In the Apostle Paul’s second letter to the Corinthian Church, he echoes some of the teachings that he delivered to the Church is his first letter but this time with a more universal call for the Church to join him in the expanding of God’s kingdom through the Gospel. The necessity of the universal nature of the Church in general is the central theme of 2 Corinthians and is built upon primarily six areas of instruction that are designed to prompt believers in looking beyond themselves while focusing more intently upon the realities of kingdom life. This call is not without its difficulties however as Paul encourages those in Corinth to abandon the earthly perspective they had become so accustomed to and seek the things which lay beyond the temporal realm; the things of Christ.
Admonitions To Persevere
Part of laying aside the perspectives of this world includes the response to suffering that inevitably will come once one has denounced any allegiance to the kingdom of this present darkness. Paul says in chapter one, verses three through five, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 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. For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.
If it were not for the body of believers supporting and encouraging each other, the temptations and suffering of this world would overpower the individual as they seek to defend against the tides of worldliness and sin. Paul highlights this fact as he admonishes the Church at Corinth to remain strong and bind together in Christian perseverance. As further example of Paul’s meaning, he highlights for the Church his personal struggles in the work of the kingdom. Thought it is always God who ultimately preserves, Paul calls the believers at Corinth to join him in earnest prayer and supplication so that strength may be given to them all in the offering and receiving of intercessions for perseverance.
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