Greetings and Important Explanations
A verse-by-verse explanation of this section.
An overview of the principles and applications from this section.
Tying the section to life with God.
Historical, geographical, and grammatical enrichment of the commentary.
Suggested step-by-step group study of the section.
Zeroing the section in on daily life.
“All the instruments employed by God in the promotion of his work, have been greatly tried; their labors have been mingled with their tears; and they have not only suffered from their own personal share of human imperfection, but have found in the ignorance, the perverse dispositions, and the unholy practices of others, their sharpest sorrows. They have been grieved by foes, but more injured and vexed by pretended friends.”
Jonathan Edwards
Because Paul had not visited the Corinthians when he said he would, they suspected him of duplicity. Paul defended his integrity, explaining that he had delayed his visit in order to spare them grief.
Have you ever become so entangled in a relationship of misunderstanding and distrust that there was no easy way out? No matter what you did, you could not do the right thing.
It often happens in our families. We get into conflict when we fail to do our share around the house. Then when we try, we do not do it in the right way. It happens at work. We fail to anticipate the needs of one customer and get into trouble. Then we get even more grief when we do too much for the next customer. Unfortunately, the same kind of no-win situations happen even in the church.
Often what is missing from these circumstances is not performance but trust. We do not give the benefit of the doubt to others. We do not believe they have good intentions, so we condemn them, no matter what they do.
As Paul began this epistle to the Corinthians, he found himself in this kind of circumstance. He simply could not win. In the past, he had corrected serious errors in the church at Corinth, but they did not appreciate his rebukes. So, not to push too far, Paul avoided confrontation with the Corinthians, but they did not appreciate that either.
In this no-win situation, Paul had only one choice. He explained himself as best he could, appealing to the believers at Corinth to believe that everything he did was motivated by his deep love for them.
Greetings and Important Explanations
MAIN IDEA: Speculations had grown about why Paul had not come to Corinth sooner. Paul explained what had been happening in his life, how he had treated the Corinthians with integrity, why his plans had changed, and what his current plans were.
SUPPORTING IDEA: Paul greeted the Corinthians with his desire that they might experience grace and peace.
1:1. Paul identifies himself as an apostle of Christ Jesus, one of thirteen special emissaries whom Christ ordained as the foundation of the church (Eph. 2:20). The title “apostle” gave him authority over believers and made it clear that this epistle was more than a mere personal note. Paul's apostolic position came by the will of God, not by human authorization. Other apostles recognized Paul's office (Gal. 2:7–9; 2 Pet. 3:15–16), but he was appointed directly by God.
With Paul was Timothy their brother, who served the church in Corinth (Acts 18:5). Paul had sent him to Corinth earlier, but apparently Timothy had returned to Paul in the interim between this epistle and the last. The designation our brother expresses not only Paul's own affection for Timothy, but also the attitude he hoped the Corinthians would have.
Paul wrote to the church of God in Corinth, the Greek city to which 1 Corinthians was also addressed. The church, or entire congregation, received this letter, which was probably read aloud in church meetings. Although Paul sometimes used the term church to denote the universal body of Christ throughout the world, here he designated a particular local church. As the body of Christ, the church belongs only to God, and therefore is the church of God.
Paul was concerned mainly with the Corinthian church in this epistle, but he made it clear that his letter should be read by all the saints throughout Achaia. “Saint” in the Old Testament occasionally refers to priests, but in the New Testament it designates all believers (Rom. 1:7). It basically means “holy ones” or “sanctified ones.” Paul did not have a special class of believers in mind. He wrote to every believer, no matter what their spiritual condition.
Achaia was the Roman designation for the southern province of Greece. The Cenchrean church was also in Achaia (Rom. 16:1), and Paul's words suggest that other churches also existed in the region. Corinth was the regional capital (see Acts 18:12). Paul expected this epistle to be passed among local congregations, and perhaps to be copied to or by these churches.
1:2. Paul offered one of his common benedictions as he began this letter, hoping for grace and peace for the Corinthians. Paul began all his canonical letters with a wish of grace and peace for his readers. No one can gain salvation except by God's grace or unmerited favor. Yet, here Paul did not speak of the initial grace believers receive that leads to conversion. He focused on continuing grace, the mercy from God that is necessary to complete the Christian life. New life in Christ cannot begin with grace and continue by human merit (Gal. 3:3,5).
Paul's use of “peace” derived from the frequent use of “peace” (shalom ) in the Old Testament to mean “well-being” or “wholeness.” He wanted the Corinthians not only to be redeemed from their sins, but also to receive the benefits of being in Christ. Peace with God and with other human beings is one such benefit. Both grace and peace come from God our Father and his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. This formula is not trinitarian, but elsewhere similar benedictions also include the Holy Spirit (Rom. 15:13; 1 Pet. 1:1–2).
Paul's Ministry of Hardship (1:3–11)
SUPPORTING IDEA: Paul had not neglected the Corinthians. In the ministry of the gospel, he had suffered in ways that benefited them and honored God.
1:3–4. Paul began describing his hardships on a positive, exuberant note. The formula praise be to… God derived from the Old Testament (Ps. 41:13), but Paul modified it to express distinctively Christian praise. Not only is God praised, but he is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. This modification demonstrates that Paul saw Christianity as one with Old Testament religion, but not precisely the same. Christ had become the center of true belief. New Testament believers relate to God as the one who sent Christ.
Paul added that the Father has compassion and all comfort. This praise also derives from the Old Testament (Isa. 51:12; 66:13). Compassion denotes God's mercy and his concern for the plight of those who suffer. Comfort is what God gives to those who suffer. These terms were appropriate because Paul was about to describe his own troubles in suffering for the gospel.
Paul suffered and was comforted partly so he could bring comfort to others in any trouble. His suffering in ministry was an act of service to the Corinthians. Having suffered and been comforted, Paul could comfort others with the comfort he had received from God. Paul's use of the first person suggests that he thought primarily about himself and his company in this passage, but the principle applies to all believers. God permits his servants to suffer, and then comforts them so they may in turn comfort others.
1:5. Paul explained how he knew this principle to be true. Christians are so intimately joined with Christ that experiences flow from Christ, to believers, through believers, and to others. The sufferings of Christ extend from Christ to his followers. Believers fill up… Christ's afflictions because the church is his body (see Col. 1:24; cf. Phil. 3:10). This was plain enough from the hardships in Paul's own ministry. Yet, just as Christ received joy and glory in his resurrection, and sent the Holy Spirit of comfort, comfort also over-flows to believers through Christ. In union with Christ, we face the hardships of sin and death, but we also receive compassionate encouragement from God.
1:6. Because the Corinthians benefited when the apostles were distressed, Paul's experiences had been the Corinthians' comfort. As he ministered at great personal cost, he brought comfort and salvation to those who heard his message. At the same time, when the apostles were comforted by Christ, they received the encouragement they needed to bring the Corinthians comfort.
Further, the comfort believers received from Paul's suffering produce[d]… patient endurance in the midst of their own sufferings. Christians must remain faithful to Christ, no matter how difficult circumstances become. Endurance (hypomone ) describes how believers must continue in faithful service to the end. Yet, endurance will not last unless it is patient. Patience is the ability to wait for Christ to return and end all suffering. Comfort enables believers to find energy, which in turn makes them patient as they endure suffering.
1:7. The Corinthians faced trials, disappointments, and conflicts. But Paul believed they had saving faith in Christ and that they would endure. He hoped this because he knew the Corinthians share[d] in the apostles’ comfort as well as their sufferings. So long as Christ comforted the Corinthians, they would be able to endure their suffering to the end.
1:8–9a. Paul continued to assure the Corinthians of his affection for them, in spite of his delayed visit, and he explained the delay. He did not want them to be uninformed… about the hardships he suffered. Whatever they had heard, Paul had actually been in great hardship while ministering in the Roman province of Asia (modern-day Turkey).
Paul's description of his sufferings revealed the depth of his heart and appealed to the Corinthians for sympathy. He had been under great pressure, and the problems had been beyond his ability to endure. We cannot be sure what hardships Paul had in mind, but we know he endured: riots, vicious attacks, imprisonment, and physical illness. The problems had been so great that Paul had despaired even of life, losing hope that he would survive. In his discouragement, he had felt the sentence of death in his heart, almost succumbing to defeat.
1:9b–11. Still, Paul could see a brighter side. He reflected on past events in two ways: First, God had permitted this suffering so Paul and other apostles might not rely on [them]selves but on God. Paul recognized the temptation to be self-reliant. Only when circumstances had exceeded his own ability had Paul learned to rely on God.
Paul described God as the one who raises the dead. He alluded to the fact that God the Father raised Christ from the dead as the firstfruits of a great resurrection. But he drew upon this truth because his sufferings in the past had brought him to feel that a sentence of death had been placed upon him. Through his trials Paul had realized that God's power to raise the dead had significance beyond Christ's resurrection and the general bodily resurrection of the last day. God was able day by day to make the power of Christ's resurrection evident in believers’ lives (Phil. 3:10).
Paul next praised God's past actions. God had delivered Paul and those with him from deadly peril. This declaration follows the Old Testament form of a traditional thanksgiving hymn (Ps. 40:1–3). Paul expressed confidence that God would deliver him in the future. Paul stated that he and other apostles had put their hope in the belief that God would continue to deliver. Hope in this sense is the emotional strength to persevere in difficulty because of a heightened expectation of better things in the future.
Finally, Paul acknowledged the purpose behind his sufferings and deliverances: God's glory. Paul drew the Corinthians into his perspective by acknowledging that they would surely help him in the future by offering their prayers to God. As a result, many would give thanks to God for God's response to their prayers. Many believers would be grateful for the gracious favor God would grant when he answered the prayers of many. The Corinthians were to have a right attitude toward Paul's absence by remembering that their sympathetic prayers helped him in his suffering and glorified God.
Paul's Clear Conscience (1:12–14)
SUPPORTING IDEA: Paul's delay had apparently called his sincerity into doubt. Paul wanted the Corinthians to remember his integrity, and to accept his good intentions toward them, in spite of this delay.
1:12a. Paul claimed one thing about which he had confidence. His conscience testified that he had ministered with holiness and sincerity that were from God. A person's conscience can condemn or justify his or her actions (Rom. 2:14–16), but that conscience cannot be the ultimate standard of judgment. Even so, in this matter Paul's conscience was clear.
Paul had ministered with holiness and sincerity everywhere. “Holiness” describes the life of a believer who remains separated from the world's corruption. “Sincerity” means “the absence of deceit and hypocrisy.” These traits characterized Paul's service in the world. More importantly for this epistle, holiness and sincerity characterized especially his relations with the Corinthians. Unlike those who questioned his motives, he was above reproach.
1:12b. Elaborating on the integrity of his ministry, Paul asserted that he had not conducted himself according to worldly wisdom. In light of 1:13, this expression indicates that Paul did not use sophistry or worldly arrogance in his ministry. He did not trick or overpower anyone with the world's wisdom. Paul reaffirmed the antithesis he saw between the world's wisdom, so popular in Corinth, and his own ministry that existed according to God's grace. Paul's gospel ministry rested on Christ's death and resurrection, which even the simplest minds could understand.
1:13a. To justify this statement, Paul reminded the Corinthians that he never wrote anything they could not read or understand. This statement should not be taken absolutely. Nevertheless, Paul's message was clear, compared to the sophistry and obscurity of human wisdom. Paul sought to make his teachings plain. His refusal to use pretentious, worldly wisdom demonstrated his integrity.
1:13b–14. In fact, Paul was so sincere that he had hope. He believed the Corinthians understood in part that he was a trustworthy leader. Still, he wanted them to understand this fully, so they could boast of Paul just as Paul could boast of them. “Boast” did not connote sinful arrogance, but appropriate confidence. Paul wanted the Corinthians to take joy and confidence in their relationship with him. He planned to boast of them in the day of the Lord Jesus, the day when Jesus would return in judgment.
Paul's Original Travel Plans (1:15–17)
SUPPORTING IDEA: Paul continued to defend his integrity by explaining the sequence of events that led him to change his original travel plans.
1:15. Paul had previously written that he would travel from Ephesus to Macedonia, and then to Corinth. He also had said that he might spend the winter months with the Corinthians, and that he did not want to see them simply in passing. But after writing 1 Corinthians, Paul evidently changed his mind, planning an additional visit with the Corinthians before visiting Macedonia. He felt comfortable changing his plans because his conscience was clear.
Paul stated two intentions that displayed the sincerity of his original plan. On the one hand, he had planned to visit the Corinthians first. They had been at the top of his list. On the other hand, He wanted his ministry to benefit them twice.
1:16. Paul had planned to visit Corinth on his way to Macedonia, returning to Corinth as he came back… from Macedonia. He hoped that after this second visit the Corinthians would send him on his way to Judea (cf. 1 Cor. 16:3–6).
1:17. Even after Paul's short visit to Corinth that had gone badly, the Corinthians expected Paul to return to Corinth after visiting Macedonia. His determination to remain in Macedonia rather than to return to Corinth caused misunderstandings between Paul and the Corinthian church. Someone had apparently accused him of duplicity. Thus, Paul asked if he had planned his travels lightly or in a worldly manner. Had he simply followed his own thoughts as they crossed his mind, or had he sought the will of God for his ministry? To put it another way, had Paul said in the same breath… “Yes, yes” and “No, no.”
This last expression parallels Christ's teaching: “Let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’” (Matt. 5:37). Paul may have expressed himself in this way because his opponents accused him of violating this teaching of Jesus. After all, Paul had told them he was coming, but he did not.
Witnesses to Paul's Integrity (1:18–22)
SUPPORTING IDEA: Paul responded to the charge that he had misled the Corinthians. He appealed to his track record, to God as witness to his integrity, and to his pure motives.
1:18. Paul began his response to the charge of duplicity with an oath: as surely as God is faithful. The charges against him appeared so serious that Paul felt the need to authenticate his claims as strongly as possible. His oath before God witnessed to his truthfulness and integrity.
Paul used a type of argument common among Jewish rabbis in his day. He argued from a greater matter to a less important matter. He called the Corinthians to evaluate the accusation of duplicity in a small matter (his delayed visit) in light of his integrity in a great matter (preaching the gospel). Since he had maintained integrity in the greater matter, his integrity in the smaller matter should not have been questioned.
1:19–20. Paul supported his oath by summarizing an important feature of what was preached among the Corinthians. He, Silas, and Timothy had preached the Son of God, Jesus Christ, and Christ did not waver between Yes and No. There was no duplicity in Christ or in the message about Christ.
Paul added that in Christ his message had always been “Yes.” Paul knew this statement was enigmatic, so he explained his meaning. No matter how many promises God has made throughout the history of the Bible, one thing can be relied on: In Christ… they are “Yes.” Paul frequently reminded his readers of Old Testament promises God made to his people (Rom. 1:2; Eph. 2:12). He knew that immeasurable blessings had been promised to Christians as heirs of Old Testament promises. The great covenant promises throughout the Bible are all fulfilled in Christ.
Of course, the Corinthians probably had no problem with Christ's sincerity. So Paul drew a connection between himself and Christ. Since Paul represented Christ, Paul's gospel ministry could be summed up as an “Amen”… spoken by Paul to the glory of God. Paul's preaching affirmed the sincere affirmation of God's promises in Christ.
1:21–22. To defend his ministry further, Paul reminded the Corinthians that God himself had anointed Paul and his company to their task, guaranteeing their participation in the gospel promises. These assertions anticipated his statement in 1:23: “I call God as my witness.” Though he did not use that specific language in this verse, his sentiment was the same. The evidence of God's anoint[ing], seal, and Spirit proved Paul's integrity. Likewise, the same God made the Corinthians, Paul, and Paul's company stand firm in Christ, so the Corinthians stood on no more solid footing, and they could not claim superiority over Paul.
While all Christians have God's anoint[ing], seal, and Spirit, just as all Christians stand firm in Christ, Paul applied these first three statements mainly to himself and to his company in order to defend their integrity. The logical connections among the terms makes… stand firm, anointed, set… seal, and put… Spirit have been widely disputed. For our purposes, we will treat each term separately.
First, God made them all stand firm in Christ. “Stand firm” (bebaioo ) describes believers’ faithful devotion to Christ. Instead of letting them waver or stumble, God had empowered Paul and the Corinthians to remain committed to Christ. The perseverance of those who were taught by Paul indicated God's blessing and validated Paul's ministry.
Second, God had also anointed Paul and his company. In the Old Testament, anointing rituals symbolized the offices of priest and sometimes prophet. These Old Testament shadows anticipated the spiritual anointing that comes on all true believers. All those who are in Christ (the Anointed One) are themselves anointed with the Holy Spirit by virtue of their union with Christ.
This anointing of the Holy Spirit involves the Spirit's indwelling presence and empowerment (cf. Eph. 3:16,20). The Spirit's anointing also empowers for special service. Paul claimed this special type of anointing in connection with his preaching (Rom. 15:18–19) and also attributed it to Timothy (2 Tim. 1:6–7). The anointing to which Paul referred was probably general (shared by all believers) because all believers also stand firm in Christ, and all receive God's seal and Spirit Paul explicitly mentioned only us (Paul and his company) because he was in the process of defending his and their integrity. The Corinthians assumed that they had been anointed; Paul asserted, “So have we,” proving that Paul's ministry was sincere and blessed of God.
Third, God had set his seal of ownership on Paul and his company, just as people in Paul's day placed their seals on objects to indicate their ownership. This sealing accompanied the reception of the Holy Spirit. That Paul and his company belonged to God was evident in the blessings God had given to them, especially the blessing of the Holy Spirit manifested in the power of the gospel.
Fourth, God put his Spirit in their hearts as a deposit. The presence of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of Paul and his company, as in the Corinthians’ hearts, was a deposit of the eternal reward they would receive at Christ's return. This deposit guarantee[d] the full inheritance which was to come. Because the Holy Spirit is a down payment, Christians should not fear that the Holy Spirit will leave them. The Spirit of God will remain with true believers as the proof of salvation to come.
Paul's Motivation (1:23–2:4)
SUPPORTING IDEA: Paul augmented his earlier explanation of his changed travel plans. He took a second oath, swearing that his motivations were pure.
1:23. Paul did not return in order to spare the Corinthians. He did not state explicitly from what he hoped to spare the church at Corinth, but we can infer from the following verses that he had some harsh rebukes for them. He also mentioned in 2:1 that he had determined not to “make another painful visit” to the Corinthians.
Teaching and correction have to be timely as well as true. From Paul's perspective, the Corinthians had received enough rebukes from him for the time being. They deserved more reprimands, but the time was not appropriate. Paul avoided confrontation by delaying his planned return.
1:24. Even when Paul had corrected the Corinthians, he had not lord[ed] his authority over their faith, ruling over them. On the contrary, he tried to work with them for their own joy. Paul desired happiness for the Corinthians, and he knew they could stand firm in the blessings of Christ only by faith.
2:1. Returning to his main idea, Paul elaborated further on 1:23. He determined not to make another painful visit. The pain of rebuke is necessary at times in Christian relationships but not always appropriate, even when sin and error persist in the church. Paul practiced what he told the Colossians: “Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone” (Col. 4:6).
2:2. Not only did Paul change his plans to spare the Corinthians, but he did it also for his own sake. He feared that if he grieved the Corinthians further, he would have no one left to make him glad. Paul needed to be encouraged and strengthened by the church, and he depended on the Corinthians’ love. He did not need grief from the Corinthians added to his other difficulties.
2:3. Paul anticipated a potential question. If he needed to be encouraged by the Corinthians, why did he write so many harsh rebukes in his letter to them? Paul responded that he wrote to deal with problems from a distance so that when he came he would not be distressed by the church at Corinth. Their proper role in Paul's life was to make him rejoice. He had written previously about problems so that his face-to-face meetings could be positive. Once the Corinthians submitted to his written corrections, Paul had confidence they would all share his joy.
2:4. Paul insisted that he wrote his letter of correction out of great distress and anguish of heart and with many tears. He did not like rebuking the Corinthians. He grieved for the harm they did themselves. The apostle wrote about difficult things so they could know the depth of his love for them.
A Brief Application (2:5–11)
SUPPORTING IDEA: Paul remembered that he had dealt severely with a case of sin in the church. If Paul really cared about the Corinthians’ joy, why had he judged the sinner so harshly?
2:5. Paul explained his strong rebuke. The man had caused grief not to Paul, but to all of the church in Corinth. Paul acted firmly against this man in reaction to the widespread trouble the man had caused. Not everyone in the church had been incensed by the man's sin, so Paul qualified the scale of this congregational trouble. He did not want to put it too severely or to overstate the situation, so he said that all were grieved only to some extent.
2:6. Paul realized the situation had changed. The punishment or church discipline had been inflicted… by the majority of the church, and the discipline had been effective. The apostle made it plain that one purpose of church discipline is the restoration of the sinner. This purpose had been accomplished.
2:7–8. Apparently, having once decided to discipline, some people within the church were determined not to grant relief or restoration. But Paul insisted that the church ought to forgive and comfort the man they had disciplined. Why? Paul wanted to protect the church from too much grief. He did not want the man to be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow.
Sorrow should not always be avoided. In fact, it often leads to repentance. Even so, once repentance has occurred, a serious danger lurks for those who are not restored to good standing in the church: they run the risk of too much sorrow. Discouragement of this sort may actually lead the weakened believer into worse sin. Therefore, Paul urge[d] the Corinthians to reaffirm their love for the disciplined man.
2:9. To avoid any misunderstandings, Paul explained that he had instructed the church to discipline the man to see if the congregation would stand the test, if they would be obedient in everything, i.e., even in difficult matters. Inflicting discipline had not been easy. It was a test of their faithfulness to Christ and to Paul. God calls on believers to face difficult choices to prove the true character of their faith (cf. Exod. 16:4; Jas. 1:3; Rev. 2:10). The Corinthians had passed this test by disciplining the man.
2:10–11. Paul affirmed his intention to forgive the man in question. He was not waiting for the Corinthians to forgive the man before he forgave the man. He simply stated that as the Corinthians treated this man with mercy, they could be assured that he did as well. Perhaps some people in the church hesitated to lift the discipline Paul had ordered. Paul assured them that forgiveness agreed with his apostolic authority.
Paul gave two reasons for forgiving the man. First, he forgave in the sight of Christ (i.e., in good conscience before Christ) for your sake (i.e., for the benefit of the Corinthian church). He desired their benefit and joy, and so determined to restore the wayward brother.
Second, Paul forgave so that Satan might not outwit him (Paul), his company, and perhaps the Corinthians as well. Paul knew that Satan was clever, but he acknowledged that Satan could be resisted and outwitted by careful believers. He suspected that Satan would find opportunity in prolonged discipline to discourage the disciplined man and to harden the congregation's heart. Paul's concern regarding Satan was justified by the fact that they were not unaware of his schemes.
In other words, he and his company, and perhaps the Corinthian believers, had experienced enough of Satan's temptations to take notice of this possibility. Paul probably intended his forgiveness of the man to encourage the Corinthians to forgive the man, and thus to thwart Satan.
MAIN IDEA REVIEW: Speculations had grown about why Paul had not come to Corinth sooner. He explained what had been happening in his life, how he had treated the Corinthians with integrity, why his plans had changed, and what his current plans were.
Paul introduced this epistle by setting the record straight. His failure to visit the Corinthians as he had promised had prompted misunderstanding and accusations. Before he dealt with the difficult issues facing the Corinthians, Paul opened his heart to them. Everything he had done, both his previous corrections and his change of plans, he had done for their good. He wanted nothing more than their full joy in Christ.
PRINCIPLES
I have a good friend who is a dentist. He once told me: “When a patient has a toothache, I'm his best friend. But when he has no pain and I tell him we have to drill, I'm his worst enemy.” Dentists inflict pain to help us avoid pain. That makes them people to avoid, but it also makes them people to whom we run for help.
Paul must have felt like a dentist as he wrote these words. He had inflicted pain on the Corinthians by correcting their misdeeds, but they hadn't liked it. Then he had avoided visiting them to keep from grieving them too much, but they hadn't liked that either. Yet, with great compassion he paused at the beginning of this epistle to reveal his heart before them. Everything he did for them—the sharp rebukes as well as sparing them more correction—was for their good. They may not have liked him. But he did everything because he loved them deeply.
This passage has many applications for us today. Observing the way Paul dealt with the Corinthians, we see many truths that helped Paul determine his course of action.
For example, Paul knew God's grace was a higher standard than the world's wisdom. When the world demands justice or discipline, grace often suggests forbearance, forgiveness, mercy, and love. While we must sometimes execute justice as the Corinthians did by disciplining a sinful brother, often we may be merciful as Paul was with the Corinthians in delaying his visit. We must exercise wisdom in determining the severity and urgency of problems.
When mature Christians criticize us or we fall under church discipline, we must not stir up trouble or assume the worst of those who have called us to account. They deserve the benefit of the doubt, and we should give serious consideration to the charges against us. Pride often leads us to defend ourselves regardless of the truth, but God's discipline is ultimately restorative. We should submit to it for our own benefit. We should not reject a reliable dentist just because he tells us we need oral surgery.
Further, Paul's experience and testimony teach us a theology of suffering. He did not teach that Christians ought to seek out suffering. But he did teach that the Christian life involves suffering. Some teachers in the modern church would have us believe that God does not want us to suffer, and that if we suffer it is because we lack faith. Paul did not lack faith, but he experienced suffering. For Paul, suffering for Christ was an honor as well as a necessary part of Christ's redemption of his people. Suffering also strengthens believers so that we can better comfort others, and God himself promises to comfort us.
Sometimes when we suffer, even though we know that God uses it for our good, we develop impatient and irritable attitudes. We ought to follow Paul's example, not allowing our discomfort to affect the graciousness and love that we demonstrate to others. Like Paul, we must remain patient and forbearing.
Lord Jesus, we so often do not care about the joy of your people. Grant us hearts that are wise enough to avoid inflicting grief on others. Give us a firm commitment to delight in the joy of your people.
A. Comfort (1:3–7)
Both the noun translated “comfort” (paraklesis ) and the verb (parakaleo ) carry many different meanings in the New Testament. In the NIV, they are often also translated “encourage(ment)” (Rom. 12:8; Phil. 2:1; Heb. 12:5). The verb frequently also appears as “urge” (Acts 27:34; 1 Tim. 1:3). In the NIV, they appear as “comfort” mainly in 2 Corinthians. Only five times outside this epistle does the NIV translate these words with the meaning “comfort” (Matt. 2:18; 5:4; Luke 6:24; 16:25; Acts 20:12).
The keys to Paul's meaning here may be found in 1:6, in which Paul wrote that comfort produced “endurance,” and in 1:4, where he wrote of comforting “those in… trouble.” He probably did not refer to comfort akin to “a pleasant and relaxed feeling.” Instead, “comfort” should be understood as “consolation and encouragement” in the face of hardship, as when a person “comforts” another in the midst of loss or suffering.
B. Day of the Lord Jesus (1:14)
The Old Testament spoke of the day of the Lord as the day when God would come as a warrior king to defeat all his enemies and to bestow blessings on his people. The blessings for God's people included the restoration of the Davidic kingdom to Israel.
In the New Testament, the people of God maintained this hope in the day of the Lord, but they recognized that Jesus had been revealed as the Davidic king under whom the kingdom would be restored. As a result, they trusted that Jesus would be the divine warrior leading the heavenly troops into battle to defeat God's enemies on the day of the Lord, and that the blessings of the restored kingdom would be realized in him. The New Testament identifies Jesus as the “Lord” in the phrase, “the day of the Lord” (cf. 1 Cor. 1:8).
A. INTRODUCTION
B. COMMENTARY
C. CONCLUSION: THE DENTIST
Greetings (1:1–2)