Don’t Waste Your Suffering | 2 Corinthians 1:3-11

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Slides:

A little review:

- Paul is dealing with being judged in comparison to the “super” apostles.

- A major theme of 2 Corinthians: God’s power is perfected in our weakness.

- Jesus comforts us in our affliction (suffering and sin) through His presence.

Welcome to the priesthood!

Philippians 3:8-10

More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, 9 and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from [the] Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which [comes] from God on the basis of faith, 10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death;

1 Peter 2:9

But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR [God's] OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;

Don’t waste your suffering (i.e. get yo mind right!)

- We share in divine suffering so that we can share divine sympathy so that we may see divine salvation.

- We want the salvation without the suffering.

- The result of comfort is salvation through patient endurance.

Suffering is intended to strip away self-reliance and encourage dependence on God.

Romans 8:34(b)

Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.

Two tools for sharing comfort: presence and prayer.

Human comparison is a comfort killer.

Isaiah 53:2-5

For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, And like a root out of parched ground; He has no [stately] form or majesty That we should look upon Him, Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him. 3 He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. 4 Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. 5 But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being [fell] upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed.