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§2 Thanksgiving (2 Cor. 1:3–11)

Usually the opening of a Pauline letter is followed by a thanksgiving for the church to which the apostle is writing. In 1 Corinthians, for example, Paul begins with the following thanksgiving: “I always thank God for you because of his grace given to you in Christ Jesus” (1:4). In Galatians and 2 Corinthians, however, Paul deviates from his normal practice. Is it a coincidence that in both cases the apostle was writing to a church that was in the process of defecting from him and his gospel, or that in both cases the situation required Paul to offer a defense? Galatians omits the thanksgiving completely and proceeds after the opening directly to reproof. Second Corinthians avoids giving thanks for the church at Corinth by beginning with praise for the way that God rescued Paul from mortal danger in Asia.

Nevertheless, this opening praise does relate to the Corinthians in at least two important ways. First, the comfort that Paul received during that very trying experience in Asia now indirectly supplies “comfort” through Paul to the church at Corinth: God has comforted Paul in his tribulation so that Paul will be able to comfort others in their tribulation (1:4). Paul thereby emphasizes his mediatory role between God and the Corinthians, a subject to which he will return in the body of the letter. Hence, Paul’s emphasis is not so much on the suffering itself but on its beneficial results for others. Second, in the process of praising God, Paul shares intimately of his tribulation and deliverance in order to regain the sympathetic affections of the Corinthians (cf. 2 Cor. 6:11), hoping that the church at Corinth will join him both in praising God for his deliverance and in praying for future deliverance. Whereas usually it is Paul who gives thanks for his addressees, here his addressees are supposed to give thanks for him. One reason for this is that Paul needs the Corinthians’ support to advance his mission, thus he must win them back to his side. Therefore, Paul tries to move the Corinthians to solidarity and partnership with him in his sufferings. Second Corinthians will have much to say about Paul’s sufferings and weakness, since they are a hallmark of his apostleship and one of the reasons for which Paul is being criticized in Corinth.

Employing the eulogy, a particular form of praise common in OT and Jewish liturgy, Paul blesses God for his deliverance from a nearly fatal situation in Asia (cf. vv. 8–11). Structurally, the eulogy proper is found in verses 3–7. The following passage (vv. 8–11) then explains and supports the reason for Paul’s praise in verses 3–7. In that the section begins (v. 3) and ends (v. 11) on the note of praise, the whole composition becomes unified by an inclusio (note the similar inclusio in the thanksgiving of Eph. 1:3–14).

1:3 / The apostle introduces his thanksgiving with a wish. Here, Paul expands the normal OT and Jewish liturgical formula “Blessed [is/be] God” (cf. J. Scharbert) by adding the words, “and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” This reference to the Father recalls the greeting in verse 2, where God is called “our Father.” For the third time in the first three verses of the letter, Paul is pointing out the divine kinship that he and the Corinthians share together in Christ, the firstborn Son of God (cf. Rom. 8:29). Later, Paul will return to this notion of divine adoptive kinship to argue that the Corinthians should dissociate themselves from his opponents, who stand outside the sphere of Christ (cf. 2 Cor. 6:18 in the context of 6:11–7:4).

Paul then elaborates on the words “God” and “Father” in chiastic order: the Father of compassion (cf. Lev. Rab. 17:4 to 14:34) and the God of all comfort (Rom. 15:5). For Paul, God is the one “who comforts the downcast” (2 Cor. 7:6). What exactly does this comfort include here? Is Paul speaking here of an inner feeling of relief or consolation? Or should we think rather of concrete help and assistance that God brings to the apostle in a dire circumstance? Or both? The following verses help us see more clearly.

1:4 / The descriptions of God continue in verse 4, giving the reason for which God is blessed. Starting in this verse, however, Paul suddenly shifts from using us/our in an inclusive sense to using it to refer to himself alone. Verse 6 highlights the explicit contrast between “we” (Paul) and “you” (Corinthians). Yet Paul’s train of thought helps us realize that the change most probably took place already in verse 4. Paul’s point at this juncture is not that God comforts us believers in general in all our troubles, but rather that God comforts Paul in particular in all his troubles; his comfort, in turn, overflows to the Corinthians (cf. vv. 5–6). The comfort that Paul receives belongs fundamentally to his apostolic ministry.

What does it mean that God “comforts” Paul in all his troubles? The word trouble (thlipsis) is used in Paul almost exclusively in the sense of the “oppression” or “tribulation” that is caused by outward circumstances or events (e.g., Rom. 2:9; 5:3; 8:35; 12:12; 1 Cor. 7:28; 2 Cor. 1:8; 4:17; 6:4; 7:4–5; 8:2; Phil. 4:14; 1 Thess. 1:6; 3:3, 7; 2 Thess. 1:4, 6). The other use of the word, in the sense of an inner “distress” or “anguish,” occurs only in 2 Corinthians 2:4 and Philippians 1:17. That the former use of the term is intended here is shown by the fact that thlipsis in verse 4a (and the verb thlibesthai in v. 6a) corresponds to “the sufferings of Christ” in verse 5a (see below). When Paul speaks comprehensively of all our troubles, he has in view especially the tribulation portrayed in 1:8–11, for the introductory eulogy in verses 3–7 is explained and substantiated in verses 8–11. There Paul speaks of the “tribulation” (thlipsis) that he experienced in the Roman province of Asia (v. 8a) and describes it as an extremely dangerous situation that almost cost him his life (see further below).

If verses 8–11 make it clear that “troubles” refers to a dangerous situation caused by outside circumstances, then comfort refers primarily not to an inner feeling of encouragement or consolation, but to divine intervention in the perilous situation and deliverance from it (cf. v. 10). Hence the expression “the God of all comfort” (v. 3b) corresponds to the “God, who raises the dead” (v. 9b), and the phrase “who comforts us in all our troubles” (v. 4a) relates to “who has delivered us from such a deadly peril and will deliver us” (v. 10a). The language from Israel’s hymnal, the Psalms, bears a close resemblance to Paul’s description here (see Additional Notes below).

The purpose for which Paul is comforted in all his troubles is given in verse 4b. The divine comfort (= deliverance) that Paul receives as an apostle is thus mediated to others through Paul. Far from disrupting his apostolic ministry, Paul’s trials actually contribute to its efficacy. In being comforted (delivered) from adversity, Paul is able to spread that comfort to others.

1:5 / The word For (hoti) introduces an explanation of verse 4b, how it is that Paul’s comfort can comfort others. Paul draws a comparison here (just as … so also) between two kinds of overflowing: the overflow of Christ’s sufferings to Paul, and the overflow of Paul’s comfort through Christ to others. Paul emphasizes thereby how his own comfort comes to his readers. Just as Paul shares in the sufferings of Christ, so also the Corinthians share in Paul’s comfort. As an apostle, Paul is a mediator, an agent for the transmission of the comfort (= deliverance). No matter how much Paul has suffered, God’s deliverance has always been greater, and the overflow of that comfort in turn comforts others.

In this instance, the sufferings of Christ are those that Paul specifically takes upon himself for the sake of both the crucified Christ and the message about the crucified Christ (cf. 4:11). Paul gives abundant examples of the sufferings that he endures in 2 Corinthians 4:7–18; 6:4–10; 11:23–33; and 12:10 (cf. 1 Cor. 4:9–13). He understands the suffering that he must endure in his apostolic ministry and role as revelatory mediator as participation in the suffering of Christ (cf. Gal. 3:1; 6:17). He experiences both “the sharing of his sufferings” and “the power of his resurrection” (Phil. 3:10). By comparing his own sufferings to those of Christ, Paul is able both to begin deflecting criticism of his apostleship, which his sufferings drew from his opponents, and to regain the sympathies of the Corinthians.

When Paul characterizes the comfort (= deliverance) he has received from God as a comfort that overflows through Christ, this is based on the idea that God reveals himself in the resurrection of Jesus Christ as the “God who raises the dead” (v. 9b; cf. Rom. 4:17, 24; 1 Cor. 15). In that God saves the apostle of Jesus Christ from a deadly tribulation, he shows the same resurrection power that was revealed in the resurrection of Christ (cf. 2 Cor. 4:7–18; 13:4).

1:6 / Paul now applies the idea developed in verses 4–5 directly to the Corinthians. This verse refers first and foremost to the proclamation of the apostle. The word salvation is to be understood in the normal, comprehensive sense of the term in Paul. The preaching of Paul is attended by his being distressed and comforted. His life is a visual portrayal of Jesus Christ as crucified (cf. Gal. 3:1; 2 Cor. 4:10–12). Yet Paul’s gospel is the medium that effectively promises and makes available God’s comfort and salvation. Insofar as Paul can proclaim this gospel as one who is distressed and comforted, then his situation serves to enable people to understand the gospel and thus to experience the divine promise of comfort and salvation for themselves. Furthermore, if Paul is comforted, he himself in his apostolic existence witnesses to the saving resurrection power of the one whom he proclaims as the “God of all comfort.” Paul is, in effect, living proof of the gospel in action; namely, that the “God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” and “the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort” does not abandon his own in the midst of tribulation.

Because Paul comforts with divine “comfort,” those who are in tribulation can bear their suffering with patient endurance, while trusting the God “who raises the dead” (v. 9b). For Paul, sharing in the sonship of Christ and in his kingdom as heirs requires that believers suffer with Christ here and now (cf. Rom. 8:17). This is quite normal for the time before the Parousia, although the Corinthians in particular have not always understood that sharing in the final glory is inseparable from sharing in Christ’s sufferings (cf. 1 Cor. 4:8–17). The comfort, understood as salvation, is not fully complete until the future, when all things will be rectified entirely and finally. For now, the Corinthians are partners with Paul in the same sufferings that he suffers. Rather than rejecting Paul for his weakness and suffering, the Corinthians ought to view Paul’s apostolic experience as a vivid display of God’s ability to sustain and deliver his people from trial, for they too participate in that deliverance. Paul’s life thus becomes an object lesson of God’s faithfulness as portrayed in the death and resurrection of Christ.

1:7 / Paul underscores what he has said in verse 6 about the Corinthians’ participation in his comfort. Paul and the Corinthians are partners both in suffering and in comfort, that is, in (ultimate) deliverance. Paul is obviously trying to bring the Corinthians into alliance with him by pointing out what they have in common.

Paul’s hope is firm and unwavering, even if its object is yet future (cf. 1:14). As he states in Romans 8:24, “We were saved in hope.” Because God himself imparts what he pledges and accomplishes what he promises, the church will also experience God’s comfort as his saving and preserving intervention. The promised comfort that the apostle expresses as a mediator of divine comfort is a performative word, which in the form of the gospel actually imparts deliverance from tribulation and death. In this sense, Paul’s message is very much like the oracle of the prophet that announces the end of the people’s tribulation in exile: “Comfort, comfort my people, says your God” (Isa. 40:1). Likewise, Sirach 49:10 says of the Twelve (minor) Prophets: “they comforted Jacob and delivered them [sc. the Israelites] with confident hope.”

1:8–11 / In this section, Paul concretizes what he has said about suffering and deliverance in verses 3–7 by means of a recent personal example.

1:8 / Paul begins the example solemnly by not wanting the Corinthians to be uninformed. Evidently, they had not yet heard what had happened to Paul, perhaps because it had happened so recently. Paul addresses the Corinthians as brothers, a term of endearment that includes the whole congregation and not just males. Paul is again pointing to the unique bond of kinship that unites believers in Christ, the firstborn brother (see on 1:1, 2, 3). The apostle shares very intimately about a severe persecution that he experienced in Asia, i.e., the Roman province in western Asia Minor, whose capital is Ephesus.

It is impossible to ascertain from the rather sketchy description in verses 8–10 exactly what kind of tribulation Paul suffered. He is sometimes indefinite when recounting profoundly personal experiences (cf. 12:2–4). The event described in 1 Corinthians 15:32 (“If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus”) is probably not referred to here, for the Corinthians had already heard about that in a previous letter. Many interpreters adduce the riot in Ephesus (Acts 19:23–20:1) to explain the background of Paul’s remarks, although Acts does not record that Paul was harmed on that occasion. In any case, the tribulation was undoubtedly some kind of external circumstance that came upon Paul in Ephesus or perhaps on the way to Troas (cf. 11:26), perhaps even during an otherwise unknown Ephesian imprisonment.

The danger was evidently so great that Paul thought he would perish: we despaired even of life (cf. v. 9a). Paul’s hyperbolic language here stresses the severity of the affliction. Probably we are to think of a life-threatening physical assault rather than of severe depression bordering on suicide. Paul gives ample evidence in his tribulation catalogues of the kind of persecutions and other dangers he commonly experienced (cf. 4:8–9; 6:4–10; 11:23–33; 12:10), including mortal dangers (11:23).

1:9 / Paul further describes how he felt during the mortal danger described in verse 8. By stating twice in rapid succession that he thought he was going to die, Paul conveys the intensity of the situation. In fact, Paul had already pronounced a sentence of death (or “verdict of death”) on himself, accepting his imminent demise as the providence of God (cf. 1 Cor. 4:9). He saw in the situation the divine purpose that he should trust solely in the God who raises the dead and not in himself. Paul expresses the same kind of resolution to life or death in Philippians 2:19–26.

Paul employs the perfect participle of peithein to mean “have confidence in, trust in” (cf. 2:3; 10:7; Phil. 3:3). Is there a question that the apostle would rely on himself rather than on God? Paul describes another, unrelated experience in 12:7 when God gave him a “thorn in the flesh” so that he would not be conceited about his revelatory experience. It seems that at one time Paul had a problem with humility and self-reliance. Likewise in 1:9, God’s purpose in subjecting Paul to the Asian tribulation was not to kill him; rather, Paul received this “sentence” or “verdict of death” in order that (hina) he would trust not in himself, but in the God who raises the dead (v. 9b). Paul is called in a life-threatening situation to trust in the God who raises the dead, indeed the God who already raised Christ “from the dead” by means of the Spirit (cf. Rom. 1:4). Because Christ, in whose sufferings and death sentence Paul shares, was raised from the dead, so also Paul can hope to participate in his resurrection of the death. Paul will come back to this point in 2 Corinthians 4:7ff.

1:10 / Paul’s confidence in the “God who raises the dead” was not misplaced, for God intervened on the apostle’s behalf with his marvelous power by delivering Paul from the danger of death in Asia. The expression deliver from a deadly peril (another textual reading has “from the dead”) occurs frequently in the OT (cf. Pss. 33:19; 55:14; 116:8; Job 5:20; 33:30; Prov. 10:2; 23:14). Normally, the expression is used of deliverance from the danger of death rather than from death itself. In the present context, however, Paul may also intend the latter meaning as well, especially as it is applied to the future in the second half of the verse.

The help that Paul has received in the past gives him the hope of further deliverance in the future. This does not necessarily mean that he will be rescued from all near-death situations, for he realizes that he is in the process of dying (cf. 4:10–12) and that he could be destroyed at any time (5:1, 8). Ultimately, Paul is confident only of the deliverance that will take place in the future resurrection (cf. Rom. 8:28–39).

1:11 / Paul has set his hope on God for continued deliverance from death (v. 10b). In verse 11a, Paul indirectly requests the Corinthians to pray for him in his ongoing apostolic ministry. The Corinthians’ prayers function not only as entreaty on behalf of the apostle for deliverance from death but also as a sign of solidarity with him in the face of opposition (see also Rom. 15:30–31; Phil. 1:19). Prayer is just one way to achieve unity (cf. also 1 Thess. 5:25; Phlm. 22).

In verse 11b the ultimate purpose (hina, lit., “in order that”) of the Corinthians’ prayers on behalf of the apostle is doxological, that is, praise to God for Paul’s ministry. By intervening and saving Paul from death, God enabled him to continue ministering. Therefore, when they meet together for worship, many believers should give thanks to God for Paul’s deliverance, which is here called a gracious favor (charisma; cf. 12:9). Even Paul’s most severe crisis must contribute to the praise of God. Certainly Paul’s approach to his own apostolic experience of suffering and dying differs sharply from that of his opponents in Corinth, who believe that these things demonstrate that Paul is an apostolic pretender, a fraud (cf. 5:16).

Second Corinthians 1:3–11 ends as it began on a note of praise and thanksgiving to God, thus giving closure to the whole section. For Paul, the universal praise of God is not just a religious duty or an incidental nicety; it is the goal of history (cf. Rom. 15:9–11). He hopes that “the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God” (2 Cor. 4:15). Paul’s divine deliverance from death through the prayers of the Corinthians is accomplishing just that.