Blessed Hope Bible-Presbyterian Church
500 Upper Bukit Timah Rd, Singapore 678106
Sufferings can come to the Christian because of his faith in Jesus Christ. As he seeks to please Christ and do His will, sufferings can come perhaps as a result of persecution as in the experience of the Apostle Paul. He was not dismayed because he experienced the comfort and strengthening that Christ promised His disciples.
The word “tribulation’ means “pressing together, squeezing”. It describes a pressure applied to a breaking point. The Apostle Paul speaks of the comfort of God’s mercies during the time of tribulation for God’s people. He is there for them to take care of them who are in any trouble.
Believers in the face of afflictions can attest to God’s help in sending relief, comfort and solace. It is in their experience of God’s presence in their afflictions that gives them the confidence to recommend Him to others going through affliction.
Our Father in heaven is called the Father of mercies because He dispenses His mercies to His people. Daniel admits in his prayer to this truth in Daniel 9:9-10 To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgiveness; for we have rebelled against him; neither have we obeyed the voice of Jehovah our God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets.
William MacDonald observed well, “The letter is addressed to the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints who are in all Achaia. The expression “church of God” means that it was an assembly of believers belonging to God. It was not a heathen assembly, or some nonreligious gathering of people, but a company of born-again Christians, called out from the world to belong to the Lord.”
The word “peace” comes from the Greek verb eirō which means “to join” and the noun eirēnē refers to “the things joined together. To make peace, therefore, means “to join together that which is separated.
It is the grace of God that brought our salvation. By grace, we are saved through faith. And the grace of God that came will continue to be speed believers along the pathway on the pilgrimage to heaven until they safely arrive home. We need to be reminded that the grace of God abides with His people to help them through life after they confessed Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. A most fitting greeting among God’s people as they seek the Lord grace to strengthen each other. This grace comes from the Godhead.
The Apostle Paul was a man who lived out the will of God for his life. What a blessed life to be living in the center of God’s will, doing His bidding. God sent a young man Timothy to be his companion and fellow soldier in the Lord’s army. He derived no small comfort from his fellowship with Timothy. It was during his 2nd missionary journey that Timothy was commissioned to follow him in the gospel work.
These closing words of affection and endearment from God’s servant, the Apostle Paul, for God’s people invoking the power of Christ Jesus to effect His blessings upon their lives.
The parting note of ardent prayer for God’s blessing to be upon His people is most fitting and comforting. The Lord is the bestowal of blessings. Unless the Lord shows favour, God’s people are without strength and wisdom to move forward in life. It is all by the grace of God that we are who we are, sinners saved by grace.