fact as we look at 1 Peter 2. 1 Peter 2, notice verse 20. 1 Peter 2:20. Talk about the challenges, the difficulties, the stresses, and the trials that we face.

1 Peter 2:20 It says, "What credit is it if when you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently?" Yeah, sometimes we're stressed in trials. We go through trials and persecution because we deserve it. It's the consequences of sin, faults. He says, "But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God."

This is a good thing. This is a good thing. In fact, this commendable word is the grace word. This is grace before God.

1 Peter 2:21 He says, "For to this," verse 21, "you were called because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example that you should follow His steps."

He was persecuted for righteousness. When that happens, we follow His steps. We follow His example. There will be times, we too will be persecuted for doing what's right. It's an amazing sentence that he tells us here, "For to this you were called." So our calling isn't going to be all wonderful, you know, peaches and cream, unicorns and roses, sunshiny days. All the time, it's going to be great. No, sometimes it's going to be bad. Because we follow God, there will be difficulties. And he says, "This is part of our calling. That Christ set the ultimate example in that, and so we follow in His footsteps."

And so it's interesting as we think about that side of our calling, Paul comes back to that thought. If you head back to 2 Corinthians, he brings that to mind in his own life. What was that like for the apostle Paul? Well, go back to 2 Corinthians 1, and as he gets into it here, he says, verse 6.

2 Corinthians 1:6 "Now, if we're afflicted, it's for your consolation."

That almost sounds like a paradox, doesn't it? We have afflictions and troubles, but it's for our encouragement. Well, can you encourage me in a different way, God, that, you know, things are going great and I can be encouraged? No, this is one way as well. When we are afflicted, when we are going through difficulties, we can be encouraged. It says, "It's for your consolation and salvation." Ultimately, your saving, which is effective for enduring the same sufferings which we also suffer. Sounds like what we read in 1 Peter, doesn't it? He says, "Or if we're comforted, it's for your consolation and salvation." And so that's the ultimate goal, is that God wants us to be in the family. He wants us to be in the Kingdom. He wants us to be saved.

2 Corinthians 1:7 And so Paul writes about that and says, "Our hope for you is steadfast because we know that as you are partakers of the sufferings, you will also partake of the consolation."

So when we endure stress and trials and difficulties, and we're encouraged by God, ultimately that leads us to, he says, "The consolation." Well, what is the ultimate encouragement? What's the ultimate exhortation? What's the ultimate refreshment, I suppose you could say? Being in the family of God, being spirit beings born into the family of God. That's what it's about. And so ultimately, he's saying, "When we go through life, when we go through the ups and downs of life, when we endure the difficulties and the persecution and the tribulations with a godly perspective and we allow God to encourage us," he said, "ultimately, that's a Christ-like perspective that ends at the Kingdom, the ultimate consolation." So that's a pretty powerful statement he makes here.

2 Corinthians 1:7 "As you're partakers of the sufferings, you'll also partake of the consolation."

And so, boy, you talk about the blessings to come. Yeah, that's the ultimate gift of God, is eternal life in His Kingdom. And so he's saying, "Yes, endure it. You can do this by the help of the Spirit. We can endure." Now, Paul uses a concrete example in explaining these things as well. So in verse 8, he begins to point out how he himself was delivered from sufferings and persecution. So let's notice Paul's experience, verse 8.

2 Corinthians 1:8 He says, "We don't want you to be ignorant, brethren, of our troubles, which came to us in Asia, that we were burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life."

Paul thought he was going to die. Paul thought the challenges that he faced were going to overwhelm him. He says, "Beyond measure, above strength." Of course, what does that remind you of? When we face difficulties that seem like, I can't overcome, I'm not going to make it. What do we have to do? We've got to rely on God. We realize we can't overcome by our own strength. It's going to take the power of God to get us through those difficulties. And what is he going to show us? God steps in, and God will be there for us, no matter what.

So here's Paul in Asia, despairing of even life itself. Something beyond his own human capabilities was facing him. It was extremely discouraging and despairing of life. I mean, I didn't see a way out. There was no way out, humanly speaking. But what happened?

2 Corinthians 1:9 He says, "Yes, we even had the sentence of death in ourselves that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead."

So I was as good as a dead man. So this seems maybe pointing to Ephesus. 1 Corinthians 15, he talked about maybe facing wild beasts, maybe not literally, but those that wanted him dead, those that wanted to kill him, possibly. Acts 19 talks about those things as well. Acts 19:23, I believe is where that is. So Paul could see no way out, but where was the way out? He says, "That we should not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead." So even if he was killed, there still was a solution in God. God still has the answer even to death.

2 Corinthians 1:10 He says, verse 10, "He delivered us from so great a death and does deliver us, in whom we trust that He will still deliver us."

And so Paul demonstrates that ultimate confidence in God, that he was sentenced to death, it seemed. The sufferings and persecution were going to be overwhelming, yet you trust in God. Don't trust in yourself. Put your faith and your confidence in God. And there are times in life that that's the way it will seem, that we have no help in our own means, that we must trust in God. And we have to completely and totally rely on Him. And Paul says, "He delivered him. He delivered us from so great a death. And he'll do the same for us." And that's exactly what Paul is going to reference to the Corinthians. God did it for Paul, and He will do it for all those who trust in Him, who put their reliance on God. So we'll stop there for the moment. We'll pick it up as he continues to help and encourage the Corinthians with the trials and the persecutions that they face. So we'll pick it up right there, next time.