"Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; 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."
2 Corinthians 1:3-4
Part 1
“Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort.”
What marvelous titles for Jesus’ Father, and our God! These names describe God’s character. We bless Him for who He is and how He has treated us!
The Father of Mercies.
How grateful we ought to be for God’s mercy. Without it, we would be “of all men most miserable!” For indeed, God keeps from us all the punishment that we really deserve. This title, “the Father of Mercies” from the Greek text, could be translated “the compassionate Father”[1] (Vincent), which describes very well how He treats believers.
The God of All Comfort.
God is the one who gives His child comfort when he or she needs it. His eye is ever on us, and He knows when we need His consolation. In fact, He has provided for us His Holy Spirit, who lives within each believer. And it is the Holy Spirit who is known as our Paraclete, our Comforter.
“And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever” (John 14:16).
“But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” (John 14:26).
How we thank the Lord for His Holy Spirit that he has given to us. We could not function as believers in this world without our Comforter.
What are these “tribulations” that He helps us with? Come back tomorrow as we talk more about this.
[1] M.R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament, the electronic version in eSword.