2 Corinthians Week 1

Day 1

READ 

2 Corinthians 1:1-2 

1 This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and from our brother Timothy. I am writing to God’s church in Corinth and to all of his holy people throughout Greece. 2 May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace. 

Paul’s first letter was written to the believers in Corinth about A.D. 55 from Ephesus. This second letter was written from Macedonia about a year after his first letter. Indications are he had written other letters to those in Corinth, but only these two letters are recorded in the Bible. Paul introduced himself as chosen by God’s will to be an apostle of the Lord Jesus. He mentioned his team member, Timothy. The target audience was all the Christ-followers throughout Greece. He wished them grace and peace from the Father and the Son. 

REFLECT 

Think how special it would have been to receive a letter from the apostle Paul. You now have a copy of it in your Bible. 

RESPOND 

Join with a fellow believer in learning more about Paul’s letters to the Corinthian believers. Compare 1 Corinthians 1:1-3 with 2 Corinthians 1:1-2. Read Acts 16:1-4 to see his first occasion of meeting Timothy.  

Day 2

READ 

2 Corinthians 1:3-5 

3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. 4 He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. 5 For the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ. 

Paul began with a hymn of praise praising God. He then told how the troubles of believers can be used of God to comfort others. He assured them that if they suffered for Jesus, God would cover them with His comfort through the person of Christ. These had to be precious comments to those suffering for Jesus as they read his letter. 

REFLECT 

Think how God worked in your life in the past to bring you comfort when you were suffering. Were you suffering for Jesus? Has this been used in your life by telling others how God can help them also? 

RESPOND 

With a friend, count how many times a form of the word “comfort” appears in these three verses. The Greek text in which Paul was writing used a word that referred to “one called alongside to help.” God would help the suffering saints through the indwelling Holy Spirit who was called alongside to help. See John 14:16, 26 for the promise of Jesus about the Holy Spirit’s help.  

Day 3

READ 

2 Corinthians 1:6-7 

6 Even when we are weighed down with troubles, it is for your comfort and salvation! For when we ourselves are comforted, we will certainly comfort you. Then you can patiently endure the same things we suffer. 7 We are confident that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in the comfort God gives us. 

Paul continued to write about the need for comfort. He saw his own difficult situation being used to bring the Corinthian believers comfort. As Paul and his companions found comfort, they would be able to extend comfort to the believers in Corinth. For the believers to share in Paul’s and his friends’ suffering was also to share in their comfort as God provided it. 

REFLECT 

Have you experienced this shared comfort with friends? Have has that strengthened your relationship with God? 

RESPOND 

Spend time with a friend thinking about Romans 8:28. Individual circumstances may not be good but the ultimate outcome of them all working together can be. Knowing this can enable you to give thanks in everything, as 1 Thessalonians 5:18 says believers are to do. 

Day 4

READ 

2 Corinthians 1:8-9 

8 We think you ought to know, dear brothers and sisters, about the trouble we went through in the province of Asia. We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it. 9 In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God, who raises the dead. 

Paul did not give details of what instances caused him to feel this way. It was so bad Paul thought he might die from it. This caused him and his team to trust in God rather than in themselves. The God who is able to raise the dead was their only hope. This reveals Paul’s concept of the sovereign God he served. By “Asia” Paul is referring to “Asia Minor,” or modern-day Turkey. 

REFLECT 

Have you been so down that you came to the place of believing your only hope was God? 

RESPOND 

Read Hebrews 10:35-36 about the need for “patient endurance.” Talk with a friend about the need for this no matter what you are now passing through. 

Day 5

READ 

2 Corinthians 1:10-11 

10 And he did rescue us from mortal danger, and he will rescue us again. We have placed our confidence in him, and he will continue to rescue us. 11 And you are helping us by praying for us. Then many people will give thanks because God has graciously answered so many prayers for our safety. 

Paul expressed the confidence they had in God after He had helped them to survive their extreme difficulties. He assured his readers that their prayers were what helped them. He said many would rejoice over what their prayers had accomplished. Some wonder if prayers for others far away and unseen could be helpful. Paul’s words should assure them that they are.  

REFLECT 

Does this passage of Scripture encourage you to keep praying for missionaries and others far away even though you may not hear many updates from them? 

RESPOND 

Examine Romans 5:3-4 to learn what the obstacles in a believer’s life can accomplish. One sometimes learns more from tough times than from good times. Talk with a friend about what has been learned from passing through difficulties.