2 Cor 1: Studies

For those who may wish to ‘study’ this chapter, the following simple resources are provided for you. Each chapter is divided into a number of studies and each study or passage has a simple four-Part, verse-by-verse approach, to help you take in and think further about what you have read.

Passage: 2 Cor 1:1-2

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 his holy people throughout Achaia:

2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

A. Find Out:    

1. How does Paul describe himself? v.1a
2. Who also writes with him? v.1b
3. To whom does he first write? v.1c
4. But who also does he include? v.1d
5. What blessing does he seek for them? v.2

B. Think:

1. Check some of Paul’s other letters. How is the start similar?
2. How does it differ?
3. What do you think is the definition of an apostle?

C. Comment:

The opening verses of Paul’s letters are always instructive. Paul identifies himself, as he always seems to do, and then designates himself by the term apostle. Again, this he often does, the exceptions being to Titus and to the Philippians where he calls himself a servant, to Philemon where he calls himself a prisoner, and to the Thessalonians where he gives himself no designation.

An apostle is merely “a sent one”, one sent out by Jesus Christ to build and establish his church. The term carries with it a certain authority for these were the foundation builders of the church. Paul has already written at least one (probably two) letters of correction to this church and now he is having to write yet one more, but in this letter, he does not exercise heavy authority, but in fact opens his life to these people. Position does not have to involve heavy authority!

Paul also includes Timothy in his greeting as he so often does, so we see that these two men must have often been together in the ministry and Paul was happy for the younger man to be identified with him. He identifies his readers as the church at Corinth but also is happy for it to be read in all the surrounding churches. He seeks peace and blessing for his readers, as he so often does. In virtually all ways this seems a very ordinary opening, but the letter is unique.

D. Application:

1. Don’t be fooled by ordinary beginnings. Big things can follow.
2. Paul knew he was sent by the will of God. Do I know this also?

Passage: 2 Cor 1:3-7

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 receive from God. 5 For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. 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.

A. Find Out:

1. What 3 descriptions of God does Paul give? v.3
2. What does God do? v.4a
3. So we can do what and how? v.4b
4. What 2 things did Paul see in his life? v.5
5. How did those two things work out for good? v.6
6. And why was his hope about them sure? v.7

B. Think:

1. What aspect of the Christian life is covered here that we avoid?
2. Yet what encouragement does Paul give?
3. On what is that based?

C. Comment:

If we are really honest, there are none of us who really relish suffering for Christ. But what does “suffering” mean? It means receiving the opposition and persecution of the world and the enemy as we stand for Christ. Paul stated that persecution was a guaranteed part of the Christian life for anyone who was desiring to be godly (2 Tim 3:12), and now he addresses the other side of persecution – comfort!

He describes God not only as the Father of Jesus, but also as the God of compassion and comfort. The Lord is there with us to comfort us in any trying circumstances that come against us when we stand for him (not things we bring on ourselves for being stupid!).

For Paul, comfort is a two-sided blessing. It is a blessing to receive and a blessing to pass on. It’s really a sequential chain: suffering – comfort – blessing others. We can’t comfort others if we haven’t been comforted and we won’t be comforted until we have been through times of opposition, and we won’t go through times of opposition until we stand publicly for Christ. There’s also another fruit of comfort given in v.6, that of “patient endurance”. When we are comforted by God it means that we can put up with further suffering while we patiently wait for the Lord to deal with the situation.

D. Application:

1. The Christian life does involve being opposed for being a Christian.
2. When we suffer for Christ, God is there to comfort us.

Passage: 2 Cor 1:8-11

8 We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. 9 Indeed, we felt we had received 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 again. 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 favour granted us in answer to the prayers of many.

A. Find Out:

1.  What does Paul want to tell them about? v.8a
2. How great was the pressure and with what result? v.8b
3. What did they feel about it? v.9a
4. Why did it happen? v.9b
5. What was he able to say about God’s help? v.10
6. What part did his readers play, and with what outcome? v.11 

B. Think:

1. What had obviously happened to Paul?
2. Why, according to Paul, had it happened?
3. What is the outcome after such things happen?

C. Comment:

Paul has just spoken about the God of comfort. Now, he says, I don’t want you to think I’m just using words here, we’ve been through this. On his travels in Asia Minor, specifically the province called Asia, things happened to them whereby they even thought they were going to die! That was how bad it had been! Of themselves they couldn’t cope with it. It had only been the Lord that had seen them through. Now, he says, there are two benefits when this sort of thing happens.    

The first benefit is that we learn to lean more on the Lord. Our tendency is to rely upon ourselves. When we get into crisis situations that are beyond our capabilities we then cry out to the Lord and rely on Him. Yet, that is the very thing He wants us to learn to do on a daily basis, without having to wait for a crisis to promote it.    

The second benefit is that afterwards, we will be able to look back and see the hand of God preserving us and God will be glorified. Again and again the Scripture says our lives are to glorify God, e.g. Matt 5:16. When we have come through the crisis, we can then see God in it, and we praise Him.     Note also that Paul says they get through with the help of the prayers of God’s people. Prayer helps, so pray! 

D. Application:

1. Problems work us closer to God. Rejoice in them.
2. God is glorified as we triumph with His grace. Receive it!

Passage: 2 Cor 1:12-17

12 Now this is our boast: our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in our relations with you, with integrity and godly sincerity. We have done so, relying not on worldly wisdom but on God’s grace. 13 For we do not write to 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.

15 Because I was confident of this, I wanted to visit you first so that you might benefit twice. 16 I wanted to visit you on my way to Macedonia and to come back to you from Macedonia, and then to let you send me on my way to Judea. 17 Was I fickle when I intended to do this? Or do I make my plans in a worldly manner so that in the same breath I say both ‘Yes, yes’ and ‘No, no’?

A. Find Out:

1. What was Paul’s boast? v.12a
2. How had they done what they had done? v.12b
3. What did he hope? v.13,14
4. What had he planned to do? v.15
5. How had he planned to do that? v.16
6. How had he not done it? v.17

B. Think:

1. What was the point of Paul talking about boasting?
2. What was he saying about visiting them?
3. What seems to be the tone of this letter so far?

C. Comment:

So far in this letter we have had Paul’s testimony of how they had been through trials that were so severe that they despaired of life itself – yet God had brought them through.

Now he testifies, almost as a challenge to anyone to deny it, that they had conducted themselves well when they had been in Corinth . They had done everything with holiness and sincerity, according to God’s grace. He wants his readers to understand all this so that they can feel good about the apostles. That’s why he seeks to write simply and openly, so they can understand the apostles more fully.

In fact, he had planned to come to see them on his travels to Macedonia (but we’ll see in the next study why that didn’t happen) so that they could seek to be a blessing to the church there at Corinth. He hadn’t made these plans casually so that he might easily change his mind, but in fact that trip hadn’t come about.

Paul seems to be seeking to establish his integrity in the eyes of his Corinthian readers, for he has yet to do some strong talking and wants them to understand his credentials. He is an apostle sent from God (v.1) who has been through thick and thin for the sake of the Gospel and who has sought always to minister in the grace of God.

D. Application:

1. The life of an apostle was tough! We need to appreciate them.
2. The apostles ministered with integrity. Do we appreciate that?

Passage: 2 Cor 1 :18-24 

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 us – by me, 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. 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.

23 I call God as my witness – and I stake my life on it – 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.

A. Find Out:

1. What does Paul say his message isn’t? v.18
2. What does he say that, in Christ, it is? v.19
3. What are all God’s promises “in Christ”? v.20
4. How do we stand firm? v.21a
5. What has God done? v.21b,22
6. Why had Paul not come to Corinth ? v.23

B. Think:

1. What do you think Paul means when he says everything is “Yes” in  Christ?
2. What does he says is God’s means of helping us stand firm?
3. Yet how, according to Paul, do we still have to do that?

C. Comment:

Paul is both explaining his own actions and also seeking to encourage the Corinthian Christians. He is explaining why he hasn’t come to see them, even though he had originally planned to come. It’s not that he keeps on changing his mind; it’s simply that though he planned to come when he found what was happening, he didn’t want to have to come and bring strong words of rebuke.

No, he says, the Christian life isn’t yes and no, constantly changing your mind because of uncertainty. It is constantly positive. The Gospel isn’t full of doubt, it’s totally positive. The promises of God that come to us, fulfilled in Christ are not doubtful, they are totally positive. Jews sometimes claim that Christians only take the positive promises of the Old Testament and not the negative ones, and there is truth in that. Everything Christ has done and everything that comes to us as a result of his work on the Cross is positive, is good, is beneficial. God has confirmed all this by putting His own Holy Spirit within us, His own presence, His own power; you can’t get better than that!

D. Application:

1. Do we appreciate the fact that the Christian faith is entirely positive, that everything on God’s heart for us is good?
2. Do we remember that God has placed His Holy Spirit within us and that is His presence and power are actually in us?