Father of Mercies and God of All Comfort

³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, ⁴ who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. (2 Cor. 1:3-4)

These opening verses form part of Paul’s heartfelt introduction to his second letter to the Corinthian church. Second Corinthians is Paul’s most personal and emotionally charged letter, providing profound insights into his apostolic ministry. Two primary themes emerge: divine comfort amid suffering (Chapters 1-7) and God’s power demonstrated through human weakness (Chapters 10-13). Supporting themes include Paul’s integrity and blameless conduct¹, his perseverance amid severe suffering for the sake of Christ², his deep pastoral love³, and his unwavering commitment to spiritual rather than worldly standards⁴.

Commentators widely recognise 2 Corinthians as Paul’s most vigorous defence of his apostolic calling. Certain false apostles in Corinth were promoting “a different gospel” and “another Jesus” (2 Cor. 11:4). One of the issues in contention between Paul and these false teachers related to their view of suffering. These false teachers criticised Paul for his frequent sufferings, viewing them as signs of failure or divine displeasure. Paul countered that these very sufferings validated his apostleship and illustrated God’s power working profoundly through human weakness⁵. Throughout 2 Corinthians, the Apostle repudiates the lies and damaging teachings being peddled by these false teachers, proving their falsehood and expunging them from the Corinthian church.

This article seeks to reinforce Paul’s message that suffering is integral to the Christian experience and that God’s strength and comfort become most evident during times of hardship.

Sadly, false teachers promising a suffering-free Christian life are still very rife in the church today. The “prosperity gospel”, which has gained popularity in many parts of the world (but really isn’t any gospel at all, but a false teaching contrary to everything the Bible teaches), falsely claims that following Christ guarantees a life without hardship, sickness, or struggle. If a believer went through tough times – for example, financial struggles, illness, job loss, singleness or unmet relational desires, childlessness (you can add to the list), they (sc. prosperity preachers) pin that down to two things: insufficient faith or unconfessed sin.

Prosperity preachers place a lot of premium on faith. To them, faith is a magic wand to compel God to grant any desire. God must do whatever you desire as long as you have enough faith. Forget that He is Sovereign and does whatever He pleases, when He pleases⁶ and that His timing and will for us are best⁷. Such teachings directly contradict the clear biblical witness, particularly the message of 2 Corinthians 1:3-4.

In our passage, Paul blesses God precisely because He comforts His people in all their afflictions, openly acknowledging that he, Timothy, and fellow believers experience real hardships. That means Paul was not ashamed to admit he did go through afflictions, as did all the believers to whom he wrote his letter. This is truly remarkable.

If afflictions or sufferings—including bodily suffering like sickness or other physical infirmities—only happened to believers who have unconfessed sins in their lives, as prosperity preachers claim, then Paul wouldn’t be a suitable candidate, for he was blameless in his conduct¹. And yet, he wrote in Chapter 12:7-9:

“So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. ⁸ Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. ⁹ But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

Whatever this thorn in his flesh was, we cannot say for certain, but one thing is for sure: it was something that afflicted him, for which he petitioned the Lord three times to have it taken away. And each time, the Lord answered with a ‘no’. Could it be the health problem he wrote about in Galatians, for which reason he first preached the gospel to them? In Galatians 4:13, he [sc. Paul] wrote:

¹³ You know it was because of a bodily ailment that I preached the gospel to you at first. 

The truth is, we don’t know the answer. But this much is certain: even the great Apostle Paul faced afflictions—just as Timothy did, along with all those to whom this letter was written. This letter serves as an encouragement for us when we face hardships—whether afflictions, sickness, or painful loss—reminding us that we are not alone. Believers before us have endured similar trials, and even now, Christians around the world are experiencing the same kinds of suffering⁸.

Reflecting on these truths, what assurances does this passage offer us in times of suffering?

1. We have a Father of mercies and God of all comfort

Our passage reminds us that we have a Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our afflictions. Paul uses a term of affection and tenderness here when he addresses God as Father. And then he adds another term of endearment and tenderness: He is not just a Father, but a Father of mercies! We do not have a wicked Father who stands by and watches as His children suffer. Far from it!

At Easter, we remember how the Father of mercies sent His Son, Jesus Christ, who came to earth to live the life of perfect obedience we couldn’t live, suffered the punishment we deserved, and finally died the shameful death we deserved. On the cross, Father of Mercies displays his love for us. Even though He was perfect and sinless, Jesus took our punishment upon Him and died in our place. That is mercy. So, whenever we are going through suffering, and we are tempted to think God doesn’t love or has abandoned us, we ought to look at the cross and see how merciful he has already been to us.

As a result of what Jesus did on the cross, whatever suffering we go through here on this side of eternity is ‘easy’ suffering because we have been spared the greatest suffering of all, the punishment of our sins and eternal damnation, because Jesus took our place on that cross.

And so, Paul could write in Romans 8:18:

¹⁸For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

 So, the first thing we ought to remember when we feel like giving up is that our God hasn’t forsaken us. His mercies have no end. His name is the Father of mercies and God of all comfort. And he never forsakes His children. Jeremiah said in Lamentations 2:22-23:

²¹But this I call to mind,
and therefore I have hope:

²² The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
²³they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.

And Isaiah 49:15-16 reminds us:

“Can a woman forget her nursing child,
    that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb?
Even these may forget,
    yet I will not forget you.

2. We have a Comforter

Paul reminds us that God does comfort us when we go through difficult times. This is a present reality for all of God’s people⁹. Jesus promised to send us a Comforter, the person of the Holy Spirit¹⁰. One of the ways the Holy Spirit helps or comforts us, is to strengthen us in a special way when we go through afflictions and sufferings.

Paul experienced this when God told him, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” As a result, he said, “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”¹¹

This is the special strength and comfort that we are talking about. It is because of this special power God gives His children when they go through suffering that led Paul to say:

¹⁰For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Cor. 12:10)

Hallelujah! What comfort! What a merciful Father we have!

Notes

1. 2 Cor. 1:12, 17, 18; 6:3-10; 7:2, 3.
2. 2 Cor. 1:5-11; 4:8-12; 6:4-10; 11:23-12:9.
3. 2 Cor. 2:4; 11:2, 7-11; 12:14, 15.
4. 2 Cor. 1:12.
5. 2 Cor. 12:9; 13:4.
6. Psalm 115:3.
7. 2 Cor. 3:25-26.
8. 1 Peter 5:9.
9. Psalm 46:1.
10. John 14:26.
11. 2 Cor. 12:9b.