II Corinthians 1:5 “For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ.”
It seems that the more we are called upon to serve our Lord, the more we endure various “sufferings”. In this context the phrase “of Christ” refers to a committed life in obedient service to “Christ”. It is “of Christ”, for “Christ” calls us into His service, equips us to serve, and motivates us to serve; essentially, our life belongs to “Christ”, and it is His to use in any way He pleases. These “sufferings” refer to those comforts and benefits that we must do without in order to serve, things we must do instead of what our natural mind wants to do, things we must do when we do not feel like doing them, things we must do when our natural mind is discouraged, and in some cases things we must do even while enduring persecution. Peter put it this way, “But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.” (I Peter 4:13)! Paul, was in prison in Rome, but referred to himself as “the prisoner of the Lord” and beseeched us to “walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called” (Ephesians 4:1). Sometimes these “sufferings” in the service of our Lord are quite severe, yet “our consolation also aboundeth by Christ”! So, what is this Abounding “consolation”? It is Abounding because there is an infinite supply of it and our Eternal Lord is the supplier of it and He liberally supplies us with it. It is “consolation” because our gracious and merciful Lord counterweights these “sufferings” with the joy of knowing and loving Him, the peaceful feeling of His presence with us, the Gospel knowledge of how He saved us from our sins, the constant providential care He gives us, the blessed refuge we find in His Beloved Church, and the Gospel knowledge of our Lord’s irrevocable promises of Eternal Life with Him. Paul exclaims it this way, “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” (Romans 8:18)!