For just as the sufferings of Christ overflow to us, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.
Parallel translations
- WEB For as the sufferings of Christ abound to us, even so our comfort also abounds through Christ.
- KJV For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ.
- NKJV For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ.
- NASB For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ.
- NLT For the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Just as believers share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, they also share abundantly in His comfort. The two rise and fall together in the Christian life.
Overview
Paul speaks of 'the sufferings of Christ' overflowing to believers, meaning the afflictions endured for Christ's sake and in union with Him. As suffering increases, so does the comfort that comes through Christ, keeping them in proportion. This grounds Christian endurance not in escaping hardship but in Christ's sustaining presence within it.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Col 1:24Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions for the sake of His body, which is the church.
- Phil 3:10I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to Him in His death,
- 2 Th 2:16–17Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who by grace has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope,
- Phil 1:20I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have complete boldness so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.
- 2 Cor 4:10–11We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.
- Phil 2:1Therefore if you have any encouragement in Christ, if any comfort from His love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any affection and compassion,
- 1 Cor 4:10–13We are fools for Christ, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are honored, but we are dishonored.
- 2 Cor 11:23–30Are they servants of Christ? I am speaking like I am out of my mind, but I am so much more: in harder labor, in more imprisonments, in worse beatings, in frequent danger of death.
- Acts 9:4He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?”
- Luke 2:25Now there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.
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Christ at the center
In Christ all God's promises are 'Yes and Amen'; though rich, he became poor to make us rich, and in him God reconciles the world, making us new creations.
How 2 Corinthians 1:5 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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