The God of All Comfort (2 Cor. 1:1-11)

[Sung Psalm: 25]

Paul did not choose his own career.

God called him. Back when he was known as Saul of Tarsus, Jesus had appeared to him on the road to Damascus. In Acts 9:15-16, the Lord Jesus said to Ananias that Paul “is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”

An apostle is one who is sent. Jesus has sent Paul to testify – to bear witness to Jesus. And indeed, the message of 2 Corinthians is “the relationship between suffering and the power of the Spirit in Paul’s apostolic life, ministry, and message” (ESV Study Bible)

We keep seeing this all over the Bible!
The only way to glory is the way of the cross.