“Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort.” (2 Corinthians 1:3)

The apostle Paul uses two important titles for God in this passage, “the Father of mercies” and “the God of all comfort,” that give us unique insight into the character of our mighty Creator and Redeemer. First, God is noted as the fountainhead of all fatherly mercies that were ultimately expressed in the sacrificial death on our behalf of His perfect sinless Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Then we are introduced to this important theme of “comfort,” which is used a total of 10 times in this section of the epistle as either some form of the noun paraklēsis or the verb parakaleō (vv. 1:4, 6-7). Paul goes on to elaborate on his declaration of God as the source of all true comfort in the next verse as the one “who comforteth 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.” The participle form of the verb “comforteth” (parakaleō) is given in the Greek as a timeless present tense that conveys ongoing encouragement, support, and exhortation in all kinds of affliction and distress. Indeed, Paul goes on to say, “For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation [paraklēsis] also aboundeth by Christ” (v. 5).

But this comfort and consolation in the midst of our trials is not just for our own benefit but that we might also be agents of “the God of all comfort” to His church and a lost and hurting world. Paul emphasizes this in verse 6: “And whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer: or whether we be comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation.” JPT

From Days of Praise