One of the Beatitudes is “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted” (Matthew 5:4). While I believe that phrasing this comfort as something received in the future (“they will be comforted”) is intentional – pointing us to the reality of ultimate blessing happens in the future at Christ’s return – I do not believe that this phrase is meant to restrict the blessing of comfort to only being a future reality. A major reason for this is that Jesus announces in his ministry, “The kingdom of heaven has come near” (Matthew 4:17), showing that the kingdom is not simply a future reality but something that is breaking into the present through Jesus. In addition, the Beatitude immediately preceding this one highlights the present reality of the kingdom in saying that the “poor in spirit” are now part of the kingdom of God (5:3).
We also read in other parts of Scripture that the comfort of God is something that we can experience now. One important example is 2 Corinthians 1:3-4: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort. He comforts us in all our afflictions, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any kind of affliction, through the comfort we ourselves receive from God.” Not only does 2 Corinthians point out the fact that we receive comfort now, but a quick read through the letter points to some of the key ways in which we experience this comfort and thus can help others also experience God’s comfort in the present and not just the future.
The Person of Jesus
This might be too obvious, but a significant way in which we experience the comfort of God is through Jesus. After mentioning this comfort, Paul then speaks about the “sufferings of Christ” that overflow to us (1:5). We can be comforted in knowing that we are not alone in our sufferings, that Jesus has suffered like us and even suffers with us in our suffering – as Paul was reminded when Jesus appeared to him on the Damascus Road, that in persecuting God’s people, he was actually persecuting Jesus (see Acts 9). We can be comforted in knowing that we suffer like and with Christ, which also means we will be raised like him (2 Corinthians 4:14). When Paul prays to the “Lord” in 2 Corinthians 12:7-10, we should identify “the Lord” with Jesus – and he tells Paul that his power is not just present in but perfected in Paul’s weakness; the power of Jesus brings comfort in our weakness and suffering that we may be experiencing now. Knowing that Christ entered into our sufferings and suffered himself allows us to be comforted because we know that we are not alone and that there is one who is even greater than our suffering – and who loves us even greater than we can imagine.
The Pledge of the Holy Spirit
Paul also speaks much about the Holy Spirit in 2 Corinthians. In 1:22, he writes, “He has also put his seal on us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a down payment” (the same point is also made in 5:5). This points to the Holy Spirit as a pledge from God to us that He will finish what He starts, that He will bring us strength and that He will finish His work in us. Later on, Paul talks about the ministry of the Holy Spirit that changes us, “being transformed into the same image” as Jesus (3:18). God gives the Holy Spirit to Christians as both the assurance of His promises but also as the outworking of His power to bring about the work that He has promised to do.
The Promises of God
These references to Jesus and the Holy Spirit occur in a conversation about God’s promises. Before that reference to the Holy Spirit in 1:22, Paul writes, “For every one of God’s promises is “yes” in him [Jesus]. Therefore, through him we also say ‘Amen’ to the glory of God.” We can find comfort in the promises of God that we do not yet see fulfilled because of the promises that God made in the past that have found fulfillment in Jesus. Thus, the promises that “our momentary light affliction is producing for us an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory” (4:17) and that “we have a building from God, an eternal dwelling in the heavens, not made with hands” (5:1) come from someone who has a track record of making and keeping His promises. These promises are not just wishful thinking or something that have good odds, but are ones that we can count on.
The Presence of Others
Paul opens the letter by talking about God’s comfort to him, but this is not the only place in which he explicitly discusses comfort. In 2 Corinthians 7:6, he says, “But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the arrival of Titus, and not only by his arrival but also by the comfort he received from you.” God brings comfort to His people through other people! The sheer presence of a friend seems to bring comfort, but also the words of this friend as he shares with Paul the longing and concern of the Corinthians for Paul. Knowing what is happening in the lives of others also brings comfort to Paul (7:13).
Remember the Partial Nature of this List and Its Purpose
These ways God brings comfort to us are ones that popped out to me in a quick read through 2 Corinthians in light of those opening words about God’s comfort being available to us now and not just in the future. I suspect I might have missed some ways that God brings this comfort in this letter. In addition, this letter likely only gives a partial list in light of the fact that it was not a letter written to describe all the ways God works in this regard. In those opening words about God’s comfort, Paul does make clear a primary purpose of this comfort that we receive: to help comfort others in their affliction. Therefore, this discussion of God’s comfort is meant not just to help us experience it now but also to help others experience it through us as the people who have received this comfort. This may be through our presence with them or pointing them to the various promises God has made and we can be confident will keep. While we need to remember the ultimate comfort we will receive, let us not forget the present reality of God’s comfort and our role as providers of it through the comfort we have received ourselves.
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