2 Corinthians 13:11-14

Butler's Commentary

SECTION 3

Solidarity (2 Corinthians 13:11-14)

11 Finally, brethren, farewell. Mend your ways, heed my appeal, agree with one another, live in peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you. 12Greet one another with a holy kiss. 13All the saints greet you.

14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

2 Corinthians 13:11 Agreeableness: Christian maturation (growth) is dependent upon Christian accord. At the same time, Christian accord produces Christian growth. They go together like love and marriage. Once again Paul uses a series of Greek verbs in the present tense and imperative mood. They are like the staccato bursts of sub-machine-gun. The Greek text reads, Loipon, adelphoi, chairete, katartizesthe, parakaleisthe, to auto phroneite, eireneuete.. There are five imperative verbs in that sentence! They all end in ete or esthe or eite. Literally, the Greek phrase would read, For the rest (of the time), brethren, you rejoice, you restore yourselves, you admonish yourselves, the same thing, you all think, you be at peace.. These they are to do continually.

This is not exactly the most tactful way to end a letter. He is saying, Straighten yourselves out! The Greek words to auto phroneite, mean literally, I order you to go on continually being of the same thinking.. Remember, Paul started his first letter to the Corinthians with the same admonition (see 1 Corinthians 1:10). Paul does not mean that every Christian has to have the same opinion, where opinions are permissible. But he does mean every Christian must think the same way where the Bible specifically clarifies itself and where its commandments and doctrines are clearly made. The Bible is God'S word, not man'S! And when God commands, every man must see the command the same way, think the same way about it, and do the same obedience. Where there are no specific commands, every Christian must think the same way about how opinions are to be exercised, not what opinion may be held. The matter of thinking the same must be of utmost significance for Paul to begin and end his two epistles to Corinth with an imperative admonition about it. Apostolic doctrine, apostolic principles, apostolic authority is of supreme importance. What we think about the Gospel and apostolic doctrine determines our eternal destiny and the destiny of others!

2 Corinthians 13:12-13 Affection: Genuine affection is a sign of spiritual maturity. Mature Christians will find ways of expressing brotherly love. Paul uses the imperative verb, aspasasthe (greet, salute, welcome, pay respects) urging the Corinthians to greet one another with a holy kiss (Gr. en hagio philemati). The kiss of greeting was an ancient custom and generally upon the cheek, forehead or beard. The holy kiss (or cheek-to-cheek embrace, as in France today) was adopted as a formal greeting among Christians of the first centuries (see Romans 16:16; 1 Corinthians 16:20; 2 Corinthians 13:12; 1 Thessalonians 5:26; 1 Peter 5:14). The holy kiss was given by men to men and by women to women. Peter exhorts Christians to love one another earnestly from the heart (1 Peter 1:22). Peter uses the word agape (divine-kind-of-love) in his exhortation. Christian affection is not merely sentiment or feeling. It is that, but much more. It is caring and serving and dying to self for others when one does not even feel like doing so. That is mature Christian affection. Affection that will not die-to-self for others is not matureit is a sham, facade, and feigned (hypocritical).

2 Corinthians 13:14 Association: Ultimately, Christian maturity depends upon the association a believer has with his Lord! Paul closes his second letter to the Corinthian Christians with a benediction (prayer) that the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with (Gr. meta, together with) all of them.

If Christians have the grace of Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit they need nothing more! This is Paul's summation of all he wishes for the Corinthian Christians. Sum up all he has said in this epistle and the first one, and this is what they needed.
Sum it all up, and in every circumstance we may find ourselves, starving to death, dying in a hospital, being killed by persecutors, this is all we need! For this body, which we so devotedly try to preserve (by eating, sheltering, dieting, exercising, protecting, doctoring) must be shed before we enter Paradise. All of that which we think we desperately need, in the end, is not needed at all.

If we are trusting in the grace of Christ, trusting in the love of God, and sharing with the Holy Spirit of God in his work in our lives and in the world, nothing can separate us from Paradise. As a matter of fact, we would probably be more apt to have the grace of Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit if we had less of what this world has to offer. Most certainly, if we have more of this world than we need, we had better be giving some of it away so it can make friends for us in the eternal abode because sooner or later it will all be left behindeven our physical bodies.

Let us learn to be content with weaknesses (transitoriness) because in that, with grace, love and the Holy Spirit, we can be eternally powerful. And with an association in the Divine Godhead of grace, love and fellowship, all our problems, whether saint or preacher, will become powers.

Applebury's Comments

Closing Admonition And Benediction
Scripture

2 Corinthians 13:11-14. Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfected; be comforted; be of the same mind; live in peace: and the God of love and peace shall be with you. 12 Salute one another with a holy kiss. 13 All the saints salute you. 14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

Comments

Finally, brethren, farewell.Despite the fears which he held that they might again be corrupted through the efforts of the false teachers, Paul addressed the Corinthians as brethren when he told them goodbye.

This was characteristic of his letters, for in the first epistle he had addressed them as the church of God, although he was aware of their divisions by which they were destroying the temple of God. He called them brethren although he was aware of the spiritual immaturity that marked them as men. The term brethren implied that they were members of the family of God. But it in no way implied approval of practices unbecoming to a child of God. It did indicate Paul's love and hope for them that they might settle their problems in the light of the gospel so that they might be in the family of God in heaven. For that reason he urged them to be perfected. He urged them to accept the help that he as their father in the gospel offered those who were like beloved children to him. He wanted them to be united in their expressed opinions regarding their relation to Christ, by basing their conclusions on the truth which he had taught them. He wanted them to live in peace with one another, but peace must be preceded by purity in teaching and conduct. Their factions, jealousies, and back-bitings could all be abolished by bringing their lives up to the standard of conduct which Christ had set for them. Only by doing so could the peace of God guard their hearts and thoughts in Christ Jesus.

and the God of love and peace.Paul served the God of love and peace. He demonstrated His love in giving His Son to die for us. He made peace possible through the blood of the cross. Those who have found peace at the cross should be able to live at peace with their brethren in Christ.

Salute one another with a holy kiss.This was the usual greeting among brethren. Brotherhood is determined by relationship to Christ. Brethren in Christ should follow the apostolic injunction to greet one another even if local customs suggests that it be done through the handshake rather than the holy kiss which was the custom in Paul's day.

All the saints salute you.Saints are those who have separated themselves from the things of the world by washing their robes and making them white in the blood of the Lamb. They have dedicated themselves to the pure service of God. Paul had addressed this epistle to the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints that are in the whole of Achaia. He lifted high this holy standard as he closed the letter even though in it he had warned the impenitent sinners about the punishment that would be visited upon them in his forthcoming visit.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.In this sublime benediction, Paul expressed his fondest hope and deepest longing for those whom he loved as his children in the gospel. He prayed that the grace of Christ, His unmerited favor, might be with them. He knew from experience how that grace had saved him and had continued in providential protection to be with him in all his trials and labors for Christ. He prayed that the grace of Christ by which they too had been saved through their faith expressed in obedience to the gospel might also providentially protect them from the destructive power of Satanic false teaching that they might be presented in purity and victory before Christ when He comes.

and the love of God.He prayed that God's love which had been the compelling force in his life might motivate them to obey His Word so that they might not be chastised with the disobedient.

This was God's love for them. His love made forgiveness through Christ available to the believer. But they were not to presume upon the love of God, for those who will not walk with Christ in the new life shall suffer punishment, even destruction from the presence of the Lord. See 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9.

and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.This was the fellowship or partnership of the saints which had been made possible through following the wisdom of God revealed by the Holy Spirit through the inspired apostles. Paul prayed that it might be a reality in their lives as they worked together for Christ at Corinth and joined with the brethren in Macedonia to help the saints in Judea.

As these solemn words were being read to the church, the brethren must have realized that they were far more than a mere formal closing. This was an earnest prayer that had come from the heart of the one who had led them to Christ and who continued to love them as a father. The sublime benediction embodied the apostle Paul's hope and prayer for the saints of God at Corinth.

Summary

Paul had mentioned his forthcoming return visit to Corinth in his first letter. Much of the second epistle centers in the explanation of his delay in coming. It had been necessary to postpone the trip until he had given them time to act upon the instruction given in the first epistle about the tragic sins which they had permitted to go unreproved in their midst.
While he had written with loving care for those whom he considered his children in the gospel, he again, as he closed the letter, called attention to the necessity of getting themselves straightened out in the light of the truth of the gospel which they had learned from him. He was coming. And he would not spare those who were guilty of conduct unbecoming a Christian. But he assured them that all would be done in fairness for every charge would be established by adequate testimony.
Under the influence of false teachers, they had been led to question his authority. Did Christ really speak through him? Since they had asked for proof, Paul gave them ample evidence to support his authority which the Lord had given him to build up the church, not to tear it down as the false teachers were doing.
Since they sought proof of him, he suggested that they put themselves to the test and find out in the light of the truth whether or not they were in accord with the faith in Christ. Was Christ in them? He was, unless they failed to pass the test of conducting themselves according to His gospel. Out of his love for them, Paul expressed his hope that they would not fail, even though false teachers attempted to disqualify him as an apostle of Christ. He boasted only in his weakness and in the power of Christ by whose death and resurrection he, as well as the believers at Corinth, had been saved.
Paul prayed to God that they would do no evil, but he reminded them he was guided by the truth in all his dealings with them. As an apostle of Christ, he could do nothing against the truth. Lest they miss the point, he reminded them again that the purpose of his writing was to give them time to take care of their problems so as to avoid being punished upon his arrival.
The letter was finished. Reluctantly, it seems, Paul said good-bye to the brethren whom he loved in Christ. But once more he urged them to straighten out their problems, to take courage, to hold the same views of the gospel, and to live in peace. Do this, he said, and the God of peace will be with you.
Gathering up all his hope and prayer for them in one sublime benediction he wrote: The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you.