GOD OF ALL COMFORT

GOD OF ALL COMFORT? Really? Why is life full of discomfort? Our common view of comfort today is based more on emotional results and deliverance than on God Himself. God has Paul write this letter for the church so that we can truly know the One who will come along side us, the GOD OF ALL COMFORT. #2corinthians #2023

Starter

• What is something that you saw or had happen in your life that caused you to think or say that was Glorious?

Pray

Thank you God our Father and Lord Jesus Christ that you came from heaven to earth to come along side us and bring us your comfort. Thank you that you are Glorious and you want us to experience and tell of that glory. Help us to believe that if what is fading away is glorious, then what endures will be even more glorious. May the reality of having such a hope give us great boldness. Would our minds not be closed, but with unveiled faces, as looking in a mirror at the glory of the Lord, would we see our transformation into your image from glory to glory. Because we were shown mercy, we do not give up. Instead, we ask for your strength to renounce shameful secret things, not walking in deceit or distorting God’s message, but commending ourselves to every person’s conscience for our Glorious savior Jesus. Thank you GOD OF ALL COMFORT. Amen

Study Questions

Paul, an apostle, is writing God’s word to a church just a few years old that he founded and then left to plant other churches. The church has encountered numerous problems from inside and outside the church. Other self appointed leaders have worked to undermine Paul’s influence and God’s authority so they could substitute their own. God has Paul write to deal with these issues and help the church deal with the problems they are having like holiness and hardship, generosity and church order, and their testimony to the non‐Christians around them. He wants them to know and cling to the GOD OF ALL COMFORT.

The word comfort God has Paul use is not a feeling or a deliverance from circumstances. It is the word Paraklesis which means to come along side. It is the same root word Jesus uses for the advocate and counselor the Holy Spirit (John 14:16, 26). God wants to come along side us through life feeling what He feels and becoming more like He is so that we can know and show others the GOD OF ALL COMFORT.

READ: 2 Corinthians 3:3-6

1. In what sense are we glorious “living letters” vs. necessary but cold chiseled rules and laws?
   1. In what ways can people “read us”? What makes that even more important to be confident and authentic in our lives?
   2. How do you respond when people “read” something in you that they…admire and mention it to you?…don’t admire…? How might you respond to the Glory of God without being weird?
2. What is the balance between the need for training in ministry and personal submission to the Spirit of God? Why would this ability be so important in being a competent minister?
3. READ Exodus 20:18-20, Ezekiel 36:22-27
   1. What was Israel’s response to the Glory of God?
   2. What should our response be to the Glory of God revealed in Christ and the Holy Spirit?

READ: 2 Corinthians 3:7-17

1. Why did Moses’ face glow?
   1. Why do you think he covered it when he was out with the people?
   2. Why didn’t more people’s faces glow in Moses’ time? What’s the difference between the spread of God’s glory in Moses’ time compared to being in Christ?
   3. Do you long for Glory here on this earth or the Glory to come? Explain.
   4. What do the simple things we do with our time, talent, treasures, and testimonies reveal that we truly find Glorious?
2. What advice does Paul give in verses 14-16 for people who find the Bible difficult to understand? How have you seen the Lord work in your life when you follow this advice?
3. Why is the Holy Spirit essential to help people see truth clearly, grasp it, and surrender to Jesus?
4. What does it look like to live free as 2:17 and **Galatians 5:13** says?
5. Moses glowed by spending time with God. How can we get a similar glow of the Spirit in our lives?
   1. Do you think the low bar of Christianity in our day effects the Glorious glow of God in us and others?

READ: 2 Corinthians 3:18-4:6