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               "SECOND CORINTHIANS - EXPOSITORY OUTLINES"

                          True Comfort (1:1-3)

INTRODUCTION

1. Have you ever known people who despite tragedy were able to offer
   comfort to others?
   a. I know a woman who within two years lost her husband, her father,
      and her two sons
   b. Yet when I saw her at the funeral of the last one to die, I was
      impressed by the way...
      1) She graciously went around welcoming those who came to pay
         their respects
      2) She offered comfort to others, when you would think she would
         be the one needing it

2. On the other hand, some people are devastated by personal 
   hardships...
   a. They find no peace, no consolation
   b. They certainly are in no position to help others

3. What is the difference?  Where do those who are able to comfort 
   others while enduring their tragedy receive the strength to help
   others?
   a. The apostle Paul was one individual who had learned the secret
   b. And he passed it along to us in his second letter to the
      Corinthians

[It is in 2 Co 1:3-5 where we learn about "True Comfort" (read).  
Note first of all regarding...]

I. THE SOURCE OF "TRUE COMFORT"

   A. MANY SEEK FOR COMFORT "IN ALL THE WRONG PLACES"...
      1. Some in thinking their problems are no worse than those of 
         others
      2. Some in thinking that things will improve
      3. Some in believing that it can't be helped
      4. Some in trying to forget
      5. Some in exciting and dissipating pleasures of the flesh
      6. Some in complaining and repining
         
   B. BUT TRUE COMFORT COMES FROM GOD...
      1. He is called the "God of all comfort" - 2 Co 1:3
      2. Why Him?
         a. Because He is also the "Father of mercies" - cf. 2 Co 1:3
            1) The term "father" implies "source"
            2) Thus He is the source of all kinds of goodness and mercy
               - cf. Ja 1:17
         b. Comfort is just one of His many mercies, and so He is 
            described as:
            1) The "God of all comfort" - 2 Co 1:3
            2) "The God of patience and comfort" - Ro 15:5
      3. As the God of ALL comfort, there is no limitation to the
         comfort He provides

[The source of "True Comfort", then, is God.  But when does it come,
and how...?]

II. THE BESTOWAL OF "TRUE COMFORT"

   A. IT IS BESTOWED "IN ALL OUR TRIBULATION"...
      1. God comforts us when it is most needed - 2 Co 1:4
      2. As taught elsewhere, God does not desert us in time of need...
         a. "I will never leave you nor forsake you." - He 13:5b
         b. He will not allow us to be tempted beyond our ability to
            bear - 1 Co 10:13
         c. Yes, even in "the valley of the shadow of death", He is 
            there to comfort us - Ps 23:4
      3. Indeed, the greater the affliction, the greater the comfort! 
         - 2 Co 1:5
         a. As the sufferings abound...
         b. ...so does the consolation!

   B. IT IS BESTOWED "THROUGH CHRIST"...
      1. "...so our consolation also abounds through Christ" - 2 Co 1:5
         a. Just as with all other spiritual blessings, it is found 
            only "in Christ" - Ep 1:3
         b. To receive the comfort that comes from God, then, we must 
            be "in Christ"!
      2. Being "in Christ", there are two avenues through which comfort
         is dispensed...
         a. The Word of God - cf. Ro 15:4
         b. Prayer - cf. Ph 4:6-7

[Actually, there is a third avenue by which the "True Comfort" God 
gives us in Christ is bestowed, but that will become apparent as we 
consider...]

III. THE PURPOSE OF "TRUE COMFORT"

   A. TO COMFORT OTHERS...
      1. "...that we may be able to comfort those who are in any 
         trouble" - 2 Co 1:4
      2. The comfort God provides through Christ is not just for our 
         private consumption
      3. "God does not comfort us to make us comfortable, but to make 
         us comforters." - John Henry Jowett (1817-1893) 
      -- Yes, our comfort is designed to be shared!
   
   B. A CASE IN POINT...
      1. How God comforted Paul - 2 Co 7:4-7,13
         a. The Corinthians comforted Titus in the way they received
            him
         b. So comforted by the Corinthians' reception, Titus' coming
            then comforted Paul
         c. Yet Paul saw that the source of this comfort was ultimately
            from God!
      2. This reveals another avenue by which God bestows His comfort
         a. It may come DIRECTLY from God (e.g., through His Word - Ro 
            15:4)
         b. It may also come INDIRECTLY from God, through the 
            exhortations of others - cf. 1 Th 4:18
      3. Sadly, many people neglect all avenues through which God 
         offers "true comfort"
         a. They do not feed upon the Word and pray, to receive comfort
            directly
         b. Nor do they develop the network of relationships with other
            Christians, through which God might comfort them indirectly
            when needed!
         -- But when all avenues are utilized, then "true comfort" is 
            possible, and we can then pass it along!

[Finally, let's also notice...]

IV. A CONSEQUENCE OF "TRUE COMFORT"

   A. GRATITUDE, MINGLED WITH ADORATION...
      1. Paul began our text with these words:  "Blessed be the God and
         Father..." - 2 Co 1:3
      2. It was the "true comfort" he had received that moved him to 
         praise God

   B. SUCH PRAISE IS ONLY NATURAL...
      1. Not only because of the comfort we have received
      2. But also because of the comfort we can now pass along to
         others!

CONCLUSION

1. Are you lacking in this "true comfort"?
   a. Perhaps you have been looking in the wrong places...
      1) It comes only from "the God of all comfort"
      2) And it comes only "through Christ"
      -- Are you in Christ? - cf. Ga 3:27
   b. Perhaps you are not benefiting from the comfort God gives 
      others...
      1) There are those who would be happy to share their comfort with
         you
      2) But you must be willing to develop the relationships necessary
         for such comfort to travel from them to you!
      -- Are you working on your relationship with fellow Christians? 
         - cf. Ph 2:1-5

2. For those who are faithful Christians, having delighted in fullness
   of "true comfort", remember these exhortations...
   a. "Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you
      also are doing." - 1 Th 5:11
   b. "Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort
      the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all."
      - 1 Th 5:14

Do these things, and we will all experience the "true comfort" by which
we will want to say:

   "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father
   of mercies and God of all comfort..."  (2 Cor 1:3)
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The "Executable Outlines" Series, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 1999


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