Afflicted & Comforted for Others

I. Introduction
A. We’ve just begun a journey through 2Corinthians.
B. Last week we covered v.3-5, but we left out one point from those verses because that point fits in well with the lessons we learn from 6-7.
C. 2 Corinthians 1:3–7 
1. Wherever Paul went he was persecuted; wherever he went he suffered. And the Corinthian believers knew this.
2. But instead of appreciating Paul’s suffering, instead of marveling at all the sacrifices he had made and all the persecution he had endured, some of them used it against him, they said he must be a bad man for God to bring so much trouble into his life.
a. It seemed to them that all of Paul’s suffering cast doubt on the legitimacy of Paul’s apostleship.
b. It made Paul seem weak.
c. “Apostles should be people of power, who fix other people’s sufferings, not suffer themselves!”
d. Like the purveyors of the prosperity gospel today, these Corinthians wanted the power of Christ’s resurrection without the fellowship of His sufferings. But, according to Paul in Phil.3:10, they go hand in hand.
3. So, he is responding to this charge by saying at least six things:
a. The first thing he does is point to the suffering of Jesus. “We share...in Christ’s sufferings.” (v.5)
(1) Jesus became weak, but it wasn’t a sign of weakness.
(2) He was rejected, and mistreated, and mocked, and falsely accused. He suffered exceedingly.
(3) The perfect One suffered. Not because He was bad, but because He was the Truth from God.
(4) It looked tragic/cataclysmic. But it turns out that it was wonderful, for God was using the afflictions of Jesus to achieve a fantastic victory and accomplish an extraordinary redemption. By His suffering He paid for our sin!
(5) God turned His pain into our gain. So much so that we call that worst of all days Good Friday.
(6) Some claim that Jesus was weak so we wouldn’t have to be weak. “By His stripes you have been healed.” They say that Jesus’ suffering put an end to our suffering. But that’s an oversimplification. And that’s not what Is.53:5 means – see 1Pet.2:24.
(7) Paul’s response is to say that “We share...in Christ’s sufferings.” (v.5) We suffer too – in Him.
(8) Some say we don’t suffer because He suffered. Paul says we participate in His sufferings.
(9) It’s so tempting to think of suffering as damaging, as hurtful, isn’t it? But not necessarily!
(10) Jesus suffered in order to save. So Paul suffers in order to bring salvation to others.
(11) Just as Christ’s sufferings – and Paul’s – were redemptive, so are ours.
b. The sufferings we experience are Christ’s sufferings.
(1) And “the same sufferings” (v.6) the Corinthians experience are also the sufferings of Christ.
(2) What does this mean?
(a) Just as Jesus experienced suffering in His physical body, so He experiences suffering in His churchly body. So when we suffer in Christ, we are actually experiencing His sufferings.
(b) Why are you persecuting Me? (Acts 9:4) not Why are you persecuting My people?
(3) Far from a sign that Paul is not a true apostle of Christ, Paul’s sufferings are actually the sufferings of Jesus through Paul.
c. My sufferings are for you! “If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation.” I.e., it is for your benefit that I have suffered! If I was trying to avoid suffering, I wouldn’t have come to Corinth to preach the gospel and you wouldn’t have come to salvation.
d. My sufferings are a blessing from God, not a curse. They actually do me more good than harm, because they bring with them the comfort of God. Just as your sufferings will bring you great comfort, if you endure them patiently, putting your trust in God.
e. If we didn’t suffer, we wouldn’t receive God’s comfort, & the comfort we receive does you good.
f. You suffer too — just like us! And this opens you up to God’s comfort.
II. What is there in this passage for us to take home?
A. When we suffer, it is preparation for ministry.
1. Why does God comfort us in all our affliction? Well, certainly there are many reasons. But the reason Paul mentions here is in order that we will be able to comfort others.
2. 3-4 “The God of comfort...comforts us in 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.”
3. This is one of the main reasons why God allows us to go through trials and then comforts us in the midst of them: God strengthens our faith so that we can strengthen the faith of others.
4. You see, faith is often contagious. When one person is trusting God in the midst of trouble, it helps others to do the same in the midst of their trials. When one person has peace in the midst of his trouble, it helps others to have peace in theirs.
5. But until we have experienced the peace of God in the midst of suffering, we cannot really comfort others in their suffering. Once we know by experience that God is bigger than our troubles, once we know that He is in control even when it feels like things it’s all spinning out of control, then we can assure others in a way that comforts them and strengthens their faith.
6. Those who have been comforted by God have thereby been equipped to comfort.
7. In God’s economy, suffering is not arbitrary. And it is not wasted. It not only yields the help and comfort of God, it also prepares us for ministry to others.
8. When I became a pastor I had not suffered enough to be a good pastor.
a. It’s not enough to get a seminary degree. It’s not enough to learn the Bible well. It’s not enough to be able to explain it. In order to be effective in ministry you need to suffer first — and not just suffer, but suffer well, that is, suffer in faith, suffer with a good attitude, and receive the comfort and help of God. Only then can you begin to comfort others.
b. I was sharing with the elders and deacons about the effect of my family on my ministry recently. Chris T.
9. We are helped so we can help others. We are blessed to be a blessing.
10. Let’s ask God to help us not to fuss & fret when trials come, but rest in His comfort. Let’s let Him do His good work in us to equip us to be instruments of His mercy and comfort in this world.
B. You see, ministry is an important part of the Christian life.
1. It’s not that super-Christians like missionaries and Bible smugglers do ministry and experience suffering, but the rest of us live safe, protected middle-class lives.
2. Ministry – and suffering – aren’t just for Christian superheroes. They’re part of the Christian life.
a. We all have a responsibility toward Christ’s little ones, the Lord’s precious sheep.
3. “Do you love Me? Feed My sheep.” (John 21:15ff.)
a. If we love Jesus, we’re called to be involved in ministry to His sheep.
b. I agree that it was first for Peter, second for the apostles, third for pastors and church leaders. But fourth, it for all Christian believers. 1Cor.12 says we’re all gifted in order to serve the body according to the gifts we’ve been given: that’s ministry.
c. He says it to us too: Feed my sheep! If you love Me, care for My sheep!
d. Ministry means serving. Ministry involves putting yourself out there. It involves taking risks. It involves making yourself vulnerable to getting hurt, getting rejected, getting criticized.
(1) It is therefore easy to avoid.
(2) Jesus didn’t say, “If you love Me, feed My sheep, unless of course it’s not safe.”
(3) Dangerous Calling: Paul David Tripp
(4) People who criticized us for allowing Michelle to go to Africa because of the danger
(5) What are they thinking about what this life is all about?
C. Last week we read about the personal benefits of suffering: As we share in Christ’s sufferings, so we share in His comfort too. But our suffering is not just beneficial to us, it’s beneficial to others.
1. That’s what Paul is saying here in v.6 “If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation.”
2. Getting through your own problems isn’t the only thing in your life. Helping others make it through is just as essential.
3. God allowed Paul to suffer for the sake of the Corinthian believers and for our sake.
4. We benefit a lot from his sufferings, don’t we! We receive a lot of comfort from what happened to him. (We’ll see that even more next week.)
5. And so others benefit from our sufferings. Because our sufferings equip us to bless others when they suffer.
6. God comforts us in our afflictions, so that we may be able to comfort others in their afflictions, with the comfort we received from God.
7. Jesus invites us: “Come to Me and live.” But there’s another sense in which Jesus invites us to come to Him and die. In order for us to really live, something in us needs to die. And that death is not easy, and it’s not pain-free.
8. We’ve been praying for Zacchaeus Hammons, son of a former member of our church.
a. The inconvenience of all this is just about killing Kris and Breanne.
b. But are they ready to give up? Are they saying it’s not worth it?
c. They’re not thinking of themselves. Their main concern is how taking care of Zacchaeus makes them neglect their other children.
d. They’re driven by love.
9. And that parental love is just a glimpse of the love God has for His little ones.
10. And He calls us to share in that love for His children, and to be willing to suffer for them, just as Jesus willingly suffered for them.
D. Suffering is a part of every human life, but there’s a right and a wrong way to respond to suffering.
1. And it determines whether our suffering is redemptive or destructive.
2. Paul says this in v.6: “comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the sufferings.”
3. Suffering doesn’t necessarily come with comfort.
4. You can experience all the pain of suffering and not enjoy any of its benefits — if you resent the pain and allow your heart to be embittered.
5. Hebrews 12:11 “Discipline ...yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.”
6. “What can these anxious cares avail thee, these never-ending moans and sighs? What can it help if thou bewail thee o’er each dark moment as it flies? Our cross and trials do but press the heavier for our bitterness.” (If Thou But Suffer God to Guide Thee, by Georg Neumark)
E. Conclusion
1. Being a Christian leads to suffering. Suffering leads to experiencing God’s comfort. Experiencing Gods comfort leads to being able to comfort others who are suffering.
2. In this section of 2Corinthians 1, Paul lays out three reasons why God sends suffering to His people:
a. Last week he talked about how God sends suffering so He can send comfort.
b. This week he talked about how God sends suffering to equip us for giving comfort to others.
c. Next week we’ll talk about the third reason God sends suffering.