Title: God of Comfort (07.8.26)
content br />
2 Corinthians 1:3-6
Among the gospel hymns that many people enjoy singing, there are these lyrics.
“Even if many people come and become my friends,
I was not comforted by my sick body and broken heart.
Jesus, have mercy on this sinner.
I want to be comforted by this helpless body.
That's right. Everyone wants to be comforted. This is because all humans are weak beings who need to be comforted and live.
If you live in the world, you will get hurt a lot due to various things. Conflicts from family life, difficulties in business, physical illness, and injuries from interpersonal relationships often wreak havoc in pain, frustration, and lamentation. In times like these, what you need is the comfort of your heart. Therefore, people want to be comforted. But there is no true comforter. This is because humans have limitations in language and abilities.
But today's text says, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the God of mercy and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our afflictions, so that by the comfort we receive from God, we will heal those in all afflictions. He is able to comfort him” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4). If you look closely at the text, you will see that the word comfort is recorded nine times. What does it mean to speak of comfort over and over again?
一. That God is our comforter.
In verse 3 of the text, he said, “The God of all comfort…” In any case, God is an unlimited comforter. What kind of comfort is God's comfort? The text says, “He comforted us in all our afflictions.” It means that God is able to comfort all afflictions, that is, any affliction. Who is God? He is the Almighty who created the universe. You are an omniscient. If such a God intervenes in our lives, where can we not be comforted? Therefore, he said, “He comforted us in all our afflictions.”
二. How does God comfort us?
1. He comforts you through Christ.
Verse 5 says, “Our comfort also abounds through Christ.” He comforts us through Jesus Christ, but He gives us abundant comfort that abounds. God sent his only begotten Son into this world to comfort the wounds of mankind. The work Jesus did was always comforting. Consolation means suffering from the same position and suffering together.
It happened in a high school and was reported in the newspaper. There was a student who had cancer. The student lost all his hair while undergoing chemotherapy. All the students in the same class who saw a friend who had lost all of their hair shaved their heads. The reason was to comfort a friend who was undergoing chemotherapy.
In this way, comfort means suffering from the same position and suffering together.
The Lord Jesus who comforts us never only comforted us with words, but he was with us in the same way in the body.
Jesus was born in a stable to be a comforter to the poor and those who are ill-treated in a heartless world.
As soon as Jesus was born, he fled to Egypt to be a comforter for refugees.
Jesus worked hard in a poor carpenter's family to become a comforter for the workers.
Nowhere in the Bible is it recorded that Jesus was taught in school. This is to become a comforter for those who have not learned.
Jesus was betrayed by Judas Iscariot, a disciple whom Jesus trusted, and sold for 30 pieces of silver in order to be a comforter to those who suffer from betrayal in human relationships.
The sinless Jesus Christ died on the cross in order to save mankind and to become a comforter to the unjust.
He rose from the grave to comfort those who were discouraged by failure, but to give hope that if you believe and obey God, you will perish, but you will rise again and gain victory.
This is the lesson that God will surely give us victory if we continue to serve and obey God, even if we live in poverty, ignorance, and even if we suffer betrayal and all kinds of injustice.
Who on earth is poorer than Jesus?
Who on earth has failed more than Jesus?
Who on earth has suffered greater shame than Jesus?
Is there anyone on this earth who has suffered more injustice than Jesus?
There is not!
The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God, is called the Comforter. It means protecting and helping the saints. This Comforter is called “parakletos” in Greek, which comes from the word “comfort”. Even now, Jesus is with us as the Comforter through the Counselor and the Holy Spirit.
The Comforter Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). Everyone who comes before Jesus will be comforted.
When Jesus, the Comforter, who was resurrected from the grave, ascended into heaven, he said, “Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the world” (Matthew 28:20). It is a promise to be with you until the end of the world and comfort your children.
2. He comforts you in the temple of the Lord.
As for the place of comfort, God said, “As a mother comforts her children, so I will comfort you; and you will be comforted in Jerusalem” (Isaiah 66:13). He comforts you, but he comforts you in Jerusalem. To be comforted in Jerusalem means to receive comfort in the temple of the Lord. The temple or church of the Lord is the body of Jesus Christ. The church is the house of God. In 1 Kings 8:29 it is said, “May your eyes be on this temple day and night, and hear the prayers of your servants toward this place, where you said before, My name shall be there.
Through the Word of God preached in the temple, we receive comfort and refreshment, and we gain direction and wisdom to live in a harsh world. Through the praises and prayers offered at the temple, our wishes come up before God and we receive answers. Therefore, God said, “Let us not forsake our gatherings, as is the habit of some, but exhort us, and all the more as we see the day drawing near” (Hebrews 10:25). It is to enjoy gathering together by longing for the temple of God's house.
The temple, the house of God, is a place where God comforts and refreshes souls who are struggling with life. The temple is where God gives His children the wisdom of life. Just as the home is a resting place for the body, the church is a resting place for the soul. Just as the body is where the body is refreshed at home, the church is where the soul is refreshed. Therefore, the more difficult and difficult things are, the more diligently we should seek the Lord's temple. We must please God by praying in the temple, making our wishes, and worshiping. Because God's comforting grace is given through the temple.
After the French hero Napoleon conquered all the countries of Europe, he dreamed of conquering the world, but suffered a devastating defeat at the Battle of Waterloo. The cause of the disastrous defeat was the sudden rain while placing combat equipment in the camp and dreaming of victory, and the entire camp turned into a pit of mud. While the wagon loaded with combat equipment was stuck in a mud pit, the enemy attacked him and he was taken prisoner. “Nothing is impossible in my dictionary.” He was a global hero, but he fell to his knees in front of a brief rain.
As such, the church, the body of Jesus Christ, is a place where God comforts weary souls. Therefore, we must love the church and diligently seek it. Amos 5:6 says, “Seek the Lord, and you shall live.”
What kind of heart should I look for? “If you seek it as for silver, and seek it as for hidden treasure, you will understand the fear of the Lord and come to know God” (Proverbs 2:4-5).
How else should I look for it? Matthew 7:7-8 says, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.” Knock on the door and keep knocking until the door is opened. Do not give up easily and seek God with patience.
Humans are truly weak creatures. It is like an earthen vessel.
Therefore, everyone wants to be comforted.
Where can I find comfort?
There is no place in the world that gives true comfort.
Who can comfort you?
There is no one in the world who can truly comfort you.
What in the world can comfort you?
There is nothing in the world that can give you true comfort.
There is only one true comforter, Jesus Christ.
He is God who came as a man, so He is powerful to comfort us.
The only place where God gives true comfort is the holy temple of the Lord. Therefore, I hope that you will cherish the worship in the temple. We hope you enjoy the prayers offered in the temple. Through this, I hope that you will be refreshed with the comfort God gives you and become a blessed saint who overcomes the difficult faction.