2 Corinthians 1

Passage overview

2 Corinthians 1 is the opening portion of a letter that Paul sent to the church in Corinth. It includes greetings, expressions of gratitude, and explanations about his ministry and sufferings. Paul begins with a greeting asking for peace and comfort from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ (verses 1–2). He then emphasizes the comfort God provides even in hardship, and shares his desire that this comfort would flow into the life of the faith community as well (verses 3–7). In this process, he testifies about the severe affliction he experienced in the region of Asia and the deliverance God gave him (verses 8–11), followed by an explanation of his sincerity, the motivation behind his ministry, and the change in his travel plans (verses 12–24).

1versePaul, an apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God, and Timothy our brother, to the assembly of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints who are in the whole of Achaia:

2verseGrace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

3verseBlessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,

4versewho comforts us in all our affliction, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, through the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

5verseFor as the sufferings of Christ abound to us, even so our comfort also abounds through Christ.

6verseBut if we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation. If we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you the patient enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer.

7verseOur hope for you is steadfast, knowing that, since you are partakers of the sufferings, so you are also of the comfort.

8verseFor we don’t desire to have you uninformed, brothers, concerning our affliction which happened to us in Asia: that we were weighed down exceedingly, beyond our power, so much that we despaired even of life.

9verseYes, we ourselves have had the sentence of death within ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead,

10versewho delivered us out of so great a death, and does deliver, on whom we have set our hope that he will also still deliver us,

11verseyou also helping together on our behalf by your supplication; that, for the gift given to us by means of many, thanks may be given by many persons on your behalf.

12verseFor our boasting is this: the testimony of our conscience that in holiness and sincerity of God, not in fleshly wisdom but in the grace of God, we behaved ourselves in the world, and more abundantly toward you.

13verseFor we write no other things to you than what you read or even acknowledge, and I hope you will acknowledge to the end—

14verseas also you acknowledged us in part—that we are your boasting, even as you also are ours, in the day of our Lord Jesus.

15verseIn this confidence, I was determined to come first to you, that you might have a second benefit,

16verseand by you to pass into Macedonia, and again from Macedonia to come to you, and to be sent forward by you on my journey to Judea.

17verseWhen I therefore planned this, did I show fickleness? Or the things that I plan, do I plan according to the flesh, that with me there should be the “Yes, yes” and the “No, no?”

18verseBut as God is faithful, our word toward you was not “Yes and no.”

19verseFor the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us—by me, Silvanus, and Timothy—was not “Yes and no,” but in him is “Yes.”

20verseFor however many are the promises of God, in him is the “Yes.” Therefore also through him is the “Amen”, to the glory of God through us.

21verseNow he who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God,

22versewho also sealed us and gave us the down payment of the Spirit in our hearts.

23verseBut I call God for a witness to my soul, that to spare you, I didn’t come to Corinth.

24verseWe don’t control your faith, but are fellow workers with you for your joy. For you stand firm in faith.

Explanation of the Key Content

  • God’s comfort (verses 3–7): Paul praises God, who comforts in all affliction, and emphasizes the importance of believers caring for and encouraging one another within the community through their experiences of suffering and comfort.
  • Suffering and deliverance (verses 8–11): Paul’s experience of extreme suffering in Asia shows the importance of God’s power and reliance that goes beyond his own weakness. In the process, he confesses that God rescued him even in a “crisis of death.”
  • Sincere ministry and travel plans (verses 12–24): Paul emphasizes that his ministry was sincere before God, explaining that the delay of his Corinth visit was meant to show consideration for the church. This reveals the importance of trust and communication.

Meditation Points

  • Let’s reflect on whether we are experiencing God’s comfort even amid affliction, and whether that comfort is flowing to the people around us and into the community.
  • Through Paul’s sincere attitude and his changed plans, check whether my choices and decisions originate from a heart that considers others.

Applying to Myself

  • Let’s make a decision to live in such a way that, in the hardships and weakness of my life, I sincerely ask God for help and share the comfort I have received.
  • While in prayer, fellowship, and service, review and apply whether my heart and actions are flowing in a direction that builds up the community.