God causes believers to triumph by sustaining them with His strength through pressure and persecution—not by removing the pressure—and by making His knowledge evident through weak, ordinary servants like Paul.
Paul’s own experience shows that a believer can be pressed out of measure and even despair of life, yet still be led forward because the Lord who permits the affliction also provides the consolation. Les Feldick emphasizes that Paul was not a fearless hero but a commonplace, fearful man who persevered only because God did the work.
2 Corinthians 2:14 — This is the verse in which Paul explicitly says God always causes believers to triumph in Christ and makes the knowledge of Him evident through them.
Paul’s triumphant statement is 2 Corinthians 2:14: “Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place.” This is the triumphant language that prompts the question. Yet Paul does not define triumph as a pain-free life. In 2 Corinthians 1:8 he says, “For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life.” And in 2 Corinthians 4:8, “We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair.” The same chapter 2 Corinthians 1:5 says, “For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ.” Scripture therefore shows triumph happening in the middle of suffering, not as the absence of suffering.
Les Feldick applies Paul’s own texts to answer how God causes triumph. He notes that “If God be for us, who against us?” was written by the same Paul who suffered enormously for the Gospel; it was never a promise that nothing bad would happen. Les shows Paul at his lowest point, barely recovered from sickness in Philippi and thinking his ministry was over, yet Paul wrote, “We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair.” Paul was not a naturally bold man—he was commonplace and shook in his boots—yet God used him. Les explains that all early believers lived under constant Roman pressure, and becoming a believer was an invitation to persecution. Yet the Lord who permitted the testing is the same Lord who gives strength to survive it. Les compares the Christian life to paddling a canoe upstream—a constant battle—but with God’s encouragement promised along the way. Paul’s perseverance and church planting happened in spite of his physical problems, proving that the triumph was God’s work, not Paul’s.
No. Les points out that “If God be for us” is not a promise that nothing can happen to a believer, and then he points to 2 Corinthians 11 to show the suffering Paul endured. The Bible records Paul being pressed out of measure, above strength, and despairing even of life, while still not being in despair. Becoming a believer in Paul’s day, Les notes, was an invitation to persecution.
The same Lord who permits persecution and testing is the same Lord who provides the strength to go through it, Les says. He also reminds believers that as the sufferings of Christ abound, consolation abounds by Christ. Even when Paul was perplexed, physically worn out, and not a specimen of health, God enabled him to keep going and establish churches.
Les emphasizes that Paul had no natural courage—he was commonplace and shook in his boots. God uses things the world scoffs at, so no one can glory in human achievement. Everything is of God or none of God. In other words, God causes triumph through people who have no strength of their own, making the victory clearly His.
Paul continued in obedience even when his plans were interrupted. In Acts 16, Paul arrived at Troas expecting to meet Titus, and instead received the Macedonian call; he and his companions immediately sought to go into Macedonia. On the human side, Paul was beaten, sick, and physically unimpressive, yet he kept planting churches. This is how God led him in triumph: not by removing the struggle, but by carrying him through it.
Obedience to the Macedonian Call
Paul’s onward obedience to the Macedonian call came while he was still expecting to meet Titus; God redirected him in triumph through changed plans.
No Promise of a Trouble-Free Life
Les shows that “If God be for us” does not promise that nothing can happen to a believer, since Paul himself endured enormous suffering for the Gospel.
Troubled Yet Not Distressed
Les uses 2 Corinthians 4:8 to show Paul could be troubled and perplexed while not being distressed or in despair—and that this perseverance was all of God.
Pressed Out of Measure
Les emphasizes that Paul was pressed out of measure, above strength, and despaired even of life, yet God saw him through and even continued his ministry.
The Lord of Strength and Consolation
The Lord who permits persecution and testing is the same Lord who provides consolation and strength for believers to go through it.
Paul's Commonplace, Fearful Humanity
Paul was not naturally bold; he was commonplace and shook in his boots, showing that God uses weak and ordinary people.
Christian Life as an Upstream Battle
Les compares the Christian life to paddling a canoe upstream—a constant battle—but promises that God will encourage believers in times of testing.
Paul's Perseverance Despite Physical Weakness
Paul was downtrodden, beaten, and physically unhealthy, yet in spite of it all he persevered and established churches—evidence that God caused the triumph.
2 Corinthians 2:14: Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place.
This is Paul’s explicit statement about God causing believers to triumph, and it anchors the entire page.
2 Corinthians 4:8: We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;
This verse shows that triumph does not mean being free from trouble or perplexity.
2 Corinthians 1:8: For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life:
Paul described his own overwhelming pressure, showing the real suffering behind his triumphant words.
2 Corinthians 1:5: For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ.
Paul connects increased suffering with increased consolation in Christ.
2 Corinthians 1:7: And our hope of you is stedfast, knowing, that as ye are partakers of the sufferings, so shall ye be also of the consolation.
Those who share in suffering will also share in God’s consolation.
No. Paul himself was pressed out of measure and despaired of life, and Les says Paul was a commonplace man who shook in his boots. Triumph is not the absence of fear or trouble; it is God carrying the believer through those things.
Les points out that Paul had no natural courage and was not physically impressive. God deliberately uses weak, ordinary people so that no one can glory in their own strength; it is all of God or none of God.
He compared it to paddling a canoe upstream—a constant battle against the world and Satan. It is never a rose-petaled pathway, but the Lord promises to encourage and strengthen believers as they go through tests and discouragements.
Watch the Teaching: Why Paul Said "We Are Not Ignorant of Satan's Devices" — 2 Corinthians 2:11