COMFORT IN AFFLICTION 2 Corinthians 1:3-11

Introduction

Affliction.  Suffering.  We’ve all been there, or we will be.  Suffering is an inevitable part of the Christian life.  The more I explore the Scriptures, the more often I see God’s Word addressing affliction and suffering and pain.  Each of the difficulties we face is an opportunity to observe just how our merciful God meets our needs—our every need—through the gospel of grace.

There are many types of affliction that come to the lives of believers in Jesus…it can be affliction resulting from simply believing in Jesus, affliction resulting from living out our faith, affliction that results from our own bad choices—our own sin—or suffering that results from relationship problems or the sin of others.  Our children may walk away from us.  Our spouse may have a problem they are struggling with.  Our boss at work may have a goal of making us as miserable as possible. 

Then there is the affliction that comes seemingly randomly.  That is, affliction that comes to our lives that in our view has no apparent reason; affliction that comes to our lives only because it is part of God’s overall plan for our lives.  And no, we will not necessarily understand the “why” of it.  We will not necessarily understand God’s purpose.  In fact, more often than not, from a human perspective, we will see no good reason for the random suffering that comes to our lives—period.

Even though what we will be examining this morning applies to all forms of affliction, I would like you to be thinking about affliction that seemingly comes out of nowhere, suffering that is not the result of the sin of others, affliction that is not a consequence of our own sin.  Comfort in that affliction is an important part of that discussion. 

³Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, ⁴who comforts us in all our affliction, 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.  ⁵For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.  ⁶If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer.  ⁷Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort.  (2 Corinthians 1:3-7, ESV)

How does Paul start out this section of his letter to the Corinthians?  He intentionally praises God, even though, as we will see, he had gone through an extremely difficult time in his life.  He made the time to praise God, thereby demonstrating his confidence in God.  Again, he had gone through an intense time of affliction, but he knew for certain that God was with him through it and that God would never forsake him, no matter what!  God gives you and me that same assurance in the midst of our affliction…

Paul knew that praising God in the midst of trouble causes us to focus on him, rather than on our affliction.  Doing so will tend to keep us from replaying in our minds, over and over again, the difficulties we are experiencing.  I have observed that praising God enables us to see, as Spurgeon talked about, the fact that God uses our troubles for our good and for his glory.

In v. 3, Paul referred to God himself as the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort.  He saw God as full of compassion, as a God who felt pity at the sight of the affliction of one of his people.  He knew that only God is the source of all mercies, the source of all compassion.  God alone can provide divine deliverance from our troubles and difficulties.  Remember that—we’ll come back to it in a few minutes.

It is worth noting that Paul mentions the mercies of God before he dives into the afflictions we experience.  He also refers to God as the God of all comfort—the word for “comfort” has the same root as the word for Holy Spirit and conveys the idea of encouragement.  Comfort here is not referring to mere support or some kind of inspiration.  Instead, it refers to God’s transformative compassion.  His love for us and his kindness to us comes in the form of encouragement, and it changes us.  It changes how we view the suffering we are in.  It causes us to understand and recognize that only his compassion can have any impact on the affliction we experience.  It results in us being able to do what Paul talks about in v. 4, comforting, encouraging others with the same comfort God has provided to us.  In Suffering and the Sovereignty of God, David Powlison wrote, “What we learn from God in our particular affliction becomes helpful to others in any affliction.”[1]

Finally, understand, God is not only the God of some comfort, but the God of ALL comfort.  He is the one who encourages us in the midst of our afflictions.

The comfort or encouragement that God provides us is comfort that is accomplished by God presently, that is, currently and actively, in the midst of whatever difficulty we face—and it is not something that we can cause to happen.  Not only that, but God encourages us through our afflictions, through our tribulations.  Nowhere are we told as believers

Mind Games

Introduction

So, think about this: what goes on in our minds?   Sure, there is lust, covetousness, or envy.  And there is hatred, lying, or a desire to harm someone.  In a discussion of what goes on in our minds, we might examine pornography and its fallout.  Then there are the things that we hide in our minds that no one knows about.  Have you ever found yourself harboring bitterness against someone?  Be honest.  Don’t just call it by a different name just to minimize how it sounds.  I know I’ve done it.

That is what we will look at this morning—what the Scripture has to say about bitterness and reliving the evil that is done to us.  And I’ll ask you straight up—are you bitter?  Are you reliving some horrible event in your life from the past?  Don’t immediately say, “oh, no, I’m good”.  Think about it.   If there is one thing I’ve learned in my six decades here on earth, it is that we all experience the same kinds of things—some seemingly have more such experiences than others—but the same kinds of things nonetheless.  Paul points that out: 

Guess Who? Hiding Who We Are in Christ

Ephesians 5:8b-12

Introduction

In keeping with our theme of “Identity Theft”, we will, tonight, take a look at why we as Christians may hide who we are.  As with most any topical study, we will be examining and considering a number of different passages from God’s Word, spending more time in Ephesians 5, eventually settling down at Ephesians 5:8b-10 and dig in at that point.  Hiding who we are as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ is something that we must consider when talking about our identity in Christ.  It is no secret that many of us do not willingly let others see us for who we are.  Instead, we disguise ourselves, merging with the world around us, and just blending in.

But Jesus has called us to something greater.  He has called you and me to live out who we are no matter where we are during the day—at home, with extended family, at work, at church, in our neighborhoods, or at the store.

Military/Law Enforcement/Hunters

It is no secret that hiding is sometimes a very beneficial thing to do.  It can keep us alive.  Hiding can keep us from being harmed.  Different groups will use Camouflage, which means, “the disguising especially of military equipment or installations with paint, nets, or foliage”.  It also means “concealment by means of disguise”, or “a behavior or ruse designed to deceive or hide”.

The military, law enforcement, and hunters will all utilize camouflage to enable them to escape detection by an enemy or to enable them to close in on their prey without being spotted.  Such are positive uses of hiding our presence.  Of course, there are the negative uses of hiding our presence, and that is what I would like to talk about tonight.

In order to properly address the question before us—why do we hide who we are—we must first ask:  Who are you?  Who do you think you are? 

“You Are”

As with other things in our relationship with the Lord, we tend to take who we are as believers for granted.  From Ephesians we see:

1  1.    He chose us
    2.    He predestined us
    3.    He adopted us
    4.    He has blessed us with every spiritual blessing
    5.    He provided redemption and forgiveness
    6.    He lavished his grace upon us 
    7.    He has given us an inheritance and sealed us

We are grateful for these things,

SUFFERING

Suffering cannot be avoided if we are really to know Christ…(Hebrews 4:15; 5:2)…”I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings, becoming like him in his death” (Philippians 3:10)…

But what is the nature of Christ’s suffering that we must share, in order fully to know his fellowship?  His suffering included poverty and humiliation, pain and death.  All of these he endured for us.  We must not forget this altruistic dimension of his afflictions.  He suffered to take on himself the guilt and consequences of the sins of others.  Thus, if we are to know him through like suffering, we will not merely have to experience the difficulty of nameless forces and circumstances; we must also experience what it means to suffer for the sins of others.  We must be willing to endure and love the damaged and damaging personalities who make us suffer.  This is Luther’s theology of the cross—the understanding that our deepest knowing of the One who bore the cross for us in some measure depends on our own cross-bearing of the miseries of this world and even of the miserableness of others.

…Whether we suffer under the weight of circumstances or under the weightiness of bearing the consequences of the sins of others—these disciplines teach us more of what Christ endured for us. As a result, we know him to a degree and depth not available through any other means of study or contemplation.

The discipline of suffering shows us how tender and tenacious was Christ’s care for us.  The body blows that come, the accusations, the deprivations, the betrayals—in each we can say, “Ah, Lord Jesus, now I understand more deeply who you are and how much you loved me, for you endured this when you could have escaped it all.  You suffered for my sake and that of countless others who caused you pain.  Ah, Jesus, now I know you.”

Bryan Chapell in

Holiness by Grace: Delighting in the Joy That is Our Strength,

pp.170-172  (Emphasis added)

So, just what does this mean for us?  It means we can look trials, difficulties and suffering brought to our lives by the sin of others—yes, even by other believers—and we can stare it down!  We can smile to ourselves when someone sins against us, knowing “it ain’t about us!”  It is all about God conforming us to the image of Christ, it is about “knowing Christ and the fellowship of his sufferings”!

I shared this with a friend a few weeks ago, and told him that this core truth has made a huge difference in my life, particularly in the case of extreme hurt brought about by a family member in the distant past.  Not only did I wrestle with the whole concept of God’s providence at that time, but I also struggled with forgiveness.  God worked in the intervening years, and brought me to a point where forgiveness truly took place.  Yes, it “should not” have taken as long as it did, but he did bring it about.  My view of the impact of the sin of others on my life and on the lives of those I love is completely different now.  Now I can say, “Bring it on!”  Why?  Because of what Christ did on the cross, because of the gospel.