Bible Glide

2 Corinthians 1

2 Corinthians 1 Summary, Context, and Full Chapter

Paul opens his letter with a blessing of grace and peace, then turns quickly to God's comfort in suffering. He explains how hardship can strengthen faith, how prayer supports the church, and why his change of plans was made to protect and encourage the Corinthians.

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What happens in 2 Corinthians 1?

This chapter begins with Paul and Timothy greeting the church in Corinth and the believers across Achaia. Paul praises God as the source of compassion and comfort, saying that the comfort received in trouble is meant to be shared with others. He describes intense hardship in Asia that left him desperate and pushed him to rely on God who raises the dead. He thanks the Corinthians for their prayers and then addresses questions about his travel plans, stressing that his conduct has been sincere and that God keeps every promise in Christ. The chapter ends with Paul affirming that he and his coworkers labor for the Corinthians' joy and steadfast faith.

2 Corinthians follows a painful relationship between Paul and the Corinthian church, and this opening chapter sets the tone for honesty, reassurance, and shared concern. It introduces major themes that continue through the letter, including comfort in affliction, integrity in ministry, and trust in God's faithfulness. Paul begins not with argument but with worship, testimony, and a clear explanation of his motives.

Themes to notice

  • Comfort in sufferingGod comforts believers in trouble so they can support others with the same comfort.
  • Faithful promisesPaul points to Christ as the sure fulfillment of every promise God has made.
  • Ministry with sincerityPaul explains his plans and actions as honest, gracious, and aimed at the Corinthians' good.

Questions for 2 Corinthians 1

  • What does Paul say God does with the comfort believers receive in hardship?
  • How does Paul describe the purpose of his suffering and deliverance in Asia?
  • Why does Paul stress honesty and faithfulness when explaining his change of plans?

Read the full text of 2 Corinthians 1 below, then open it in the reader to highlight, take notes, or ask follow-up Bible questions. No account is required to read.

2 Corinthians

2 Corinthians 1

Paul Greets the Corinthians

1Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the church of God in Corinth, together with all the saints throughout Achaia:2Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

The God of All Comfort

3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort,4who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.5For just as the sufferings of Christ overflow to us, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.6If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which accomplishes in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we experience.7And our hope for you is sure, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you will share in our comfort.

8We do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the hardships we encountered in the province of Asia. We were under a burden far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life.9Indeed, we felt we were under the sentence of death, in order that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God, who raises the dead.10He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and He will deliver us. In Him we have placed our hope that He will yet again deliver us,11as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the favor shown us in answer to their prayers.

Paul’s Change of Plans

12And this is our boast: Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in relation to you, in the holiness and sincerity that are from God—not in worldly wisdom, but in the grace of God.13For we do not write you anything that is beyond your ability to read and understand. And I hope that you will understand us completely,14as you have already understood us in part, so that you may boast of us just as we will boast of you in the day of our Lord Jesus.

15Confident of this, I planned to visit you first, so that you might receive a double blessing.16I wanted to visit you on my way to Macedonia, and to return to you from Macedonia, and then to have you help me on my way to Judea.17When I planned this, did I do it carelessly? Or do I make my plans by human standards, so as to say “Yes, yes” when I really mean “No, no”?18But as surely as God is faithful, our message to you is not “Yes” and “No.”19For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was proclaimed among you by me and Silvanus and Timothy, was not “Yes” and “No,” but in Him it has always been “Yes.”20For all the promises of God are “Yes” in Christ. And so through Him, our “Amen” is spoken to the glory of God.

21Now it is God who establishes both us and you in Christ. He anointed us,22placed His seal on us, and put His Spirit in our hearts as a pledge of what is to come.

23I call God as my witness that it was in order to spare you that I did not return to Corinth.24Not that we lord it over your faith, but we are fellow workers with you for your joy, because it is by faith that you stand firm.

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