In our study of 2 Corinthians chapter one, we will look at the will of God and its role in the lives of men. We will see an example of how God's plan for our lives can override our own desires.
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From: Sha'ul, by God's will an emissary of the Messiah Yeshua, and brother Timothy To: God's Messianic community in Corinth, along with all God's people throughout Achaia: Grace to you and shalom from God our Father and the Lord Yeshua the Messiah.
Paul introduces himself again and we immediately see the point that He is an apostle because of God's will. "God's will" refers to His plans for His creation. The creator of something is also its owner and the owner has the right to do as he or she wishes with what they have created. God's will (plan) for man has a broad nature in that He wants us to be with Him for eternity. The plan is also an individual thing as He has set out the path for our lives and is active in our lives. His big plan for all of creation is found in His word and He has given us a Counselor (the Holy Spirit) to guide us in our individual lives. This is Paul's second letter to the Corinthian believers and was sent after he had heard the report from Titus of the improvement in the situation there. At this time, Paul was in Macedonia and this letter is also addressed to the believers in Greece (Achaia).
Praised be God, Father of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, compassionate Father, God of all encouragement and comfort; who encourages us in all our trials, so that we can encourage others in whatever trials they may be undergoing with the encouragement we ourselves have received from God.
Here, we see another facet of God's will for believers and that is to provide comfort for those who are hurting. We see that we are able to do this because we have been comforted through our trials by the very power of God through the Holy Spirit. We often hear the question of why Christians have to endure so many hardships and we see that the answer is contained in this passage. Our troubles, our walk with Christ through them and our victory over them are for the benefit of others who will face them in the future. When you face many trials, be comforted by the fact that God is going to use you in a big way for His glory. If he wasn't going to use them and you for good, you wouldn't be going through them.
For just as the Messiah's sufferings overflow into us, so through the Messiah our encouragement also overflows.
Paul knew about suffering as he had even been stoned and left for dead. He reminds the Corinthian believers that it was Jesus who got him through all of his troubles. Paul is not bragging but he wanted to remind us that it is normal to suffer as a Christian. That is not popular to say today but it is still true.
So if we undergo trials, it is for your encouragement and deliverance; and if we are encouraged, that should encourage you when you have to endure sufferings like those we are experiencing.
Paul reminds them that his suffering for the gospel has led to them getting to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. He also reminds them that his sufferings have shown them what to expect as Christians and how to cope with the persecution of believers. Why do bad things happen to Christians and the more you serve the Lord the more trouble comes your way? It is just as Paul said; our suffering leads people to Jesus and shows them how to cope with a world that is hostile towards God.
Moreover, our hope for you remains staunch, because we know that as you share in the sufferings, you will also share in the encouragement.
Paul expresses his confidence in the Corinthian Christians' ability to stand firm. He could be confident because he knew that they had the same source of strength that he had which is the presence of God through the Holy Spirit.
For, brothers, we want you to know about the trials we have undergone in the province of Asia. The burden laid on us was so far beyond what we could bear that we even despaired of living through it. In our hearts we felt we were under sentence of death. However, this was to get us to rely not on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead!
Paul is probably talking about his adventure of faith in Lystra where he was taken out and stoned. He reminds the believers that no man has the power to overcome the plan of God. It was not his time to go to heaven so, even after being stoned, he got up again. We must remember that nothing has the power to defeat a man that is following the will of God for their life. He has numbered our days and He is in charge.
He rescued us from such deadly peril, and he will rescue us again! The one in whom we have placed our hope will indeed continue to rescue us. And you must add your help by praying for us; for the more people there are praying, the more people there will be to give thanks when their prayer for us is answered.
With all of Paul's travels and writings it is easy to forget that he was a great man of prayer. He explains how God has answered all of their prayers for his ministry and that because of their prayers many more have become citizens of the kingdom of God. Sometimes we get caught up in actions and forget the fact that prayer is the most valuable thing that we can give someone. We also see that, when we pray for another ministry, we are even credited with being a part of that ministry team.
For we take pride in this: that our conscience assures us that in our dealings with the world, and especially with you, we have conducted ourselves with frankness and godly pureness of motive - not by worldly wisdom but by God-given grace.
Their was slander of his character being spread in Corinth. Paul tells them that his conscience is clear and that they should know better. He had spent eighteen months with them where he discipled them (see Acts 18). During that time, they had seen his character firsthand.
There are no hidden meanings in our letters other than what you can read and understand; and my hope is that you will understand fully, as indeed you have already understood us in part; so that on the Day of our Lord Yeshua you can be as proud of us as we are of you.
Paul reminds them that they had not been taught vague philosophies and big words that they couldn't understand. It was not man's wisdom but it was God's grace that was shared with them. He also explains that they are all on the same team and they will be counted as such on the day of judgment. Oh, if the church would grab hold of what Paul is saying here! There is so much competition and backbiting in ministry that should not be. As long as we pray for each other, then, we are counted as part of the teams that we pray for. It is all about team Jesus and not another ministry name or denomination.
So sure was I of this that I had planned to come and see you, so that you might have the benefit of a second visit. I wanted to visit you on my way to Macedonia, visit you again on my way back from Macedonia, and then have you send me on my way to Y'hudah.
Paul explains his original plans for visiting them twice but, as we shall see, his plans were changed by God. The believers were somewhat hurt by the change in plans and it was used by some to slander Paul. This happens, even today in the ministry, when you are dealing with those who do not understand walking in the power and Spirit of God. Paul did not want to disappoint the believers in Corinth but there was nothing that was going to change his mind when He knew the will of God.
Did I make these plans lightly? Or do I make plans the way a worldly man does, ready to say, "Yes, yes," and "No, no," in the same breath?
Paul uses this question to get them to see that it is not about his plans but about listening to the Holy Spirit. He intended to do this but his actions were always subject to the leading of the Spirit. This is what James was talking about when he said that we should always make it known that our actions are subject to the will of God (see James 4:15).
As surely as God is trustworthy, we don't say "Yes" when we mean "No." For the Son of God, the Messiah Yeshua, who was proclaimed among you through us - that is, through me and Sila and Timothy - was not a yes-and-no man; on the contrary, with him it is always "Yes!"
Paul reminds them that it is all about Jesus and sharing the gospel. They had heard the gospel because of the efforts of Paul's ministry team and that was the main thing.
For however many promises God has made, they all find their "Yes" in connection with him; that is why it is through him that we say the "Amen" when we give glory to God.
The word "Amen" means let it be so and Paul is describing the fact that our will must be conformed to the will of God. We can make all kinds of plans but the only plan that really matters is the plan of God for our lives. We can only know and follow that plan through the power of the Holy Spirit that is active in our lives.
Moreover, it is God who sets both us and you in firm union with the Messiah; he has anointed us, put his seal on us, and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee for the future.
Paul goes on to explain that we all have that same Spirit living in us and we should be able to understand walking in the Spirit. He reminds them and us that the Spirit living in us is our assurance of eternal life with God. We are secure in our salvation because we know that the Spirit is in us. Therefore, there should be no way that anyone or anything can get you to question whether you are saved or not.
I call God to witness - he knows what my life is like - that the reason I held back from coming to Corinth was out of consideration for you! We are not trying to dictate how you must live out your trust in the Messiah, for in your trust you are standing firm. Rather, we are working with you for your own happiness.
Paul had already made one difficult trip to Corinth and he says, here, that his plans changed so he did not have to do so again. In short, he gave God a chance to work in the hearts of the believers.
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