The Letters · New Testament
2 Corinthians 1
2 Corinthians 1: comfort in trouble and a defence of a changed travel plan
General context
Paul writes with Timothy to the church of God at Corinth and to the saints in all Achaia, and opens with grace and peace. He blesses God as the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort, and argues that the comfort he receives equips him to comfort others. As the sufferings of Christ abound, so does consolation; his affliction and his comfort both work for the readers. He then reports a trouble that came to him in Asia, so heavy that he despaired even of life and carried the sentence of death in himself, which he says taught him to trust God who raises the dead. He asks the readers to help by prayer so that many give thanks for the deliverance. He claims a clear conscience, says he writes nothing they cannot read and acknowledge, and turns to his itinerary. He had planned to visit them first, cross to Macedonia, return, and be sent on toward Judea. He asks whether the change showed lightness, answers by pointing to a preaching that was not yea and nay, and says the promises of God are yea and Amen in Christ. He closes by calling God to witness that he stayed away to spare them, and by refusing any dominion over their faith.
Cited passages: 2 Corinthians 1:1, 2 Corinthians 1:2, 2 Corinthians 1:3, 2 Corinthians 1:4, 2 Corinthians 1:5, 2 Corinthians 1:6, 2 Corinthians 1:7, 2 Corinthians 1:8, 2 Corinthians 1:9, 2 Corinthians 1:10, 2 Corinthians 1:11, 2 Corinthians 1:12, 2 Corinthians 1:13, 2 Corinthians 1:14, 2 Corinthians 1:15, 2 Corinthians 1:16, 2 Corinthians 1:17, 2 Corinthians 1:18, 2 Corinthians 1:19, 2 Corinthians 1:20, 2 Corinthians 1:21, 2 Corinthians 1:22, 2 Corinthians 1:23, 2 Corinthians 1:24
2 Corinthians 1 (KJV)
1Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, unto the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints which are in all Achaia:
2Grace be to you and peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
3Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort;
4Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.
5For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ.
6And whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer: or whether we be comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation.
7And our hope of you is stedfast, knowing, that as ye are partakers of the sufferings, so shall ye be also of the consolation.
8For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life:
9But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead:
10Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us;
11Ye also helping together by prayer for us, that for the gift bestowed upon us by the means of many persons thanks may be given by many on our behalf.
12For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world, and more abundantly to you-ward.
13For we write none other things unto you, than what ye read or acknowledge; and I trust ye shall acknowledge even to the end;
14As also ye have acknowledged us in part, that we are your rejoicing, even as ye also are ours in the day of the Lord Jesus.
15And in this confidence I was minded to come unto you before, that ye might have a second benefit;
16And to pass by you into Macedonia, and to come again out of Macedonia unto you, and of you to be brought on my way toward Judaea.
17When I therefore was thus minded, did I use lightness? or the things that I purpose, do I purpose according to the flesh, that with me there should be yea yea, and nay nay?
18But as God is true, our word toward you was not yea and nay.
19For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us, even by me and Silvanus and Timotheus, was not yea and nay, but in him was yea.
20For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.
21Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God;
22Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.
23Moreover I call God for a record upon my soul, that to spare you I came not as yet unto Corinth.
24Not for that we have dominion over your faith, but are helpers of your joy: for by faith ye stand.
This page shows the King James Version. In the app, reading opens in the Berean Standard Bible unless you have chosen another translation. The reader includes five translations: the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), the King James Version (KJV), the World English Bible (WEB), the Bible in Basic English (BBE), and the American Standard Version (ASV). Search covers three of them: Berean Standard, King James, and World English. Basic English and American Standard readers search the King James words.
Historical context
The letter names its senders as Paul, called an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy, called our brother. Its recipients are the church at Corinth together with the saints in all Achaia, so the address reaches beyond one city. When Paul recalls the original preaching he names the preachers as me and Silvanus and Timotheus, so the letter prints Timothy in the greeting and Timotheus here without remarking on the two spellings. The chapter gives no dates and no account of what the trouble in Asia was; it says only that it came in Asia, that it pressed him out of measure, above strength, and that he despaired even of life. The travel plan is stated in detail, including Macedonia and Judea, and the chapter says the visit to Corinth had not yet happened. Paul gives the reason himself, that to spare you I came not as yet unto Corinth, and supports it by calling God for a record upon my soul. No Old Testament passage is quoted in this chapter.
Cited passages: 2 Corinthians 1:1, 2 Corinthians 1:8, 2 Corinthians 1:9, 2 Corinthians 1:10, 2 Corinthians 1:11, 2 Corinthians 1:15, 2 Corinthians 1:16, 2 Corinthians 1:17, 2 Corinthians 1:19, 2 Corinthians 1:23, 2 Corinthians 1:24
Literary context
The opening piles up one word group: comfort, consolation and comforted appear across the blessing until the sentence turns back on itself, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. That vocabulary sets up the report of the trouble in Asia, which is told in extremes of pressure and rescue rather than in circumstances. The second half changes register to self-defence, and it works by question. Paul asks whether he used lightness, then answers with an appeal to the constancy of what he preached, so a charge about a cancelled visit is answered by the reliability of a message. The play on yea and nay runs through four verses and resolves in the claim that in him was yea. The chapter ends by softening the authority it has just asserted, saying he has no dominion over their faith and is a helper of their joy.
Cited passages: 2 Corinthians 1:3, 2 Corinthians 1:4, 2 Corinthians 1:5, 2 Corinthians 1:6, 2 Corinthians 1:7, 2 Corinthians 1:8, 2 Corinthians 1:9, 2 Corinthians 1:12, 2 Corinthians 1:17, 2 Corinthians 1:18, 2 Corinthians 1:19, 2 Corinthians 1:20, 2 Corinthians 1:23, 2 Corinthians 1:24
Key moments
- The God of all comfort (2 Corinthians 1:3). Paul blesses God as the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort.
- Trouble in Asia (2 Corinthians 1:8). Paul reports pressure beyond strength in Asia, to the point of despairing of life.
- Prayer asked of the readers (2 Corinthians 1:11). He asks them to help together by prayer so many give thanks for the gift.
- The charge of lightness (2 Corinthians 1:17). Paul asks whether his change of plan shows he purposes according to the flesh.
- Promises are yea and Amen (2 Corinthians 1:20). He says all the promises of God are yea and Amen in Christ.
- Why he stayed away (2 Corinthians 1:23). Paul calls God to witness that he did not come to Corinth in order to spare them.
For reflection
Paul says the comfort he received in his own trouble is what lets him comfort others in any trouble. What would it change to treat your hardest stretch as something that equips you rather than only something to get past?
