2 Corinthians 13:13

ἡ χάρις τοῦ κ. κ. τ. λ.: the Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ (his concluding salutation in Rom., 1 Cor., Gal., Phil., Philm., 1 and 2 Thess.), and the Love of God (see on 2 Corinthians 5:14), and the Fellowship of the Holy Spirit (as at Philippians 2:1, and cf. 1 Corinthians 1:9; 1 Corinthians 10:16) be with you all, even with those who opposed him. The ordinary conclusion of a letter of the period was ἔρρωσθε, as χαίρειν was the introductory greeting (see on 2 Corinthians 1:1). But St. Paul has a signature of his own, which he calls the σημεῖον ἐν πάσῃ ἐπιστολῇ (2 Thessalonians 3:17); viz., he always ends with a prayer that Christ's grace may rest on his correspondents, either in the form ἡ χάρις τοῦ Κυρ. Ἰη. Χρ. or in the abbreviated form ἡ χάρις (as in Eph., Col. and the Pastorals). Here, and here only, he fills it out so as to embrace the Three Persons of the Blessed Trinity. Possibly the phrase the “God of Love” in 2 Corinthians 13:11 has suggested here mention of the “Love of God,” i.e., the love which God has for man; and a prayer for the “Fellowship of the Holy Spirit,” i.e., the κοινωνία which is the Spirit's gift, is a fitting conclusion to a letter addressed to a community agitated by faction and strife and jealousy (2 Corinthians 12:20). But whatever were the thoughts which suggested this triple benediction (cf. Numbers 6:23 f.), it remains, as Bengel says, “egregium de SS. Trinitate testimonium”. It offers a devotional parallel to the Baptismal Formula (Matthew 28:19); and the order of its clauses receives its explanation in later words of St. Paul: διʼ αὐτοῦ ἔχομεν τὴν προσαγωγὴν … ἐν ἑνὶ πνεύματι πρὸς f1τὸν πατέρα (Ephesians 2:18). It is the Grace of Christ which leads us towards the Love of God, and the Love of God when realised through the Spirit's power promotes the love of man (1 John 4:11), the holy fellowship fostered by the indwelling Spirit.

πρὸς Κορ. κ. τ. λ. This subscription is found (in substance) in [66] [67], the Harclean and Bohairic vss. and in many cursives, but has no real authority. The mention of Titus and Luke is plainly derived from chap. 2 Corinthians 8:18. A few cursives add the name of Barnabas; the Peshitto mentions Titus only. The form of subscription in the best MSS., [68] [69] [70] 17, is simply πρὸς Κορινθίους Β.

[66] Codex Mosquensis (sæc. ix.), edited by Matthæi in 1782.

[67] Codex Angelicus (sæc. ix.), at Rome, collated by Tischendorf and others.

[68] Codex Sinaiticus (sæc. iv.), now at St. Petersburg, published in facsimile type by its discoverer, Tischendorf, in 1862.

[69] Codex Alexandrinus (sæc. v.), at the British Museum, published in photographic facsimile by Sir E. M. Thompson (1879).

[70] Codex Vaticanus (sæc. iv.), published in photographic facsimile in 1889 under the care of the Abbate Cozza-Luzi.