Friday, November 6, 2015

2 Corinthians 1:8-11

8 For we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of our trouble which came to us in Asia: that we were burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life. 9 Yes, we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead, 10 who delivered us from so great a death, and does deliver us; in whom we trust that He will still deliver us, 11 you also helping together in prayer for us, that thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf for the gift granted to us through many.

Commentary
Vs. 8-10 Having spoken of the comfort and consolation that we who believe have in Christ. The Apostle Paul now moves into the realm of his own personal troubles to declare how the Lord used them to teach him not to trust in himself, but in the Lord Himself, who delivered him from them all. And so Paul begins by saying that while he was in Asia ( i.e. Asia Minor) some very severe trouble (gr. thlipsis; tribulation, trouble, affliction see John 16:33) came to him. Now this trouble was of such a severe nature that Paul says of it, "...we were burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life" (Vs. 8). So severe then was Paul's trouble that Paul says it took him beyond all measure of his own strengths and resources to endure it. Indeed Paul says because of it, he even despaired of life itself! An incredible statement given what we know the Apostle Paul willingly went through in His love motivated and joy filled commitment to Christ (see Acts 9:15-16, 20:22-24; 2 Cor 11:22-33). Thus what Paul is writing here is not giving testimony to his own resiliency or abilities to endure or overcome some overwhelming circumstances, troubles, or opposition. Rather as Paul will go on to say in verses nine and ten of all the trouble that came to him in Asia, 9 Yes, we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead, 10 who delivered us from so great a death, and does deliver us; in whom we trust that He will still deliver us,  (vs. 9-10). 

Now this sentence of death that the Lord permitted in Paul's life was not meant to bring Paul to the grave, rather through it God would bring Paul to a much closer place of trusting Him than he could have if Paul did not undergo it. And so it was through it Paul would have too completely trust Him to deliver him from it. And thus through it Paul would also be the agent by which we all could see the deliverance that God worked in Paul's life, He can also work in our own lives. Thus the sentence of death was so that Paul (and us all) will not trust in ourselves in our darkest hours, but in God who raises the dead (vs. 9). The picture then of being under the inescapable judgment of death, and yet by God's Sovereign hand being delivered from it, is exactly what Jesus went though when He went to the cross to pay the redemption price set on us all, first suffering Crucifixion death for all our sins and transgressions, before being raised from the dead, by the power of God for the salvation of us all. And that is where the Apostle Paul is drawing his analogy from, relating it to his own deliverance from the sentence of death that was hanging over him. For it's one thing too know that the Lord was delivered from death by power of God, yet it's quite another to personally experience it. To have had the sentence of death in oneself, and yet by the power of God been delivered from it all. Thus this sentence of death instead of defeating Paul's faith, has been the catalyst by which Paul's trust in the Lord has grown and abounds exponentially as he experiences the power of God in ways yet unknown to him. And so now he confidently expounds that God who delivered us from so great a death (past), and does deliver us (present), and in whom we trust will deliver us (future), is the God who is also working out all our salvation in all our lives circumstances. Thus neither Paul's faith, nor his hope, nor his joy, would ever be linked to his circumstances of life, (or his own abilities to overcome them), for whether in life or death, God has, does, and will deliver us all who believe in His Son. 

Vs. 11 "you also helping together in prayer for us, that thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf for the gift granted to us through many."

The Apostle Paul closes out his thought and thanksgivings by acknowledging the Corinthians and their many prayers on his behalf, for though there were those critical of him, the Apostle Paul never wavered in his commitment too, and love for them all. And so here Paul encourages their prayers for him and for all, because through their prayers the Apostle Paul sees a direct link to his own deliverance. For truly deliverance from death (whether from sin and death, i.e. eternal salvation, or afterwards) is a gift of God; which the Lord graciously granted Paul in delivering him from his sentence of death, so that thanksgiving would abound to Him, by both Paul and them all. 

Scripture Quotations
The New King James Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982.

Additional Resources Consulted 
Vs. 9-10 Hindson, E. E., & Kroll, W. M. (Eds.). (1994). KJV Bible Commentary (p. 2337). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

Vs. 11 MacDonald, W. (1995). Believer’s Bible Commentary: Old and New Testaments. (A. Farstad, Ed.) (p. 1822). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

Kittel, Gerhard, Gerhard Friedrich, and Geoffrey William Bromiley. Theological Dictionary of the New Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans, 1985.

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