Comforted and Comforting (2 Corinthians 1:3-4)

By Jeremy Walker

As Christians, we are comforted and we are comforting, at least that’s the way it should be. In 2 Corinthians 1, the Apostle Paul, having greeted the saints there, says, “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 tribulations that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ” (2 Corinthians 1:3-5).

I don’t know what may be the particular tribulation you are suffering as a Christian. Perhaps you’re living in a home with people who don’t know and don’t love the Lord God as He has made Himself known to us in the Lord Jesus Christ. Perhaps you are facing some particular pressures or persecutions to some extent. Perhaps there are trials from neighbors, or colleagues, or friends who despise and disdain the fact that you are seeking still to follow the Lord Jesus Christ. Perhaps it is the griefs of your own soul as you strive against sin. Perhaps it’s a more natural tribulation, we might say, and there are distinct sufferings and sorrows that make your life as a Christian particularly hard. 

I’m emphasizing here the fact of suffering as a Christian. This is, I think, at least a little more typically than just having a hard time of it, which is true of everybody in the world. The reason I’m emphasizing the distinctively Christian nature of the tribulations is because it is mirrored in the distinctively Christian nature of the comforts.

Paul here is blessing the “God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” This is God viewed in Christ; God mediated to us in mercy and in grace; the Father of mercies and God of all comfort. These are sweet titles for the God who knows us and who we know.  He is the God we serve, Who loves us, and is beloved by us. And it is this God, the Father of mercies and the God of all comforts, who comforts us in all our tribulations. God draws near to us to bless us in the midst of all such sorrows and sufferings. God comforts us, He consoles us, He pours in balm to our souls, He lifts us our spirits, He draws us near to Him. 

When we call out to the Lord God, He is very quick to show this kindness to us. He is disposed, always, to do this good toward us. But, says the Apostle Paul, it’s not just that Christians are comforted people, they are also comforting people. One of the reasons why God chose these mercies toward us is that we may then pass them on to others. Then we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble “with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” 

Now one of the things I think are particularly sweet about this is that it means I don’t necessarily need to suffer precisely the same tribulation other Christians in order to comfort them. Paul doesn’t say you don’t have to suffer precisely as they have suffered, or you need to go through precisely the same trial they have experienced. What he says is that you can comfort them “with the comfort with which you have been comforted.” You can communicate to them the same consolations, the same joys, the same truths, that have lifted your soul in your trials with the measure of confidence that, although they may not be going through precisely the same experience you went through, they may know precisely the same comforts or consolations from “the Father of mercies and the God of all comforts.”

So, if you are suffering trials and tribulations today, as a Christian, go to “the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort.” Call upon Him and look to Him for the lifting of your soul and the strengthening of your hand. And when He has done that for you, don’t forget to look for others who may also be facing similar difficulties and take those same comforts and pass them on for the glory of God and the good of souls.

Watch this episode of A Word in Season here.

Jeremy Walker is the pastor of Maidenbower Baptist Church in Crawley, West Sussex, UK where he lives with his wife Alissa and his two sons, Caleb and William, and a daughter, Cerys. This article first appeared on his blog, The Wanderer.