Let's take our Bibles once again.
Turn with me to the book of 2 Corinthians. 2 Corinthians chapter 1. 2 Corinthians chapter 1. I'd like
to begin a study in the book of 2 Corinthians this morning.
We finished 1 Corinthians Now, Lord willing, I'd like for us
to look at this second letter. 2 Corinthians chapter 1, Paul,
an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the will of God, and Timothy,
our brother, unto the church of God, which is at Corinth,
with all the saints which are in all Achaia. Grace be to you
and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be God, even the Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God
of all comfort, who comforted us in all our tribulation, that
we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble by the
comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. Scripture declares that Paul
addressed himself to a church that had been raised up by the
grace of God at a place called Corinth. Now, there's no place
there anymore. God was pleased to raise up an
assembly. He had some sheep. In that place,
the Lord established a place and sent a preacher. Paul describes himself as an
apostle, an apostle. Actually, the word apostle means
a delegate, a messenger, entrusted with and sent. That's what an apostle means.
Now, there's no apostles today. The Lord set apart Some apostles,
he called 12 apostles. One of them was a devil. He had
11 that were his in mercy, sovereign grace. One of them was chosen
by the Lord according to God's eternal purpose and will to be
the one that would be the turncoat. one that would turn the Lord
over, a rebel against God. They weren't voted on, but they
were ordained of Almighty God, messengers of God, taught, called,
taught, and personally sent by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. As I said last week, fallible
men. I mean, just, we just read. the struggles that these men
had, all of them, they were fallible men who consistently, like we
do, exhibited the characteristics of every other fallen creature
in Adam. But when these men, under the
inspiration of God's Spirit, when they spoke God's Word, and
not every word they spoke was infallible, but when they spoke
The Word of the Lord. They spoke that which is infallible. God's Word. These were men that
were used by Almighty God in the establishing of the Lord's
physical church. These different places, God used
them and they raised them up. Raised up assembly, just like
this one. Men and women don't get together
and just raise them up. We think we're going to start
us a church. No. No. Where the Lord is pleased
to raise up a church, God raises it up. Because God has a people
there. It's a precious place. You think
of the preciousness of this place where God has raised up an assembly. 62 years. God was pleased to
raise up an assembly and has kept it here. That still just
amazes me. that we're still here this morning,
by the grace of God. And the Lord can take it and
move the candlestick just as easily as he put it here. And
if God's pleased to remove the candlestick, I'm telling you,
it's over. This is it. We're here by the
grace of God. I'm thankful to be here with
you. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the will of God, And
Timothy, our brother, a faithful believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. God gave this brother, Timothy,
a heart to travel with Paul. This was a blessed young man. God had given him a believing
mother and a grandmother. And he was taught the scriptures
that were able to make him wise unto salvation. And the Lord
blessed it. He blessed the Word. Let us be
found teaching our children, our grandchildren, our great-grandchildren.
Teach them the Word of God. Read God's Word to them. Tell
them, let me just read this word. This is the Word of God. Who
knows? But the Lord might be pleased
to bless it. Who knows? Paul, an apostle by the will
of God and Timothy, unto the church of God, which is at Corinth,
with all the saints, all the sanctified, all the set apart
ones, all those that are holy, That's what saints means, holy,
holy ones. Sanctified, set apart for God's
purpose, God which are all in Achaia. Now this letter, it was
written to a specific church located within the city of Corinth
and all those provinces scattered around. But God has sent this
letter to us through a messenger named Paul. He raised up a preacher.
And here we're benefiting from what God was pleased to send
to His people through a messenger. God would raise up a preacher. Now I'm telling you, it's a miracle
of God's grace. God raises up men and I'll tell
you, they all have like passions just like everybody else. There's
that struggle within, there's a war going on within them. They
battle, but by the grace of God, they might say in their heart,
and believe me, believe me when I tell you, with the struggles
and the responsibilities, they'll say, who's sufficient for this?
To stand before God's people, to stand before those God is
everlastingly loved and chosen in Christ and redeemed by His
blood and the responsibility to search the scriptures and
ask the Lord. I told you before, it's not automatic. I've heard people say, you know,
you don't need to, I mean, just open the scripture and the Spirit
of God will lead you. Yeah, right. Let me tell you something. I
wouldn't stand, I would not, if I didn't have in my heart
the settled belief that this was the message of the hour,
I would, I would stand down here and I'll tell you, I don't, I
don't have anything. That's just, you know, we'll
have a word of prayer. Gary, you come up and sing a song or
two and we'll go home. I don't have a message. People
think, you know, well, you've been preaching now 40 something
years. And you ought to be able to just take these scriptures
and just open them up. That's presumption. That is presumption. Don't you ever think that happens.
God Almighty calls men to preach. And those men seek God's face
and seek His will and ask Him, Lord, bless it. This morning
I was asking, Lord, bless this word. Lord, please, please, bless
Your word. It's Your word. Lord, You sent
it. Bless it. Paul, an apostle. of Jesus Christ by the will of
God. And then he says in verse 2,
Grace be to you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord
Jesus Christ. Here's the distinguishing favor
of Almighty God to His people. Spoken through a preacher, through
a pastor. God sends a pastor. You need
to be sitting and hearing under a God called pastor. He says, from the Lord, grace
be to you. God said that. The Lord said
that. Paul didn't say that. Those are
not Paul's words. This is what the Lord said. Grace
be to you. That's what the Lord told Moses.
I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious. And the fruit of
God's grace to God's people, which was also the prayer and
the desire of the Apostle Paul and Timothy, is this. Peace. Grace from God and peace. Peace in heart. Settled. Peace in the midst of the storms.
That's the evidence, that's the fruit of God's grace. God settles
His people down. Now we may be going through some
tough trials, tough tribulations, and that as a result of God's
loving chastisement that the Lord sends to His people, but
I'm telling you, peace to be able to settle down. I've told
you this before, I used to tell my children this all the time.
It doesn't matter, you know, what the situation is. Situations
never change, only the way you see it. You may be going through
the toughest trial you've ever gone through in your life, but
if God settles your heart down, you can settle down. It's the
Lord. That's what Job, it's the Lord. I mean Eli, Eli said, it's the
Lord. Two boys, God was pleased to
take them. It's the Lord. Let Him do that which seemeth
Him good. It's God. Peace. Grace and peace. And it was said to come from
God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul says this is where grace,
which is evidenced by the settledness of our heart, to be able to settle
down. comes from God the Father, God Almighty, who is the just
God, loving of His people, everlastingly loving, but God Almighty, who
is just and merciful only one way, through the intercessor,
without the Lord Jesus Christ, the mediator. Somebody is going
to have to please God, you know, Many today, they speak of Almighty
God as being one that He's wanting to, if you'll let Him. He's wanting, He'll want to.
God is going to have to be satisfied. God's law is going to have to
be satisfied. God, the Father who chose us, chose us in Christ
because He trusted Him. He trusted. My law is going to
be honored. Justice is going to be satisfied.
The guilt of men is going to be put away, but it's going to
be put away in absolute justice. God the Father and the Lord Jesus
Christ. He who is responsible to meet
all of those requirements of justice. This thing not done,
slid under, you know, behind closed doors and shadows and
stuff, wide open. God Himself. has been satisfied
in His blessed Son. Oh, what peace! Because of the
grace of God that has been given. Then Paul says, Blessed be God. Now, the Apostle Paul uses a
word here that can only be applied to the Lord God Himself. Blessed
be God. Now, many are referred to in
the Scriptures as being blessed. We're blessed. We're blessed. That word means happy, blessed. We're happy. We're happy in the
Lord. But this word blessed right here is a word that signifies
to praise or to celebrate with praises. To give praise unto. We don't give praise unto ourselves. We're happy. Same word, blessed. But it means an entirely different
thing. Here, because of His goodness. Blessed be God. Praise, celebrate
God Almighty. Celebrate Him for His glory.
It's the word that is, I'll say it in eulogeo, E-U-L-O-G-E-O. It means to speak well of. I
would assume I didn't find this in the definition. I would assume
that it's the word where we get eulogy, to speak well of. I've
heard Brother Henry say that's what eulogy means, to speak a
good word about. But it wasn't in the definition,
so I'm not going to say that that's what it means. It just
seems like it possibly does. So Paul declares here, glory
be to God. Adored be God. And then he gives
three reasons for this word right here, give praise unto the Lord. And here's the first one. Blessed
be God. Here's the first reason. Even
the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be God. He is the Father who everlastingly
loved us. Blessed be His holy name. He
was the one. who chose us in Christ before
the foundation of the world that we should be holy and without
blame before Him in love. Blessed be even the Father of
our Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son in whom we were
chosen. Blessed be the Father that He
put us in a representative. of whom He was well pleased.
Blessed be the Father who put us in one that He trusted. Blessed
be God who would choose us in Him who is the surety and say,
I'll not look at you or to you anymore. I'm going to look to
Him. And He's not going to fail. He's going to accomplish that
which I've purposed. Blessed be God Paul says we are
to bless the one who is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, the God of redemption. 1 Peter 1, 3 and 4, Blessed be
the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according
to His abundant mercy hath begotten us again, birthed us again unto
a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Paul said bless God, bless the
Father, who was pleased to choose us. Blessed be the Father who
didn't leave us to ourselves. Isn't that adorable? Adore Him,
praise Him, bless Him for what He's done. Secondly, Paul blesses
God who is the Father of mercies. Blessed be Him who is the most
merciful Father. He whose holy character toward
us in Christ is mercy, mercy, mercy in Christ. I've been doing some reading. I'll just add this to you. I started thinking about the
difference between forgiveness and pardon. If I've said this
to some of you, just bear with me. What's the difference in
forgiveness and pardon? Pardon. The only way I can get
it in my mind to think how it is, is to consider someone who
is a judge, a judge who naturally, speaking, if there's a judge
and there's someone that's being tried and they've done something
personally to the judge, humanly speaking, in courtrooms now,
well then he's going to have to be, it's a conflict of interest,
he's going to get another judge because he's already partial.
If somebody did something to me personally, it's going to
be tough for me to just excuse, you know, that you did that to
me personally. But let's say in the matter of Heavenly Father,
that is the case. Something's been done, it's been
done personally against God, and He's the judge. He's the
judge. But He's just. He's just. He's
a just God. Now, the difference between forgiveness
and pardon, what's the difference? Forgiveness and pardon. Forgiveness
is the attitude of the heart. Pardon is the actual act because
of an attitude of the heart. In my heart, I've forgiven you. I've lifted that off. And you're
pardoned. That's the actual act of it.
Paul says, bless God who's the father of all mercies. He who has forgiven us for the
sake of Christ, his attitude, that's forgiveness, the attitude. Forgiveness is the attitude.
Pardon is the act. Go free, you're free, you're
free. Blessed be God, the father of
mercies. Psalm 86, 5, For thou, Lord,
art good and ready to forgive with the attitude of his heart
for Christ's sake and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call
upon thee. Paul says, Bless him for his
glorious attributes toward his people. Listen to this, But thou,
O Lord, art a God full of compassion and gracious, long-suffering,
plenteous in mercy and truth." And then Paul blesses him as
the father of mercies. As Micah asked this question,
Micah 7, 18, Who is a God like unto thee that pardoneth iniquity? Who is a God like you that actually
does something that because of being his heart satisfied in
Christ in whom we were... Who is a God like you that pardons? No charge. No charge. No charge to you. I charge him.
I charge him with it. No charge to you. Who is a God
like unto you that pardoneth iniquity and passeth by the transgression
of the remnant of his heritage? He retaineth not his anger forever,
because he delighteth, he delighteth in mercy. Paul said, bless God,
one that delights in mercy toward his people in Christ. If the iniquity of God's heritage
be sought for any, doesn't matter who, Satan, the world, if the
iniquity of God's heritage be sought by any that would desire
to lay charge to their account. This is what they're going to
find. Nothing. There's no charge. There's no
record. There's no record. You say, but
I'm a sinner. I sin all the time. I can't do anything but sin. No charge. No charge. No record. But I feel that no
record. No record. We see through a glass
darkly, don't we? How can this be? How can it be? There is therefore now. Can't you hear Brother Scott
say that? There is therefore now. No condemnation to them
that be in Christ Jesus. The Lord Jesus Christ has lifted
that guilt from His people, His elect, chosen in Him, and made
it to be His own. If He's taken all the guilt,
all the transgression of all His elect, and eternally took
it, eternally took it, God saw the Lamb slain from before the
foundation of the world, before God ever made the world. He saw,
and all of it, He saw Christ's obedience as the Lamb, taking
that guilt and making it His own. And He bore all of the guilt
off all of His lap for all of time and eternity, made it His
own. Mine iniquity, mine transgression
is more than the hairs of my head. If he bore all of it, he
bore all the guilt, and died under the justice and judgment
of Almighty God, and was buried and raised three days later because
of, for our justification. If he bore it all, where is it
now concerning God's people? It's gone. I know we still see the remnants
of it, but that's why he died. But what you're experiencing
right now, no charge. Bless God, the Father of mercies,
passes by the remnant of His heritage, retains not His anger. Then thirdly, the reason Paul
said bless God is because He's the God of all comfort. All comfort. He's the author. of true and enduring comfort. Not only has He comforted us
in the revelations of His mercy for our eternal good in Christ,
but He's delivered us from the sting of death and victory of
the grave in that day. And I know we struggle
right now as we grow older and we see the effects of this Sin,
it does so easily beset us, cause us to not believe God. But I'm
telling you, according to these scriptures, there's no sting
in death, there's no victory in the grave. And the closer
God's people come to that time, I've seen it and many of you
have too, you behold the sustaining grace of God. The God of all
comfort, who comforteth His people. It's what Paul says in verse
4. The God of all comfort, who comforteth. Comforteth. E.T.H. You say, I don't feel comforted
many times. The scripture says, He continually
comforts us, even in our struggles. Who comforteth us in all our
tribulation, in all the trials, struggles. Oh, we're allowed
to see ourselves because of the body of sin. But I'm telling
you, what believer is there that's not then reminded, I'm not going
to leave you. I'm not going to forsake you.
And a believer says, Lord, thank you for that. Lord, I'm sorry.
Forgive me. Lord, look upon me afresh in
your blessed Son, which is done eternally. But we ask again,
not to seek, ask. Who comforteth us in all our
tribulations. The Lord's promised. We're going
to have them. We're going to have them. Man
that is born of woman is a few days and full of trouble. But in our afflictions bodily,
in heart, in spirit, the Lord comforts. He comforts us in all
of our tribulation. Comforts us by His Word to our
hearts. Comforts us by His promise. Blessed
by the Spirit of God to our hearts. While there is certainly a lot
of reasons that God does afflict His people, those that He loves,
He's preparing to leave this world. Don't you find yourself?
You get to a point where you think, you know what? This world
just doesn't have the zing that it once had to me. You just get
tired. You start thinking about it. I think I really am going to
see Him. And I think I find myself starting
to anticipate that. The world by nature says you're
crazy. The believer says no, no. Oh, that I might be where
He is and see Him as He is. We rest. in His blessed comfort, who comforteth
us in all our tribulation, and listen to this, that we may be
able to comfort them which are in any trouble by the comfort
wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. The best comfort in this
life comes from those who have walked. where you have. If somebody's going through,
or has gone through, something that you're going through now,
and you tell them, I know how you feel. I know, I know how
you feel. I've been there. You know, that
comfort, you tell them, the Lord's grace is sufficient. Now, if
they're looking at you and you've never gone through what they're
going through, you're telling them. You don't know what you're talking
about because you don't know how I feel. And I know that every
situation is different for every individual. I've gone through
some things that some of you have too, and I know everything
is still different, but there's still some great similarities.
He comforts us with comfort whereby we might be able. to comfort
those who are also going through. Look at Hebrews chapter 4, Hebrews
4, but concerning, think of the comfort of knowing that there's
nothing that we're going through physically, emotionally, no temptations,
that the Lord Himself didn't go through. Now, here's what
the Scripture says, and let the Scriptures, let God's Word be
true. Hebrews 4, 15. For we have not a high priest
which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities,
but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Now, how many Points. Do you think the Lord was tempted
with? All of them. You think, I don't
see how the Lord could have been tempted with some of the things
that I've gone through. The Scripture says we don't have
a high priest which cannot be touched, who doesn't feel the
feeling of our infirmities. We don't have one that doesn't
know. He knows. He knows. Some of you know what
it feels like to lose a loved one. Some of you know how it
feels when a doctor tells you something that you really didn't
want to hear. Some of you know what it feels like to feel the
aches and pains and the troubles and trials. Some of you know
what it feels like, truly feels like. He knew. He knew as a man. Look at Hebrews 2. Hebrews 2. 16 to 18. For verily, he took not on him
the nature of angels, but he took on him the seed of Abraham. Wherefore, in all things it behooved
him to be made like unto his brethren. Why? Well, that he might be a merciful.
and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God to make reconciliation
for the sins of the people. For in that he himself has suffered
being tempted, he's able to succor them that are tempted." He knows. He knows what it feels like.
We'll never say to him, Lord, you just don't know. You never
went through this. Oh my! Yeah, he did. He grants us peace as He looked
to His Father to sustain Him. That's what He did. He humbled
Himself, called upon His Father in the hour of distress. Father,
if there be any other way except I be made sin, that's what He's
saying, this cup passed from Me. Nevertheless, He knows. He knows. In this life, the life
of a believer, it's been proven that those who suffer most are
the most comforted, the most settled. It's by these trials
that we're made to cast ourselves afresh upon the God of all grace,
to live walking after Him by faith. Don't you find that? When
do you find yourself mostly crying out for God? when you're in trouble, when
you need help. Paul could speak from experience.
He knew what it was like to be hungry and cold and be beaten,
put in prison, perils of the deep in the land. But in the
midst of these trials, the Apostle said to these, I take pleasure
in infirmities. Now can we say that? I take pleasure. Now it doesn't, it flies in the
face of the flesh, I know this. Pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches,
in necessity, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. Lord, help me to remember that.
For when I'm weak, then I'm strong. For those that love Christ, love
His gospel, His people. It's painful to suffer, isn't
it? It's hard. But Almighty God has promised.
God, let's be God. Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
God of all mercies, God who is the comforter, who comforts us, that we might be able to comfort
those who are also going through. I pray the Lord bless these words
to our heart. Keep us for Christ's sake. Amen.