Note 1 at 2 Cor. 1:3: Paul is now praising God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, for His wonderful mercies and comfort. The Greek word for "blessed" used here is a word that is used only for God in the New Testament. It is the Greek word "eulogetos" and means "blessed" or "praised." It comes from another Greek word "eulogeo," which is made up of "eu," meaning "good" and "lego," meaning "to speak," thus meaning "to speak well of," and carries the idea of "to thank, bless, or praise." This is where we get our English words "eulogize" or "eulogy," meaning "to praise highly, extol, or to speak or write a tribute extolling a person."

"Eulogetos" is used 8 times in the New Testament only of God and is used in the following ways: "Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?" (i.e. the praised one - Mk. 14:61), "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel" (Lk. 1:68), "The Creator, who is blessed for ever" (Rom. 1:25), "God blessed for ever" (Rom. 9:5), "Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ" (2 Cor. 1:3), "God and Father. . .which is blessed for evermore" (2 Cor. 11:31), "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Eph. 1:3; 1 Pet. 1:3).

Note 2 at 2 Cor. 1:3: Paul now speaks of the heavenly Father as "the Father of mercies." The word "father" is used many times in scripture as an originator or as a source of something. For example, the devil is called the father of lies (Jn. 8:44), i.e. he is the author and originator of lying. So also is our heavenly Father the author, originator, and source of all mercy. "Mercy is condescending love, reaching out to meet a need without considering the merit of the person who receives the aid" (Expository Dictionary of Bible Words [EDBW]).

Each time that mankind cried out in faith to Jesus, His mercy reached out and met that need (Mt. 9:27-30; 15:22-28; Mk. 5:19; 10:46-52; Lk. 17:11-14). Jesus said, "Blessed are the merciful. . ." (Mt. 5:7), be merciful as your Father is merciful (Lk. 6:36), neglect not the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy and faith (Mt. 23:23), I will have mercy, for I have come to call sinners to repentance (Mt. 9:10-13), forgive and have compassion on thy fellow servants as I have had pity on you (Mt. 18:21-35).

God is said to be rich in mercy because of His great love wherewith he loved us (Eph. 2:4), to have saved us not by our works but according to His mercy (Ti. 3:5), to have a throne called grace whereby we may come and obtain mercy (Heb. 4:16), and hath bound all men over to disobedience so that He may have mercy on them all (Rom. 11:32 [NIV]).

Mercy is a Christian virtue which is not only received from God, but is also expected, in turn, to be shown to others (Mt. 5:7; 23:23; Jas. 3:17).

Note 3 at 2 Cor. 1:3: Paul is referring to a previous letter, probably what we call 1 Corinthians. Notice how closely related Paul is to his fellow believers. In sorrow or joy, he is joined to his readers. This is the point that Paul is stressing when he says, "I felt sure that your happiness was so bound up in mine that you would not be happy either, unless I came with joy"[LB] (see also 1 Cor. 12:26-27).