In this passage Paul writes about God’s comfort to him—comfort arising from the soil of great grief. Gospel faithfulness can be grievous. Yet what is sometimes great grief can by the same gospel be transformed into good grief. We will study this “good grief” under three major headings:
1. Graced Grief (vv. 1–4)
2. Great Grief (vv. 5–9)
3. Godly Grief (vv. 10–16)