2 CORINTHIANS - Chapter 13
Verses 1-4
v1 This will be my third visit to you. If you accuse anyone, two or three witnesses must speak in evidence. v2 I said this to you when I was with you the second time. I repeat it now that I am away. ‘I warn those who have sinned in the past. And I warn everyone else. If I return, I shall punish them.’ v3 Then you will know that Christ speaks by me. He is not weak when he directs you. He shows his power among you. v4 Yes, he died on the cross in weakness, but now he lives by the power of God. We who share his weakness will, by the power of God, live with him to serve you.
Commentary
Paul warns them that he is coming to them. Two or three witnesses must prove that someone has done wrong things. During the ‘painful’ visit, he said this: He would punish those who had done wrong things. Now he says that he will do this. This will happen when he comes for the third time. His purpose was to make them better people. This would prove to them that he comes in the power of the risen Jesus. Christ appeared to be weak while he was on earth and especially on the cross. His followers share that weakness. Now he is alive in the power of God. The Christians at Corinth will see that power in Paul’s life.
Verses 5-14
v5 Test yourselves. Make sure that you still believe. Check yourselves. Know that Jesus Christ lives in you. That is, unless you fail the test. v6 I hope that you do not think that we have failed. v7 We pray to God that you will not do any wrong thing. This is not to show that we have passed the test. We want you to do what is right. This is even if we may seem to have failed. v8 We cannot do anything against the truth, but only for it. v9 We are happy to be weak if you are strong. Therefore, we pray that you will become perfect. v10 That is why I write this when I am away from you. When I come, I shall not have to use my authority in a severe way. The Lord gave me this authority to encourage you, not to punish you.
v11 Finally, brothers, goodbye. Work hard to become perfect. Listen to my appeals. Agree with one another. Live in peace. Then, the God of love and peace will be with you. v12 Greet each other with a holy kiss. v13 All God’s people send you greetings. v14 I pray that the kindness of the Lord Jesus Christ will be with you all. And I pray that the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit will be with you all.
Commentary
Paul ends this letter with a final warning. They have been testing him. Now they should test themselves. They should see that Christ is in them. That is unless they fail the test. But no real Christian would fail this test.
Paul had not failed the test. The proof of that was that they had become Christians. They must do what was right. Then Paul would not need to show his authority or to punish them. He did not need to do anything against what was true (right and proper). He wanted the Christians at Corinth to do the right things. Then he would be glad to be weak (not to have to show his power). He would be glad that they were strong. He prays that they may be perfect. The word ‘perfect’ here has a special meaning. It describes how people repair an object. Then they can use it again. The word often referred to fishermen who mended their nets. He hoped that by warning them he would not need to be severe with them. He wanted to encourage them, not to punish them.
So he says goodbye to them. He encourages them to change their ways. They should listen to his appeal. They should live in peace (that is, calm) and greet one another in a friendly way. His final prayer is that they may know the power of the Trinity. (The Trinity is God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. God describes himself in this way. But there is only one God.) He refers to it in the order that we know about it. We first know the kindness of Jesus by the cross. This leads us to the love of God. This results in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. So we can have fellowship with God and with each other.
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