Shalom, my dear friends. By the grace of God, we are going to start right now with the study of the book of 2 Corinthians. And I would like you all please to open your Bibles to the 2nd Corinthians wherever you are right now if the Lord is enabling you to sit and open the Word of God I would like you to turn with me to the book of 2nd Corinthians and with the help of the Lord I would like to introduce this new study of the book of 2nd Corinthians and with the help of the Lord by the grace of God we will look over this very interesting second letter that the Apostle Shaul Paul wrote to the Corinthians it had been said that a study of the book of 2nd Corinthians is not very easy to study or to put together with a good outline but the Spirit of God is our guide and the Spirit of God Ruach Ha'Elohim, Ruach HaKodesh the Holy Spirit of God is able to help us as we study together this new book of the second letter that the Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthian assembly.

I would like to begin by reading the first 11 verses of 2nd Corinthians chapter 1. And so, beloved friends, I'm reading verse 1. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, Yeshua HaMashiach, by the will of God, and Timothy, our brother, unto the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints which are in all Achaia. Grace be to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord Jesus Christ. 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.

For as the sufferings of Messiah, of Christ, abound in us, so our consolation also abound by Christ, by Mashiach. And whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer, or whether we be comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation. And our hope of you is steadfast knowing that as ye are partakers of the sufferings, So shall ye be also of the consolation. For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength, inasmuch that we despaired even of life.

But we had the sentence of death in ourselves that we should not trust in ourselves but in God which raises the dead who delivered us from so great a death and does deliver us in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us ye also helping together by prayer for us that for the gift bestowed upon us by the means of many persons thanks may be given by many on our behalf this is very interesting introduction beloved brothers and sisters to the second letter that the apostle Shaul Paul has written to the Corinthians. Thank the Lord for these instructions that we have in the epistles, in the letters that Paul wrote, that we have them as part of the canon of the Word of God in the Brit HaChadasha, in the New Covenant, the New Testament.

And every one of the letters that was written were written as a corrective ministry by the apostle, whether it was the Apostle Paul, or whether it's John in his letters, Yohanan, or Shimon Petros in his letters, or Yehuda, Jude, or Yaakov, James, or whoever wrote these letters to the various assemblies, or even to individuals, like Paul wrote to Timothy and to Titus. All these letters were written in order to help us continue on to follow the Lord Jesus the Messiah in a day-by-day living individually but also collectively among the people of God in the local congregation, local kehilot, local church, local assembly. Now it is very interesting that we do have some assemblies that needed a second letter to be written unto them specifically in the case of the Corinthians the apostle Shaul Paul have already written to them one letter and now he's writing to them a second letter beloved brothers and sisters like the Thessalonian there was a letter that was written by the apostle Shaul Paul to the Thessalonian in Thessalonica in Saloniki but the second letter was needed to be written unto them Interesting to see this.

Well, specifically to the same assembly, to the same local congregation, now the Apostle Shaul Paul is providing for us the second letter that was directed to the believers in the very same local assembly to whom he had already written earlier in the first letter to the Corinthians. Let me just remind you, as we are introducing the letter, the epistle of 2 Corinthians, that during Paul's second missionary journey, he arrived to the city of Corinth, according to the book of Acts and chapter 18. You remember what we read in Acts chapter 18, verses 1 to 18? I just want to highlight a few verses there. There we read beloved brothers and sisters after these things Paul departed from Athens and then he came to Corinth and he found a certain Jew by the name of Aquila born in Pontius lately he came from Italy with his wife Priscilla he found there at Corinth Aquila and Priscilla two Jewish individuals who became believers and came to minister there in the city of Corinth we continue to read that they came to this city of Corinth because of the persecution of the Jews because all the Jews had to depart from Rome because Claudius had commended that all the Jews would depart from Rome so they came into the city of Corinth and the Apostle Paul met them there now as the apostle Paul came to the city of Corinth to remind you that he was the apostle to the uncircumcision to the Gentiles and he was reaching out with the message of the gospel there in Asia Minor and in europe he was presenting the message of the gospel wherever he has gone.

And now in this second missionary journey he's arriving there to Corinth and we find him doing the very same thing that he have done everywhere he went he went to the Jew first remember Romans 1 and verse 16 we read Paul said for i am not ashamed of the gospel of the Messiah for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth to the Jew first and also unto the Greek Roman 1 and verse 16 so what does he do according to act chapter 18 and verse 4 he's going first of all to the synagogue to bait haknesset where his Jewish brethren were there on a Shabbat day and he's persuading his Jewish brethren concerning the person of the Lord Yeshua Jesus the Messiah apparently there were some Greeks God-fearers Greeks who have come among the Jewish people in the synagogue in beta knesset well he sought to present before them the the person of the Lord Jesus the Messiah but apparently beloved brothers and sisters.

Paul he was not received by all and as we read here in verse 5 that he sought a Paul was pressed in the spirit and he testified to the Jews that Jesus was Christ that Yeshua was HaMashiach the Messiah well they opposed them and then Paul said to them that he shook his raiment and he said unto them your blood shall be upon your own head i am clean from henceforth and i will go unto the goyim and to the Gentiles so he departed but he didn't go too far because he went and he entered into a man's house by the name of justice one that they've already worshiped God whose house was joined into the synagogue to remind you that beta knesset the synagogue the Jewish community lived around the synagogue and very much connected to the beta knesset to the gathering center which was in the synagogue well apparently beloved brothers and sisters eventually Paul have gone beyond the synagogue he went to the Gentiles and he began to present before them the message of the gospel.

We do read there that many of the Corinthians hearing believed they believe in the message that the Lord Jesus Christ the Lord Yeshua the Messiah is the Redeemer the Savior they were identified with his death burial and resurrection in in immersed in being baptized in Hebrew we call it and then the apostle Shaul Paul received an encouragement from the Lord himself who told him be not afraid but speak and hold not thy peace for i am with thee and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee for i have much people in the city apparently beloved brothers and sisters and dear friend the Lord knew whom he will lead to himself and he will use the apostle Paul to bring to himself many in Corinth and to establish a local assembly in the city of Corinth and apparently beloved brothers and sisters the apostle Shaul Paul spent one year and six months 18 months in the city of Corinth as it says here in verse 11 of Acts chapter 18 and he continued there a year.

And six months teaching the word of God among them so beloved brothers and sisters the Lord used the apostle Paul Shaul Paul to establish a local assembly in the city of Corinth which was a composition of mostly Gentiles believers but some Jewish believers that have come to know to acknowledge the Lord Jesus the Messiah well when Paul had arrived to Corinth he served there for this 18 a month and then he's sharing God's word and then he established a local assembly in the city of Corinth well it says in verse 18 of act chapter 18 and Paul after this he tarried there yet for a while and then he he said then took his leave of the brethren apparently there were already brethren in the local in the local city of Corinth and he sailed hence thence to Syria and with him was priscilla and aquila having shown his head in senchera for he had the vow and then And eventually, beloved brothers and sisters, according to verse 19, he came unto the city of Ephesus and he left them there.

And again, we learn that when he arrived to Ephesus, he himself entered into the synagogue and he risen with the Jewish, with his Jewish brethren, according to the flesh. That was his custom but he have established beloved brothers and sisters the local assembly in the city of Corinth and it was entirely the grace of God that he used the apostle Paul to establish this assembly in Corinth now we have already learned so much about this assembly from the first letter but just to be reminded as we are entering into the second Corinth and second letter that our pastor Paul wrote we learned that after Paul left Corinth he went to to Ephesus but he heard of the sad condition that existed in this local assembly to remind you beloved brothers and sisters apparently the Corinthians were worshiping idols and it didn't take too long there was much immorality there and apparently after Paul left Corinth he heard of the sad condition that existed in the local assembly there in Corinth it didn't take too long and Satan as you know have influenced the believers at Corinth and what we learn from first Corinthians chapter 5 and verse 9 we learn that Paul heard about the immorality that existed.

In Corinth so we read in first Corinthians 5 and verse 9 i wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators apparently there were some within the local assembly that committed fornication there was sexual immorality there was many things that we have learned about the situation in Corinth with the as we studied the first letter but Paul wrote them a letter and apparently beloved brothers and sisters this particular letter that he had already written to them because we do read in 1st Corinthians 5 9 I wrote unto you in other words there was another letter that he wrote before 1st Corinthians that letter apparently was lost it was a letter that is not found and Scripture does not tell us about this letter but he had written to them a previous letter which was not part of the canon of Scripture so by writing to them the previous letter before first corinthian was written he was challenging the corinthian to deal with that sin that existed in their midst well as Paul waited to hear what was.

Going on in Corinth and he was serving the Lord in the city of Ephesus ministering the gospel and being used by the Lord to establish another local assembly in the city of Ephesus he heard additional information about the situation that existed again in the city of Corinth we are still introducing second Corinthians but it's so much connected with the first epistle because according to first Corinthians chapter 1 and verse 11 Paul we read for it has been declared unto me of you my brethren by them which are of the house of a keloi that there are contention among you in other words Paul have also heard that there is not only immorality in the city of Corinth but there was also divisions there and the reason that he wrote to them the first epistle is because he was responding to that which was written unto him according to a first Corinthians chapter one the house of keloi that there are contention there he heard about the immorality that was there he wrote to them a previous letter and that letter.

Was lost and he then had to write to them the first letter that we know as the letter of first a corinthian well if you remember in additional to the fact that he heard about the situation in Corinth by calois family house we also understand that the Corinthians wrote and they wanted to know answers to some problems that existed and according to 1st Corinthians chapter 7 the apostle Paul also responded in the first epistle to some of the questions that they have had 1st Corinthians chapter 7 and verse 1 we read now concerning the things whereof you wrote unto me you notice here we find out that the Corinthians also wrote a letter to Paul in chapter 7 and verse 1 from chapter 1 and verse 11 we find out that the house of Caloris came and told him what's going on in Corinth so Paul was responding in the writing of the first letter to the Corinthian as a response to what he heard both by letter and both by coming of the house of Keloi from chapter 1 and verse 11.

Well, beloved brothers and sisters, now that he has already written to them the first epistle, so we learn so far now that he wrote one letter that was lost, which was not included in the canon of Scripture. Then he wrote the second letter, which is 1 Corinthians, the whole letter that he wrote to them as a corrective ministry. Now as he remained at Ephesus, additional time, what we find out that he wanted to know what's going on there at Corinth, So he sent Timothy to the city of Corinth to find out what is going on there. And if you remember, beloved brothers and sisters, as he sent Timothy to Corinth, he wanted to know what is going on now at Corinth.

Did they correct all the things that he wrote them in the first letter in 1 Corinthians? Did they correct all the issues that existed there? How are they doing? And you really long to know what was going on there with their brothers and sisters in that city of Corinth. I'm just going to read also 1 Corinthians chapter 4, just to read a verse there. In 1 Corinthians chapter 4, we do read in verse 17, For this cause I have sent unto you Timothy, who is my beloved son and faithful in the Lord. He shall bring you into remembrance of my ways, which be in Christ, as I teach everywhere and in every church.

So Timothy apparently went, and he most likely took along with him that letter, the first letter to the Corinthians, and shared this with the Corinthians, and he was waiting to see what will happen when Timothy will come, what answer he will give the apostle Paul. In chapter 16 of 1 Corinthians, which we have already studied together, we read in verse 10, now if Timothy comes, see that he may be with here without fear for he worketh the work of the Lord as i also do and verse 11 he said let no man therefore despise him but conduct him forth in peace that he may come unto me he was waiting for Timothy for i look for him with the brethren so when we have concluded beloved brothers and sisters the study of first Corinthians apparently Paul have sent Timothy and now he's waiting for Timothy to come and to give him some answers now apparently beloved brothers and sisters a Paul also wrote another letter after hearing what is going on he wrote to them another letter.

And in that letter he wrote to them a letter that was a very, very strong letter. And Paul, he wrote to them that strong letter that he felt like he had offended them and harmed them or hurt them, but Paul knew that he needed to write to them this strong letter because of the fact that there were things so much in this order in this local assembly and therefore Paul had to write them apparently a third letter and in that third letter the apostle Paul is mentioning that he was heavy in what he heard about them and so he wrote them another letter which also apparently this letter is not is not included in the canon of Scripture but now beloved brothers and sisters he's writing to them the second inspired letter that is known to us as the book of the letter of second corinthian so Paul heard the news from Timothy later on about additional problems at Corinth of some false apostles that have arrived at Corinth teaching them false doctrine also swaying the Corinthians to turn against Paul so Paul opened his heart to share his suffering for the gospel's sake and for the Corinthians sake as he's presenting.

This second epistle the epistle that you and i know it as the second Corinthians beloved brothers and sisters this is so interesting to understand notice what we read in second Corinthians chapter 2 and verse 3 and i wrote this same unto you lest when i came i should have sorrow from them of whom i ought to rejoice having confidence in you that my joy is the joy of you all notice how he mentioning that i wrote unto you and then verse 4a for out of much affliction and anguish of heart i wrote unto you with many tears so apparently he wrote another letter and this letter apparently was a very strong letter with much affliction and much anguish he wrote with many tears and now that he was waiting to hear about the situation at Corinth he loved the Corinthians and beloved brothers and sisters here we learn how the second epistle came about it came about out of the burden that our pastor Paul had to for the believers at Corinth because now they were not only having all the divisions among themselves.

They had all the immorality among themselves, they were taking each other to court, they had all sorts of problems that we have dealt with when we studied together the first letter that he wrote to the Corinthians, but now in the second letter that he's writing to the Corinthians, beloved brothers and sisters, Paul is really disclosed before the Corinthians the state of his sufferings and physical weakness and the weariness and pain that he experienced as he served the Lord while false apostles have crept in to the assembly at Corinth and swayed the Corinthians even to turn against the Apostle Paul, who was used by the Lord to establish the local assembly at Corinth.

That's why we read in 2 Corinthians chapter 11 and verse 23, where Paul is saying, Are they ministers of Christ, of the Messiah? I speak as a fool, I am all. In labors more abundance, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in death oft of the Jews five times receive I forty stripes save one. Thrice was I bitten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night And a day I have been in the deep, in journeying often, in peril of waters, in peril of robbers, in peril by my own countrymen, in peril by the heathen, in peril in the city, in peril in the wilderness, in peril in the sea, in peril among false brethren, in weariness and in painfulness.

In watchings, often in hunger and in thirst, in fasting often, in cold and nakedness, beside all things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches, the kehilot, the assemblies. So, beloved brothers and sisters, what we really learn as we are going to study together, the second letter that Shaul Paul wrote to the Corinthians, that here the apostle Paul is opening his heart before the Corinthian believers. And he's sharing with them of the comfort that he received from the Lord Jesus, from God the Father, that give him the grace and the ministry that God is providing for him as well and for all those that belong to the Lord Jesus.

And therefore, the theme and the lesson that we will learn as we study these letters is very, very important, beloved brothers and sisters. So Paul, of course, is the writer of this letter. As we read in 2nd Corinthians chapter 1, Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy, our brother, unto the church of God, which is at Corinth, with all the saints which are in all Achaia. So the author, according to 2nd Corinthians chapter 1 and verse 1, and 2nd Corinthians chapter 10 and verse 1, Now I, Paul, myself, beseech you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ, who in a presence and base among you, but being absent and bold towards you.

So the author is Shaul Paul, who is writing as a servant of the law to the believers in the city of Coen. While the first letter to the Corinthians were written at about 53-54 A.D., the second letter to the Corinthians were written at about 55-56 A.D. And this second letter was written for the purpose of speaking to the Corinthian believers in the local assembly who were the recipients of this letter who the Apostle Paul sought to minister unto who needed additional correction but on the other hand he wanted to open before them his heart of love how much he cared for them and he loved them and really this is one of the only letters in which the Apostle Paul opened his heart so much before the believers in the assembly at Corinth So the recipients, according to verse 1, we also learn Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the will of God, and Timothy, our brother, Timothy is including him as one that was part of the writing of this letter, he is writing it unto the church of God, which is at Corinth, to the church, meaning the assembly of the believers there, the word church in the Greek Ecclesia called out once he's writing to the believers in this city of Corinth and then he.

Says with all the saints which are in all Achaia. Achaia is a Roman province which the city of Corinth were part of this province and you notice once again beloved brothers and sisters although there were so many problems in the city of Corinthians among the believers there yet once again Shaul Paul is calling them saints saints you notice this interesting word saints and we know that the word saints in the Greek is hagios in Hebrew There were saints, positionally, we've already learned it from chapter 1 and verse 2 of the first epistle, unto the church of God, which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, in the Messiah Yeshua, called saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours.

Here the same thing, 2 Corinthians chapter 1 and verse 1, Paul and Timothy unto the church of God, which is at Corinth, with all the saints, which are in all the Roman province of Achaia. So the recipients were the very same local assembly that received the first epistle that Paul had already wrote a few years earlier. Well, in this letter that the apostle Paul was writing, he's really disclosed before the saints, before the believers at Corinth, his state of suffering. You will notice, beloved brothers and sisters, that much of the letter here in this second letter that the Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians, Paul disclosing before the believers at Corinth his suffering.

You will find him many times speaking about his suffering. Notice in verse 8, For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength, inasmuch as we despaired even of life. Paul is mentioned here to the Corinthians. In chapter 4 of the second epistle, he continued to mention to them in verse 8, Concerning the trials and the trouble that he has experienced. We have this treasure in earthen vessels. And then in verse 8, we are troubled on every side. And yet, he says, yet not distressed. We are perplexed but not in despair. Persecuted but not forsaken.

Cast down but not destroyed. He's opening his heart before the Corinthians throughout this second epistle, beloved brothers and sisters. And he's sharing his heart with the Corinthians who are now influenced by false apostles, false brethren who claim to be messengers of the Lord Yeshua, Jesus the Messiah. And sway the Corinthians against the Apostle Paul who was used by the Lord Jesus to establish this local assembly. In 2 Corinthians chapter 6 we read in verse 4. But in all things, approving ourselves as ministers of God, in much patience, in affliction, in necessities, in distresses. And we can continue on in strides, in imprisonments, in tumulets, in labors, in watching and in fasting and so on and so on.

He's giving a list, beloved brothers and sisters and dear friends, Of the suffering that he as a servant of the Lord, as an apostle, as a shalich, apostolos, as he served the Lord Jesus the Messiah. And he continued in chapter 11, and there in verse 23, he's mentioning this again, beloved brothers and sisters. He continued in verse 23, he said, are they ministers of Christ, of the Messiah? In other words, he's speaking about those false apostles. I speak as a fool. I am more. In labors, more abundant. In stripes, above measure. In prisons, more frequent. In death, often. And he continued to give us this list of suffering that he had experienced.

He mentioned it in chapter 1. And more in detail in chapter 4, and in chapter 6, and in chapter 11. The Apostle Shaul Paul has suffered for the name of our Lord Yeshua, Jesus the Messiah, and for the sake of the believers, the various believers in various cities in Europe and Asia Minor. And he was called by the Lord, if you remember, beloved brothers and sisters, to call, to go out to all the nations of the world and to preach the message of the gospel. And you remember what we read, Acts chapter 9, where Shaul met the Messiah on the way to Damascus, and how Hananiah was told by the glorified Christ, the glorified Messiah.

He said to Hananiah, for he is a chosen vessel unto me, verse 15 of Acts chapter 9, To bear my name before the Gentiles and Kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake. And so, beloved brothers and sisters, what a lesson we will learn as we study together the second letter to the Corinthians. And with the help of the Lord, we will go through one chapter at a time and one verse at a time and trust that the Lord will help us to understand this letter. The Spirit of God is able to help us to understand what Paul was seeking to convey to the Corinthians and to you and me as we experience sufferings and trials here in this world.

Before the Lord Yeshua, Jesus the Messiah, left and have gone to die on the shameful Roman cross, he said to the disciples in the city of Jerusalem, there as he celebrated Pesach, Passover with them, and then introduced what is known the Lord's table and the Lord's supper. And then he introduced the new covenant with the giving of his body and his blood that will be shed And it's symbolized by the matzah, the unleavened bread, and by the fruit of the vine, where he says, this is my body which is given for you. This is the blood of the new covenant which is shed for you.

You remember he said to them at the end, he said, in this world you shall have tribulation. Before he left the disciples in Jerusalem, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. In this world that reject God and God's ways, though that we follow, the God and Father of our Lord Yeshua, the Messiah, will experience trials and tribulation here in this world. So now, beloved brothers and sisters, as we continue in the introduction, I would like to mention the division of this book of 2 Corinthians. In chapter 1, from chapter 1, verse 1, all the way to chapter 7, there at the end of the chapter, verse 16, the apostle Shaul Paul is explaining to the Corinthians the service, the ministry that the Lord has called him to.

And he's explaining to the Corinthians what he is doing in his ministry as the Lord have called him to this ministry. Then in chapter 8, verse 1, and to chapter 9 and verse 15, these two chapters, seems to be kind of out of place in this second epistle that deal with the sufferings and the trials and the need for comfort from God in the midst of trials. The Apostle Shaul Paul is encouraging the Corinthians in their generosity. Apparently, they have seen the need, as the Apostle Paul has shared with them, concerning the people in Judea, the Jewish people who were suffering in Judea. And so in chapter 8 and 9, the Apostle Paul was instructing Corinthians and other local churches in Asia Minor to collect funds in order that they will bring it into the Jewish believers in Judea.

And he tells them in chapter 8, verse 1, moreover, brethren, we do you to wit of the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia, how that in great trial of affliction, the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality. In other words, he is speaking there of the fact that the believers in Corinth and in the churches, the local assemblies in Macedonia, they were faithfully raising support and funds for the people in Judea who were suffering for the name of Yeshua the Messiah. And then in chapter 10, 11, 12, and 13, these final four chapters, the Apostle Paul is specifically enforcing, he's enforcing his apostolic authority.

Now, to remind you, beloved brothers and sisters, that because false apostles came to the city of Corinth, the apostle Paul is showing to the Corinthians that he is indeed an apostle, an apostolos, was sent by the glorified Christ, the glorified Messiah. And he's really enforcing his apostolic authority and showing to the Corinthians that he is indeed an apostle of our Lord Yeshua, Jesus the Messiah, and that they should recognize that then instead of listening to the false apostles, as we read in chapter 11, where he's mentioning concerning the false apostles where he said are they ministers of Christ i speak as a fool this is verse 23 of chapter 11 i am more in other words if they claim to be ministers servants of Christ even i am more because i was sent by the Lord Jesus the Messiah and he sent me to be the apostle to the Gentiles, to the nations of the world.

And so this is amazing, beloved brothers and sisters. So the reason that we have this writing in this second letter is that the apostle Paul is seeking to present his heart for the believers at Corinth. He wrote in chapter 4 and verse 1, 2nd Corinthians 4 and verse 1, he said, In them, therefore, seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not. Notice verse 6 of 2nd Corinthians 4. For God commanded the light to shine out of darkness, has shined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge, of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. In other words, the same God that said, let there be light is the same God that have used us, that we, he shone in our hearts in order that we will be used by him to give the light of the knowledge of the grace and the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

In other words, the theme of this chapter, I should say of this book, of this letter, is the God's encouragement and as Paul was opening his heart to the Corinthians explaining his ministry commanding them for the giving for the generosity and enforcing his apostolic authority he was encouraging the believers at Corinth and to understand the blessing that they have been brought into, and that the Apostle Paul loved them, and he sought to minister to them, even in the way in which he was correcting them by writing to them his first letter, and now his second letter. So, as we are just concluding with the introduction, the reason for the writing of this letter is that the apostle Paul wanted the Corinthian also beloved brothers and sisters to learn to forgive and to comfort one another and apparently if you remember that in the first epistle he told them in chapter 5 that they are to put out a person that doesn't judge sin in his life and continue with habitual and ongoing sin in his life in the second letter the apostle Paul.

Is seeking to instruct the Corinthian to forgive the one that have repented now and to receive him back to the assembly according to 2nd Corinthians chapter 2 we read in verse 6 sufficient to such a man is this punishment which was inflicted of many this particular person that have sinned and didn't judge himself the local assembly at Corinth had to put him out in judgment because he didn't confess and didn't change his way now that he apparently have repented changed his manner then the apostle Paul is writing this letter to help the Corinthians to restore a brother that have gone astray secondly beloved brothers and sisters Paul is explaining also in this letter that he had to change his plan he was intending to come to them but apparently he delayed and he didn't come so in 2nd Corinthians chapter 1 and verses 15 to the end he's explaining to the Corinthians that he had in mind to come but plans have changed we read in verse 15 and in this confidence.

I was mindful to come to you before that ye might have a second benefit and to pass by you into Macedonia and to come again out of Macedonia unto you and of you to be brought on my way to Judea when I therefore was thus minded did I use lightness so in other words here something happened that caused him to not be able to come to have a visit with the Corinthian and so as we are studying as we are going to study this very interesting letter we will notice that apostle Paul has a reason as to why he's writing this letter to the Corinthians well one more point before we are going to close in this introduction Paul often time in writing this second epistle he's mentioning the word comfort in the Greek is paraklesis in Hebrew is nechama paraklesis or comfort or consolation the word is mentioned quite a few times in this letter.

And the lesson that we will learn, beloved brothers and sisters, that the Apostle Paul is emphasizing that through suffering, when a person is going through trials and suffering in his or her life, they are in a need of God's comfort. God paraklesis, God's nechama, God's consolation, God's encouragement, God's comfort. And this is a need that exists in the life of every believer. And you and I know it very well when we are going through trials in our life, how much we long for some comfort. And God is a God of comfort. He is the one that provides comfort to his own people and Paul specifically who opened his heart before the Corinthians in this second letter he himself needed this for his own life he needed comfort, he needed nechama, he needed paraclysis from the Lord, who is the Abba, the God of comfort, and he mentioned the word comfort quite a few times, beloved brothers and sisters, in fact, if you remember that the Holy Spirit of God is also called by the Lord as the comforter, The paraklesis, according to John 14 and verse 16, Yeshua said, I will pray the Father and he shall give you another comforter that he may abide with you forever.

What we learn, beloved brothers and sisters, that the Lord Jesus, the Messiah is a comforter, a peraklesis, a nechama from John 14 and verse 16. I will pray the Father and he will give you another of the same kind, another comforter. I'm your comfort now, but I will pray the Father and he will send you another comforter, which is the Holy Spirit, even the Spirit of truth. John chapter 14 and verse 17 so it's not only that the son the Messiah was the comforter peraklesis, nechama it is also the Holy Spirit of God that was given unto us he is our nechama, our peraklesis our comforter but in the gospel of John he spoke Yeshua of himself and of the Holy Spirit but here beloved brothers and sisters we learn in 2nd Corinthians chapter 1 that it is also the father of mercy who is the God of all comfort that we will read in verse 3 blessed be God even the father of our Lord Jesus Christ the father of mercy and the God of all periclesis the God of all comfort the God of all in Hebrew nechama the God of all comfort beloved brothers and sisters the apostle Shaul Paul will provide for us a key word in 2nd Corinthians the word paraklesis comfort nechama and that is the one that is our consolation notice that let me just read this for you in chapter 1 and verse 3.

Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord. Jesus Christ, the Father of mercy and the God of all comfort. Verse 4, who comforteth us in all our tribulation. Verse 5, in the middle, so our comfort also, our consolation, the same word abound by Christ verse six whether we be afflicted it is for your consolation for your comfort and then in verse seven he mentioned it again at the end there so shall ye be also of the consolation of the comfort amazing truth we learn here beloved brothers and sisters In chapter 7 we learn of 2 Corinthians chapter 7 and verse 4 we read, again, great is my boldness of speech toward you, great is my glorying of you, I am filled with comfort, I am filled with comfort.

But let me read verse 4 again. Great is my boldness of speech towards you. Great is my glorying of you. I am filled with comfort. And he continued to mention comfort as well in verse 7 and in verse 13. How wonderful. Therefore we were comforted in your comfort. Verse 13 of 2 Corinthians chapter 7. So, beloved brothers and sisters, we find out that the key word in the book of 2 Corinthians is the word of comfort, peraklysis, nechama. It is in the English come to more than one word. Comfort, encouragement, consolation, but it comes from the very same Greek word which simply is peraklysis. Or perakletos perakletos is what we learn concerning the holy Spirit of God in John 14 and verse 16 well beloved brothers and sisters this is just by way of introduction in the will of the Lord in our next message together we will continue with second Corinthians chapter one and we will begin to deal with the verses one verse at a time from verse one onward well until the next time beloved brothers and sisters and dear friends God bless you and we say to you Shalom Shalom