Miles de Libros Cristianos Gratis. Accede a nuestra Biblioteca Virtual

Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 2 Corinthians 13:1

Para un estudio avanzado de: “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 2 Corinthians 13:1” utilice nuestra app.

This [is] the third [time] I am coming to you. In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established.

Ch. 2Co 13:1. This is the third time I am coming to you ] See note on ch. 2Co 12:14. For the Greek present in the sense of an intention see 1Co 16:5.

In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established ] This is a quotation from Deu 19:15, and is an intimation of St Paul’s intention to enter upon a full investigation of the condition of the Corinthian Church, if such a step be rendered necessary by their conduct. He will assume nothing, take nothing for granted of what he has heard, but will carry on his investigation on the principles alike of the Old Testament and of the New (Mat 18:16).

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

This is the third time … – see the note on 2Co 12:14. For an interesting view of this passage, see Paleys Horae Paulinae on this Epistle, No. 11: It is evident that Paul had been to Corinth but once before this, but he had resolved to go before a second time, but had been disappointed.

In the mouth of two or three witnesses … – This was what the Law of Moses required; Deu 20:16; see the note on Joh 8:17; compare Mat 18:16. But in regard to its application here, commentators are not agreed. Some suppose that Paul refers to his own epistles which he had sent to them as the two or three witnesses by which his promise to them would be made certain; that he had purposed it and promised it two or three times, and that as this was all that was required by the Law, it would certainly be established. This is the opinion of Bloomfield, Rosenmuller, Grotius, Hammond, Locke, and some others. But, with all the respect due to such great names, it seems to me that this would be trifling and childish in the extreme. Lightfoot supposes that he refers to Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus, who would be witnesses to them of his purpose; see 1Co 16:17. But the more probable opinion, it seems to me, is that of Doddridge, Macknight, and others, that he anticipated that there wound be necessity for the administration of discipline there, but that he would feel himself under obligation in administering it to adhere to the reasonable maxim of the Jewish Law. No one should be condemned or punished where there was not at least two or three witnesses to prove the offence. But where there were, discipline would be administered according to the nature of the crime.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

2Co 13:1-14

This is the third time I am coming to you.

Pauls epistolary farewell to the Corinthians

There is no evidence that Paul wrote a word to them after this. The letters had evidently been a task to a man of his tender nature. No doubt he felt a burden rolled from his heart, and a freer breath, when he dictated the last sentence.

I. Words of warning. He warns them of a chastisement which he was determined to inflict upon all offenders against the gospel of Christ.

1. The discipline would be righteous (2Co 13:1). He will not chastise any without proper evidence. Therefore the true need not fear; the false alone need apprehend.

2. The discipline would be rigorous (2Co 13:2). He had threatened this in his former letter (1Co 4:13-19). There is no more terrible chastisement than excommunication from the fellowship of the good.

3. The discipline would demonstrate the existence of Christ in him (2Co 13:3). He could have given this proof sooner, but he acted in this respect like Christ, and was content to appear weak amongst them, in order that his power might be more conspicuously displayed (2Co 13:3-4).

II. Words of exhortation (2Co 13:5). Self-scrutiny is at once a duty the most urgent and the most neglected. Observe–

1. The momentous point to be tested in self-scrutiny.

2. The momentous conclusion to be reached by self-scrutiny. Know ye not (emphatic), etc. If you are in the faith He is your life. Should you find you are not in the faith, ye are counterfeits, spurious, not genuine; tares, not wheat.

III. Words of prayer (2Co 13:7). Not for his own reputation or himself, but–

1. That they should be kept from the wrong. Do no evil, nothing inconsistent with the character and teaching of Christ.

2. That they should possess the right. Not that we should appear approved, etc.

IV. Words of comfort (2Co 13:8).

1. Truth is uninjurable. Man may quench all the gas lamps in the world, but he cannot dim one star. Men can destroy the forms of nature, level the mountains, dry up the rivers, burn the forests, but can do nothing against the imperishable elements of nature, and these elements will live, build up new mountains, open fresh rivers, and create new forests. You can do nothing against the truth.

2. Goodness is unpunishable (2Co 13:9).

(1) Because it is goodness. The best of men are too weak in authority to punish those who are strong in goodness. The way to paralyse all penal forces is to promote the growth of goodness.

(2) Because it is restorative. (2Co 13:10). Its destiny is edification, not destruction.

V. Words of benediction.

1. Be happy. Farewell, which means rejoice.

2. Be blest of God. The grace of our Lord, etc. (D. Thomas, D. D.)

Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell

CHAPTER XIII.

The apostle again says that this is the third time he has

purposed to come and see them; and threatens that he will, by

the power of Christ, punish every incorrigible sinner, 1-4.

Exhorts them to examine themselves, whether they be in the

faith, 5, 6.

Prays that they may do no evil, 7.

And shows how ardently he wished their complete restoration to

unity and purity, 8, 9.

Tells them for what reason he writes to them, 10.

Bids them farewell, 11,

Gives them some directions, and concludes with his apostolical

benediction, 12-14.

NOTES ON CHAP. XIII.

Verse 1. This is the third time I am coming to you.] These words are nearly the same with those 2Co 12:14; and probably refer to the purpose which he had twice before formed of seeing them. But the latter clause seems to attach a different meaning to the passage; at least so it has been understood by some learned men.

Schoettgen thus interprets the whole: the first coming of the apostle to Corinth was when he personally visited them, and there founded the Christian Church. By his second coming we are to understand his first epistle to them; and, by his being now ready to come to them the third time, we are to understand this second epistle, which he was then going to send them. These were the two witnesses, and the apostle the third, which he gave to the Corinthians concerning the truth of his own ministry, or the falsity of the ministry of the pretended apostle.

Calmet contends that the apostle had been twice before at Corinth, and that he now purposed to go a third time; and that these visits were the two or three witnesses to which the apostle appeals.

Dr. Lightfoot thinks that the two or three witnesses were Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus, sent to assure them of his coming. But this opinion cannot be supported.

With respect to the two or three witnesses establishing the subject, Dr. Whitby says. “Though these words seem to be cited from De 19:15, rather than from Mt 18:16, it being rare to find this apostle citing any thing from the New Testament, without calling it an ordinance of the Lord, yet it is probable that he here alludes to the practice there prescribed for the reclaiming of offenders. And then his first epistle being written with this introduction: Paul an apostle, and Sosthenes; his second thus: Paul and Timotheus; may pass for two or three witnesses; and his presence the third time in person, to exercise his censures on those offenders, before the body of the Church, may bear a fair resemblance to our Lord’s prescription in the above case: If thy brother offend,” &c.-So far Whitby. See Clarke on Mt 18:16.

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

Chapter Introduction

Not

the third time when he was upon his journey, (for he was not now travelling), but the third time that he had taken up thoughts of, and was preparing for, such a journey: which, it may be, he hinteth to them, that they might be the more afraid to continue in those sinful courses which he had blamed them for. In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established: he alludeth to the law of God, Deu 19:15, concerning witnesses in any case. God ordered, that the testimony of two or three persons should determine all questions in their law; and that should be taken for certain and established, which such a number of persons asserted. The apostle would from hence have them conclude, that he would certainly come, because this was the third time that he had resolved upon it, and was preparing for it.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

1. This is the third time I amcoming to younot merely preparing to come to you. Thisproves an intermediate visit between the two recorded inAct 18:1; Act 20:2.

In the mouth of two or threewitnesses shall every word be establishedQuoted from De19:15, Septuagint. “I will judge not withoutexamination, nor will I abstain from punishing upon due evidence”[CONYBEARE and HOWSON].I will no longer be among you “in all patience” towardsoffenders (2Co 12:12). Theapostle in this case, where ordinary testimony was to be had, doesnot look for an immediate revelation, nor does he order the culpritsto be cast out of the church before his arrival. Others understandthe “two or three witnesses” to mean his two or threevisits as establishing either (1) the truth of the facts allegedagainst the offenders, or (2) the reality of his threats. I preferthe first explanation to either of the two latter.

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

This is the third time I am coming to you,…. Or “am ready to come to you”, as the Alexandrian copy reads, as in 2Co 12:14. Though he had been as yet but once at Corinth, and is to be reckoned and accounted for, either after this manner; he had been “once” with them when he first preached the Gospel to them, and was the means of their conversion, and laid, the foundation of their church state, of which there is some account in Ac 18:1 he came to them a “second” time, by writing his first epistle, when he desired to be considered by them, as though he was present with them, 1Co 5:3 and now a “third” time by this second epistle, in which he also speaks as if he was among them, see the following verse; or else in this way, he had been actually in person with them one time, and had been about to come in purpose and preparation a “second” time, but was prevented, and now was just ready a “third” time to set forward in his journey to them; see 2Co 12:14 and so the Syriac version reads it here, “this is the third time that I am ready to come to you”, and which our version also favours. The Alexandrian copy and some others, the Complutension edition, the Vulgate Latin and Ethiopic versions, read, “behold, this third time”, c. in order to raise and fix their attention to what he was saying, or about to say:

in the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established referring to De 19:15 which he applies much in the same manner Christ does in Mt 18:16 and which it is probable he had in view; signifying hereby, that he proceeded in a judicial way, according to due form of law, and in such a manner as Christ had directed; and that they were to look upon his several comings in the sense now explained, to be as so many witnesses, whereby the several charges exhibited against them were fully attested and confirmed, so that things were now ripe for judgment, and for a final sentence to pass upon them.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

The Apostle Asserts His Claims.

A. D. 57.

1 This is the third time I am coming to you. In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established. 2 I told you before, and foretell you, as if I were present, the second time; and being absent now I write to them which heretofore have sinned, and to all other, that, if I come again, I will not spare: 3 Since ye seek a proof of Christ speaking in me, which to you-ward is not weak, but is mighty in you. 4 For though he was crucified through weakness, yet he liveth by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but we shall live with him by the power of God toward you. 5 Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates? 6 But I trust that ye shall know that we are not reprobates.

In these verses observe,

I. The apostle threatens to be severe against obstinate sinners when he should come to Corinth, having now sent to them a first and second epistle, with proper admonitions and exhortations, in order to reform what was amiss among them. Concerning this we may notice, 1. The caution with which he proceeded in his censures: he was not hasty in using severity, but gave a first and second admonition. So some understand his words (v. 1): This is the third time I am coming to you, referring to his first and second epistles, by which he admonished them, as if he were present with them, though in person he was absent, v. 2. According to this interpretation, these two epistles are the witnesses he means in the first verse, referring rather to the direction of our Saviour (Matt. xvii. 16) concerning the manner how Christians should deal with offenders before they proceed to extremity than to the law of Moses (Deu 17:6; Deu 19:15) for the behaviour of judges in criminal matters. We should go, or send, to our brother, once and again, to tell him of his fault. Thus the apostle had told these Corinthians before, in his former epistle, and now he tells them, or writes to those who heretofore had sinned, and to all others, giving warning unto all before he came in person the third time, to exercise severity against scandalous offenders. Others think that the apostle had designed and prepared for his journey to Corinth twice already, but was providentially hindered, and now informs them of his intentions a third time to come to them. However this be, it is observable that he kept an account how often he endeavoured, and what pains he took with these Corinthians for their good: and we may be sure that an account is kept in heaven, and we must be reckoned with another day for the helps we have had for our souls, and how we have improved them. 2. The threatening itself: That if (or when) he came again (in person) he would not spare obstinate sinners, and such as were impenitent, in their scandalous enormities. He had told them before, he feared God would humble him among them, because he should find some who had sinned and had not repented; and now he declares he would not spare such, but would inflict church-censures upon them, which are thought to have been accompanied in those early times with visible and extraordinary tokens of divine displeasure. Note, Though it is God’s gracious method to bear long with sinners, yet he will not bear always; at length he will come, and will not spare those who remain obstinate and impenitent, notwithstanding all his methods to reclaim and reform them.

II. The apostle assigns a reason why he would be thus severe, namely, for a proof of Christ’s speaking in him, which they sought after, v. 3. The evidence of his apostleship was necessary for the credit, confirmation, and success, of the gospel he preached; and therefore such as denied this were justly and severely to be censured. It was the design of the false teachers to make the Corinthians call this matter into question, of which yet they had not weak, but strong and mighty proofs (v. 3), notwithstanding the mean figure he made in the world and the contempt which by some was cast upon him. Even as Christ himself was crucified through weakness, or appeared in his crucifixion as a weak and contemptible person, but liveth by the power of God, or in his resurrection and life manifests his divine power (v. 4), so the apostles, how mean and contemptible soever they appeared to the world, did yet, as instruments, manifest the power of God, and particularly the power of his grace, in converting the world to Christianity. And therefore, as a proof to those who among the Corinthians sought a proof of Christ’s speaking in the apostle, he puts them upon proving their Christianity (v. 5): Examine yourselves, c. Hereby he intimates that, if they could prove their own Christianity, this would be a proof of his apostleship for if they were in the faith, if Jesus Christ was in them, this was a proof that Christ spoke in him, because it was by his ministry that they did believe. He had been not only an instructor, but a father to them. He had begotten them again by the gospel of Christ. Now it could not be imagined that a divine power should go along with his ministrations if he had not his commission from on high. If therefore they could prove themselves not to be reprobates, not to be rejected of Christ, he trusted they would know that he was not a reprobate (v. 6), not disowned by Christ. What the apostle here says of the duty of the Corinthians to examine themselves, c., with the particular view already mentioned, is applicable to the great duty of all who call themselves Christians, to examine themselves concerning their spiritual state. We should examine whether we be in the faith, because it is a matter in which we may be easily deceived, and wherein a deceit is highly dangerous: we are therefore concerned to prove our own selves, to put the question to our own souls, whether Christ be in us, or not and Christ is in us, except we be reprobates: so that either we are true Christians or we are great cheats; and what a reproachful thing is it for a man not to know himself, not to know his own mind!

Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary

The third time I am coming ( ). Either the third that he had planned to come or that he had been twice. The warning is made by quoting De 19:15.

Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament

The third time. The great mass of modern expositors hold that Paul made three visits to Corinth, of the second of which there is no record. 162 I am coming. The third visit which I am about to pay. Alford observes that had not chronological theories intervened, no one would ever have thought of any other rendering. Those who deny the second visit explain : this is the third time that I have been intending to come.

Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament

1) “This is the third time I am coming to you “ (triton touto erchomai pros humas) “This is the third time I am coming to you, of my own accord,” or choice, 2Co 12:14. This indicates Paul’s consideration of a thorough investigation (inquiry) into the church’s condition if it were not corrected by the time of his coming.

2) “In the mouth of two or three witnesses,” (epi stomatos duo marturon kai triton) “at the mouth of two and/or three witnesses;” acceptable evidence to establish testimony at law, Num 35:30; Deu 17:6; Deu 19:15; Mat 18:16; Joh 8:17; Heb 10:28.

3) “Shall every word be established,” (stathesetai pan hrema) “Every word shall be established,” or attested or shall every testimony be confirmed in connection with allegations of serious moral or ethical wrong. Paul was perhaps considering leading the church in a formal inquiry, in a legal sense, when he arrived, so that factual truths might be determined regarding problems, without evasion or equivocation on the party of any person involved in wrong or complaint.

Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary

1. This will be the third. He goes on to reprove still farther the insolence of those of whom he had been speaking, some of whom living in profligacy and licentiousness, and others, carrying on contentions and strifes among themselves, cared nothing for his reproof. For his discourse did not apply to the entire body of the Church, but to certain diseased and half-rotten members of it. Hence he now, with greater freedom, uses sharpness, because he has to do with particular individuals, not with the whole body of the people, and besides this, it was with persons of such a stamp, that he perceived, that he would do them no good by kindness, and mild remedies. After having spent a year and a half among them, (Act 18:11,) he had visited them a second time. Now he forewarns them, that he will come to them a third time, and he says, that his three comings to them will be in the place of three witnesses. He quotes the law as to the authority of witnesses; not in the natural and literal sense, as it is termed, but by accommodation, (943) or similitude, applying it to his particular purpose.

“

The declaration of the law,” says he, “is, that we must rest on the testimony of two or three witnesses for putting an end to disputes.” (944) (Deu 19:15.)

For the word established means that a decision is pronounced respecting a matter, that the strife may cease. “I, indeed, am but one individual, but coming a third time I shall have the authority of three witnesses, or, my three comings will be in the place of three testimonies.” For the threefold effort that was made for their welfare, and perseverance, as made trial of on three different occasions, might, with good reason, be held equivalent to three persons.

(943) “ Anagogen ”

(944) “This is only an allusion: it is taken, with a trifling abridgement, from the Alexandrine copy of the Septuagint, which is an exact translation of the Hebrew. ” — Horne’s Introduction, (Lond. 1823,) volume 2 — Ed.

Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary

CRITICAL NOTES

2Co. 13:1-13.[Good paraphrase, exhibiting connection of thought, from Stanley: Once, twice, thrice, as in the Mosaic Law of the three witnesses; by my first visitby this Epistle, as though I had accomplished my second visitby the third visit, which I now hope to accomplish [this personifying the three (?) visits as three witnesses, somewhat forced and fantastic]I warn you that I shall not spare my power when I come. You are always seeking for a proof of my Apostleship; you shall have it. For Christ who speaks in me, though in the weakness of humanity He died the shameful death of the cross, in the strength of God He lives and acts still; and in Him, weak and poor as I seem to be, I shall still live and act towards you. But why do I speak of myself? You yourselves, my converts, are the best witnesses of my Apostolical power; and long may you be so! If, indeed, you should have lost this best proof of my Apostleship in the reformation of your own lives, then indeed you shall have the proof of my severity. But my earnest prayer is that there may be no occasion for it. May my power and the proof of it perish if you prove that you do not need it. Against a true and blameless life the highest Apostolical power is powerless; and if you have this power of truth and goodness, I am well content to part with mine. It is to draw you to a sense of this that I write this whole Epistle, in the hopes that my Apostolical authority may be turned to its fitting purpose of building up, not of pulling down.

2Co. 13:1.Strong presumption in this verse of two actual previous visits; second unrecorded in Acts; opportunity for it during the long stay at Ephesus (Act. 20:31). Quotation from Deu. 19:15. Prepare for a calm, thorough, judicial inquiry when I come, into the facts of all these ugly reports about you which reach me.

2Co. 13:2. Before, foretell, heretofore; only by prefixes to the verbs. Note, as to first case, R.V. margin; a very possible rendering. Better: Before my second visit I said; and now, before my third, I say. Choice between: As if I were, etc., and When I was, depends on view taken as to two, or three, visits. (Best discussion of this is Conybeare and Howson, chap. xv. Also see Introduction.) Heretofore, repeated from 2Co. 12:21; i.e. up to now, and to the rest, if they be inclined to follow the bad lead of these first sinners. Cf. I spare you (1Co. 7:28). Omit, I write.

2Co. 13:3. In me.Emphatic in position; q.d. My opponents say He speaks in them, and that He does not speak in me. You ask my proof that He does. Observe the style of an ancient prophet. Paul is the mouthpiece of Christ, and, further, Christ is the Inspiring God (cf. 2Sa. 23:2). (Observe who, not which) Similarly Ananias and Sapphira sought a proof of the Holy Ghost speaking in Peter. Notice toward you and in you.

2Co. 13:4.An unfaithful convert thought: Not much to fear from this Christ; Himself He could not save (cf. Luk. 23:35); us He cannot punish. [Cf. , Gal. 4:13; here.] Weakness.As you call it, and His enemies esteemed it. As we know it, He was so crucified, under conditions of humanity and its physical limitations which He had chosen to assume and submit to; He died as part of the emptying of Himself. He chose not to draw upon His Divine reserve of power. We also.2Co. 4:10; 2Co. 12:10. Pauls familiar thought; shares with our Lord in His redemption history. We have our weakness, our crucifixion, our resurrection, our strength as of a heavenly, enthroned life.

2Co. 13:5. Connect, proof (2Co. 13:3); examine (here); reprobate (2Co. 13:5-6); approved; all cognate in root; evidence during trial; act of trial; rejected after trial; approved and accredited, as result of standing the trial well. Whether they had suggested this word, or the Apostle only attributed it to them, it certainly had seized his mind, and he dwells upon the idea, after his manner, with all kinds of variations. This one word proof is the key to the whole passage, and solves every difficulty. (Pope, Prayers of St. Paul, 168.)] [Good illustration of approved in Rom. 16:10 : Apelles approved in Christ, i.e. a man in Christ (= a Christian) who has been tried by trials, by labours, by persecutions, by time (hardest test of all, to some!), and who has come forth, not reprobate silver (Jer. 6:30) or gold, but (to coin a parallel word) approbate, a vessel on which the Great Assay-master can set His hall-mark Approved.] Your (own) selves.Not me (2Co. 13:3). If you want such a proof, the test will be that you should turn out able to stand examination.

2Co. 13:6. I trust.Hope. Partly: I should like to think that your self-examination will so end as to be the best proof that I am an apostle. Partly, and more sternly: I shall in any case, if you compel me, hope to show you that I have an apostles power and authority.

2Co. 13:7.The bearing of your self-examination upon me personally is, however, a small matter. Let me be approved or reprobate, I care not; what I do care about is, that you may really be such as need fear no scrutiny. Self would say: I hope they may be shown up badly; and may so vindicate me, and give me a chance of punishing.

2Co. 13:8. As Stanley above.

2Co. 13:9. Perfecting.Not the word, but word. Trace it from (literal) Mending the nets (Mar. 1:19). A body prepared Me (Heb. 10:5; Heb. 11:3); through, e.g., Gal. 6:1 (replace the dislocated member of Christ) to 1Th. 3:10; [a fearful use, in Rom. 9:22] 1Co. 1:10 = Restoration to corporate perfectness. Perfect restoration to ecclesiastical order, and perfect recovery of moral purity; the corporate or Church idea predominating in the word, as its etymology indicates (Pope, Prayers St. Paul, 169).

2Co. 13:10.Note R.V.; very clear. Repeated from 2Co. 10:8.

HOMILETIC ANALYSIS.2Co. 13:1-10

Three antitheses:

A. Present and absent (2Co. 13:1-2; 2Co. 13:10)

B. Strong and weak (2Co. 13:3-4; 2Co. 13:8-9).

C. Reprobate and approved (2Co. 13:5-7).

A. I. How hard to get at truth! We may be intentionally deceived, or undesignedly misled. It is not enough to go upon what the household of Chloe reported. Very natural, in the (honourable) revolt against such sin as they described, to rush into an emphatic judgment, which may prove, when more facts are known, too strong or unwarranted altogether. Yet it is very hard to recant, especially if we have published our judgment to the world. No hasty, impulsive judgments; especially in apostles or persons responsible for the discipline and purity of a Church. Nor on mere hearsay evidence. Judge gives the presumption on the prisoners side, until he hears all. Weigh, wait, watch for new facts; inquire patiently. Against an elder, etc. (1Ti. 5:19). Eliminate thus the personal, in regard to the testimony, and to the verdict. The two or three witnesses were rather jury, assessors to the judge, than witnesses in modern judicial sense. Good rule also for private conduct, as well as for official and disciplinary. First, tell him his fault, between thee and him alone (Mat. 18:15). Get face to face with the man, and, as far as possible thus, with the facts. Then take with thee one or two more, etc. (ib.).

II. When truth is ascertained, then action must be decisive. Sin is in itself a grievous evil, and damaging to the Church; a cancer eating its inner life, a leprosy making it offensive to the outer world. Faithfulness to Godthe Holyand faithfulness to men, require prompt, decisive action; faithfulness to the faithful membership, to the unfaithful member (who may thus be made to see his sin, and be led to repentance; it is no kindness to the sinner to deal with his offence with unholy tenderness), and to the outside world (to which it is important that the Salt should have its full and unmixed savour of grace and holiness) requires it. Remedial measures, if it may be; excision (Gal. 5:12) if nothing less severe will suffice. As of the magistrate, so of the Church discipline: Wouldst thou have no fear of the power? etc. (Rom. 13:3). And all this in the presence of the offender, if possible. (The Apostle is a Visitor in the old Church and college sense; to inquire into abuses, or offences, and to remedy or punish.)

III. Note how all this reflects Gods method. Swift to hear [knowing everything that can be said for the wrong-doer; giving full, loving, gracious weight to it; perhaps, now and then, judging more leniently than even the awakened conscience itself does]. Slow to wrath [Pauls longsufferinghis reluctance to hasten to Corinth until all wrong was put awayleading them to repentance (Rom. 2:4)]; waiting if so be He, may be gracious (Isa. 39:8). Paul did, God does, we should, lay the axe at the root of the trees; for use, if it must be; but also rather that the tree may take heed and make the axe needless. But in the day of visitation (as above) He too will use sharpness. If He come again (in that day) He will not spare. [I. Christ absent; II. Christ present.] The wrath of the tenderest natures; the indignation against wrong which is born of the deepest loyalty to, and love of, right (as in Paul); are the most sharp and terrible. [Wrath of the Lamb (Rev. 6:16).] In all that Paul says, in the lines on which he acts and proposes to act, we see Christ speaking in him.

B. Paul is in Christ.

1. He lives Christs life over again: Crucified with Christ. And his crucified life is modelled on the lines of his Lords; it was weakness to suffer Himself to be crucified; it seems to the wrong-doers at Corinth weakness in Paul, whom they may ignore or defy, that he does not come as in the First Epistle he had said he would, but holds his hand from executing the punishment he threatened. [So men think and speak of God and His Christ in this the day of forbearance. Weakness! Sentence not executed speedily (Ecc. 8:11). Thoughtest such a one as thyself (Psa. 50:21). He suffers them to crucify Him afresh and put Him to an open shame; yet generally makes no sign. Intellectual revolt against His Divine Authority, heart revolt against His holy Law; political refusal of recognition of Christian principle in legislation; He sits, above them all, keeping silence. World grows defiant; Church grows impatient and fearful. But no! Dont misinterpret the weakness!]

2. Notwithstanding the seeming weakness, behind and beneath there is reserve strength in Paul. Comparable to His Who even now lives againthe day of His humiliation and weakness overthrough the power of God [through, for this raised Him (e.g. Act. 2:33; Act. 5:31, by and at), and dwells in Him, inherent, native, His own] Comparable to, and also really derived from, connected with, it. We shall live (in the like strength) with Him (if we come to Corinth to punish). The executive hand is strong or weak, according as the whole body, the whole man, is strong or weak. A twofold reserve in Christ: wrath treasured up against day of wrath (Rom. 2:5) [as if in a huge reservoir, gathering behind the dam of His forbearing, longsuffering mercy in Christ; to burst some day in sweeping, overwhelming might, carrying all evil away before it]; and a fulness of the power of God, for the defence of His Church and His Truth, for the support of His servants in their conflicts, for the vindication of the needful authority of Church discipline, and for bringing forth the judgment between Him and the world unto victory. A very real moral support all this to the loyal, righteous party in Church and world. They may count on Him and His strength. The day of His weakness is really also a day of His Divine might.

3. This present-day power He would rather make remedial; weak against you; strong in you, if you will; would rather edify than destroy. The one supreme concern to Paul, to Christ, to all who are responsible for the government, the purity, of a Church, is that ye do no evil, but do that which is honest. No Jonah-like anger, if all the threatenings end in nothing, turned aside by reformation of Nineveh, or Corinth. We are content to be weak, helpless, on these conditions. Do you do the truth, and then we can do nothing. In that way you can make us powerless. The very heart and purpose of God are seen here! Not willing that any should perish, but, etc. (2Pe. 3:9). This we wish: Your perfection. Behold the Goodness and the Severity of God (Rom. 11:22).

C. Reprobate or approved.(See Separate Homily on 2Co. 13:5.)

1. Can the ministry stand its trial, and the challenge of friends or foes? Yes, if the people can! Does Christ speak in the ministry? Well, answer by another question,Is Christ in the people! And are they in the faith? A living Church is the best credential of a real ministry.
2. A faithful minister will, laudably, desire to be evidently approved:
(1) Before God, Who knows his heart, and observes his conduct, and tries his work.
(2) In the knowledge and conscience of his brethren and his people,by the power which accompanies his word, the immediate success which crowns his efforts, and the abiding fruitfulness which follows them.
3. He will not allow himself or his people to have their attention diverted to other so-called tests: Good financier; Capital with young people; See the numerical increase; During his pastorate the Church has raised so much, has spent so many thousands over building; Great influence in the city; What an intellectual or wealthy and important congregation gather round him. All good, in varying degree; every one in excellence which may be laid under contribution to do admirable service for Christ; all efficient equipments, if thoroughly consecrated, for a minister of Christ. Yet they may only be proofs of an able man. No true minister will be satisfied to gather round him a mere aggregation of hearers at a popular preaching centre, with hardly sufficient community of interest or life to make them a congregation; and still less to gather anything but a real Church, whose members are by his ministry being led to a life of which the secret is that they are in the Faith, and that Christ is in them. All other may be proofs of secular, natural success unsatisfying to a spiritual man, or to the spiritual judgment. Perish everything; even let him be accounted reprobate [a poor preacher; ought never to have entered the ministry!], if only, strong in Christs strength, he gather and train an approved people!

HOMILETIC SUGGESTIONS

2Co. 13:5. The Faith.

I. In the Faith may come only to mean that men accept the Creed. (Fides qu creditur.) Do not be satisfied unless you are in the bonds of the community whose unity rests on the Faith which saves into, and in, Christ. (Fides qu creditur, and more.)

II. Test of this true faith is: Is Christ in you? Evidenced, to your own consciousness, and to the observation of others. All articles of the Creed centre finally in Him. Does an indwelling Christ make all the articles living truths, which you know and believe, because you have lived, and are living, your way into knowledge and faith. Are they each verified by your experience?

2Co. 13:5. Self-examination.

I. Pauls immediate point is self-examination.[So, in Gal. 6:4, we have:

1. Scrutiny of self;
2. Joy in self;
3. Responsibility for self.] Corinthians were ready to put him to proof. General rule: More ready to sit in judgment upon others than upon ourselves. [Look at 1Co. 11:31; Mat. 7:1.] This ministers to curiosity, love of gossip, tends to a subtle self-complacency after comparison of others with ourselves. Yet really the harder thing. We do know some, if not all, the facts about ourselves; are, or may be, cognisant of even our most secret motives, know all that would tell against, and all that would tell for, us, if others knew us so far completely as we ourselves do. We cannot know all the facts about others. Every man is a problem to himself; how much more to others who only know what he chooses to allow to come to the surface in character and life. Sometimes this scrutiny of others is merely one of many forms of occupation for a mind afraid to begin seriously to examine itself. How often does fuller, subsequent light show how useless our judgments of others were, and how wrong our conclusions; what waste of time over our inquiry, and what waste of words and of heroic display of virtuous indignation and condemnation! Utterly beside the mark, and a great sin against the Spirit of Christ. Cannot help knowing many facts about others; cannot help passing judgment upon, and drawing conclusions from, the facts. But we shall remember how incomplete our data, how imperfect our methods, how little we often are really concerned in the matter. Self-examination very profitable; mere curious examination of others very perilous to the soul.

II. What is self-examination?Two words here found significantly together: examine, prove (, ). [Good article on them in Trench, Syn., lxxiv.] First is the common word for tempt, in the original, neutral sense (both in Greek and English; so in Mal. 3:10; Mal. 3:15 prove and tempt are same word), as well as with the evil associations which have gathered (accidentally) around it. Second is the technical word in classical Greek for putting money to the proof; the foundation idea being to prove whether a thing is worthy to be received or not. In New Testament use, latter generally implies a successful endurance of the proving, and, indeed, a desire and hope and purpose on the part of the person testing, that such should be the issue; the former predominantly (evidently not so here) suggests endeavour and hope to discover, awake, strengthen, existing evil. [Familiar illustrations of are: boring to examine strata, or find water or minerals or gold; putting in the cheese-taster (taste and test are akin). Cf. , which suggests the fire and crucible of the goldsmith, the refiner and purifier of silver (Mal. 3:3), to show purity, or to secure it by removal of dross or alloy; the periodical Trial of the Pyx at the Abbey, Westminster; the testing of chains or springs at the factory before sending out for use; not in order to discover or make flaws or weakness, but to vindicate soundness or strength.] Q.d. Bore down into your life-strata; see what your foundation is, what store of worth and goodness grace has put within you. Try your quality and your gracious flavour, savour. See whether you be the genuine article, according to the name upon you Christian; by this time the fine metal, or at least getting purer by the sanctifying effect of the processes of Providence and Life. Try your strength for resistance and for weight-carrying, for the service of man and of Christ.

III. Need of it.

1. Same need, as in business, for going over stock, balancing moneys, watching wear and tear. Many (spiritually) trading long after insolvent. Going on, keeping up the business name: A. B., a man in Christ; dealt with by others, employed in the Church on that basis, long after original capitalthe grace of acceptance into Christ and the Family, of regeneration after Christhas been sinned away by the man himself, or has been, in his negligence, stolen away by the world, or by secret, heart sins which grieved the Spirit. Constant wear and tear, lass and gain, going on in the religious life. No headway is ever made without perpetual, unrelaxing effort. [All our progress is against stream; against all the current of tendencies within and of influences from without. Cease rowing vigorously; your boat slackens, stops, is borne backward and downward.

Non aliter quam qui adverso vix flumine lembum
Remigiis subigit; si brachia forte remisit,
Atque illum in praeceps prono rapit alveus amni.

Virg., Georg., I., 201203.

Status quo is not maintained without constantly new grace given, and constant, watchful, prayerful effort. Old impressions fade; old motives lose power; old vows are not felt with old obligation. Ever-wakeful Enemy, ready to pounce, or to enter by a long-disused, almost forgotten entrance of susceptibility or liability.

2. Easier, more natural, to lie, like lotus eaters, idly in our boat and drift, not even noticing the drift. Drifting the subtlest, commonest danger of the ordinary Christian life. To be holy or earnest, even to maintain ones status in Christ, means taking trouble. No inherent grace; any implanted grace must be renewed unceasingly; no possibility of accumulating a capital stock of grace [and then retiring from business, living on the dividends of the accumulated grace and work of earlier Christian life. Many seem trying to do so]. Yet deceitfulness of sin, indolence, pride, fear to know the unwelcome, half-suspected truth, incline a man to slur over or to avoid altogether any examination of present position, the only one worth anything before God. Liability to ignorance and error, dangerous in their practical consequences, to be reckoned with. Know ye not? Forgotten? Not examined lately?

IV. Methods and tests

1. Supreme one this: You prove me to see whether Christ speaks through me. Look within: Does Christ dwell in you? (cf. Rom. 8:9-10), i.e. by His Spirit? Have you the witness? (Rom. 8:15-16; Gal. 4:6-7). Have you the fruit? [N. B. one and indivisible; not fruits; a cluster of grapes on a branch of the Vine; not so many independent figs or apples.] The hope (Col. 1:27, = Christ in you, or in-separable from it).

2. The Word is an objective test; our memory and Consciousness supply facts on which Conscience sits as judge (2Co. 1:12; you need the objective standard, unaffected by any personal equation of mood, or prejudice, or bias1Co. 4:4, I know nothing against myself, yet, etc.). Experience will often interpret Scripture to a man; Scripture will always interpret and value experience for him.

3. Should be done with prayer for Divine light upon Self and Scripture. Neither can be understood without the other. [Woollen manufacturer, examining cloth, wants a north window with clear, open, steady light; brings cloth to the window.]
4. Should be done in solitude, if possible; soul alone with God. The true and useful element in retreats. As of God, in the sight of God speak to ourselves in examining and judging ourselves (2Co. 2:17). Humbling ourselves before Him; holding ourselves ready to hear all He has to tell us, and to act upon it, following it in any direction, to any length of consequence.

5. Any time is no time. Some need a fixed rule and fixed times. Some best avail themselves of (say) birthdays, times of sorrow, or of blessing; some of the quiet of the House of God.

V. There are dangers attending.Unwilling heart, or worldly, exaggerates these as reasons for discontinuance. Real danger: lest it grow

(1) mechanical, as when done by a Method, with scheduled questions for self-examination, or, as to time, become a mere bit of routine, done without heart or earnestness; or

(2) morbid, a very common liability to the most sensitive souls, of tender, but not very enlightened, conscience; e.g. they set up an impossible standard, not found in Scripture, drawn from their (perhaps mistaken) interpretation of what they hear or read as the experience of others; forget (as their profoundly reasonable Lord never does) the differences of temperament, of training, and in the sense of value of words; scourge themselves needlessly because they do not exactly correspond with their self-imposed standard. Or they are distressed because they do not see distinct progress as between the examination of one evening and that of the next. [This like looking to see growth in child or plant after every few minutes. Rather measure the rising of the tide after some little interval, and by the test of some definite mark upon the shoresome definite habit or point of character; e.g. can they at a years end discover a manifest increase of self-control by grace of God?] Yet greater danger, and more ordinary, is not to examine at all. Also, the broad lines which mark and identify a Christian are recognisable at any moment. It is also to himself a matter of direct and immediate knowledge whether or not a man have the love of God shed abroad in his heart.

VI. If we will not.

1. May wake up in eternity finding ourselves bankrupts; with no true foundation on the Rock. May be reprobate when God tests finally, castaway (same word) when we come before the Judge hoping for a crown.

2. Short of this extreme issue, the Adversary will do his trying, with his evil intention. Not to tempt ourselves (so literally) invites him to tempt us.

3. Also God must put us to proof, finally using fire (1Co. 3:12, ) upon work whose quality we would not ourselves test; sending, before that, many sharp providences which are the acids and other reagents of His Divine chemistry, to test or purify what, though sadly alloyed, is really gold. (As Apelles, Critical Notes.) [Deus tentat, ut doceat; diabolus, ut decipiat (Augustine). Da, Domine, ut per tentationem probemur, non reprobemur (Abelard, on Lords Prayer).]

2Co. 13:8. Nothing against, Everything for, the Truth.

1. Pauls immediate meaning.Corinthians who can endure the self-applied, or God-applied, tests; who have come forth as gold when tried, true according to standard, have nothing to fear from me. My Apostolic power is for building up (2Co. 13:10). My work, my Masters design, is constructive, not destructive. If I do destroy (cast down, R.V.), it is only to prepare for construction. I am a helper of all good men; it is their fault if I seem against evil ones. Every minister should so bear himself amongst his people that they feel this; he should plainly be to them a rallying-point and a support of true men and women, whoever may bear hard upon them. They should feel that he will never, at any rate in intention, frown upon, or discourage, persons, character, work, that are true. Will help it, sympathise with it, encourage it, guide it, train it, but never check it. God and Truth are on the same side. The Pastor and Truth should be on the same side, too.

2. Rise higher. We are of the truth; therefore even the Law of the True God will not condemn, but justify, us. [Justification is pardon in conformity to the requirements of the Christ-satisfied law.] Law not made fordoes not lie againsta righteous man (1Ti. 1:9). We were by nature false to Gods ideal of manhood, and in life a living negation of His righteous requirement. In Him Who is the Truth we are being brought into fuller and fuller accord with the Law of Righteousnessbeing made true. In the Day of Christ the very Law will say, I can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth.

II. Principle so stated as to be of wide, general application.

1. True of truth in art, natural science, every embodiment of the true. There are fashions in music or form; there is the music, the painting, the poetry of an age, and of that only. Author, painter, composer, each hits the fancy of his age, because he wears its dress and speaks its thought in its dialect. All this passes away with the age, or the country for there are localisms in all these fields of work. Out of every country, and every land, out of every true artists work, there emerges for permanent survival at least one thing that survives because it is of no one age or country or individual. It is universal, true. New fashions come and go, but they can do nothing against these slowly emerging, accumulating masterpieces, which command the allegiance and growing admiration of all qualified to judge, age after age. Time can do nothing against them. So in our knowledge of the natural world. Hypotheses and theories are exalted or hardened into the dogmas of a century (or of a decade). Hastily formed, too eagerly accepted; the acceptance itself being a fashion, or a craze. They are challenged in their turn, discredited (perhaps unduly, and without discrimination), succeeded by others as crudely true or altogether baseless. Or, more often, are modified substantially, as new facts reward close observation. (Hardly any entirely baseless hypothesis ever gets wide, even though temporary, acceptance; generally it is a stammering endeavour to speak out truth; a blunderingly tentative groping after truth, stretching blind hands into darkness, grasping mingled truth and error.) After, and out of, challenge, discussion, modification, rejection; out of too eager triumph of opponents, too hasty fears of supporters; whatever is truth emerges; a growing corpus of ascertained truth accumulates. Nothing that was really true perished in the process; the accidental, the experimental which did not stand verification, the temporary, the idiosyncrasy of the observer or the theory-maker, passed, and left Truth. Could do nothing against it; indeed, all worked for it. Christian should remember this, even when Science or some scientists may seem arrogantly, aggressively, perilously antagonistic to Revelation. Christian can do nothing against what is true in Science; Science also can do nothing against what is true in Religion.

2. Note this last. The lesson of the experience of the ages. The Bible emerges from the special attack of each century with undiminished, increased authority and acceptance. Whatever is Truth in its statements about God or man, or the relations between them, emerges age after age, with a new claim to acceptance in the very fact of its newest survival. In any new challenge of even the historicity of the record, the presumption derived from the past is that as the last time, only more so, will again be the end of the battle. Each new century sees it win the allegiance of a new set of hearts. Human hearts say, That book is true; it finds me; it is a key whose correspondence with my heart and the facts of my life, argues that it was made to unlock me. Repeatedly has attack upon historical details only ended in new verification, perhaps at that very point. Unfair treatment; unwise, untenable defence of it by too hasty friends; open attack of enemies; subtle or traitorous assault; haveas matter of factnever done anything against the Truth as embodied in Bible; have all worked for the Truth. So the great doctrines of Christianity emerge time after time unharmed from the fiery testing of inquiry and assault. They take temporary fashions of statement, adapted to the need or to the assault of their time or age; now one, now another, aspect of them needs emphasis; always with the peril of undue emphasis, and of discrediting, or decrying the complementary aspects, seen and needed by other Churches or ages or men. Every Church creed or confession gains something, loses something, after every controversy. Truth, as God sees and knows it, loses nothing, always gains. God is taking care of the Truth. All truth of every kind is of Him. [With deep significance, worth expanding, one may borrow, and say:] God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved. Often we can do nothing but stand still and know that He is God, as we see Him taking the defence of Truth out of the hand of the Church, or of a (sectional) Church, and Himself vindicating it. Enemies and friends may say: We can do nothing against, etc. [May borrow again, with no remote connection,] All things work together for good to the Truth of God, as a whole, and for every partial embodiment of it. Pre-eminently true of Him Who is The Truth. Whosoever shall fall upon this Stone (by way of assault) shall be broken. Psalms 2. shows dramatically God and His Anointed sitting above the tumult of revolt, and laughing. YetyetI have set My King, etc.

This shall be the issue of the last and most daring endeavour against Him (2Th. 2:8-9). Magna est Veritasartistic, scientific, Biblical, dogmatic, Christet prvalebit. [

(1) This conviction always is a strong presumption, fairly based on the past.
(2) It is also rooted in the reason of the thing. Whatever is part of Gods Truth, in any special aspect, may be overlaid, disfigured, by temporary accretions, or erroneous additions, by the mistake, or the enmity, or the misjudged, misdirected support of an Age, a Church, a Man; but it is there, and will survive, to stand clear when all of temporary has disappeared. [Cf. Egyptian temples surviving, and standing clear of, the less permanent domestic edifices once built around them. Man goes, cities go; they stand.]
3. Whatever meets the perennial need of mans intellect, conscience, heartespecially those of sinful menvindicates itself anew perennially, as having Truth in it. E.g. freedom of will; sense of Sin (no mere passing or personal access of emotion); existence of a Creator and Moral Governor; the objective value of Prayer; an objective efficiency in the death of Christ to procure pardon; Vicarious Sacrifice; possibility of falling finally; all these, and others, may have their temporary, local, ecclesiastical, imperfect way of being stated. They may be unwisely defended. But they meet, under all the varying fashions of statement, the need of the universal heart in man. They have their root deep in the instincts and conscience of universal man. They are of God, and cannot be overthrown (Act. 5:38-39). They are Truth.] [Renan avows: Quant au vrai Dieu de la conscience humaine, celui-l est inattaquable. Il a sa raison dtre dans une foi invincible et non dans les raisonnements plus ou moins ingnieux. Similarly he does not consider religion une duperie subjective de notre nature, but believes quelle rpond une ralit extrieure. Therefore Religion also is really un-assailable. (Les Aptres, Introd.) So Emerson, in his dialect, says: The World-spirit is a good swimmer, and storms and waves cannot drown him.]

Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell

Butlers Commentary

SECTION 1

Maturation Through Submission (2Co. 13:1-4)

13 This is the third time I am coming to you. Any charge must be sustained by the evidence of two or three witnesses. 21 warned those who sinned before and all the others, and I warn them now while absent, as I did when present on my second visit, that if I come again I will not spare them3since you desire proof that Christ is speaking in me. He is not weak in dealing with you, but is powerful in you. 4For he was crucified in weakness, but lives by the power of God. For we are weak in him, but in dealing with you we shall live with him by the power of God.

2Co. 13:1 Witnesses: We have a written record of Pauls first visit to Corinth (Act. 18:1 ff). In 2Co. 2:1 he wrote that he did not want to make another painful visitimplying that he had already made one painful visit after the initial visit recorded in Acts. Now he indicates his plan for a third visit. He announces this third visit three times (2Co. 12:14; 2Co. 13:1; 2Co. 13:10). The New Testament never claims to be a day-to-day, detailed, record of the movements and circumstances of each individual mentioned. In fact, the Lord Jesus said and did many things which are not recorded in the Gospel records (see Joh. 20:30-31). The absence of documentary evidence that Paul visited Corinth the third time should not be a problem to the discerning student of literature.

We do not know the specific charge. Actually, the Greek text reads, pan hrema, every word. Paul is quoting Deu. 19:15. Every word being spoken against him in Corinth will be called to account when he arrives on his third visit.

Some think Pauls warning here goes all the way back to 1Co. 6:1-20 where the Corinthians had lawsuits against one another. He is trying, they say, to tell them how God wants such things settled. Others think Paul intends to set up an ecclesiastical court when he arrives for the third visit, try those who are sinning without repenting and execute needed apostolic punishments.

In the context of these last four chapters, however, it seems better to assume he is referring to slanderous words (charges) his opponents have brought against him. There are innuendoes and hints all the way through II Corinthians that such slander was going on. Charges were being made against him about the way he handled the money collected for the saints at Jerusalem, about his preying upon them, about his vacillations, about his weaknesses, etc. It appears he aims to bring these out in the open (see 2Co. 10:1-6) and demand that his opponents prove their charges with two or three witnesses, or repudiate them and vindicate his integrity.

If Pauls opponents are truly followers of Christ they will be glad to clear up any charges against him. And they will do so by this scripturally sanctioned procedure. Evidence, by eyewitnesses, must establish every charge. This is the procedure Jesus ordered for his kingdom here on earth (see Mat. 18:15-20). This same procedure is to be followed in Christs kingdom (the Church) to this very day! This is the way to deal with charges against a minister of the gospel or an elder or a Sunday School teacher, or any member of a congregation. Preachers are especially plagued with the problem of immature Christians who pass on innuendoes, gossip, hearsay, and speculations from one person to another. Many preachers have been deeply hurt in their souls by this plague. Christians need to grow up! Christians need to understand that every word implying a preacher is not ministering in the spirit of Christ must be established or sustained (Gr. stathesetai, from histeme, stand up) at the mouth (Gr. stomatos) of two witnesses (Gr. marturon, Eng. martyr, one who testifies). This is the adult, mature, Christian way to deal with charges about a mans character. It is certainly out-of-character for a Christian to charge a preacher with misconduct on the basis of hearsay or gossip or innuendo.

2Co. 13:2 Warning: Evidently, Paul had not previously demanded evidence and witnesses for the slanderous things said about him when he visited Corinth the second time. He had let the matter pass, believing the Corinthians would know better than to be seduced by the false teachers.

So what did they do? They accused him of weakness and vacillation because he tried to let the matter pass. He had hoped to spare the brethren and himself the pain of a powerful visit. But the seduction worsened! Many were about to be led astray! Paul must face the seduction down. The truth must be established. Innuendoes and gossip must be tried and exposed. The liars must be repudiated.
He had warned them during his second visit that if the matter of the false teachers was not settled, he would come a third time and would not spare them. It appears there were some in Corinth who had been persuaded that Paul had not proved Christs authority in his ministry. They insinuated that he must demonstrate some proof perhaps some powerful miracle or divine revelation.
Pauls replies, in essence, You have asked for proof that I am what I claimthe true apostle of Christ. You shall have it but you will not like it. I will show you my power by not sparing those who need punishment. The Greek word used here, pheisomai, is almost always used in connection with sparing some punishment. Paul had demonstrated his power to punish false teachers (servants of Satan) when he miraculously made Elymas blind (see Act. 13:4-12).

The mature Christian does not need continual demonstration of apostolic power. The mature Christian will respond with repentance when confronted with verbal warning from an apostle. But these Corinthian Christians were immature! (see 1Co. 3:1 ff; 1Co. 14:20 ff). And so are many Christians today!

Spiritual children insist on demonstrations of authority. And all Christians are spiritual children at their beginning walk with Jesus. The Biblical record of miracles done in the presence of eyewitnesses is there to supply the need for a demonstration of power and authority. Once that record is established and believed, however, the Christian babe needs go on to Christian maturation and not require repeated demonstrations of apostolic authority.

2Co. 13:3-4 Weakness: It is probable that the false teachers at Corinth had led some of the church members to think Christ had been crucified because he was weak. Remember, this was what the Jewish rulers thoughtJesus of Nazareth was a weakling. It was what the majority of the populace of Jerusalem thought. It was what Pilate thought. It was even what his own apostles and disciples thought until after his resurrection.

There were those in Corinth having difficulty with the resurrection of Christ (see 1Co. 15:1-58). This very significant problem to their faith would present the Judaizers a ready-made opportunity to persuade some that a crucified Messiah is a weak Messiah. Furthermore, Judaizers would try to convince believers that a Messiah not advocating the Mosaic Law and Judaisitic system was a weak Messiah.

But Paul says, The Messiah is not weak in what he is doing in you, is he? He is powerful! The very fact that you are Christians in comparison to what some of you were (1Co. 6:9; 1Co. 6:11) is a demonstration of Christs power! Furthermore, all the powerful spiritual gifts they had been exercising by Pauls mediation in the name of Christ was proof of Christs power! It should have been clear that they did not get this regenerating power and their charismatic miracles from the Mosaic Law or the Jewish system.

Many philosophies and theologies today look upon the Christ of the Bible as a weak Christ. Unbelieving theologians look upon the miracles of the Gospel accounts as mythological embellishments by ignorant ancients to give an aura of power to the religion of pacifistic, weak Jesus. So, to restore the historical Jesus to the world and to give him and his religion more power, these theologians aim to demythologize the Gospels. That is, they set about stripping the Gospel accounts of all miraculous events or deeds or prophecies. They would eliminate all absolutes, all commandments, all Jesus claims to deity, the virgin birth of Jesus, Christs resurrection from the dead and all other miracles. Thus they would give us a strong, historical Jesus.
Jesus was weak according to an unbelieving worlds criterion of weakness. He did go meekly to the cross with no physical resistance. He made no struggle to free himself. He appealed only to the truth and to mens consciences to deter them from crucifying him because he was innocent of their accusations. But the literal, historical, actual, bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead proved all his claims to divine power, proved all his claims to moral perfection, proved all his claims to supernatural revelation, and proved that he did not die in weakness but in the power of God. His resurrection proves the power of his death to vicariously atone for all the sins of those who believe and trust in his grace. He proved by his resurrection that he had overcome the ultimate enemies of the human racesin and death. That is power! No other being has ever had that power!
Believers should have no problem acknowledging the power of Jesus. He has demonstrated his power objectively in history, over sin and death. And because of this historical act of power, his power for righteousness (through his grace) works in all human beings who surrender to him in faith. Any doubting of his power is a retrogression toward spiritual immaturity.

Appleburys Comments

Pauls Intended Action on His Third Visit
Scripture

2Co. 13:1-4. This is the third time I am coming to you. At the mouth of two witnesses or three shall every word be established. 2 I have said beforehand, and I do say beforehand, as when I was present the second time, so now, being absent, to them that have sinned heretofore, and to all the rest, that, if I come again I will not spare; 3 seeing that ye seek a proof of Christ that speaketh in me; who to you-ward is not weak, but is powerful in you: 4 for he was crucified through weakness, yet he liveth through the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but we shall live with him through the power of God toward you.

Comments

This is the third time.See comment on 2Co. 12:14. Anticipating the long delayed third visit, Paul kept reminding the Corinthians that he was coming. In the above paragraph, he had indicated his determination not to be a burden to them. He also pointed out his intention of dealing with any sinful practices of which they might not have repented.

At the mouth of two or three.Quoting from Deu. 19:15, Paul cited the Law as the standard by which he intended to deal with sinful practices mentioned in 2Co. 12:20-21. There is no good reason to assume that this quotation was being applied to his own statement about his forthcoming visit.

as when I was present the second time.Paul had been present with the Corinthians, not in body but in spirit through his authoritative apostolic epistle in which he had given specific instructions for dealing with sinful practices which the Corinthians had allowed to develop in their congregation. He had received adequate evidence to establish the fact that parties and divisions actually existed in their midst. He had not written to them on the basis of mere hearsay. Reliable testimony had been furnished by those of the household of Chloe. In the case of immoral conduct involving the man who was living with his fathers wife, the evidence was so clear that even the pagans were condemning the church for condoning such a thing. In the matter of lawsuits among brethren, the evidence against them was such that the pagan judges looked disparagingly upon the churches for allowing such a condition to exist.

Although Titus had reported their obedient response to the instruction Paul had sent in his first letter, the presence of false teachers at Corinth was sufficient grounds for his fear that some of them might have sinned again, or that some may never have repented.
Upon his arrival, he intended that every charge should be supported by adequate testimony. Those among them with Jewish background were thoroughly familiar with this procedure and would surely assent to the fairness of Paul as he anticipated the possibility of being forced to use the authority which the Lord gave him to build up and if need be, to destroy the sinful practices that were opposing the gospel of Christ.

to them that have sinned heretofore.Paul had asked in his first letter: What will ye? Shall I come unto you with a rod, or in love and a spirit of gentleness? (1Co. 4:21). While the church as a whole had responded to his warning, he kept repeating it for the sake of some who may not have heeded it and the rest who might have become involved again in such sins as he had listed in 2Co. 12:20-21.

seeing that ye seek a proof of Christ that he speaketh in me.Apparently some had begun to question whether or not Christ had been speaking through Paul as he had written to them warning them of the consequences of their sins. Some had gladly listened to those false teachers who said, His letters are weighty and strong, but he is weak when present. Clearly, the false teachers had implied that Christ was not speaking through Paul and that he would not be able to carry out such punishment as he had promised. Yet the Corinthians knew that their very relation to Christ depended upon the gospel which Paul had preached to them. Furthermore, they knew that he had exhibited the credentials of his apostleship in the miracles which he had performed in their midst. All this points to the fickleness of the human heart. We do not wonder that Paul was afraid that the Corinthians might lapse into their old sins, for he knew how quickly the Galatians had turned from the gospel as he preached it to a different kind of gospel that would enslave them in false teaching.

who to you-ward is not weak, but is powerful in you.Paul had constantly boasted in his own weakness and in the power of Christ that had raised those who were dead in trespasses and sin to sit with Him in the heavenly places. That power had been channeled into their lives through the gospel which Paul preached. False teachers had no such power. As ministers of Satan teaching false doctrine, they were corrupting men and making them slaves of unrighteousness. Only through the power of the gospel can men be transformed into the glorious image of the Lord. See 2Co. 3:18.

for he was crucified through weakness.Christ Jesus who existed in the form of God and was on an equality with God took upon Himself the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of men. He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the death of the cross. See Php. 2:6-8.

Jesus said, I lay down my life, that I may take it again. No one taketh it away from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment received I from the Father (Joh. 10:17-18). Although He could have called twelve legions of angels to defend Him, He meekly submitted to arrest in the Garden and suffered the indignities that were heaped upon Him by His tormentors at the time of His trial and, finally, allowed them to crucify Him. From the human point of view no greater symbol of weakness could be found than the cross. But myopic men have failed to see that in His death He destroyed him who has power of death, that is, the devil. See Heb. 2:14.

yet he liveth through the power of God.The resurrection of Christ is the foundation of Christian faith. The world has not known a greater demonstration of power than that which raised Christ from the dead and caused Him to sit at the right hand of the Majesty on high. It was to this power that Paul directed the thinking of the Corinthians who had been saved from sin through the power of the gospel, but who, if they insisted on returning to the old sinful ways, were facing eternal destruction from the face of the Lord and from the glory of His might. See 2Th. 1:8-9.

For we also are weak in him.In his first letter, Paul had written: God hath set forth us apostles last of all, as men doomed to death (1Co. 4:9). From the human point of view, Paul readily admitted his weakness, but he refused to boast in anything except the power of Christ that had saved him from sin. He had been crucified with Christ, but he was living in faith, that is, he believed the gospel of Christ and conducted himself in accord with it. He was anticipating the life with Him in the eternal kingdom made possible through the power of God.

Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series

XIII.

(1) This is the third time I am coming to you.The words may point either to three actual visits(1) that of Act. 18:1; (2) an unrecorded visit (of which, however, there is no trace), during St. Pauls stay at Ephesus; and (3) that now in contemplationor (1) to one actual visit, as before; (2) the purposed visit which had been abandoned (see Notes on 2Co. 1:16); and (3) that which he now has in view. The latter interpretation falls in best with the known facts of the case, and is in entire accordance both with his language in 2Co. 12:14, and with his mode of expressing his intentions, as in 1Co. 16:5.

In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established.There seems no adequate reason for not taking these words in their simple and natural meaning. The rule, quoted from Num. 35:30, Deu. 17:6; Deu. 19:15, was of the nature of an axiom of Jewish, one might almost say of natural, law. And it had received a fresh prominence from our Lords reproduction of it in giving directions as for the discipline of the society which He came to found. (See Note on Mat. 18:16.) What more natural than that St. Paul should say, When I come, there will be no more surmises and vague suspicions, but every offence will be dealt with in a vigorous and full inquiry? There seems something strained, almost fantastic, in the interpretation which, catching at the accidental juxtaposition of the third time and the three witnesses, assumes that the Apostle personifies his actual or intended visits, and treats them as the witnesses whose testimony was to be decisive. It is a fatal objection to this view that it turns the judge into a prosecutor, and makes him appeal to his own reiteration of his charges as evidence of their truth.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

Chapter 13

A WARNING, A WISH, A HOPE AND A BLESSING ( 2Co 13:1-14 )

13 For the third time I am coming to you. Everything will be established in the mouth of two or three witnesses. To those who have already sinned and to all others I have already said, and I now say, just as I said it when I was with you on my second visit, now I say it while I am absent, that if I come to you again, I will not spare you. I will take decisive action because you are looking for a proof that Christ really is speaking in me, Christ who is not weak where you are concerned, but who is powerful among you. True, he was crucified in weakness, but he is alive by the power of God. Keep testing yourselves to see if you are in the faith. Keep proving yourselves. Or do you not recognize that Jesus Christ is in you–unless in any way you are rejected? But we pray to God that you should do no evil. It is not that we want a chance to prove our authority. What we do want is that you should do the fine thing even if that means that there will be no opportunity for us to prove our authority. For we cannot do anything against the truth, but we must do everything for the truth. For we rejoice when we are weak while you are strong. For this too we pray–your complete perfecting. The reason why I write these things when I am absent is so that when I am present I may not have to deal sternly with you according to the authority which the Lord gave me to use to build up and not to destroy.

Finally, brothers, farewell! Work your way onwards towards perfection. Accept the exhortation we have offered you. Live in agreement with each other. Be at peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you. Greet each other with a holy kiss.

All God’s dedicated people send you their greetings.

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

In this last chapter of the severe letter Paul finishes with four things.

(i) He finishes with a warning. He is coming again to Corinth and this time there will be no more loose talk and reckless statements. Whatever is said will be witnessed and proved once and for all. To put it in our modern idiom, Paul insists that there must be a show down. The ill situation must drag on no longer. He knew that there comes a time when trouble must be faced.

(ii) He finishes with a wish. It is his wish that they should do the fine thing. If they do, he will never need to exert his authority, and that will be no disappointment to him but a deep and real joy. Paul never wanted to show his authority for the sake of showing it. Everything he did was to build up and not to destroy. Discipline must always be aimed to lift a man up and not to knock him down.

(iii) He finishes with a hope. He has three hopes for the Corinthians. (a) He hopes that they will go onwards to perfection. There can be no standing still in the Christian life. The man who is not advancing is slipping back. The Christian is a man who is ever on the way to God, and therefore each day, by the grace of Christ, he must be a little more fit to stand God’s scrutiny. (b) He hopes that they will listen to the exhortation he has given them. It takes a big man to listen to hard advice. We would often be a great deal better off if we would stop talking about what we want and begin listening to the voices of the wise, and especially to the voice of Jesus Christ. (c) He hopes that they will live in agreement and in peace. No congregation can worship the God of peace in the spirit of bitterness. Men must love each other before their love for God has any reality.

(iv) Finally, he finishes with a blessing. After the severity, the struggle and the debate, there comes the serenity of the benediction. One of the best ways of making peace with our enemies is to pray for them, for no one can hate a man and pray for him at the same time. And so we leave the troubled story of Paul and the Church of Corinth with the benediction ringing in our ears. The way has been hard, but the last word is peace.

-Barclay’s Daily Study Bible (NT)

Fuente: Barclay Daily Study Bible

1. This Literal Greek, A third this I am coming to you. The obvious meaning is, This is a third intentional coming. The contingency of its becoming a real coming is repeated next verse in the phrase if I come again. The word time is not in the Greek, and the word this can, we think, have strictly no proper reference but to the present writing. St. Paul does not affirm, therefore, three actual comings, or that the completion of his present purpose would make a third coming. That it is only as yet an intentional coming is evinced not only by the present words, but by the parallel passage, 2Co 12:14, where see note. That there had not been a second actual coming, so as to make the next one a third, is plain from 2Co 1:15. Then 1Co 16:5 is quite to the point, where the same Greek word, I do pass, or, I am coming through, expresses an intentional coming only, whether fulfilled or not.

Kling, in Lange, maintains three actual visits, and pronounces the other view “not plausible.” Albert Barnes calls it “trifling and childish in the extreme.” But such peremptory expressions will weigh little against such authorities as Grotius, Wetstein, Bloomfield, Stanley, and Wordsworth.

Two or three witnesses It is impossible for us to imagine that St. Paul was blind to a parallelism between his two or three comings and this two or three witnesses. And if he were not blind to it, he would have avoided it had he not intended it. The parallelism is: Let my three warnings be to you like the three witnesses of the Mosaic law, establishing every word.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

II. MEASUREMENT OF THE APOSTLE WITH HIS OPPONENTS, SHOWING HIS OWN SUPERIORITY, 2Co 11:22 to 2Co 13:10.

From this long level of preliminary apologies and explanations the apostle now suddenly takes an upward spring, and maintains an eagle flight to the end of the epistle. Claiming to boast not of great talents or grand exploits, and with an occasional flash of irony, he rehearses his sufferings and humiliations for Christ, as well as his revelations and self-sacrifices; and from this elevation comes down in authority upon the infected part of the Corinthian Church.

St. Paul unfolds his equality to, and immense superiority over, his opponents

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

‘This is the third time I am coming to you. “At the mouth of two witnesses or three shall every word established”.’

He was now coming on his third visit. The first visit was when he founded the church. It had been a time of joy, of sowing and reaping, of love between the brethren and sisterhood, amidst much outside opposition. It had given all the promise of a solid future. It had been a witness to their credit. The second had been short and brief, a painful visit, one which had caused him much hurt, and which he had cut short in order to prevent breaking up the church. It stood as a witness against them. Now it will be his third visit and he asks which type of visit this is to be, is it to be one of joy or one of sorrow?

‘At the mouth of two witnesses or three shall every word established.’ This is a quotation from Deu 19:15, and refers to the evidence required in a public court in order to find guilty or not guilty. He wants them to see his coming visit as the final witness in their trial. For in view of the mention of a ‘third’ visit the reference must surely have some connection with that. The second visit had not established their position, it had left all in disarray. The witness was divided. It had left them open to a verdict of ‘guilty’. He wants this third visit to establish the word among them, to establish the truth about himself and about their response. His longing is that it might find them ‘not guilty’.

Alternately he may be saying that he is bringing witnesses with him, men from Macedonia, who will be witnesses to the true position. He will let them be the judges of the situation. But this seems less likely.

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

Paul Offers Reconciliation to the Church at Corinth Having explained his ministry of reconciliation in the previous section (1-7), Paul now tests the obedience of the Corinthians after calling them to be reconciled unto God. For those who answer his call, Paul gives them an opportunity to prove their loyalty to him by participating in the collection of the saints (2Co 8:1 to 2Co 9:15). For these church members Paul’s words are a sweet savour of Christ resulting in life (2Co 2:15-16) resulting in their edification (2Co 13:10). For those who reject his call, Paul launches into an apologetic message to defend his right as an apostle over the Corinthians (2Co 10:1 to 2Co 13:10). He then warns them of his upcoming visit in which he is ready to use sharpness according to the power which the Lord had given him for edification and for destruction (2Co 13:10). So, for the rebellious, Paul’s words are “the savour of death unto death” (2Co 2:15-16).

Outline – Note the proposed outline:

A. The Collection for the Saints 2Co 8:1 to 2Co 9:15

1. The Example of Christian Giving 2Co 8:1-6

2. The Exhortation to Give 2Co 8:7-15

3. The Arrangement to Give 2Co 8:16 to 2Co 9:5

4. The Benefits of Christian Giving 2Co 9:6-15

B. Paul Exercises Apostolic Authority 2Co 10:1 to 2Co 13:10

1. Paul Declares His Authority 2Co 10:1-18

a) Paul’s Defense Against False Charges 2Co 10:1-11

b) Paul’s Claim to Apostleship 2Co 10:12-18

2. Paul Boasts of His Credentials 2Co 11:1 to 2Co 12:21

a) Mental: A Godly Lifestyle 2Co 11:1-15

b) Physical: Jewish Ancestry & Christian Suffering 2Co 11:16-33

c) Spiritual: Revelations & Miracles 2Co 12:1-13

3. Paul Executes His Authority 2Co 12:14 to 2Co 13:10

Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures

Paul Defends and Exercises His Apostolic Authority 2Co 10:1 to 2Co 13:10 forms the third and last major division of the epistle of 2 Corinthians. In this section Paul defends his apostolic authority over the churches he had founded. Now, for those in Corinth who will be reconciled to Paul as their spiritual authority, he gives them a charge of giving an offering to the poor saints in Jerusalem in order to prove their sincerity and to steer them into a deeper, more sacrificial walk with the Lord (2Co 8:1 to 2Co 9:15). For those who are still rebellious, Paul will execute his divine authority over them in these last four chapters of his epistle (2Co 10:1 to 2Co 13:10). In this section Paul will declare his apostolic authority (2Co 10:1-18), then boast in his credentials (2Co 11:1 to 2Co 12:13), and finally execute his office as an apostle and set those who are rebellious in order (2Co 12:14 to 2Co 13:10).

Outline – Note the proposed outline:

1. Paul Declares His Authority 2Co 10:1-18

a) Paul’s Defense Against False Charges 2Co 10:1-11

b) Paul’s Claim to Apostleship 2Co 10:12-18

2. Paul Boasts of His Credentials 2Co 11:1 to 2Co 12:21

a) Mental: A Godly Lifestyle 2Co 11:1-15

b) Physical: Jewish Ancestry & Christian Suffering 2Co 11:16-33

c) Spiritual: Revelations & Miracles 2Co 12:1-10

d) Final Plea 2Co 12:11-13

3. Paul Executes His Authority 2Co 12:14 to 2Co 13:10

Identifying Paul’s Opponents In 2Co 10:1 to 2Co 13:10 Paul exercises his apostolic authority over those dissidents in the church at Corinth. The traditional view sees these opponents as Jewish emissaries sent from the Church of Jerusalem to bring all Churches under its leadership. (For example, we see the Jewish leaders sending servants to John the Baptist [Joh 1:19-28 ] and Jesus Christ [Joh 7:32-53 ] during their public ministries to inquire about them or to challenge them or to seize them. Saul of Tarsus was sent out to various cities with authority from Jewish leaders in Jerusalem to carry out instructions in foreign synagogues.) These Jews had accused Paul of being fickle when he changed his travel plans (2Co 1:17), of needing a letter of commendation as was commonly used by others (2Co 3:1), of being weak and of poor speech (2Co 10:1; 2Co 10:10) and of not having proper clerical credentials (2Co 10:12). Paul will reply by revealing them as those who corrupt the Word of God (2Co 2:17), as ministers of the old, less glorious covenant (2Co 3:1-18) while masquerading as ministers of Christ (2Co 11:23), as being bold and overconfident (2Co 11:21) and as someone who was overstepping into another’s domain (2Co 10:3-16).

It is interesting to note that when Paul gives evidence of his office of an apostle and authority over the Corinthians that he does not appeal to letters of commendation from men. Rather, he appeals to the sufferings he has endured for Christ’s sake as the seal of God’s hand at work in his life and to the visions and revelations that he has received from God.

These adversaries looked upon Paul’s outward appearance and as a result challenged his physical appearance and his speech (2Co 10:7-11). Paul warns them not to look at things as they appear, but according to the divine power entrusted unto Him by God to carry out discipline to the churches (2Co 10:1-6).

He does not rely upon letters of commendation from men (2Co 10:12), which implies that his adversaries had done so. This would suggest Jews, who sent representatives to their synagogues throughout the Empire with such letters. Nor does he boast about work started by others (2Co 10:13-15 a), which implies that his adversaries had encroached upon his work in the Lord. He hopes that the Corinthians will approve him (2Co 10:15 b-16), and he relies upon approval from the Lord (2Co 10:17-18).

Perhaps our clearest hint as to the identity of Paul’s adversaries is found in his statement, “Are they Hebrews? so am I. Are they Israelites? so am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? so am I.” (2Co 11:22). Thus, they prided themselves in being Jewish. His next statement, “Are they ministers of Christ?” (2Co 11:23) implies that these were Jews who had embraced Christ as the Messiah. These Jewish converts seem to have been on a mission; for the idea that they were Jewish emissaries is implied in the statement, “For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus,” (2Co 11:4) and in Paul’s statement, “or need we, as some others, epistles of commendation to you.” (2Co 3:1) These Jews had apparently brought with them letters of commendation to Corinth, perhaps from the church at Jerusalem, or even some leading synagogue. When Paul says, “For such are false apostles,” (2Co 11:13) we sense that this group of Jews carried Christian titles with which they had been commissioned by those that sent them. They made some sort of claims to be ministers of righteousness; for Paul says, “Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness,” (2Co 11:15). They claimed in some way to be ministers of Christ; for Paul says, “Are they ministers of Christ?” (2Co 11:23) They seemed to be different in the Judaizers that troubled the Galatian churches in that we find no reference in 2 Corinthians to their interest circumcision, in the keeping of the Sabbath or other holy days and in laws of purification.

2Co 11:13 suggests that these adversaries of Paul entered the church of Corinth cloaked with letters of recommendation from those who sent them. They came with the titles of “apostles.” Within Jewish circles, an “apostle” was not a title used in the specialized sense of the word to mean a missionary who was anointed and sent out by the elders of a local Church to evangelize the heathen world; but rather, it was used in the normal, more general, secular sense of the Hebrew word “shaliah,” which was an agent of those who commissioned him. These Jews were originally given the charge to unite the Jews of the Diaspora with the religious circles seated in Jerusalem. These Jewish Christians came to Corinth cloaked with the title of an apostle while believing that they were sent with just as much, or more, authority as Paul carried in his ministry.

Thus, Paul attempts to tell the Corinthians rather bluntly that such emissaries are “false apostles”, meaning that they did not carry the true office of an apostle that Christ Jesus placed within the Church. Paul says that they were “deceitful workers” because their motives were not pure. Perhaps they were sent to unite the Gentile churches under the authority of one leading church in Jerusalem. We can only speculate as to who sent them. He explains that they were “transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ” because of the confusion brought when they attempted to identify themselves with the true office of an apostle. They too, were sent out from a church. They too, agreed with the Gospel message that Jesus Christ was the Messiah. I am sure these “false apostles” made their appealed to the believers in Corinth with many such comparisons. Thus, they attempted to transform themselves into apostles of Christ.

The Sorrowful Letter Many scholars suggest that 2Co 10:1 to 2Co 13:14 contains a part of an earlier letter that Paul wrote to the church at Corinth called the “Sorrowful Letter,” mentioned in 2Co 2:4; 2Co 7:8-9. They suggest that this portion of 2 Corinthians is out of place with the first nine chapters. The basis for this suggestion is that 2 Corinthians 10-13 is filled with criticism and abuse, while 2 Corinthians 1-9 is characterized by gratitude for a restored relationship with Paul and deep affection for the Corinthians. However, conservative scholars make a strong case for the unity of 2 Corinthians.

Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures

Paul Executes His Authority In 2Co 12:14 to 2Co 13:10 Paul executes the authority of his office as an apostle to the Gentiles. Having boasted enough in his credentials (2Co 11:1 to 2Co 12:21) Paul now turns the topic to his upcoming visit in which exercise whatever divine authority was necessary to put things in order. He promises not to become a financial burden to them, but rather, to edify them (2Co 12:14-19). On this trip he expects those who have sinned to have repented, lest he use the power that the Lord entrusted him with for destruction rather than edification (2Co 12:20 to 2Co 13:10).

2Co 13:4 Scripture Reference – Note a similar verse:

Rom 6:4, “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”

2Co 13:5 Comments – The entire context of this second epistle to the church at Corinth was to prove Paul’s apostleship. He told of his sufferings for Christ as proof and of the signs of an apostle that were wrought in him (2Co 12:12). He now says that the real test is for the members of the Corinthian to examine themselves to see if they are genuine. Goodspeed brings out this contrast well:

Goodspeed, “It is yourselves you must test, to see whether you are holding to the faith. It is yourselves you must examine. Do you not know that Jesus Christ is within you? Unless you fail to stand the test!”

Since Paul has boasted that he has passed the test of a true apostle, in sufferings and working of miracles, it is left to the believers at Corinth to now pass their test. Their test is to determine if Christ is dwelling within them.

2Co 13:9-10 Comments – The Purpose of Paul’s Second Epistle to the Corinthians In 2Co 13:9-10 Paul tells the Corinthians the reason why he is writing to them. He wants them to be made perfect. The theme of this epistle is mature sanctification, which is the office of the Holy Spirit. It is Paul’s desire that they reach this maturity, which he describes as perfection in 2Co 13:9 and 2Co 13:11. He has given them an example of Christian maturity has he narratives his lifestyle of sacrifice and suffering for Christ, and the grace of God imparted into his life.

Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures

A Concluding Admonition and Greetings.

Paul announces his determination to use all severity, if necessary:

v. 1. This is the third time I am coming to you. In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established.

v. 2. I told you before and foretell you, as if I were present, the second time, and being absent now I write to them which heretofore have sinned, and to all other, that, if I come again, I will not spare,

v. 3. since ye seek a proof of Christ speaking in me, which to you-ward is not weak, but is mighty in you.

v. 4. For though he was crucified through weakness, yet he liveth by the power of God. For we also are weak in Him, but we shall live with Him by the power of God toward you.

Paul here follows his usual method of making the end of his letters as impressive as possible. In a very formal manner he announces: This is the third time that I am coming to you. This is, in a way. a reminder of Mat 18:15-17; for two apostolic visits had gone before, in the course of which Paul had used every form of instruction, of persuasion, of admonition. For his third visit, therefore, he deliberately chooses as his motto: At the mouth of two witnesses or three every statement shall be established. The disciplinary proceedings which he intended to institute would be rigid and precise. He does not quote this word as a command of Moses which is valid for the New Testament, but because this order of establishing the truth by a sufficient number of witnesses was found good by Christ, Mat 18:16. See 1Ti 5:19.

Very solemnly and emphatically he again states: I have said beforehand and now do say beforehand, as when I was present the second time, so now in my absence, to those that have sinned before and to all the rest: If I come again, I will not spare. With great forbearance Paul had suffered the incorrigible transgressors in Corinth. He had warned them upon the occasion of his visit to them, the very presence of his representatives had been tantamount to a warning; he had rebuked their proneness to sins of immorality, chap. 12:21; he had warned them on account of their tendency to form factions and parties. His present admonition, therefore, is the last one, for the time comes when forbearance and long-suffering ceases to be a virtue. He can no longer be satisfied with mere appeals that are ignored; he cannot permit his apostolic authority to be challenged and questioned.

The reason why he would not spare them on the coming visit he tells them: Since you seek a proof of the fact that Christ speaks in me (and by your conduct challenge this). Not all the members of the Corinthian congregation had become so rebellious, but neither had they taken the proper steps to quell the disturbance which threatened to undermine the apostle’s authority. Rightly, therefore, Paul includes the rest as well as the positively guilty ones in his rebuke. They were challenging his call, his mission from Christ to speak in His name. And this in spite of the fact, as Paul writes: Who toward you is not weak, but strong in you. Was not the very existence of their congregation a testimony to the power of Christ in His servant? Had the signs of an apostle done in their midst not been sufficient to convince them? Christ was indeed not weak, but His grace had proved itself powerful in their midst. Christ, having come in the apostolic word and spirit to the Corinthians and now living in their midst, was now again standing at the door and knocking, and nothing would be more foolish on their part than evasion or open hostility.

Two evidences for the presence and for the power of Christ in their midst Paul adduces: For He also was crucified from weakness, but He lives through the power of God. That is the first reason: the resurrection of Christ, by which He proved Himself to be the Victor over death. Christ indeed, having taken upon Himself the form of a servant, Php_2:7 , was nailed to the cross as a consequence of that weakness which He voluntarily assumed for the sake of mankind. He yielded to the weakness of suffering and dying out of that wonderful love which caused Him to bear our griefs and carry our sorrows, Isa 53:4. But by His resurrection He entered into His glory by the divine power of Him who raised His Son from the dead, as well as by the power of Him who conquered death and brought life and immortality to light. And as a result of this manifestation of Christ’s power the second reason holds good: For we also are weak in Him but we live with Him by the power of God toward you. So the strength which Christ, the risen King, imparts, gives power to Paul in the discharge of his duty toward the Corinthians. As Christ indeed was weak in the eyes of the world, so Paul might seem weak before them. But as a matter of fact, he is a partaker of that wonderful divine life and energy which is characteristic of the risen and glorified Christ. Note: Paul here insists that the almighty, infallible Christ lived in him and worked through him, and that his office was to be esteemed accordingly.

Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann

CONCLUDING APPEALS AND EXHORTATIONS,

EXPOSITION

2Co 13:1

This is the third time I am coming to you. I have thrice formed the intention, though the second time I had to forego my plan (2Co 1:15-17). In the mouth of two or three witnesses. The quotation is from Deu 19:15. It has been explained as a reference to examinations which he intended to hold on his arrival at Corinth. It is much more probable that St. Paul is representing his separate visits as separate attestations to the truths which he preaches.

2Co 13:2

I told you before; rather, I have told you before. As if I were present, the second time. The meaning seems to be, “You must understand this announcement as distinctly as if I were with you, and uttered it by word of mouth.” And being absent now I write; rather, so now being absent. The verb “I write” is almost certainly an explanatory gloss. And to all other; rather, and to the rest, all of them. Namely, to those who, though they may not have fallen into gross sin, still rejected St. Paul’s authority, and said that he was afraid to come in person. I will not spare (2Co 1:23; 2Co 4:1-18 :19, 21).

2Co 13:3

Of Christ speaking in me; rather, of the Christ who speaketh in me. Which; rather, who. But is mighty in you. The spirit of Christ, in spite of all their shortcomings, had not deserted them (see 1Co 1:6, 1Co 1:7; 1Co 2:4).

2Co 13:4

For though. The “though” should be omitted. Through weakness; literally, out of weakness; i.e. as a result of that human weakness of our nature which he took upon him, and which rendered him liable to agony and death (2Co 8:9; Php 2:7, Php 2:8; 1Pe 3:18; Heb 2:10-18). But we shall live with him toward you. This thought of participation alike in Christ’s humiliation and his glory, alike in his weakness and his might, was very familiar to St. Paul (2Co 4:10-12; Eph 1:19, Eph 1:20), Here, however, the following words,” toward you,” i.e.“ with reference to you,” show that the life of which he is thinking is the vigorous reestablishment of his spiritual authority in Christ over the Church of Corinth.

2Co 13:5

Prove year ownselves. In other words, “test your own sincerity.” Jesus Christ is in you. To this truththat the body of every Christian is a temple of the Holy Spirit of ChristSt. Paul returns again and again (Gal 2:20; Gal 4:19; Eph 3:17; Col 1:27). We find the same truth frequently in St. John (Joh 15:4, Joh 15:5; 1Jn 3:24, etc.). Except ye be reprobates. The Greek word adokimoifrom the same root as the verb “to test”means tried and found to be worthless. “Reprobate silver shall men call them, because the Lord hath rejected them” (Jer 6:30). The word is found almost exclusively in St Paul (2Co 13:5, 2Co 13:6, 2Co 13:7; Rom 1:28; 1Co 9:27; 2Ti 3:8; Tit 1:16). The only other passage of the New Testament where it occurs is Heb 6:8; and the reader must not read Calvinistic horrors into an expression which gives no sanction to them.

2Co 13:6

That we are not reprobates. My power and faithfulness will be tested as well as yours, and I hope that it will stand the test.

2Co 13:7

Approved (dokimoi). The opposite of “reprobates.” Though we be as reprobates; rather, [I pray] that ye may do what is excellent, and that we may be as reprobates. This is one of the intense expressions which, like Rom 9:3, spring from the earnest and passionate unselfishness of St. Paul. His anxiety is for them, not at all for himself. As reprobates; i.e. in the judgment of men (comp. Rom 9:3).

2Co 13:8

We can do nothing against the truth. I am powerless against anything which is true, real, sincere; I can exercise no power except in the cause of the truth. Be true to the gospel, and you will be mighty and I shall be powerless, and (as he proceeds to say) I shall rejoice at the result.

2Co 13:9

When we are weak, and ye are strong. Strong; “powerful (2Co 10:4). We wish; rather, we pray. Your perfection; rather, your perfect union; “the readjustment of your disordered elements.” A similar word occurs in Eph 4:10, and the verb in Eph 4:11; 1Co 1:10; 1Th 3:10, etc. It is also used in the Gospels for “mending nets” (Mar 1:19, etc.).

2Co 13:10

I should use sharpness. The word rendered “sharpness” is an adverb, like our “abruptly” or “precipitately.” The only other passage of the New Testament where it occurs is Tit 1:13; but the substantive apotomia occurs in Rom 11:22 for “severity.”

2Co 13:11

Finally, brethren, farewell. His concluding words are marked by great gentleness, as though to heal the effects of the sharp rebuke and irony to which he has been compelled to have recourse. The word may also moan “rejoice” (Php 3:1; Php 4:4). Be perfect (see note on “perfection” in 2Co 13:9). Be of one mind; literally, think the same thing (Php 2:2; 1Pe 3:8; 1Co 1:10; Rom 12:16, Rom 12:18). Be at peace (Eph 4:3).

2Co 13:12

Great one another. The verb, being in the aorist, refers to a single act. When the letter had been read in their hearing, they were, in sign of perfect unity and mutual forgiveness, to give one another the kiss of peace. With a holy kiss.

2Co 13:13

All the saints; namely, in Philippi or Macedonia.

2Co 13:14

The grace of our Lord, etc. This is the only place where the full apostolic benediction occurs, and is alone sufficient to prove the doctrine of the Trinity. St. Paul seems to feel that the fullest benediction is needed at the close of the severest letter. With you all. The word “all” is here introduced with special tenderness and graciousness. Some have sinned before; some have not repented; yet he has for them all one prayer and one blessing and one “seal of holy apostolic love?

The superscription, though of no authority, may here correctly state that the letter was written at Philippi, and conveyed thence to Corinth by Titus and (possibly) Luke (see 2Co 8:16-22).

These are the last recorded words addressed by St. Paul to the Corinthian Church. The results produced by the letter and by his visit of three months (Act 20:2, Act 20:3) were probably satisfactory, for we hear no more of any troubles at Corinth during his lifetime, and the spirit in which he writes the letter to the Romans from Corinth seems to have been unwontedly calm. He had been kindly welcomed (Rom 15:23), and the collection, about which he had been so anxious, seems to have fully equalled his expectations, for as we know (Rom 16:18; Act 20:4), he conveyed it to Jerusalem in person with the delegates of the Churches. We gain a subsequent glimpse of the Corinthian Church. Some thirty-five years later, when a letter, which is still extant, was addressed to them by St. Clement of Rome, they were still somewhat inclined to be turbulent, disunited, and sceptical (see ‘Ep. ad Corinthians,’ 3., 4., 13., 14., 37., etc.); but still there are some marked signs of improvement. About A.D. 135 they were visited by Hegesippus (Eusebius, ‘Hist. Eccl.,’ 4:22), who spoke very favourably of them, especially of their obedience and liberality. Their bishop, Dionysius, was at that time exercising a widespread influence (Eusebius ‘Hist. Eccl.,’ 4:23).

HOMILETICS

2Co 13:1-14

Paul’s epistolary farewell to the Corinthians.

“This is the third time I am coming to you, etc. This chapter concludes Paul’s letters to the Corinthians. There is no evidence that he wrote a word to them after this. The letters had evidently been a task to him. To a man of his tender nature no duty could be more painful than that of censure and reproach. Nothing but a sense of loyalty to the holiness of Christianity could have urged him to it. no doubt he felt a burden rolled from his heart, and a freer breath, when he dictated the last sentence. He was now to visit them for the third time, determined to execute the discipline that might be required, earnestly hoping at the same time that, when he was once more amongst them, the necessity for such discipline would not appear. In this concluding chapter we find words of warning, exhortation, prayer, comfort, and benediction.

I. WORDS OF WARNING. He warns them of a chastisement which he determined to inflict upon all offenders, both in doctrine and conduct, against the gospel of Christ. Four things are suggested here concerning the discipline he intended to prosecute.

1. The discipline would be righteous. “In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word he established.” Here is a rule quoted and endorsed by Christ (Mat 18:16), an axiom of the Jewish Law and a natural dictate of judicial policy. What he probably means to say, is, “I will not chastise any without proper evidence. I will not trust to rumours or surmises; I will test every case myself, so that justice shall be done. Therefore the true need not fear, the false alone need apprehend.”

2. The discipline would be rigorous. “I told you before, and foretell you, as if I were present, the second time; and being absent now I write to them which heretofore have sinned, and to all other, that, if I come again, I will not spare.” He had threatened this in his former letter (1Co 4:13-19), in which he had also indicated severity, (1Co 5:5), and spoken of “delivering them to Satan”an expression which probably means not only excommunication, but the infliction of corporal suffering. The blindness of Elymas and the death of Ananias and Sapphira are instances of the power of the apostles over the body of men. This chastisement would be dealt, not only to the notorious incestuous person often referred to, but to “all other;” he would “spare” none. “I will not spare.” A more terrible chastisement know I not than entire excommunication from the fellowship of the good.

3. The discipline would demonstrate the existence of Christ in him. “Since ye seek a proof of Christ speaking in me. “They had called in question his apostolic authority, they had demanded the evidence of his Divine commission. He says he would now furnish such evidence by inflicting just punishment on all offenders, and they should have abundant proof that Christ spoke by him.” He could have given this proof sooner, but he acted in this respect like Christ, and was content to appear “weak” amongst them, in order that his power might be more conspicuously displayed. “For though he was crucified through weakness, yet he liveth by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but we shall live with him by the power of God toward you.” “The thought,” says Dean Plumptre, “that underlies the apparently hard saying is that the disciples of Christ share at once in their Lord’s weakness and in his strength. We, too, are weak, says the apostle, we have our share in infirmities and sufferings, which are ennobled by the thought that they are ours because we are his, but we know that we shall live in the highest sense in the activities of the spiritual life, which also we shall share with him, and which comes to us by the power of God. This life will be manifested in the exercise of our spiritual power towards you and for your good.” In the case of the truly good, in all weakness there is strength, and the weakness one day will disappear and the strength be manifest.

II. WORDS OF EXHORTATION. “Examine yourselves.” Self-scrutiny is at once a duty the most urgent and the most neglected. Hence the universal prevalence of self-ignorance. Even men who know a very great deal of the world without are ignorant of the world within, the world of worlds.

1. The momentous point to be tested in self scrutiny. “Whether ye be in the faith? Not whether you have faith in you, for all men are more or less credulous, and have some kind of faith in them; but whether you are “in the faith.” The faith here is the gospel, or rather the Christ of the gospel; whether you are in Christ, in the character of Christ. Intellectually and morally, all men are living in the characters of others. The grand thing is to be in the character of Christ, in his principles, sympathies, aims, etc.

2. The momentous conclusion to be reached by self-scrutiny. “Know ye not [emphatic] your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?” If you are in the faith, you are in his character, and he is in your. life; nay, your life itself. Should you find you are not in the faith, ye are “reprobates,” counterfeits, spurious, not genuine; tares, not wheat; hypocrites. Here, then, is a work forevery man to do”examine” himself, introspect scrutinize, decide, and thus know his real moral condition,

III. WORDS OF PRAYER. “Now I pray to God,” etc. For what does he pray? Not for his own reputation or himself. As if he had said, “I am not anxious about my own standing amongst you. He prays for two things.

1. That they should be kept from the wrong. “Now I pray to God that ye do no evil.” “Do no evil,” nothing inconsistent with the character and teaching of Christ. “Cease to do evil, learn to do well.”

2. That they should possess the right. “Not that we should appear approved but that ye should do that which is honest, though we be as reprobates.” We pay not that we may gain a reputation as successful workers in your eyes or those of others, but that you may do that which is nobly good, even though the result of that may be that we no longer put our apostolic supernatural powers into play, and so seem to fail in the trial to which you challenge us.”

IV. WORDS OF COMFORT. “We can do nothing against the truth.” There are two comforting ideas here.

1. That truth is uninjurable. “We can do nothing against the truth.” Let the “truth” here stand for Jesus, who is the “Truth,” the great moral Reality incarnated, all that is real in doctrine and duty embodied in him; who can injure such? Man can do much against theories of truth, conventional manifestations of truth, ecclesiastical representations of truth, verbal revelations of truth. The more he does against these, perhaps, the better; but he can do nothing against “the truth,” its essence. Man may quench all the gas lamps in the world, but he cannot dim one star. The great ethical and doctrinal truths embodied in the life and teaching of Christ are imperishable, they live in all religions. Men can destroy the forms of nature, level the mountains, dry up the rivers, burn the forests, but can do nothing against the imperishable elements of nature, and these elements will live, build up new mountains, open fresh rivers, and create new forests. You can do nothing against the truth.

2. That goodness is unpunishable. “For we are glad, when we are weak, and ye are strong: and this also we wish, even your perfection.” It is unpunishable:

(1) Because it is goodness. The best of men are too “weak” in authority to punish those who are “strong” in goodness. And in truth there is no authority in the universe, even God himself, to punish goodness. The stronger a man is in goodness, the weaker the power to chastise him. Hence Paul wishes to find them “strong” in goodness when he comes amongst them. He wishes this because goodness is their “perfection,” or restoration. The way to paralyze all penal forces is to promote the growth of goodness.

(2) Because it is restorative. “Therefore I write these things being absent, lest being present I should use sharpness, according to the power which the Lord hath given me to edification, and not to destruction.” Its destiny is “edification,” not “destruction;” building up, not pulling down. Moral goodness is the restorative power in the universe.

V. WORDS OF BENEDICTION. “Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you.” His becedictory words imply:

1. Be Happy. “Farewell,” which means rejoice. To be happy they must be “perfect,” “of good comfort,” etc.

2. Be blest of God. “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all.”

HOMILIES BY C. LIPSCOMB

2Co 13:1-4 – Announcement of his purpose; Christ’s power in him and in his apostleship.

About to visit the Corinthians “the third time.” he informs them very distinctly what they had to expect. In the words of the Old Testament Law, he says, “In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established.” The strength of his resolution to punish impenitent offenders is declared”I will not spare.” A crisis was at hand, and he was fully prepared to meet the issue. He refers to the main source of all the trouble, viz. the disparagement of his office as Christ’s apostle. Everything had been done by the Judaizers to put contempt on him and his official position The forbearance he had shown, the patience under repeated and aggravated provocation, his deeds of self-denial, Christ’s testimony to the greatness of the work alone among them, had all been misconstrued and turned to his injury. Even his infirmities, the defects of personal appearance, his conscientious avoidance of the least worldly art in his ministry, had been used to his disadvantage. Craft, falsehood, malignity, had followed him with persistent steps. Neither his private nor public life had escaped prying eyes and slanderous tongues. A man in feeble health, his strength constantly over taxed, infirmities growing beyond his years as well as with his years, labouring to support himself, and thus making heavy drafts on his bodily powers, he had these ills daily augmented by annoyances and vexations from those who sought to come between him and his Churches. To undo his work was their aim and ambition. They hated him officially, they despised him personally, nor could they rest while he had friends to cheer him on in his labours. What is most noticeable is the utter blindness of these persecutors to the wonderful tokens of God’s presence with him. It is to this fact he alludes in the words, “Since ye seek a proof of Christ speaking in me.” Remember, it was in this Corinth, where these turbulent spirits were most industrious to overthrow him, that Christ had given the most numerous and remarkable evidences of the favour bestowed on his apostle as the apostle of the Gentiles. “Seek a proof,” to our ears sounds most strangely. “Signs and wonders and mighty deeds,” and yet “seek a proof of Christ speaking in me”! It is well that there was an antecedent history, a fourfold history but one biography, and that this biography of the Lord Jesus opens to us a full view of man’s capacity to disbelieve where Divine manifestations are concerned. “If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you.” So the Lord Jesus had foretold; so St. Paul had realized. And now, in the closing hour of writing this Epistle, the apostle identifies his condition with that of Christ in the days of the flesh. Years before, the great fact had occurred of which these recent facts were no more than exemplifications. Taking upon himself the lowly form of a servant and submitting to every kind of privation and sorrow, putting himself as to his circumstances in extreme contrast with his power and never exercising this power except; under the agency of the Holy Ghost, men treated him, Son of God, Son of man, as one in their hands, over whom and his earthly destiny they had entire control. “He was crucified through weakness.” He could have been crucified in no other way. The sole condition under which this event was possible is here stated, viz. weakness. The weakness was assumed voluntarily by him because it was necessary to the work of redemption. “Yet he liveth by the power of God.” Even in the grave his body was treated as though men had it under mastery. Roman procurator and Jewish Sanhedrim held it as their own, and stationed a military guard at the sepulchre where his corpse, still their prisoner, lay till the third day ended the mystery of his weakness. Then came the triumph “of the power of God.” Authority felt it and was abased. To its degradation it added the infamy of a lie, and to the lie the infamy of a money bribe. Guilt felt it and acknowledged its impending curse in the return of innocent blood as vengeance on its head. Sad as this hour was to St. Paul, his faith was never firmer. Had he not said just before, that if he should have to “bewail many which have sinned already, and have not repented,” he should accept the humiliation as a holy discipline? “My God will humble me among you.” One had gone before him in weakness. But his Leader in trial would be his Leader in triumph. “For we also are weak in him.” It is not our weakness. It wears a human look, speaks human words, trembles with human sensibility, sighs with human pathos, yearns for relief with human desires. Nevertheless it is a fact, “we also are weak in him.“ The weakness we share is that of the God-Man, the weakness of the Divine incarnation, so that we walk according to our small measure in the footsteps of him who “himself took our infirmities and bare our sicknesses.” “But we shall live,” not in the resurrection, but in the day when we come to Corinth and vindicate our authority, “we shall live with him by the power of God toward you.“ Then, indeed, you who have taunted us as “weak and contemptible,” shall see and know that this risen and exalted Christ is Christ in us,” the power of God toward you.” Do you then “seek a proof of Christ speaking in me”? 1 shall come with “the power of God” and the “proof” shall be given.L.

2Co 13:5-10 – Self-examination recommended; supremacy of Divine truth.

Proof of his apostleship had been the demand of the disaffected portion of the Corinthians; “but prove your own selves is St. Paul’s exhortation. “Examine not me, but yourselves, whether you are truly in the faith; put yourselves to the proof concerning Christ’s presence with you which you seek in me” (Conybeare and Howson). No one can help seeing how natural this advice was to the apostle, and how suitable to these noisy and fault-finding Corinthians. On the one hand, St. Paul was a man whom casual observers could easily misunderstand. His temperament, his habit of introversion, his intense self-consciousness, exposed him to constant misconception. Again, he was a born leader of men. Such a leader as he could not escape a severe probation while acquiring the ascendency to which he was predestined. Leaders who adapt themselves unscrupulously to times and circumstances gain a quick mastery. Leaders that shape contingencies to their high purposes and bring men into sympathy with a lofty ideal in their own souls must have creative genius, and exert it under sharp and continual opposition. To this class of leaders the apostle belonged. Furthermore, his position was unique by reason of the fact that his apostleship necessarily placed him between the two great rival forces of the age, Judaism and Gentilism to show what the Law meant as a Divine institution; to show what Gentile civilization and culture meant as a long existing providence; to harmonize as far as might be the truths in each; in brief, to mediate between their claims as widely organized economies, and put them on common ground as it respected Christianity and its supreme authority, and do away with the distinction of Jew and Gentile as to the conditions of salvation;this was the most difficult task ever committed to a man. Owing to its intrinsic character, it brought him at every turn in contact with prejudices and passions which justified themselves in the one case by the miracles of Jehovah, in the other by the prescripts of government, and in both by the venerable sanction of ages. What wonder, then, that his career as a public man among public men was specialized quite as much by systematic and vindictive misrepresentation as by a success unequalled in the influence exerted over the thought and morals of the world! On the other hand, look at these young Christian communities, situated often wide apart and unable to strengthen each others’ hands, planted in the midst of peoples hostile to their creeds and still more to their virtues, and dependent in most instances on the nurture of a single apostle; look at them in a state hardly more than inchoate, and can we be surprised that they were in some cases the subjects of intestine disturbance, nay, of violent commotion? “Not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble,” were “called;” but the “weak things of the world,” “base things, and things despised,” were “chosen,” for the most part, as the original materials of that edifice which was to show in its proportions, its symmetry, its permanence, the workmanship of the Hand unseen. The “called” and the “chosen” were eventually to vindicate the wisdom of the call and the choice. Let us not overlook, however, the disadvantages inseparable at the time from the crude elements that constituted the early Churches. Without dwelling on these at length, suffice it to say that they were imperilled by a corrupt Judaism on the one side, and a most corrupt paganism on the other, the agencies and influences of which sought them as a prey to their lust of avarice and ambition. Now, the Church at Corinth was notably in this state of exposure. Gallic, the Proconsul of Achaia, had protected St. Paul against the fury of the Jews, and the Greeks had used the occasion to wreak their vengeance on the Jews. Retaliation was the order of the times. Baffled by a Roman official, insulted and beaten by a mob of Greeks, the Jews were not likely to forget the apostle, and we can imagine with what zest they would enjoy the zeal of the Judaizing emissaries, and how they would diligently foment the efforts made for his disgrace in Corinth. To what extent this was carried by the Jews as a body we can only conjecture. Certain it is, however, that for several years Corinth was the seat of a most active and uncompromising warfare on St. Paul. Once more, and finally, he comes before us in the passage under notice in an attitude unmistakably stern and authoritative. Is Christ in you, be asks the Corinthians, or are ye reprobates? Prove yourselves, apply the test, find out whether or not you are in Jesus Christ and share his spirit, and if you cannot stand the test, know then that you are reprobates. He expresses the hope that they will not find him a reprobate (unapproved or spurious) if they put him to the test of exercising his authority. Yet he trusts that the test of his power will be avoided, and prays that they may “do no evil.” If they should act as he prayed they might, then there would be no necessity for him to demonstrate his authority, and, in that happy event, he would appear “unapproved,” i.e. not tested as to the display of his power. Welcome such unapproval! It would be in exact conformity to the spirit and end of his apostolic administration, which was in accordance with the truth of the gospel and designed to show forth that truth. What is the test of a great and wise ruler? The test is the uselessness of a punishing power (except in extreme cases and as an ultimate resort), because his subjects govern themselves. Such was the apostle’s argument. Nothing against the truth, all for the truth, Christ the Truth; this was the beautiful summation in which he rested. If this should apparently exhibit his weakness, what a glorious weakness it would be! Apostolic judgment made needless by self-government; what could be a grander testimony to the truth and excellence of his work among them? Then, verily, they would be strong. “Perfection” in the order and unity of the Church, “perfection” of individual character, was the object of his prayer, and hence this Epistle. Whoever teaches Christianity as God’s truth cannot fail to teach much else besides. These verses are maxims of infinite wisdom. What man in authority, what statesman in the affairs of a nation, what father at the head of a family, what office holder in the Church, if he would bear his faculties so meekly and be thus “clear in his great office,” would not be a providence of instruction and helpfulness in the world] Decay of reverence for law begins in decay of reverence for men who administer the law. Unhappily enough, this decline in reverence for law is one of the growing perils of the age. It is peculiar to no form of government. It is spreading everywhere as an atmospheric evil, and threatening like an epidemic to travel roared the globe. Power to build up, not to destroy; this is St. Paul’s idea of power divinely bestowed. And accordingly we see what a blessed discipline it was to him personally and officially; and having accomplished this result in his own soul, it is not remarkable that it achieved its ends in this distracted and corrupted Church at Corinth.L.

2Co 13:11-14 – Parting tenderness.

If ever great principles of government were subjected to the severest of ordeals, it was in the instance which has been under review. It ever personal qualities and official prerogatives were inextricably mixed in pending issues, and those issues diffused over a vast surface, it was in this affair at Corinth. If ever the chief actor in the interest of tranquillity and social purity had to fight a battle absolutely single handed and alone, it was St. Paul’s fortune in this struggle to save a community from degradation and destruction. We have seen what he endured when endurance was probably harder than at any period of his life. What aids he summoned in these critical hours, what recourse he had to the past, what account he gave of the “thorn in the flesh” and its uses in his work, we have seen in the progress of this interesting section of his career. Most of all, we have seen how the man and the apostle, the tentmaker and the preacher, the liberal Jew and the sagacious Christian, were most happily interblended in the rarest harmony and unity while doing the work of pacification and reformation. And now that he comes before us. in the last expression of himself as to this weighty controversy, it is ennobling to see how finely poised he is, and what anxiety he has “lest, being present,” he should be compelled against all his prayers and hopes “to use sharpness according to the power which the Lord had given him.” That miraculous gift was his as the apostle of Christ, but it was for “edification, and not to destruction.” At the cost of personal humiliation, he would be “glad” if the Corinthians were “strong,” and he “weak.” How like his Master he was! “Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?” Had he waved his hand, Jerusalem would have been darkened by the wings of gathering angels for his rescue; but he was to be crucified in “weakness” that the “power of God” might be the more gloriously manifested in his resurrection. Power denied in one of its uses, to be more signally displayed in another and higher use, was the lesson St. Paul had learned of his dying Lord. “I am crucified with Christ,” said he on a subsequent occasion; but he shares that crucifixion word in one of its most painful forms by withholding the exertion of authority to punish his enemies till all other means had been exhausted. He preached Christ “the Wisdom of God,” no less than Christ “the Power of God.” Under circumstances of extreme hazard, reputation and influence and future success trembling in the balance, flesh and blood supplying clamorous reasons for a self-asserting course and the swift riddance of a most vexatious trouble, he abides with heroic fortitude by Christian principle in its demands for self-crucifixion, and makes everything yield to magnanimity in his ardent desire for the “perfection” of the Church at Corinth. All this is admirable as a mere matter of congruity in respect to the laws of art. But it leaves the domain of art and rises to a realm infinitely more exalted when he comes before us “apparelled in celestial light,” and completes the impression of one

“Whose high endeavours are an inward light,
That makes the path before him always bright.”

Nothing in the apostle’s life more became him than the tenderness in the parting words of this Epistle. “Finally, brethren, farewell.” There have been throes of spirit during the birth of this Epistle, moments of vehemence, outbursts of indignation and menace; but they are over now. The sun sets in a sky that the storm has purified, and the last beams glide through an atmosphere of holy stillness. “Be perfect,” or, be perfected, making up what ye lack; “be of good comfort,” taking encouragement and hope from your trials that God would overrule them for your happiness; “be of one mind,” by suppressing all selfishness and partisanship and cultivating unity of interest; “live in peace,” so that your outward life bears witness to the fact that ye have “one mind.” So shall the “God of love and peace be with you.” Let not the sign of your union in Christ as members of his Church be forgotten, and, accordingly, “greet one another with a holy kiss.” Macedonian brethren salute you. And now, acknowledging with profoundest reverence the Holy Trinity, “in place of his own salutation, he gives us finally that precious benediction which has acquired such a liturgical use in every age and in every part of the Christian world” (Lunge). Grace, love, communion,these three, and each blessing and all the blessedness forevery one, friends and enemies, since they are, in this touching moment, “brethren” to his heart. “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ” in the fulness of his mediatorial office, “the love of God” the Father revealed through that grace, and the “communion of the Holy Ghost” as the effect of the “grace” and the “love” in their fellowship with God and one another, “be with you all. Amen.”

It pleased God to make St. Paul his own historian during the memorable period to which this Epistle belongs. No one was competent to this task, not even St. Luke, with all his skill and insight as a writer, and his close relations to the apostle The inner life of the author was to be set forth with a force and vividness never equalled in sacred literature; and we were to have a section, and a most important section, of the New Testament as a Scripture of a private soul. For, indeed, the Holy Spirit would not limit the wonders of inspiration to the narration of outward events. Great as those events were in the midst of changes going on in the Roman empire, “the mingling and confusion of races, languages, and conditions,” of which Dean Milman gives so eloquent a description (‘Latin Christianity’), and vast as was the influence of the gospel in slowly transforming that “heterogeneous mass of a corrupted social system” by “instilling feelings of humanity,” and giving “dignity to minds prostrated by years, almost centuries, of degrading despotism,” it yet was vital to the purpose of the written Word that we should have the record of a human soul in the most typical period of its perplexity and conflict, and under just such circumstances as identified it most nearly with the sharpest trials of manly intelligence and courage. It is St. Luke who describes the one class of occurrences. Only a St. Paul was qualified for the other; and in the Second Epistle to the Corinthians he does this most interesting work. At no point are we left in dimness or obscurity as to what he felt and purposed. Every moment, as the eye follows his path, we see the end to which his steps are tending. “Faint, yet pursuing,” often thwarted, often thrown back, often sorely embarrassed, without the lights of past experience, without the helps of brother apostles, alone and unbefriended, he had to solve those problems of Church order and discipline which involved all the future administrative policy of Christian communities. Throughout the struggle we accompany him. We know what he thought, and why. We mark his wisdom, earnestness, and fidelity. In the variety of his moods, in exaltation and depression, in the alternate predominance of very unlike states of consciousness, we find him the same man as to his ruling principle and aim, the same when he threatens and beseeches, the same when he unmasks “false apostles,” that he is in prayers for peace and brotherhood. It was a most energetic and exciting portion of his career. But the man’s heart is the chief interest as illustrative of the cardinal doctrines of grace. True, we have invaluable contributions to theological truth, expositions of rare profundity and insight, contrasts between the Law and the gospel never surpassed in this favourite department of his intellectual work, references to the body that throw a new light on its relations to mind, and directions as to practical benevolence which cover the whole range, in this particular, of Christian obligation. Yet these are enhanced in value by the fact that the spirit of an intense living personality is ever present. We lose nothing of the logic and philosophy, nothing of the force in the historical allusions, nothing of the charm of metaphor and similitude. At the same time there runs through everything the subtle influence of an individual soul, so that the strength which throbs in doctrinal arguments is from a heart all alive with sensibility. “Men,” says Foster (‘First Essay on a Man’s writing Memoirs of Himself’), “carry their minds as for the most part they carry their watches, content to be ignorant of the constitution and action within, and attentive only to the little exterior circle of things to which the passions, like indexes, are pointing.” Not so St. Paul. Temperament, disease, special circumstances in his position, made him in an unusual degree a self-observing man. In this Epistle we have the richest fruits of his self-knowledge. Most of all, we see the meaning of that discipline of affliction by means of which the life of Christ in the soul is perfected. And we see, too, how our private history is far more than a personal concern, and widens out in connections no one could have foreseen. “A thorn in the flesh” becomes a part of St. Paul’s public character; incidents that historians and philosophers and poets would have passed by as of little meaning, take on a most impressive significance, and endear an Epistle, great on other grounds and great as a work of art, to the struggling and sorrowing heart of every Christian.L.

HOMILIES BY J.R. THOMSON

2Co 13:4 – Weakness and power.

It must have been very painful to the sensitive and benevolent mind of the apostle to have written thus to any congregation of Christians, especially to a congregation so intimately connected with him as was this at Corinth. The whole society was to blame for suffering the Judaizers and the questioners of St. Paul’s authority; when they should have taken the part of their spiritual benefactor, and have indignantly resented the slights and misrepresentations which they tolerated. In the prospect of visiting Corinth, the apostle requires that the people shall put themselves to the test and shall give a proof of their reformation; otherwise, he will be compelled to give them a proof of his supernatural power and thus to silence calumny and opposition.

I. THE WEAKNESS OF CHRIST IS SHARED EVEN BY HIS SINCEREST AND MOST FAITHFUL FOLLOWERS.

1. In the Lord Jesus were, both in his person and in his ministerial career, many circumstances of humiliation. His helpless childhood; his subjection to hunger, thirst, and weariness; his liability to pain; his endurance of death, are instances of the former. His submission to calumny and insult, to betrayal and desertion, to hatred and rejection, are proofs of the latter.

2. Now, our Lord himself forewarned his disciples that they should share their Master’s lot. Paul certainly took up the cross. The thorn or stake in the flesh, the feeble body, the scourgings and imprisonments which he was called upon to endure, were not regarded by him as accidents and misfortunes, but rather as proofs of true discipleship, as participations in the sufferings of the Lord. And this is the light in which all followers of the Lord Jesus are justified in regarding the endurances and calamities which befall them in treading in his steps and in executing his commission. It is the moral glory of Christianity that it dignifies the sufferings of those who partake their Leader’s spirit in self-denying endeavours for the salvation of their fellow men. Such servants of the Divine Master may well “glory in infirmity.” Their wounds are the honourable scars telling of the severity of the conflict in which they have been engaged.

II. THE POWER OF GOD WHICH WAS UPON CHRIST SHALL BE DISPLAYED IN THOSE WHO, SHARING THE MASTER‘S SERVICE, SHARE ALSO HIS WEAKNESS. Paul was content that men should perceive the weakness manifest in the crucifixion of the Redeemer but he preached to them a risen, reigning, and glorified King. The resurrection and ascension of Christ were both proofs of the acceptance of the Son by the Father, and they were an inspiriting omen of the approaching victory of the cause for which Jesus deigned to die. From the throne of might and dominion, possessed of all authority, the victorious Lord governs his Church on earth, and secures its safety and well being. St. Paul felt himself entrusted with abundant means of maintaining his spiritual authority as the “ambassador of Christ.” He might possess marks of the dying of the Lord Jesus; but he wielded a might which no foe could resist. Let all faithful servants of Jesus and true soldiers of the cross be encouraged by the reflection that their Commander is omnipotent, and that he must reign until every foe is beneath his feet.T.

2Co 13:5 – “Prove yourselves.”

The apostle, before closing his Epistle, turned round upon his detractors. They had been questioning his authority and disparaging his claims, and he had been defending himself and asserting his apostolic rights. But was this as it should be? How was it with themselves? They were very anxious to test him, to compel him to verify his claims. Why should not they be asked whether their own position was assured, whether their own professions were justifiable? Let them examine, test, and prove themselves! The exhortation is one by which all professing Christians may profit.

I. THE IMPORTANCE OF SELF–PROOF. This appears from the unquestionable fact that men generally are disposed to take too favourable a view of themselves, their own character, their own services, their own importance to the Church or the world. Illusion often becomes delusion. That which is nearest at hand, and which might be supposed, because most accessible, to he best known, is often judged with the least fairness and justice. Yet if we form a false estimate of ourselves, how disastrous the consequences may be!

II. THE METHOD AND SPIRIT OF SELF–PROOF.

1. There should be perfect candour.

2. The examination should be carried on as under the eye of the omniscient and all-searching God.

3. The standard by which we judge ourselves should be the high and infallible standard of God’s own Word.

4. There should be no attempt to exalt self by depreciating others.

III. THE CONSEQUENCES OF SELF–PROOF.

1. The process may reveal what is altogether unsatisfactory and lamentable. He who tests himself thoroughly may come to the conclusion that his life is all wrong from the very foundation. If this is so, it is well that it should be known, that a new basis for the moral life may be laid in the truth and righteousness of God himself.

2. The process may yield results partly gratifying and partly regrettable. If so, while there will be reason for gratitude and encouragement, there will be a call to repentance, reformation, and improvement. For a man to know his faults and errors is the first step towards what is better and nobler.T.

2Co 13:8 – Invincible truth.

Paul boasted that he could do all things, i.e. through Christ who strengthened him. Let his adversaries rage and threaten, he had no fear. He would assert his authority, exercise his power, and reduce the proudest opponent to helplessness. For the truth’s sake, for the gospel, there was nothing which he was not able to achieve. But if those whom he chided should submit, should return to their fidelity, not to him only, but to the gospel, then he was powerless to harm them. Nay, in such a case he was with them, on their side. Such appears to be the explanation of this grand utterance occurring in this connection.

I. THE POWERLESSNESS OF MAN WHEN IN OPPOSITION TO THE TRUTH OF GOD.

1. The avowed enemies of the truth have failed in their attacks upon it, whatever have been the resources upon which they have drawn, the arms upon which they have relied. Persecution has raged first against Christianity itself, and then against its purer representation in days of reformation. With what result? The blood of the martyrs has ever been the seed of the Church. “Truth, like a torch, the more it’s shook it shines.”

2. The false, hypocritical friends of the truth have never succeeded in exterminating it. Their efforts have often been insidious, and have often corrupted and ensnared individuals and even societies. But the pure truth of God has survived, whilst these attempts have again and again been foiled.

II. THE STRENGTH OF THOSE WHO WORK WITH AND FOR THE TRUTH OF GOD.

1. Their natural feebleness does not hinder the victory of the cause which they embrace. The ignorant, the poor, the young, the feeble, have done and are still doing great things for the gospel. As at first, so now, God chooses “the weak things of the world to confound the mighty,”

2. The efficiency of the truth depends upon its Divine origin and source. “If God be for us, who can be against us?” Wherever God’s truth is proclaimed, there God’s Spirit works and God’s power is felt.

3. The efficiency of the truth lies in its harmony with the nature and constitution of man. With the use of this divinely tempered implement the divinely prepared soil of humanity may be rendered fruitful in great results. Magna est veritas, et prevalebit.T.

2Co 13:11 – “Live in peace.”

The Christian religion ever represents all true peace among men as taking its beginning in peace with God. This first creates peace of conscience, and then issues in harmony and concord in civil and ecclesiastical society. There can be no doubt that the apostle is here enjoining mutual good will, kindness, and amity.

I. CHRISTIAN PEACE IS IN CONTRAST TO THE ENMITY WHICH IS NATURAL TO SINFUL MEN. “Whence come,” asks the inspired writer”whence come wars and fightings among you?” And the answer is that they may be traced to the lusts which are inherent in depraved human nature. In a more primitive state of society, mankind are actually and almost normally at war. In more civilized society, hatred, malice, envy, etc., prevail, and produce disastrous results, although the worst outward manifestations may be restrained.

II. CHRISTIAN PEACE IS OFTEN VIOLATED IN THE SOCIETIES WHICH ARE NAMED AFTER THE PRINCE OF PEACE. How signally this was the case with the Church at Corinth these Epistles make abundantly manifest. It was distracted by party spirit, by schism, by factions. Christ was “divided” in his body and members. And in this respect the example set at Corinth has, alas! too often been followed. The abode intended for peace has too often been converted into a scene of strife.

III. FELLOWSHIP WITH CHRIST IS THE ONLY MEANS FOR RESTORING OR PRESERVING CHRISTIAN PEACE. Interest is not sufficient; external authority and advice continually fail. But if Christ be enthroned in each heart and in the society at large, then conflicts will be hushed and the peace of God prevail. Hence the need for all those exercises of prayer and meditation by which this truly Christian grace may be promoted.

IV. CHRISTIAN PEACE IS A CONDITION OF CHURCH PROSPERITY. Work and warfare are inimical. If there be strife, the vitality must needs be low, the witness must needs be marred, the work must needs suffer in all finer quality. On the other hand, harmony conduces to cooperation as well as to devotion. The world cannot fail to feel the effects of the presence and the testimony of a united and harmonious Church.T.

2Co 13:12, 2Co 13:13 – Salutation.

Among the various features which distinguish these apostolic documents from ordinary treatises must be noticed the prominence they attach to social greetings. The personal element mingles very beautifully with the doctrinal and the practical. The apostle’s theme may have been absorbing, but he usually, in bringing an Epistle to its close, refers to the individuals by whom he is himself surroundedhis companions and colleagues, and to such as were known to him among the community he is addressing.

I. UPON WHAT CHRISTIAN GREETINGS ARE BASED. They differ from common everyday salutations in this, that they are not mere forms, and are not exchanged as a matter of course. They presume a common relation to, a common interest in, the Divine Saviour. The vital union of Christ’s people to himself involves an intercommunion of sympathy amongst themselves.

II. IN WHAT CHRISTIAN SALUTATION FINDS EXPRESSION,

1. In words and in messages of spiritual friendship, in the case of those who are absent from one another. It is thus proved that distance does not sunder hearts, that the spiritual family, dispersed through many places, is nevertheless but one.

2. In the primitive Churches the Christian greeting took the form of the “holy kiss.” In this a common social usage was sanctified by a new and higher meaning. The custom was one which in some Churches was retained for centuries. The kiss of peace, brotherhood, and love was felt to be the appropriate symbol of the new and all-pervading sentiment of Christian kindness.

III. WHAT PURPOSES CHRISTIAN GREETINGS SUBSERVE. We may trace several very useful practical ends secured by them.

1. They are evident tokens of the wide diffusion of the Saviour’s spiritual presence. It is because Christ is with and in his Church that the living members of this Church, pervaded by one Spirit, show true unity and love.

2. They remove the distressing feeling of isolation from which Christ’s people may in many circumstances grievously suffer.

3. They are an anticipation of the confidential and affectionate fellowship which is (next to the presence of the Redeemer) to be expected as the highest joy of the heavenly state.T.

2Co 13:14 – Benediction.

When we remember what just cause of complaint Paul had against many members of the Corinthian Church, we cannot but regard this concluding benediction as an evidence of his large-hearted charity. There is no exception; his benevolent wishes and earnest intercessions are for all. And what fulness and richness of blessing is this which the apostle here implores!

I. TRUE BLESSING DOES NOT CONSIST IN EARTHLY ENJOYMENTS OR EVEN IN HUMAN FELLOWSHIP. Men’s good wishes usually relate to these advantages, and as far as they go they are good, and may be very good. But the apostle took a higher view of the possibilities of human nature and life.

II. TRUE BLESSING CONSISTS IN THE CONSCIOUSNESS OF a DIVINE RELATIONSHIP. The three Persons of the Trinity are all concerned in the best and happiest experiences of the pious soul. It is a lofty view, it must be admitted, this which the apostle takes of religion, but not therefore unreasonable. It is all the worthier as evincing the interest of the Creator in the spiritual well being of mankind.

III. TRUE BLESSING ASSUMES A DISTINCTIVELY CHRISTIAN FORM. This is apparent from the remarkable fact that in this solemn formal language the Lord Jesus occupies the foremost place. Harmonious this with. the Saviour’s saying, “No man cometh unto the Father but by me.” The Mediator brings us into relation of sonship towards the Father and of participation in and with the Divine Spirit.

IV. TRUE BLESSING RESIDES IN THE REVELATION TO CHRISTIANS OF THE EMPHATICALLY BENIGNANT ASPECTS OF THE DIVINE CHARACTER. Observe that “favour,” “love;” and “communion” are here put forward as those attributes and relations in which it is chiefly desirable that the Eternal should manifest himself to his finite and dependent creatures.

V. TRUE BLESSING IS THE SUBJECT OF MUTUAL CHRISTIAN INTERCESSION. It is noticeable that, not only is this incomparable boon to be sought by each devout soul for itself; we have the example and the authority of the apostle for including it among the objects sought in intercessory supplications. Hence the appropriateness of this language for use at the close of devotional services.T.

HOMILIES BY E. HURNDALL

2Co 13:4 – The death and resurrection of Christ contrasted.

I. THE FORMER WAS THROUGH WEAKNESS.

1. Christ assumed a nature which was capable of crucifixion. Who could crucify God? But the God-Man might walk in weariness and weakness to Golgotha. What a pathetic consideration that Christ voluntarily chose a nature which was subject to suffering and death!

2. Christ repressed his innate power.

(1) His Divine power. Thus he laid down his life; no man took it from him. But a flash of that power, and the cross would never have been reared. But a word from his lips, and his persecutors would have been dead men. But then the gospel would never have been told to man; so for man omnipotence became impotence.

(2) His human power. Man power as well as God power was discarded. There was no resistance. He became “as a sheep before her shearers.” He voluntarily became the weakest of the weak that he might be strong to redeem. Learn here that repression is often a triumph. Not always does the putting forth of power mean success. It is sometimes our wisdom to sit still, to submit, to be silent.

II. THE LATTER WAS IN POWER.

1. A marvellous event. What a contrast between the first day and the third! How mighty men seem on the former! how unutterably impotent on the latter! How weak Christ seems on the one! how omnipotent on the other!

2. Demanding Divine energy. This power was not of man. Man stands completely helpless at the grave. Here his boastings are silenced. But the Author of life can restore life. The Divine power manifested in our Lord’s resurrection we find sometimes ascribed to God the Father (Eph 1:20), sometimes to the Son (Mar 14:58). “I and my Father are one” (Joh 10:30).

3. Complete.

(1) Christ arose in perfect power. The cross and the grave left no marks of weakness upon him. His omnipotence was untainted.

(2) He has reigned since in power above.

(3) He works in power today on earth through his Word and Spirit.

III. THE DEATH AND RESURRECTION OF CHRIST, THOUGH IN CONTRAST, ARE IN CLOSE ASSOCIATION. They are in point of time. A few hours only separated the weakness of the cross from the power of the restoration. But there is real dependence also. In a certain sense the one was the natural result of the other. Without so perfect a crucifixion there could not have been so triumphant a resurrection. Christ was perfect alike when he was in weakness and when he was in power. Had there been any less “weakness” in the death, there had been less “power” in the resurrection. The humiliation was, in its order, as truly glorious as the exaltation. So with usif we are abased with Christ here we shall be glorified with him hereafter. We have the crossmust have the crossif we would have the crown.H.

2Co 13:5 – Self-testing.

I. MANY ARE FOND OF TESTING OTHERS WHEN IT IS MORE NEEDFUL FOR THEM TO TEST THEMSELVES. “Beginning at Jerusalem” is beginning at the right place. “Know thyself” was a very wise exhortation. To ascertain the shortcomings of others is more pleasant, but not so profitable, as to ascertain our own. The matter of first importance to us is, not whether our neighbour’s scales are true, but whether ours are. Men are singularly unselfish in some directionsin the directions of giving advice and passing condemnatory judgments.

II. THE TEST WHICH WE APPLY TO OTHERS WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO STAND OURSELVES. Paul was not what the Corinthians thought he ought to be, because they were not what they ought to have been. A blind man is a poor judge of colours. The beam must be taken out of our eyes before we shall be able to see clearly. An unclean man denouncing uncleanness is no very edifying spectacle. If we warn men against getting into the mire, they will expect us to come out of it. If we would be leaders, we must lead. “Come” is much more potent than “go.”

III. THERE IS ONE POINT UPON WHICH WE SHOULD BE MOST DESIROUS OF TESTING OURSELVES. This iswhether we are “in the faith.” Men test themselves frequently, but generally upon points of secondary importance. This is the question of questions.

1. Do we truly repent of sin? Do we grieve over evil as that which has been done against God? Do we hate it, loathe it, desire to be freed from it?

2. Have we a living faith in the Lord Jesus Christ? Do we gratefully receive him as our Redeemer, and believe that his blood cleanses us from all sin? Have we come to God by Christ and obtained his forgiveness?

3. Is the vitality of our faith demonstrated by the fruits of holy living? If our faith is not accompanied by works, it is no faithwe are “reprobates” still, and hypocritical reprobates into the bargain. If we are “in the faith,” we shall be subject to God, striving daily to do his will, living and labouring to please him and to extend his glory in the earth. We may still be very imperfect, but, having been “born again,” we shall walk in “newness of life.”

IV. HOW WE MAY TEST OURSELVES UPON THIS VITAL POINT.

1. By prayerful self-examination. Prayer must come into this examination of ourselves because God must come. We need Divine help to aid us in knowing ourselves.

2. By comparing head, heart, and life with God‘s Word. In the Scriptures we have declared what those “in the faith” believe, feel, do.

3. By pressing home the questionIs Christ in me? “If any man hath not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his” (Rom 8:9). We are in the faith if the Lord of the faith is in us.

How earnestly should we examine ourselves! How restless should we be until we enter into the rest which comes from knowing that we are truly in the faith!H.

2Co 13:11, 2Co 13:12 – A beautiful farewell.

I. RECOGNITION OF BROTHERHOOD. In his letter the writer had been compelled to insist much upon his apostleship, but he now wisely and graciously stands upon common ground. He was compelled to magnify his office, but he was too good and too great to magnify himself. Amongst men there is a natural craving for equality; we resent a fellow creature attempting to lord it over us. And in the realm of religion we have ever need to remember “all ye are brethren.” What a poor fool a great man seems when he swells and struts in his miserable is pomposity and conceit! he is not greatno one can persuade us that he is greatbe extremely little. How much greater our great men would be if they would not be so great! One might imagine, sometimes, that our Lord had commanded those who would be chief to imitate turkey cocks; but he said they must become as little children.

II. GOOD WISHES. “Farewell,” or “Rejoice.” All joy to you, all prosperity, all happy and profitable experience. Not a few of them had ill wishes for him; he had nothing but good wishes for friends and foes. This was a very real farewell. Upon our lips it often means too littlein fact, it has become but the barest signal for separation; but coming from Paul’s heart it was full of earnest meaning. Possibly in his thought it took the form of “Rejoice in the Lord,” as in Php 3:1. Everything of value in the eyes of Paul was “in the Lord.” And there is no real faring well unless we are in Christ.

III. LOFTY AND GRACIOUS DESIRES.

1. For spiritual growth. “Be perfected.” Correct the evils which I have painted out. Reform yourselves. Seek to become more like your Lord. Strive to get rid of the “old things,” and to become new in Christ. Rest not as long as any sin abides within you. This was desiring for them the very highest good. This was a practical suggestion of the way in which they might “fare well.”

2. For comfort. “Be comforted.” Paul’s heart was tender towards them. They had caused him great, discomfort; he desires their consolation. He had, indeed, wounded them himself in administering stern but necessary rebukebut faithful were the wounds of such a friend; and now he desires that these wounds may be healed, trusting that the lancet has done its work. Note: he does not say, “Be comforted, be perfected,” but “Be perfected, be comforted;” true comfort comes only as we strive for true holiness. The quickest way to bring comfort to men is to seek to make them better. To comfort men in sin is devil like; to comfort men by bringing them out of sin is God-like.

3. For unity. “Be of the same mind.” Disunited, they would be miserable and weak; united, they would be happy and strong. When we are drawn nearer to Christ we shall be drawn nearer to the brethren; if we quarrel with the members we shall soon quarrel with the Head. The Church has to fight united foes; union should not be the monopoly of the servants of the devil.

4. For peace. “Live in peace.” Let peace be continuous, uninterrupted. Disunion will lead to civil war, and how can Christians fight the devil if they are fighting one another? If we have peace with God we should live in peace with his children, and be at war only with Satan and sin.

5. For love. Conveyed by the exhortation to “salute one another with a holy kiss.” Union is not enough; peace is not enough; there must be heartfelt affection between the people of God. This is the only true basis of union and peace. An armed truce is sometimes worse than open battle. We must not “tolerate” the brethrenwe must love them. A “Toleration Act” is a blasphemy against Christ.

IV. A STRENGTHENING PROMISE. “The God of love and peace shall be with you.” What Wesley said in death is true for all life, “The best of all isGod is with us.” “If thy presence go not with me, carry me not up hence” (Exo 33:15). If we have God with us, what can we lack? Perhaps we may regard this promise as conditional. If you sincerely strive to be holy, united, loving, God will abide with you; otherwise, he will depart. Like Israel of old, you may become desolate through carnality and hardness of heart. But if you desire to live in love and peace, the God of love and peace will presence himself with you. You must be workers together with him; from him you get desires for love and peace; but you must cultivate these, and be true and earnest in your religious life. It has been well said, “God’s presence produces love and peace, and we must have love and peace in order to have his presence; God gives what he commands; God gives, but we must cherish his gifts.”H.

2Co 13:14 – The benediction.

These words have become the universal sanctuary utterance of the Christian Church. As Paul wrote them, how real and full of meaning they were! Now, alas! they have too much degenerated into a mere signal for terminating public worship, anxiously anticipated by the wearyan empty appendage, for which might adequately be substituted a bare announcement, “The meeting is over.” Yet how beautiful is this benediction! how suggestive! how full of teaching! It is a summary of Christianity, a revelation of the Trinity and of the great threefold Divine work for human redemption and exaltation.

I. THE MATTER OF THE BENEDICTION.

1. “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.“

(1) Remark the title. Lordthe Divine One and the Master. Jesusthe Saviour and the Man. Christthe Anointed of God, the long promised Messiah. A trinity of qualification.

(2) The grace. The favour, and all that the favour of such a Being involves. The blessings of Christ’s rule as Master, of his redemption as Saviour, of his boundless resources as the Divine Messiah. If we are the objects of his favour, how inestimably rich we are!

2. “The love of God.“ The apostle has just spoken of God as the God of love (2Co 13:11); now he desires for the Corinthians the love of this God of love. The riches of Divine love are the Christian’s portion. Here is specially referred to the love of God as our Father. It was through the Father’s love that the Saviour was given, but it is through the Saviour’s work, and our participation in it, that we enter into the enjoyment of the love of God as the love of our Father. This is the covenanted love of God; his special fatherly affection for those who have become, through Christ, his sons and daughters. Thus “the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ” is made to precede “the love of God.”

3. “The communion of the Holy Ghost.“ The participation in the Holy Ghost. This we enjoy through Christ (Gal 3:13, Gal 3:14). Who can estimate the value of this? The great work of sanctification, the constant effective teaching of the truth, preservation in times of spiritual peril, comfort in sorrow, ability to carry on Christian work,all these depend upon our participating in the Holy Ghost. “Quench not the Spirit” (1Th 5:19). If in aught we hinder the Divine Spirit’s working within us, in that measure we become spiritual suicides.

II. THE EXTENT OF THE BENEDICTION. It is for all Christians; it is not for any special order or class, but forevery individual. Some privileges were associated with the apostleship, some with certain of mark and power in the early Church, but the privileges which are of supreme value have ever been the common heritage of God’s people. Some smaller favours may be for the few, the greatest are for the many.

III. HOW MAY WE COME UNDER THIS BENEDICTION? A very important question. To be beyond its reach must be to be in peril and misery. As it is for all the people of the Lord, those must become the people of the Lord who would share in its blessings. If we are willing to be blessed, God is willing to let this benediction rest upon us. By the way of repentance and faith and sincere striving to do the Divine will we pass from under the curse and abide under the benediction.H.

HOMILIES BY D. FRASER

2Co 13:5 – Self-examination.

I. POINTS ON WHICH SELF–EXAMINATION IS REQUIRED. They relate to your connection with Jesus Christwhether he is in you and you are in the faith. It is assumed that the word of faith has been preached; then follows the questionHow does this Word affect or influence you? It is easy to hear it and give it a formal assentbut this is not enough. Are you really in the faith? Does the truth compass you about and impress itself on all your views, motives, and principles of action? If so, Christ is certainly in you. He dwells in your heart by faith, and by his Spirit vitalizes and purifies your spirit.

II. THE KIND OF EVIDENCE NEEDED. The thing is not to be assumed, but proved. There is a mode of proof which onlookers may read and estimate. It is that which appears in your temper, demeanour, and actions. If men see good fruit in you, they infer that you are a good tree. But self-scrutiny must go into the matter more deeply; Onlookers see actions, but not the motives from which they spring. Some of your words and deeds they know, but not all of them, and not your actuating dispositions. Examine yourselves by the double test of the inward and the outward life. Review your motives and secret desires, as well as the current of your tempers and the tenor of your lives.

III. THE DIFFICULTY OF CONDUCTING THIS EXAMINATION.

1. In the nature of the case. Genuine self-knowledge is perhaps a rare attainment. The moment we go beneath the surface and try to probe the hidden things of the heart, we find ourselves among intricacies hard to unravela review of motives, the detection of half motives, and the analysis of transient thoughts and feelings as respects their moral complexion and significance. We are in a labyrinth of plans, wishes, imaginations, passions, caprices, and principles. One motive lurks behind another, one current of desire flows beneath another. And feeling, when subjected to analysis, ceases to be feeling, and it is only the recollection or the shadow of it which you can examine.

2. Through the delusions of self-esteem. Men shrink from a severe self-examination, lest the result should be mortifying, if not alarming. And even so far as they go, they are influenced by a desire to think hopefully of their own state, and to apply to themselves easy and partial tests. Like a teacher who is partial to a particular scholar and asks him only those questions which he is sure to answer, or an unjust judge who gives ear only to the side that he favours, every man is apt in self-examination to be biased in his own favour and to dwell on his best points as though they formed the whole staple of his character.

3. From exaggerated self-distrust. Some minds are morbidly sensitive, and do not so much examine as torment themselves. They cannot own what Christ has done for them, through fear of presumption. And their self-judgment is hindered by over caution and a dejection mistaken for humility.

IV. THE WAY TO REACH THE TRUTH ABOUT YOURSELVES. The Lord must be asked to preside over and direct the examination. It is he who looks upon the heart, and so it is he who can give you an insight into your real selves. Begin with the prayer in Psa 139:23, Psa 139:24. The Spirit of the Lord then shows you what you are by means of the lamp of the Word. And with such guidance you ought to know whether you are the Lord’s or no. But you must yourselves watch as well as read and pray. It is a good rule to note the significance of little things, in which the mind is less on its guard and so more freely reveals its bent. A physician watches slight symptoms in order to detect and cure disease. A judge takes note of small incidents in a case, and shows the jury how, on the combination of these, the verdict of guilt or innocence must turn. So also should he act who would diagnose or judge himself; though, on the other hand, one must not lay all the stress on minor points, but should rest the main conclusion on broad and comprehensive grounds.

V. THE CONDITION OF THOSE WHO CANNOT BEAR THE TRIAL, “Disapproved.” There is no verdict of “not proven.” Those who name the Name of Christ are approved or disapproved. Leave not your relation to Jesus Christ in doubt. Repair to him who can solve your doubt and give you the good part that shall not be taken away.F.

2Co 13:11 – “The God of love and peace.”

Love is the nature, and peace the very element, of God. Whatever the detached indications of severity under his sway, whatever the calamities permitted or the penalties inflicted by God, there is love in, over, and under all. Whatever the trouble or turmoil in parts of creation, at the centre of the universe there is a perfect peace. It is the conviction of this which makes our Christian faith so powerful both to calm and to satisfy the soul. We can endure much if we have for our Friend and our eternal Portion the God of love and peace.

I. THE INITIAL KNOWLEDGE OF GOD. You become in your heart acquainted with God through the faith of the gospel. You hear and believe that he loves, and is so far from desirous that any should perish, that he has made provision in Jesus Christ for eternal life to all who confide in his Name. So you repent of your enmity to him and turn to the God of love. Not only so. The gospel, while a revelation of love, is also a message of peace. “God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself.” Hearing this, you perceive that God is not pursuing you with an angry countenance and a terrible dart, but regards you with a face of sublime compassion and good will, and bids you fight against him no more, but become his friend. So you repent of your alienation and turn to the God of peace. And all is changed in you. You also love. You also are in peace.

II. PROGRESSIVE FRIENDSHIP WITH GOD. In order to abide with God, you must grow in those moral qualities which in their perfection make up his character. Thus you are to dwell in love, and to make peace.

1. Dwell in love. What notion can a hard-hearted, uncharitable man form of God? Faith needs love in order to the higher attainments of holy knowledge and holy fellowship. Only be who dwells in love dwells in God. The Divine Word is sweet to him. The Divine purposes are all good in his eyes; for love enters into the secret of love, and by a touch of sympathy recognizes its presence and strength.

2. Cherish and make peace. A quarrelsome Christian, a former of party, a fomenter of strife,how can he know the God of peace? St. Paul by no means shrank from controversy, and made no truce with error or evil; but what a peacemaker he was in the Church! How impressive his appeals to the Corinthians to be of the same mind and at peace among themselves! It brings God into the heart to arrange disputes, to forgive offences, to bury prejudices, and to exhibit and foster brotherly kindness in the Church. It is the dove that was made a symbol of the Spirit of God; and that is a bird which flees away from noise and tempest. So it is in the quiet heart, and in those Churches where the brethren are at peace with one another, that the Spirit of the God of peace, the Comforter, will dwell.

III. DEFEAT OF THE FLESH AND THE DEVIL.

1. Hatred is a work of the flesh. Love is part of the fruit of the Spirit; and he who is born of the Spirit ought to smile at provocation and forgive injury and even love his enemies, because the God whom he serves is love, the Father of whom he is begotten is merciful.

2. Discord is a work of the devil. And in breathing a spirit of mutual consideration and concord over his people, the God of peace bruises Satan under their feet (Rom 16:20). He brings order out of confusion, and crushes the hissing serpents of dissension and malignity under the feet of his saints.F.

HOMILIES BY R. TUCK

2Co 13:4 – “Crucified through weakness.”

This is a very characteristic view of the crucifixion of our Lord, St. Paul never dwelt upon it complacently, as we do. There is no trace of his having ever elaborately described it, or endeavoured to move the feelings of his hearers or readers by the persuasions of his Lord’s dying distresses. The Crucifixion was a painful subject to him. It was Christ’s time of weakness. The apostle always seems to hasten away from that theme to what he can glory in, even Christ, the risen One, the living One, who now can save. Dean Plumptre explains the expression taken as our text thus: “For even he was crucified. St. Paul seems to see in Christ the highest representative instance of the axiomatic law by which he himself had been ccmforted, that strength is perfected in infirmities. For he too lived encom passed with the infirmities of man’s nature, and the possibility of the Crucifixion flowed from that fact as a natural sequel.” Professor Lias says, “Our Lord assumed our human nature with all its infirmities (Heb 2:10-18; Heb 4:15; Heb 5:2, Heb 5:3), and although they were the result of sin. He bore all those infirmities, death itself included. And then he shook them all off forever when he rose again ‘by the power of God.'”

I. CHRIST WAS BODILY WEAK. We may fairly assume that our Lord had a healthy body; but it was subject to ordinary human infirmities. He felt fatigue, hunger, thirst, need of sleep; and spiritual work exhausted his nervous system as it does ours. We may even assume that his must have been a nervously sensitive body, since this is found to be the characteristic of all highly intellectual and all highly spiritual men and women. It will be easy to show how St. Paul would feel a special sympathy with the Lord Jesus in all this, since his too was a frail, sensitively organized body. Those who are easily depressed, readily affected by outward circumstances, and conscious of physical frailty, seldom realize how near to them in sympathetic experience comes the Lord Jesus Christ, and, after him, the great apostle of the Gentiles.

II. CHRIST WAS SOUL STRONG. And therefore he could go through all the lot which God appointed for him, even though that included the bitter and terrible experiences of the Crucifixion. The soul strength St. Paul thought of as Christ living in the very midst of his weakness and suffering. His idea may be thus expressed: “We too are weak; we have our share in infirmities and sufferings, which are ennobled by the thought that they are ours because they are his; but we know that we shall live in the highest sense, in the activities of the spiritual life, which also we share with him, and which comes to us by the power of God; and this life will be manifested in the exercise of our spiritual power towards you and for your good.” Reference is to the present ministry and not to the hereafter time. If Christ’s weakness was, like St. Paul’s, frailty of belly, he might rejoice that Christ’s strength was soul strength, and, like his, the strength of God made perfect in weakness.R.T.

2Co 13:5 – Self-examination.

“Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves.” This is without question a necessary and practically important Christian duty. But the forms it takes and the estimates of its value differ according to the tones and peculiarities of Christian life and feeling in each age. When prominence is given to doctrine, and conflicts rage round precisions in the expression of opinion, self-examination is neglected, and, as a rebound, is unduly cultivated by the pietistic few. When feeling rather than truth is cultivated, and religion is conceived as a mood of mind rather than as a body of doctrines, self-examination is set forth
prominently as one of the essentials of Christian living. It must also be added that self-examination has always been urged by the priesthood as an agent in preserving for such priesthood the control of men’s thoughts, opinions, conduct, and life. Recognizing its importance, but carefully avoiding exaggerations in reference to it, we notice

I. WHAT IT MAY PROPERLY CONCERN.

1. Conduct. This may include

(1) our mode of performing our ordinary life duties;

(2) the character of our relationship with others;

(3) the wise use of our opportunities of usefulness;

(4) the helpful occupation of our leisure hours;

(5) and the worthy meeting of our life responsibilities.

2. Opinion. St. Paul here enjoins a proving or testing of opinion, so that a man may know whether he is “holding fast the profession of his faith without wavering;” “holding fast the form of sound words.”

3. Feeling. So far as this is related to the motive of conduct, and gives inspiration and character to the expressions of Christian life. Self-examination of feeling with a view to confidence of our state and satisfaction in our progress and attainment is always perilous and often ruinous. Watching frames and feelings is the most enervating thing a Christian can do. It never can culture humility; it often, in a very subtle way, nourishes spiritual pride and severs the soul from the simplicity of its dependence on Christ. It brings a false satisfaction in feeling right, or a needless distress in feeling wrong. It clouds the Christian life with hindering and weakening depressions, or it brings an extravagant joy which is really joy in self, not joy in God.

II. WHEN SHOULD IT BE UNDERTAKEN? Only occasionally, and under special pressure, such as comes with times of conscious weakness and failure; or times when error is being freely taught; or times when the Christian morality is imperilled; or times when the changes of life are bringing to us fresh responsibilities. St. Paul commends the duty in a special form in relation to the Communion of the Lord’s Supper. And many Christian people have found special times of self-examination usefulat the New Year, at birthdays, etc. Where there is a natural tendency to morbid introspection the seasons should be very infrequent. Where the active side of Christian life is overdeveloped, the times for self-examination may safely be multiplied.

III. IN WHAT SPIRIT SHOULD IT BE CONDUCTED? There should be

(1) great seriousness;

(2) earnest prayer for a spirit of sincerity and faithfulness;

(3) careful avoidance of any desire to test themselves by any human standards;

(4) anxiously cherished dependence on the leadings and teachings of God the Holy Ghost; and

(5) firm resolve to turn the conclusions of our self-examination into principles and directions for the guidance and the improvement of our practical life of godliness. Compare the psalmist, who prays, “Search me, O God,” before attempting to search himself.

IV. HOW MAY THE POSSIBLE EVILS OF IT BE COUNTERACTED?

1. By making Holy Scripture the standard according to which we test ourselves.

2. By making conduct rather than feeling the subject of our review.

3. By turning the results of the examination into prayer for more grace.

4. By persisting in seeing the things that we may have to rejoice in, as well as those which we may have to groan over.

5. And by regarding the Lord Jesus Christand none but heas our Model of the interior, as well as of the exterior, Christian life.R.T.

2Co 13:5 – Who are the reprobates?

Essentially such as have not Christ in them. Those whose experience and conduct are not sufficient to prove the indwelling presence and sanctifying power of the living Christ. The word “reprobate” signifies those who have been tried and found wanting. Illustrations of the use of the term may be found in Rom 1:28; 1Co 9:27; 2Ti 3:8; Tit 1:16; Heb 6:8. The subject may be effectively introduced by a description of the scene in Belshazzar’s palace, with the mystic handwriting on the wall. Then it may be shown how the term may gain its application to

I. INDIVIDUAL CHRISTIANS. Some such St. Paul refers to by name, as Alexander, Hermogenes, Demas, etc. Compare Peter’s finding Simon the Sorcerer wanting. Individuals may be reprobate

(1) intellectually, by accepting false and dishonouring doctrine;

(2) morally, by yielding to temptations of self-indulgence, vice, or crime.

II. CHURCHES. This may be illustrated by the searching addresses sent by the glorified Christ to some of the seven Churches of Asia. The principles of the search may be effectively applied to modern Churches.

III. PASTORS. These fail from the pastoral ideal generally after they have failed from the private Christian ideal. Shepherds are reprobates when they neglect their duty to their flock; when they feed themselves and not the flock; when they see the wolf coming, and flee; and when they fail duly to honour the chief Shepherd before the flock, Illustration may be taken from the experiences of the City of Mansoul as figured by John Bunyan, in his ‘Holy War.’ Reprobates, such as are here dealt with, are recoverable by penitence, humiliation, and heart-return to Christ.R.T.

2Co 13:11 – Final counsels.

What should the godly minister most desire for his people? All his best wishes for them can be gathered up in the word “unity.” And the terms here used embody the idea of unity. And this was the supreme want of the Corinthian Church, which had been so broken up by

(1) party feeling,

(2) false teachings,

(3) immoral members.

As this subject has been so often taken as a theme for sermons preached at the close of ministries in particular places, we only give an outline from the point of view which regards unity as the central idea of the passage.

I. PERFECT. That is, exactly fitted together; a whole.

II. OF GOOD COMFORT. This would only come by the removal of the jealousies and envyings, which spoiled the unity and the brotherhood.

III. OF ONE MIND. Giving up individual preferences and peculiarities, so that they might agree together, think and plan the same things.

IV. LIVE IN PEACE. Or show that thoughtfulness for others which is the great secret of the peaceful life.

Upon such unity as the apostle thus commends the Divine benediction is sure to rest.R.T.

2Co 13:14 – The Christian benediction.

This is the closing sentence of a long better. Letters bear the stamp of the age in which they are written. Their modes of beginning and ending, and their forms of salutation, are characteristic of nations and periods. This closing benediction may be compared with those of other Epistles. The most simple form is “Grace be with you,” and this we find in Colossians, 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, and also in the Epistle to the Hebrews. A somewhat fuller but still very simple form is this: “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.” This is found in Romans, Philippians, and 1 and 2 Thessalonians. The Epistle to the Galatians closes thus: “Brethren, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.” Philemon ends in a similar way. In Ephesians there is a peculiar form: “Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity.” Comparing St. Paul’s mode with that of the other apostles, we find similarity with distinctive differences. St. Peter closes his First Epistle thus: “Peace be with you all that are in Christ Jesus;” and his Second Epistle thus: “But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.” St. James has no greeting; nor has John, except to his Third Epistle, and there it is simply, “Peace be to thee.” Jude closes with a doxology. From this comparison it appears that the Christian benediction, in its simplest form, is the wish that “grace” may be with the Church. The point of it lies in the word “grace,” and in the ideas that St. Paul attached to the word “grace,” and to its “being” or “continuing” with the believers.

I. THE MEANING OF THE TERM “GRACE.” It must be distinguished from the word “graces,” as meaning the special gifts and endowments granted to the early Church As used in the singular number, it sometimes means the free favour and love of God as shown to us in our salvation by Christ. Then the full expression is, “the grace of God, and the gift by grace” (Rom 5:15). A characteristic instance of this use of the word may be found in Tit 2:11, Tit 2:12. St. Paul, however, uses the term in quite another sense. He often means by it what we should call the state of grace, that condition of privilege and relation, that favour and acceptance with God, into which we are brought by Christ and in which we standa state of justification and acceptance; a state of rightness with God through faith. This state of favour he calls “grace.” Illustrative references may be made to Rom 5:1, Rom 5:2; Gal 1:6; Php 1:7, and also to a striking passage in 1Pe 5:12. It seems that the Lord Jesus Christ is regarded as the model or representative of this state or standing of acceptance and favour with God The Father himself testified to it, saying, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Christ declares it to be his abiding state, “I do always the things that please him.” He was the perfect, obedient Son, in his trust, and love, and devotion, and obedience, and freeness of communion with the Father, giving us the very model and illustration of the state of rightness, of grace and favour, into which he brings us. St. Paul’s burden of benediction is “grace,” and he sometimes means by it the state of favour and acceptance with God into which we are brought by faith. Now, this state of grace is so thoroughly that in which Christ himself stands, and it is so manifestly the state into which we can only be brought by him, that it may properly be called the “grace of the Lord Jesus,” or the “state of grace of the Lord Jesus.” Sometimes this state is viewed on the side of the Spirit that brings us into it, and then it is called the state of faith; at other times it is viewed on the side of the privilege that belongs to it, and then it is called the state of grace. Reading St. Paul’s benediction in the light of these explanations, it may run thus: “May you enjoy and enter yet more fully into that state of grace and favour with God which Christ has, by his sonship, and which you have, in measure also by yours: that state of grace, I mean, which consists in these thingsan ever-deepening sense of the love of God, and feeling of the impulse of that love; and an abiding consciousness of the communion of the Holy Ghost, whereby ye are sealed.”

II. THE CHRISTIAN STATE OF GRACE OR FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD. Surely no fact could be presented that is more calculated to fill our hearts with the “joy unspeakable” than this. No principle of Christian steadfastness can be of more practical value than this. If any one thing more than another is the burden of the Epistles, it is the right of the believer in Christ. In multiplied ways the apostle seems to sayRealize your sonship; enter into your privilege; use your right of access; live as restored and accepted ones; seek to know the spirit of your new state; lift yourselves up to meet the responsibilities resting on your privilege. Ye receive “now the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.” “Now are ye the sons of God.” Yet surely this is not the thought which, as Christians, we most readily cherish. Too often we encourage uncertainty as to our spiritual status; we hope that all will be well at last, we walk under clouds of doubt, and very feebly welcome even the salvation which God grants. The higher Christian life takes in simple trust, not only Christ, but all the status, rights, and privileges that come to us in Christ. It loses its fears, buries its questioning, and rejoices in having “passed from death unto life.” If any longing for a more earnest religious life has been started in any of our hearts; if for our own cold lifeless souls we have been led to pray, “O Lord, revive thy work in the midst of the years!”then let us be assured that the beginning of better things is thisEnter into, possess, and enjoy your full rights in Christ; not your own rights, but Christ’s, which are made yours on believing. Believe that you have been brought into, and do now stand in, a state of grace and favour with God, accepted by him in the Beloved. For assurances of present salvation and privilege, see Rom 8:1, Rom 8:14-17; Eph 2:12, Eph 2:13, Eph 2:18-22; 1Pe 2:5, 1Pe 2:9, 1Pe 2:10; 1Pe 3:1, 1Pe 3:2, etc. But how is such a sense of our standing in Christ to be won? Faithtrustis the answer. Trust is the attitude of our souls which God demands. Trust in his Son Jesus Christ, who “of God is made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and complete redemption.” Simple, entire, perfect trust. Taking Christ as he is offeredas our “all in all,” not for deliverance only, but also for standing and sanctification. United with Christ, his rights become ours. We are sons with God. We stand in the state of favour with God in which Jesus, the perfect Son, who is our life, stands.R.T.

Fuente: The Complete Pulpit Commentary

2Co 13:1. In the mouth of two or three witnesses These words seem to be quoted from the law of our Saviour, Mat 18:16 and not from the law of Moses in Deuteronomy; not only because the words are the same with those in St. Matthew, but from the likeness of the case. In Deuteronomy the rule given concerns only judicial trials; in St. Matthew it is a rule given for the management of persuasion, and for the reclaiming of an offender by gentle means, before coming to the utmost extremity; which is the case of St. Paul here. In Deuteronomy the judge was to hear the witnesses, Deu 17:6; Deu 19:15. In St. Matthew the party was to hear the witnesses, Mat 18:17 which was also the case of St. Paul here; the witnesses which he made use of to persuade them being his two epistles. That by witnesses he means his two epistles, is plain, from his way of expressing himself here, where he carefully mentions his telling them twice, viz. before in his former epistle, ch. 1Co 4:19 and now a second time in his second epistle; and also by the words, as if I were present with you a second time. By our Saviour’s rule the offended person was to go twice to the offender; and therefore St. Paul says, as if I were with you a second time, counting his letters as two personal applications to them, as our Saviour directed should be done, before coming to rougher means. Some take the witnesses to be the three messengers by whom his first Epistle is supposed to be sent: but this would not be according to the method prescribed by our Saviour, in the place from which St. Paul takes the words that he uses; for there were no witnesses to be made use of in the first application; neither, if those had been the witnesses meant, would there have been any need for St. Paul so expressly and carefully to have set downas is present a second time; words which, in that case, would be superfluous. Besides, those three men are no where mentioned to have been sent by him to persuade them, nor the Corinthians required to hear them, or reproved for not having done it. And, lastly, they could not be better witnesses of St. Paul’s endeavours twice to gain the Corinthians by fair means before he proceeded to severity, than the Epistles themselves were.

Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke

2Co 13:1 . As Paul has expressed himself by . . . in 2Co 12:20 , and in 2Co 12:21 has explained himself more precisely merely as regards that (see on 2Co 12:20 ), he still owes to his readers a more precise explanation regarding the , and this he now gives to them . Observe the asyndetic, sternly-measured form of his sentences in 2Co 13:1-2 .

] The elaborate shifts of the expositors, who do not understand this of a third actual coming thither , inasmuch as they assume that Paul had been but once in Corinth, [390] may be seen in Poole’s Synopsis and Wolf’s Curae . According to Lange, apost. Zeitalt. I. p. 202 f. (comp. also Mrcker, Stellung der Pastoralbr. p. 14), is intended to apply to the third project of a journey, and to its decided execution: “This third time in the series of projects laid before you above I come .” Linguistically incorrect, since . cannot mean anything else than: for the third time I come this time , so that it does not refer to previous projects , but to two journeys that had taken place before. On , this third time (accusative absolute), that is, this time for a third time, comp. Herod. v. 76: , LXX. Jdg 16:15 : , Num 22:28 ; Joh 21:14 . Bengel correctly remarks on the present: “jam sum in procinctu.”

. . .] On this my third arrival there is to be no further sparing (as at my second visit), but summary procedure. Comp. Mat 18:16 , where, however, the words of the law are used with another turn to the meaning. Paul announces with the words of the law well known to his readers, Deu 19:15 , which he adopts as his own, that he, arrived for this third time, will, without further indulgence, institute a legal hearing of witnesses (comp. 1Ti 5:19 ), and that on the basis of the affirmation of two and three witnesses every point of complaint will be decided . Not as if he wished to set himself up as disciplinary judge (this power was vested ordinarily in the church , Mat 18:16 , 1Co 5:12-13 , and was, even in extraordinary cases of punishment, not exercised alone on the part of the apostle, 1Co 5:3-5 ), but he would set agoing and arrange the summary procedure in the way of discipline, which he had threatened. Nor did the notoriety of the transgressions render the latter unnecessary, seeing that, on the one hand, they might not all be notorious, and, on the other, even those that were so needed a definite form of treatment. Following Chrysostom and Ambrosiaster, Calvin, Estius, and others, including recently Neander, Olshausen, Raebiger, Ewald, Osiander, Maier, have understood the two or three witnesses of Paul himself , who takes the various occasions of his presence among the Corinthians as testimonies, by which the truth of the matters is made good, [391] or the execution of his threats (Chrysostom, Theophylact, and others, comp. Bleek, Billroth, Ewald, Hofmann) is to be decided (Theophylact: , ). But if Paul regarded himself, under the point of view of his different visits to Corinth respectively, as the witnesses, he could make himself pass for three witnesses only in respect of those evils which he had already perceived at his first visit (and then again on his second and third ), and for two witnesses only in respect of those evils which he had lighted upon in his second visit for the first time, and would on his third visit encounter a second time. But in this view precisely all those evils and sins would be left out of account, which had only come into prominence after his second visit ; for as regards these, because he was only to become acquainted with them for the first time at his third visit, he would only pass as one witness. Consequently this explanation, Pauline though it looks, is inappropriate; nor is the difficulty got over by the admission that the relations in question are not to be dealt with too exactly (Osiander), as, indeed, the objection, that the threat is directed against the , avails nothing on the correct view of 2Co 12:21 , and the continued validity of the legal ordinance itself (it holds, in fact, even at the present day in the common law) should not after 1Ti 5:10 have been doubted. Nor does the refining of Hofmann dispose of the matter. He thinks, forsooth, that besides the , all the rest also, whom such a threat may concern, are now twice warned, orally (at the second visit of the apostle) and in writing (by this letter), and his arrival will be to them the third and last admonition to reflect. This is not appropriate either to the words (see on 2Co 13:2 ) or to the necessary unity and equality of the idea of witnesses , with which, in fact, Paul and, moreover, in application of so solemn a passage of the law would have dealt very oddly, if not only he himself was to represent the three witnesses, but one of them was even to be his letter .

] not in the sense of , as, following the Vulgate, many earlier and modern expositors (including Flatt and Emmerling) would take it, but: and , if, namely, there are so many. [392] Paul might have put , as in Mat 18:16 , but, following the LXX., he has thought on and , and therefore put i.

] everything that comes to be spoken of, to be discussed. Comp. on Mat 4:4 .

] will be established ( ), namely, for judicial decision. This is more in keeping with the original text than (comp. on Mat 26:25 ): will be weighed (Ewald).

[390] Most of them, like Grotius, Estius, Wolf, Wetstein, Zachariae, Flatt, were of opinion that Paul expresses here, too, simply a third readiness to come, from which view also has arisen the reading instead of in A, Syr. Erp. Copt. To this also Baur reverts, who explains : I am on the point of coming. But this would, in fact, be just a third actual coming, which Paul was on the point of , and would presuppose his having come already twice. Beza and others suggest: “ Binas suas epistolas (!) pro totidem ad illos profectionibus recenset.”

[391] Grotius, in consistency with the view that Paul had been only once there, quite at variance with the words of the passage pares down the meaning to this: “cum bis terve id dixerim, tandem ratum erit.” Compare also Clericus. The explanation of Emmerling: “Titum ejusque comites certissimum edituros esse testimonium de animo suo Corinthios invisendi,” is purely fanciful. The simple and correct view is given already by Erasmus in his Paraphr.: “ Hic erit tertius meus ad vos adventus; in hunc se quisque praeparet. Neque enim amplius connivebo, sed juxta jus strictum atque exactum res agetur. Quisquis delatus fuerit, is duorum aut trium hominum testimonio vel absolvetur vel damnabitur .”

[392] It corresponds quite to the German expression “zwei bis drei.” Comp. Xen. Anab . iv. 7. 10 : . See Krger and Khner in loc . In this case is atque , not also (Hofmann).

Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary

CHAPTER 13

2Co 13:2 . After Elz. has , in opposition to decisive evidence. A supplementary addition. Comp. 2Co 13:10 . 2Co 13:4 . ] is wanting in B D* F G K * min. Copt. Aeth. It. Eus. Dem. Theoph. Bracketed by Lachm. and Rck. Looking to the total inappropriateness of the sense of , those authorities of considerable importance sufficiently warrant the condemnation of , although Tisch. (comp. Hofm.) holds the omission to be “manifesta correctio.” Offence was easily taken at the idea that Christ was crucified , and it was made problematical by the addition of an , which in several cases also was assigned a position before (Or.: ).

] Elz. has , in opposition to far preponderating evidence. The second is an addition, which arose out of being taken as a mere for, namque.

] A F G , Syr. Erp. Copt. Boern. have . So Lachm. on the margin. An explanation in accordance with what follow.

] Lachm. Rck. Tisch. read , in favour of which the evidence is decisiv.

] is wanting only in B D*** E*** Arm. Clar. Germ. Chrys. Sedul., and is condemned by Mill, who derived it from 2Co 13:3 . But how natural was the omission, seeing that the first half of the verse contains no parallel element! And the erroneous reference of to eternal life might make appear simply as irrelevant. 2Co 13:7 . ] Lachm. Tisch. and Rck., following greatly preponderant evidence, have , which Griesb. also approved. And rightly; the singular was introduced in accordance with the previous . 2Co 13:9 . ] This is omitted in preponderant witnesses, is suspected by Griesb., and deleted by Lachm. Tisch. and Rck. Addition for the sake of connection, instead of which 73 has and Chrys. .

In 2Co 13:10 , the position of before . is assured by decided attestation.

CONTENTS.

Continuation of the close of the section as begun at 2Co 12:19 . At his impending third coming he will decide with judicial severity and not spare, seeing that they wished to have for once a proof of the Christ speaking in him (2Co 13:1-4 ). They ought to prove themselves ; he hopes, however, that they will recognise his proved character, and asks God that he may not need to show them its verification (2Co 13:5-9 ). Therefore he writes this when absent, in order that he may not be under the necessity of being stern when present (2Co 13:10 ). Concluding exhortation with promise (2Co 13:11 ); concluding salutation (2Co 13:12 ); concluding benediction (2Co 13:13 ).

Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary

XVIREPROOF OF SOME MORAL IMPERFECTIONS NOT YET REMOVED, AND ADMONITION TO SPARE HIM THE NECESSITY OF APOSTOLIC DISCIPLINE. CONCLUDING ENCOURAGEMENTS AND BENEDICTION

2Co 12:19-21. 2Co 13:1-14

19Again, think ye that we excuse ourselves unto you? [For a long time 22 ye are thinking that it is to you that we are excusing ourselves ; ]; we speak before 23 God in Christ: but we do all things, dearly beloved, [but all, beloved,] for your edifying. 20For I fear, lest, [haply ] when I come, I shall not find you such as I would, and that I shall be found unto you such as ye would not: lest [haply] there be. debates [discord]24, envyings [emulation, ], wraths,25 21 strifes, backbitings, whisperings, swellings, tumults: And lest, when I come 26 again, my God will humble27 me among [with respect to, ] you, and that I shall bewail many which have sinned already, [before, ], and have not repented of the uncleanness and fornication and lasciviousness which they have committed.

2Co 13:1. This is the third time28 am coming to you. In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established. 2I told you before, and foretell you, as if I were present, the second time; and being absent now I write [I have said before, and now say beforehand as I did when I was present the second time, so now also in my absence, om. I write] 29 to them which heretofore have sinned, and to all others, that, if I come again, I will not spare: 3Since ye seek a proof of Christ speaking in4 me, which [who] to you-ward is not weak, but is mighty in you. For though 30 he [For He also, ] was crucified through weakness, yet he liveth by the power of God. For we also [om. also]31 are weak in him,32 but we shall live33 with him11 by the power of God toward you.34 5Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves, Know [or, know] ye not your own selves, how that Jesus6 Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates? [to some extend unapproved, ?] But I trust that ye shall know that we are not reprobates [unapproved]. 7Now I pray to [yet we pray, ]35 God that ye do no evil; not that we should appear approved, but that ye should do that which is honest, [excellent], though we be as reprobates [as if unapproved]. 8For we can do nothing against the truth, but [we can do something] for the truth. 9For we are glad, [rejoice, ], when we are weak, and ye are strong: and also 36 we wish, [pray for, ], even your perfection10 [prefect restoration, ]. Therefore I write these things being absent, lest being present I should use sharpness, according to the power which the Lord hath given me to [for, ] edification, and not to [for] destruction. 11Finally, brethren, farewell, [rejoice, ] Be perfect [be restored to order, ], be of good comfort, 12 be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you, greet one another with a holy kiss. 13All the saints salute you. The grace of our Lord 14Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen. [om. Amen].37

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL

2Co 12:19-21. For a long time ye are thinking that we are excusing ourselves unto you (ver.1).Paul here guards against the erroneous impression which he anticipated some might receive from his self-defence, that he was standing in judgment before them; he assures them that his only object was to do them good. Nothing was then of more importance to him than their amendment, unless he was willing to have their whole conduct come before him in his judicial capacity. The interrogative form of the sentence would become necessary if we adopt the word of the Receptus (a reading perhaps occasioned by 2Co 3:1); but it would be quite unsuitable if be adopted. With this latter reading Paul must be understood to refer to what would take place, when his Epistle should be read or heard at Corinth, especially that part which was of an apologetical character. stands at the commencement of the sentence for the sake of emphasis. It is the dative of direction or tendency (with, or before you) as in Act 19:33. He was about to set before them the positive bearing of his self-defence upon them, i.e., to show them that its true object was to promote their spiritual life (). This required that all obstructions to his Apostolical influence, and all prejudices and wrong thoughts against him and his conduct among them, should be removed, and that all dependence upon their false teachers should be broken off. But before he presented this it was of consequence to assure them that he was standing with his apology at the bar of God, to whom alone he was responsible.we speak before God in Christ, but all things, beloved, for your edification (2Co 12:19 b).In these words (comp. 2Co 2:7) his object was not to affirm the sincerity of his purpose, but to let them know that it was to God that he was accountable, and from God that he expected an acquittal. The words in Christ ( ) point out the sphere in which he was speaking, one far above every human tribunal, as a Christian and an Apostle, conscious of his fellowship with Christ. In connection with the last clause ( ) we must supply (we speak) from the preceding sentence. Some would join the sentence with the preceding [and unite and together] so as to read: , etc; but usually refers to that which follows it, and never is made use of by Paul in any other passage. [It refers here to something definite, and not to all things in general, for it is confined to those matters of which he had been speaking, and especially his apology for himself]. In this last clause also, he makes, by way of conciliation, a direct appeal to them as his beloved ones (), before entering upon a more severe remonstrance. The reason for this is apparent in 2Co 12:20-21.For I fear that haply when I come, I shall not find you such as I would, and that I shall be found unto you such as ye would not (2Co 12:20 a).He here notices the unhappy condition he had reason to fear they were in, and which called for these efforts on his part for their benefit. His first reference to this condition is very tender. He merely mentions the impression which such a state of things would necessarily make upon him when he should come among them, and he alludes to the proceedings which such a state would necessarily call forth from him. Even when he says, I fear lest, etc., he expresses the solicitude of a father, and his earnest desire that his intercourse with them might be free from annoyance; but in we have something likewise of a conciliatory nature. [The word is used in two successive clauses (anaphora), but in the third (2Co 12:21) it is exchanged for , inasmuch as the hesitation to express his thought in decisive terms wears away as he proceeds. The expressions: such as ye would not, and such as I would, are euphemistic, to avoid a more disagreeable phrase. The use of the verb for was not uncommon, and yet we may recognize something of the specific meaning of here, inasmuch as the Apostle meant perhaps to express some determination of the will in the case]. In he shows that he was painfully conscious of an Apostolic power of discipline which he would be obliged to exert; and he now reappears in that triumphant attitude of authority which he had formerly assumed (comp. Meyer). has not the sense of: by you, but to you, or for you, as in Rom 7:10. The position of the second before the is especially emphatic.38 What he meant by such as he would not, he shows in greater detail in the second part of 2Co 12:20 and in 2Co 12:21.lest I shall find, perchance, among you debate, emulation, passions, contentions, slanderings, whisperings, insolences, tumults (2Co 12:20).The unpleasant things which he found are arranged under two different relations, according to the two different kinds of moral defect he knew to be in the Church. [Bengel: That which was not such as he would, is treated of to the end of the chapter, then what was such as they would not, is treated of from 2Co 8:1 and onwards. Such vices indicate how great were the difficulties to be met with in churches just emerged from heathenism, but we are not to suppose them prevalent among that portion which Paul had described in chap. 7 as penitent and obedient]. Not, however, until the commencement of the next chapter does he come to speak of the exercise of his Apostolic power to punish offenders (for in the next verse he brings before us another kind of offences). To , etc., must be supplied (or ) . We have and in 1Co 3:3, and in 1Co 1:11; on comp. Winer, 9 [p. 59, Philad. ed.]. occurs also in Gal 5:20, and signifies vehement passion, boiling emotion. signifies the heart as the seat of passionate emotion, and then this emotion itselfpassion, wrath, rage; the plural is found also in the classic writers. signifies hired work, mercenariness, love of intrigue, a disposition to foment parties. See Rom 2:8; Gal 5:20; Php 1:17; Php 2:3; Jam 3:14; Jam 3:16 (not of ) Com. Meyer and Fritzsche on Rom 2:8. signifies, evil reports in general; , secret slanderings. The original verb of is used with reference to the insolence of faction, an arrogant conceit of knowledge, and arrogance with respect to gifts in general, in 1Co 4:6; 1Co 8:1; 1Co 13:4. occurs in 2Co 6:5; 1Co 14:33. In addition to these moral defects, which had their origin in the factious spirit prevailing at Corinth, and hence called for decisive measures, the Apostle now proceeds (2Co 12:21) to mention some manifestations of that sensuality for which their city was noted.Lest again when I come, my God shall humble me with respect to you (2Co 12:21 a).There is no need of commencing a new period here, and so of giving this whole verse an interrogative form. The reading does not require this, for this word, like the (previously ), indicates simply an increased anxiety that such a sad calamity should not come upon him. We may also notice that a question calling for a negative answer (comp. 2Co 12:17-18) would not be appropriate in this connection (2Co 12:20). The qualifies the whole phrase: (comp. 2Co 2:1), and not merely either or . He does not intend to say that he had experienced a similar mortification during some former visit [and yet comp. 2Co 2:1. We see not how can have its force without supposing some reference to a former visit, even if it should be made to qualify alone. And yet this could not have been his first visit when he had great success and general joy in spite of his persecutions, but certainly no such humiliations. We are obliged to think of a second unrecorded visit between his first and second Epistle. See on 2Co 12:1 of the next chapter]. The genitive absolute here is remarkable, and hence the reading in the Receptus. The has reference not to the exercise of discipline among them, as if this would produce a feeling of humiliation on account of his love to the Church and to the Lord, and would be traceable to God because it would take place according to the Divine will, but rather to the mortification the Apostle would experience if he were compelled to see the fruit of his labors among them utterly destroyed, and thus to find all his boasting either much abated or completely wrested from him. Should such a humiliation come upon him, he would trace it to the hand of God, and receive it as a wholesome discipline. He would therefore humbly submit himself to it, and find consolation in the reflection that the God who did it was his God (Rom 1:8; 1Co 1:4), the God whom he served, and with whom he was in such intimate fellowship that the interests of one were the interests of both. If we give the word the sense of: to trouble, or to grieve, it will have precisely the same signification with . has here the sense, not of: with or among you, for with such a meaning it would be superfluous, but of: in respect to you.And I shall bewail many of those who have sinned before and have not repented of the uncleanness and fornication and lasciviousness which they have committed (2Co 12:21 b). The word signifies, to mourn, to lament, lugere, especially for the dead, etc. It expresses the genuine feeling of a spiritual pastor (comp. Calvin), and perhaps it alludes to the idea of a spiritual death. It expresses either the sorrow he would feel on account of their impenitence (Meyer), or the grief he would feel in denouncing punishment or in excommunicating them (De Wette, et al.). [In ancient times sentence of condemnation in the Church was pronounced with outward signs of sorrow and mourning; see 1Co 5:2; 2Co 7:7; 2Co 7:9 (Old Paraphrase). Perhaps the customs attending excommunication were derived from an extreme interpretation of such passages]. The objects of this sorrow are mentioned when he says: , etc. This is not an inexact form for designating a general class, instead of saying ; many, i.e., who have not repented. But the Apostle had not in mind all unconverted sinners, in every congregation, among whom he gave especial prominence to those in Corinth by using the word (Lcke), for nothing in the context warrants us in giving such an extension to- the idea. He unquestionably had his eye upon sinners in Corinth alone, when he used the phrase , etc. But our further explanation must depend upon the answer to the question, whether etc., should be connected with or with . The first method would be without analogy, so far as the New Testament is concerned, for in every instance there, . is construed with or (with only in the Old Testament, in Joe 2:13, and Amo 7:3, where the in both cases is the act of God). And yet it is probably admissible, even if the idea of a mere change of mind without that of sorrow for sin, be connected with the word. It would then signify, a change of mind in respect to, or on account of, etc. [Osiander draws attention to the contrast of : and :] The connection of the words with seems rather unusual and strange, inasmuch as in other places we meet with in the sense of: to lament over something, but not with . It is, however, not altogether unallowable on this account. If we adopt the first mode of connecting the words, we must understand by the worst among the class of persons mentioned (De Wette, Osiander), i.e., those whom he would be obliged to punish by excluding them from the Church ( would then be: to mourn for them as dead persons; and it is used with respect to such an act in 1Co 5:2). If we adopt the other mode, etc., would signify those who had in any manner sinned, etc., and we should make the Apostle say that he feared he should have to mourn over many of these on account of the sins of the flesh, of which they were guilty; and he designs to mention here the other class of sins which were most prevalent at Corinth i.e., besides those mentioned in 2Co 12:20). We prefer the second of the methods, because the reference to the excommunication of the worst contains something unnatural, and 1Co 5:2 by no means justifies us in referring to such a transaction. Against this second method no objection should be urged on account of the position of , nor of the thought itself, to mourn for one on account of such things. stands at the commencement of the clause for the sake of emphasis, and stands not at a very extraordinary distance from it. The Apostle might very reasonably be understood to mourn over such impenitent persons on account of their sins, even though he does not in this place, as in other places (comp. 1Co 6:9-10), bring prominently before us the consequences of those sins. The , however, refers not to the period before their conversion, but to the time preceding his second visit, when misunderstandings had begun to prevail, and when he had admonished them to repent (comp. 2Co 13:2), though with so little success that he found the peculiar faults mentioned in 2Co 12:20-21 were still prevalent among them. signifies sins of a sensual nature generally, such as defiled both soul and body, Rom 1:24; Gal 5:19; Eph 4:19. (1Co 5:1), and (wantonness, shamelessness, voluptuousness, Rom 13:13; Gal 5:19, et al.), are particular exhibitions of . signifies, to bring about, achieve (comp. Passow). We do not (with Meyer and Osiander) make refer to those who should be impenitent at the anticipated coming of the Apostle at Corinth: and shall not have repented, but to the fruitlessness of his admonitions when he was among them the second time. [The perfect in . has here a special force and significance, implying that the sins were continued, and were not overcome by a true repentance. The aorist of . is in contrast with this, and we see no reason why it may not be taken in the sense of a futur. exact, i.e., those who will not have repented when I shall be with you].

2Co 13:1-4. This is the third time I am coming to you (2Co 13:1 a).Now follows the Apostles announcement of his determination to proceed with an unsparing judicial severity, in accordance with what he had said in 2Co 12:20 : , . signifies here: this is the third time, as in Joh 21:14, et al. speaks of his actual coming, and presupposes that he had been at Corinth twice before this (it cannot refer to a mere purpose or plan of such a journey, nor to a coming by letters).

[General note on Pauls visits to Corinth. It seems to us impossible to interpret 2Co 13:1, on any other view than that Paul had previously been twice at Corinth. It cannot be made to mean simply, this is the second time have been ready, and if it could it would have been a most unfortunate reference, in which he would rather remind his readers of his failure actually to come. The usual appeal to 2Co 12:14, is unsatisfactory, not only because our passage should not be a repetition of that, but because the proper idea of that is, I am ready to come the third time. The word in 1Co 16:5, is not quite to the point (Wordsworth), since it would only show how the will was taken for the fact, but would not account for his expected coming, being the third of a series of the same kind. Certainly no one, reading 2Co 13:1, without a previous bias, would ever think of anything but a third actual visit. In 2Co 2:1, Paul also implies that he had once visited them in heaviness, evidently on account of the misconduct of Christians there; in 2Co 12:21 he intimates that God had then humbled him; and in 2Co 13:2 (rightly rendered) he implies that he had then given them warning that if he came again he would not spare them. Now when could that visit have been paid? The whole idea is unsuitable to the first visit when the church was formed. Nor could it have been after that which we now call the First Epistle, when he announced his intention to remain at Corinth until Pentecost (1Co 16:8), and after the Epistle in which he had written to them not to keep company with fornicators (1Co 5:9), and answered the inquiries the Corinthians had made of him (1Co 7:1). See Introd. 6. But we know that Paul resided at Ephesus during the whole time between his first visit to Corinth and his journey through Macedonia, during which he wrote our present Second Epistle. There must, however, have been time enough after his departure from Corinth for the springing up of the disorders which were censured in that unrecorded visit, and the subsequent lost Epistle, and for the sending of a letter and perhaps a deputation from the Corinthian Church to Paul (1Co 7:1; 1Co 1:11; 1Co 16:17). On the supposition that Paul came to Ephesus late in the year 54, Alford ventures to place the unrecorded journey in the Spring of 55, and the lost Epistle in the Spring of 57, or at least early in the same year in which he left Ephesus for Macedonia (1Co 16:8). As Ephesus and Corinth were the usual points of transit between Asia and Europe, Paul might easily have made a brief visit of the kind supposed, but as it was attended with no special results, it was not mentioned in the Acts. The shipwrecks and disasters at sea mentioned in 2Co 11:23-28, indicate that Paul must have made several voyages during his missionary life, which are not recorded. Comp. Alford, Introd. to Cor. 5., and Essay on How to use the Epistles in Sun. Mag. for 1867. J. L. Davies, Art. Paul in Smiths Dict. of the Bible].

In the mouth of two witnesses and of three shall every word be established (ver. l b).By a citation from the very letter of the Law in Deu 19:15, the Apostle lets them see how rigid and precise were to be his disciplinary proceedings when he should come to them this third time. He would so arrange the proceedings that the witnesses should be heard in the presence of the congregation (comp. 1Co 5:12-13; 1Co 5:3, etc.), for in the trial of notorious offences, it would be necessary to adhere strictly to all legal forms, that he might avoid any appearance of partiality. [the word, after the Hebrew manner] stands here for the matter, cause, conduct or charge in dispute., signifies: shall be established, determined or brought to a decision. , i.e., on account of what is spoken. The instead of before was designed to imply, and by three, as if there are so many; or, also by three, if he had said, from two to three. The free application which some have made of this citation from the law, (either to his repeated warnings and their certainty and validity; or to those repeated announcements of his coming with the accompanying warnings and threatenings which were equally sure to prove true; or to the various occasions on which he had been or was about to be present among them, as if these were distinct personal witnesses to establish the truth of the matter) seems to us by no means ingenious or plausible, even if we accept the more delicate and profound explanation which Osiander proposes, viz., that his apostolic visits among them were, in consequence of their repetition, not merely means by which he directly saw them, but distinct practical attestations of his faithful testimony among them, deposing against those who should continue impenitent (comp. Mat 8:4; Mat 10:18).1Whether any relation was intended between and is very uncertain. Inasmuch as he was about to announce in 2Co 13:2, that he was now determined to proceed in an unsparing manner against them, it is difficult to perceive in what way he can imply that he was especially patient in delaying and in repeatedly warning them.What is said in 1Ti 5:19 shows that the law in such matters was not looked upon as abrogated. [Its validity, however, depended upon its general reasonableness and upon Christs recognition and re-institution (Mat 18:15) and not upon the perpetual obligation of the Mosaic precept].I have said already and now say beforehand, as when I was present the second time so now also in my absence, to them which heretofore have sinned and to all the rest (2Co 13:2 a).The verb (I have said before) has reference to previous announcements which still remained in force (perfect tense), and (I foretell) to what he was then writing [in which he probably used precisely the same words, viz.: If I come again, etc.] With respect to the former, he says: that he had said when present the second time, i.e., as I did when I was present the second time; and with respect to the latter he says, I say beforehand, now when I am absent (, comp. 2Co 13:10). There is a correspondence between the two clauses and on the one hand, and and on the other, and hence the should not be separated from and connected with . It is evident from 2Co 13:1 ( ) and other passages, that the Apostle had already been twice at Corinth, and hence there is no need of the interpretation here: as if I were present the second time, although I am now absent. The were those in general who had previously sinned (and even then [open perfect] continued to do so), whether before his second visit ( ), or until his present writing ( ). The were not those who had become impure after those just mentioned, as if . were related to and to , for such an expression would be not only forced but indistinct. It means rather the remaining members of the congregation, either such as witnessed his threatenings, or (better) such as should be brought by his warnings and their own reflection to a reformation, and hence such as would not fall under discipline. The substance of what he had thus told them, and now foretold them, was:that if I come again I will not spare (2Co 13:2 b).In the words the which had been used as a noun, is converted by the back again into an adverb. Why it was that he had been so lenient on his second visit is not told us; it may have been because he had hoped that they would themselves come to a better mind by reflection, or because he had feared that he would only make matters worse, etc. With is intimately connected what is said in 2Co 13:3.Since ye seek a proof of Christ speaking in me, who toward you is not weak, but is strong among you (2Co 13:3).The reason he would not spare them, is introduced by : I will not spare, since now ye seek, and indeed challenge by your conduct a proof, etc. Others make the protasis or conditional proposition to 2Co 13:5, and regard the words, Who is not weak toward youby the power of God toward you, or at least the whole of 2Co 13:4, as a parenthesis. Such a construction, however, seems unnecessary and awkward. , which stands for emphasis at the commencement of the sentence, signifies: proof, trial, verification by experiment [see on 2Co 2:9]. The genitive, however, may be either of the object: the proof of the fact, etc., i.e., the proof that Christ is speaking in me; or of the subject: that Christ may give proof that He is in me. That which follows, who is not weak toward you, etc., is rather in favor of the latter interpretation. In the words, Christ speaking in me, he had reference not merely to Christs speaking through him (=), but to Christs being and acting in him. By their impenitent conduct they were putting Him to the proof whether he could carry out what He had threatened against them, and so they challenged Him to make a demonstration of His power to punish them. What is said in the relative sentence, was intended to make them consider how dangerous such a challenge was: who is not weak with respect to you [], but is mighty among [] you. In this he refers not to earlier manifestations of this power among them by means of spiritual gifts and miracles, etc., but to such an exercise of it among them as would become indispensable to punish them if they continued impenitent. The word occurs nowhere else except here and in Rom 14:4, though it is analogous to , and was perhaps occasioned by the use of . The reason for the assertion that Christ was not weak but mighty, he now proceeds to give in 2Co 13:4 :For he also was crucified on account of weakness, but he lives on account of the power of God (2Co 13:4 a). The Apostle here reminds them that Christ was once reduced to an extremity of weakness, but that he now lived by the power of God. That extremity was when He endured crucifixion in consequence of the human infirmity which He had experienced in the season of His (voluntary) humiliation and privation (Php 2:7-11). here designates the cause or origin. The refers to the life of absolute power (energy) which began with Christs resurrection, was derived from God, and was afterwards proved by influences among men (comp. Rom 6:4; Act 2:33; Eph 1:20-23; Php 2:9). If we accept the reading: (which Osiander with Tischendorf adopts as the lect. diffic.), must be taken as concessive, and by itself it seems not inconsistent with the which follows. But does not correspond with very well, inasmuch as it signifies not merely: for, but: for even. would then signify: for even (although) if. But indicates that the condition must be looked upon as an extreme one, and not to be expected. On the other hand would have implied that this condition was probable or certain, but that for the argument in hand it was a matter of indifference. We are obliged in this case to suppose that there has been an exchanging of for , which must be ascribed to some transcriber having interpolated the , rather than to Paul. A concessive protasis appears appropriate on account of the . The solution of the difficulty which Osiander proposes, viz., that the implies that the case of Christ was similar to that of his ministers, does not seem clear to us, and indeed appears unintelligible. The best way would seem to be, to leave out the , as it may easily have been inserted. It is evident that the Apostle looked upon this as the actual condition in which Christ was, for he now proceeds to show that he himself was in the same condition of weakness and life through the power of God:for we also are weak in him, but we shall live together with him through the power of God toward you (2Co 13:4 b).It is evident, therefore, that he leaves us to infer what must be the condition of Christ from that of one who stood in fellowship with Christ (); inasmuch as the condition of the former was reflected or was repeated in that of his followers, or was the consequence of it. refers not to the Apostles sufferings, but to his appearing to lack power when he spared the Corinthians It must be regarded, therefore, as something which was like Christs own weakness, voluntarily assumed. He describes it also by the words as something which was the consequence of his fellowship with Christ [Winers Idioms, 52, p. 311 note], and therefore like Christs own weakness transient and temporary, inasmuch as the Divine power which made Christ alive would necessarily and in that very act make alive all who were connected with him (). And indeed, indicates that his being alive would be manifested in the energy by which they would be directed. There is no reference in the word , as here used, to the future resurrection, but it means simply to be vigorous, to be full of life. Neander: In the discharge of our Apostolic authority among you will be manifested the Divine power of a risen and glorified Christ. [The Apostle, in this passage, surely claims that Christ spoke and acted in him, and we reasonably infer that his Apostolic words, Epistles and acts were those of an infallible Christ within him. It has been said that he never advanced such a claim. Not only in the , which occurs in both clauses of 2Co 13:4, but in the use of the present () and the future () in opposition to (), we have a strong contrast with the resurrection and all its endless and perpetual influences through Christ and His people].

2Co 13:5-10.Examine your own selves whether ye are in the faith, prove your own selves (2Co 13:5 a).In opposition to the thought represented in 2Co 13:3, according to which they desired a proof of Christ in him, the Apostle presents the demand that they should direct their examination to their own selves. For the sake of emphasis is put first. signifies, to make proof or trial of one, to tempt (1Co 10:9, which is here the same as , etc.). [On the ordinary distinction to be observed between these expressions, see Trench, Synn. 2d Part, p. 119ff]. He then more particularly defines the point to which that self-examination should be directed, i.e., whether they were in the faith; thus probably intimating that their betrayed a serious defect in that respect, inasmuch as they would hardly have needed any proof of Christ in him if they had been in the faith. To be in the faith, or, to esteem themselves standing in the faith, were phrases which designated a living Christianity, the original principle of which is a faith laying hold of Christ, surrendering the whole heart to Him, and in this way bringing us into fellowship with Him (not: fides qa creditur, in contrast with erroneous doctrines; and also not the faith of miracles). The also is not in this passage equivalent to but as in 1Co 11:28, it signifies, to try, to inquire into the worthiness of a thing, with the view of accurately distinguishing between what is and what is not genuine. The word here properly refers back to their seeking a proof of Christ ( ). The essential nature of the faith is further pointed out in the succeeding clause.Or know ye not your own selves, that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye are to some extent unapproved (ver.5b) ?(Comp. Eph 3:17; Gal 2:20). The use of the entire name indicates more than usual solemnity, and implies that the presence of Christs spirit, by faith, in the Church and in the hearts of its members, produces a practical fellowship with the whole person of Christ (comp. 2Co 6:16; 1Co 3:16; Eph 2:21-22). In , we have an attraction of a peculiar kind (where the attracted word is not the subject of the succeeding sentence). [Winers Idioms, 63, 3. a. p. 396]. Yourselves () in this connection is emphatic, since it is contrasted with Christ speaking in you, in 2Co 13:3. [Our English version entirely overlooks the at the head of the clause.] There are two ways by which . etc., may be connected in sense with that which precedes it; according to the first, the spiritual relation which Christ sustained toward them, and of which indeed they must be conscious if they were Christians, imposed on them the obligation to examine more carefully into their relation to Him and their conduct toward Him, and of course into their faith, in order to ascertain whether it was not wavering (Osiander). According to the second, he appeals to their sense of honor, and implies that for this reason they should not shrink from self-examination; i.e., they surely ought not to be so entirely destitute of a Christian spirit as not to know their own selves (Meyer, deWette). In either case there was a motive for self-examination; but the argues in favor of the latter method. In , he intended to say, that they would find this to be the case with themselves, unless they should prove to be unworthy, spurious Christians (Osiander: He throws out a doubt of that gracious state to which they laid claim, in the same proportion in which they were ignorant of their relation to Christ and did not examine themselves). is used in 1Co 7:5; and the has the effect rather to soften the force of the expression [unless ye are somewhat reprobates, or to some extent abide not the proof]. has reference to and which he had previously used.But I trust ye shall know that we are not unapproved (2Co 13:6).This verse is intimately connected with the latter part of 2Co 13:5. , in this verse, has reference to Pauls power as an Apostle to punish offenders, and he expresses the hope that (in case he should be compelled to exercise it) they would find him [if they ventured to put him to the proof] (in this respect) not unapproved, i.e., as one who throws out empty threatenings, but is too feeble to execute the but rather one who would make those who perseveringly resisted him feel his power (comp. 2Co 13:7; 2Co 13:9). This was the which they sought (2Co 13:3). His hope, however, was not fixed exclusively upon the punishment in itself, but upon the proper authentication of his office, the maintenance of his Apostolic authority by such means. The interpretation which maintains that (ye shall know) is to be understood, not of an experimental knowledge, but of a knowledge gained by their reformation in consequence of his warning, or by an observation of his life and works as an Apostle [i.e., if you put our Apostolical power to the test by appealing to our clemency], is not quite consistent with the general scope of the passage. The same may be said of the view which aims to mediate between the different explanations, and maintains that the knowledge was to be obtained partly by an examination of themselves and partly by their experience of ecclesiastical discipline.But in 2Co 13:7 he shows that he would gladly be spared such an authentication of his power:But we pray God that ye do no evil (2Co 13:7 a);His desire is expressed in the form of a prayer. The explanation which makes the object and the Apostle himself the subject of [that I may do you no evil], is unsatisfactory: 1, because he could not apply such a designation to the punishment he inflicted; 2, because has an evident reference to [the one being what is morally bad or worse, and the other what is morally honorable, beautiful and right].not that we should appear approved, but that ye should do what is good, though we be as unapproved (2Co 13:7 b).He here expresses what was more particularly the purport of his prayer. (We should observe the change which here takes place in the construction: the infinitive and , comp. Col 1:9; 2Th 1:11). The prayer was not (I pray or I desire), that he might appear approved (in consequence of the infliction of punishment, or the accomplishment of his threatenings) but that the Corinthians might do well (that which is right), though he should be unapproved (inasmuch as his threatenings would remain unfulfilled, or seem needless and uncalled for). [In this case he would use the word in two different senses: in the one sense he would not be unapproved, since the reformation of the Corinthians would be the best proof of his Apostolic power, but in another sense he would be unapproved, because he would fail in the fulfilment of his threatenings, on account of their reformation. He meant to say that he cared not for being unapproved in the latter sense, since they would be saved and edified. Comp. Stanley]. Another explanation is given by Meyer, who takes in the sense of, that, in order that, and understands of the approbation which would be awarded to him as their spiritual father, if they should conduct themselves well; but he makes . refer to his failure in exercising and applying his power as an Apostle to inflict punishment. It must be conceded that the idea advanced in this first explanation lies not within the range of thought pursued by the context, and yet it would not be inconsistent with Pauls manner, to say that the good conduct of his readers might make him seem in one aspect and in another . He certainly gives reason in 2Co 13:8 for saying that if they did well he would have no occasion for exercising his power as an Apostle to punish them, and therefore would in that same degree appear unapproved, inasmuch as he had laid down the rule by which he would be governed in his course with them:For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth (2Co 13:8).The truth here may be explained either as equivalent to moral truth (comp. 1Co 5:8) or righteousness (a sense which is not allowable unless it is made necessary by the context); or as signifying that he could do nothing which did not accord with the facts of the case, a meaning very appropriate to a judicial proceeding, but entirely unsuitable when we come to the phrase for the truth. Meyer makes the word mean the truth , i.e., the gospel: If their good conduct had not been his. object ( ) he would have been working against the Gospel; since that was a system designed to promote morality on Christian principles. Osianders explanation is preferable: The Divine law was the truth from which we deduce all our rules of discipline; and in Pauls Apostolic work he could do nothing against this, but every thing he did would finally result in the advancement of that Divine truth which was dispensed in the Gospel. against, for its interests. In the latter sentence should be supplied.For we rejoice when we are weak and ye are strong: this also we pray for, even your restoration to complete order (2Co 13:9).His object here was to confirm what he had said an 2Co 13:8, by assuring them that he would rejoice, even if he were weak, i.e., powerless, so far as relates to the exercise of discipline among them (from want of occasion); and they were strong, i.e., should conduct themselves so wisely as to disarm him of all judicial authority against them. If this were so, how could he do anything in opposition to the truth, and to those rules of action which the truth prescribed? He furthermore assures them that it was the object of his constant prayer, that they might in this way be made strong. As in 2Co 13:7 signifies not merely to wish, for it is an advance beyond the thought expressed in . is added after epexegetically, and signifies your restoration to complete order, i.e., perfection. The verb is used in 2Co 13:11 and in 1Co 1:10, and in Eph 4:12. It contains a reserved hint that their condition at that time was disorderly.For this cause being absent I write these things, lest being present I should use sharpness according to the power which the Lord gave me for edification and not for destruction (2Co 13:10).In this he adds an explanation of his design in writing this Epistle: I have written because my joy and my great anxiety before God is, that ye may be strong and restored to your proper state. In this expression he had reference to the whole Epistle, but especially to the latter part of it.lie here uses the singular number, because he begins to treat of conduct and purposes which belonged only to himself. (Tit 1:13, the noun is in Rom 11:22) signifies roughly, rigorously, with strict severity (from a verb signifying to cut or tear off). is here used absolutely, and signifies to proceed, to act; in other places it is used with the dative of the mode of proceeding or acting, but here, with an adverb, there is no need of supplying . The reason for his wishing not to act thus, he gives when he says that his power was given him for edification and not for destruction (comp. 2Co 10:8). [He had no power or authority for the injury of men: it was all for their edification. Except for the latter purpose therefore it was not only null and void as to authority, but it was actually powerless in result. By a beautiful figure he conceives himself as a builder intrusted with no right or means to do anything except for the welfare of his fellow-men, to advance the true interests of humanity. Such were the Apostles views of the limits of ecclesiastical power with respect to Comp. on 2Co 5:1; 2Co 10:8. Also J. S. Howson, on Pauls use of Metaphore in Sund. Mag., 1867].

2Co 13:11-13. Finally, brethren, rejoice. Be perfectly joined together, be comforted, be of one mind, be at peace (2Co 13:11 a).Having in the previous verses resumed his original mildness of manner, he now concludes with some friendly admonitions, though without relaxing anything in the earnestness of his purpose. [The word , which he so often uses in his other Epistles and especially in his First Epistle but so seldom (only four times) in his Second Epistle to the Corinthians, indicates here the importance of what he was about to say, and his transition to a new section, in which his affectionate spirit breathes forth with especial power.] In 2Co 13:11, does not signify: for the future, henceforth, but it is a concluding particle in the sense of, as for the rest (ceterum), as in the Eph 6:10 etc.; 2Th 3:1. Osiander: His object was to say, that he had something of importance to them, still upon his heart. This was addressed not exclusively to those whose minds were best disposed toward him, but like the preceding verses, to the whole congregation. is not here a parting salutation, for that is given afterwards in 2Co 13:13; but an exhortation to rejoice in the Lord (Php 3:1; Php 4:4), very appropriately pressed upon them after all that he had said in this Epistle to grieve them. But this could take place only on condition of the and the i.e., on condition of their complete restoration to order and to their perfection. These are here urged upon them as acts which they must themselves perform [middle voice and reflexive] under the power of the , which again is conditioned by the W. F. Besser: In the alarm cry: Be perfect, (prepare yourselves)! hear the call of your commander, to form into rank and file, and to get into order of battle (Col 2:5). But both the and the were the conditions on which the was dependent. This is here not an admonition or an exhortation that they should make progress in spiritual things (give attention to it among you), but that they should be comforted (comp. 2Co 1:4-7; 2Co 7:7-13) with respect to all those things which had grieved them. An exhortation to mutual comfort (to comfort one another) would have been differently expressed: or (1Th 4:18; 1Th 5:11; Heb 3:13). Finally he calls upon them to be of one mind ( ), which may be regarded as implying an humble estimate of each ones own self, a love for one another, and a tender interest in each others welfare, on the ground that they had a community of interests in the Christian life (Php 3:15-16; Php 4:2; Rom 12:16; Rom 15:5; Beck See lenl. p. 61), and to live in peace, i.e., to maintain unity of action in the outer life (Mar 9:50; Rom 12:18; 1Th 5:13). To these admonitions he attaches yet further a promise:And the God of love and peace shall be with you (2Co 13:11 b)i.e., if ye do these things, the God who is the author of love ( ) and of peace (comp. 1Co 14:33; Rom 15:33; Rom 16:20; Php 4:9; 1Th 5:23; Heb 13:20) will be with you, will be near you o bless you, and to grant you the enjoyment of His gracious communion. That God from whom love and peace proceeds, makes those who yield to His influences in these respects, and are faithful in such things, experience how rich is His grace, and how abundant are His blessings.Salute one another with a holy kiss (2Co 13:12).On this verse comp. 1Co 16:20. [With respect to the . see on 1Th 5:26; Rom 16:16, and 1Co 16:20. Among the Greeks the kiss had only an erotio signification, but among the Jews and Oriental nations it was generally a token of affection among kindred and friends. The Jews refused it to all except the holy seed of Israel. Thence it passed into the Christian community, and Justin says, (Apol. II. p. 37), After the prayers, are ended (in the church), we greet one another with a kiss. Cyril (Hier.) says that before the sursum corda,) a deacon proclaimed to the communicants in the words of this verse: Salute etc. In the Eastern, churches it was given before, and in the Western after the consecration of the sacramental emblems, and before their distribution, as a sign of reconciliation and love. In the Apost. Constt. it is said: Let the men salute one another, and the women also one another, with a holy kiss in the Lord. Paul anticipated that his Epistle would be read before the whole Church, and he, therefore, connected with it this ecclesiastical or hieratic usage, as a sign of the common covenant by which they were all members one of another and the body of Christ. Bingham, Chr. Antt. B. XII. Ch. IV. 5. Smiths Dict, of the Bible, Osiander and Wordsworth, on 1Th 5:26].All the saints salute you (2Co 13:13).The words refer to those saints who lived in the region from which he was writing (Macedonia), but a more comprehensive sense of the words is not excluded (comp. Osiander, who very thoroughly discusses the meaning of this whole verse). In place of his own salutation, he gives us finally that precious Benediction which has acquired such a liturgical importance in every age and in every part of the Christian world:The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all (2Co 13:14).[It is the most formal and solemn of all Pauls forms of benediction, and accordingly has been universally selected as the one to be used by the Church in its worship. It ascribes to each Person of the Trinity a special but not an exclusive part in the work of redemption. Each of those Persons share in the work of grace and love and communion, but each of them is distinguished for a peculiar prominence in one of these departments. Each of them are mentioned with equal, but with a distinct honor and efficiency. They are presented, not according to their ontologic or metaphysical nature, but to their economic relation to sinful men in the work of salvation. That salvation comes to us from () God the Father, through () God the Son, and by God the Holy Ghost.] The Benediction itself is divided into three parts in accordance with the relations of the sacred Trinity. We have first, the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ (comp. 2Co 8:9; Rom 5:15), that grace which is continually bestowed upon, intercedes for (Rom 8:34), and strengthens (2Co 12:9) those whom he has redeemed, and by means of which they come into the possession and enjoyment of the love of God. The communion of the Holy Ghost, the participation in Him and in His gracious influences, is the product of that grace and this love, and is His continual direction and application of them to believers (comp. Rom 8:9-27; Rom 7:6; Rom 8:11; Gal 4:6; Gal 6:8. , as in Php 2:1, and 1Co 1:9, signifies not communication merely, for . is the gen. subj.). He thus desires that the whole Church [even that portion which he had been obliged in some respects to censure] may enjoy all the blessings of Gods salvation, as they are shed forth by the Lord of the Church, including that Spirit which is the bond of its fellowship and the source of its organic life. Neander: We have in this passage the practical doctrine of the Trinity, the Father revealing His love in Christ; Christ, in and through whom he reveals Himself, and by whom the work of redemption (grace) is accomplished; and the fellowship of Divine life, which proceeds from Christ.Ewald: We cannot but feel an intense interest in knowing what was the effect of a letter containing such an unusual amount of severity. Fortunately we have some reason to conclude from Rom 15:25-27, and Act 20:2, that the result was all that could be wished. Paul actually returned to Corinth soon after sending this Epistle, and remained there for some time in peace, as he certainly could not have done, if this letter had not smoothed the way for him there, and enabled him to return to his beloved Church in triumph.

DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL

1. Where an impenitent spirit which disregards all warning and admonition becomes manifest in a congregation, there is no other way than to administer discipline with severity. And yet the minister of Christ should always be careful to produce the impression that he is by no means proud of his official authority, but that he rather feels humbled under the hand of God when he finds that he is compelled to administer discipline with severity. He must indeed never spare, when he is called to act in behalf of Christs authority, if it is evident that his forbearance will be imputed to a want of power in that Lord whom he represents, and whose organ he is known to be. Every one should be made to see not only that a minister, in imitation of his Divine Master, may for awhile lay aside his power and oven appear feeble as he bears and forbears with his brethren, but that through the same Divine power which raised his Lord from the weakness of the cross to the might of an absolute and all-sufficient life, he possesses a living power for the accomplishment of those objects which are essential to the office he has received, and to his-triumph over all who oppose him in his lawful work. But the same love which, on suitable occasions, refrains from all assertions of authority, will also incline him to make every exertion to avoid any necessity for its exercise. He will admonish, entreat and implore God that every thing which insolently puts Christ in him to the proof whether His threatenings are seriously intended, and whether He will venture to execute them, may disappear; that all who have been refractory and disorderly may have their attention turned rather to themselves to see whether they are in the faith and whether Christ is in them, and that so they may be restablished in Christian fellowship, may do that which is good, and may be saved from the necessity of discipline. It will be a pleasure to him when he is able to exchange severity for gentleness, even though he may thus have the appearance of weakness. His only care will be so to conduct himself that Divine truth may be vindicated, that complete order may be secured, and that practical religion may be promoted.
2. Where Jesus Christ causes His grace to abound, and abundantly forgives, blesses and saves men, the love of God is revealed, and God Himself is freely and powerfully communicated to our souls. When this is the case and our souls are sealed by His grace, this love will be shed abroad in the heart by the Holy Ghost, we shall be of one mind, we shall seek for the things that make for peace, we shall rejoice in the Lord, we shall earnestly aspire after perfection, and never want consolation when we are in trouble. In this manner the Church will be built up; and it is a blessed work to co-operate in the production of such a result by praising this grace and love, by bringing men into the communion of the Holy Ghost and by confirming them in it. No one, however, can perform such a work unless he knows by experience what it is to rejoice in this grace, love and communion, and regards it as his highest privilege to continue to do so.

HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL

Starke:2Co 12:19. That no impediments may be thrown in the way of our work, we must, though with humble diffidence, repel those assaults which may be made upon it; but we must be especially careful lest we use such means of defence as will only make matters worse. Those who truly servo God, speak as though they were conscious of being ever before God in Christ, as though they were in communion with Him, and were under His direction.

2Co 12:20. Where love is wanting, hatred will be found, and will break forth into every kind, of discord, though all its forms will show a family likeness to one another.

Hedinger: 2Co 12:21. How distressing to look upon such disorders! Those whose hearts are still bleeding from the wounds which former sins, especially those of lewdness and impurity, have left upon the conscience, should be careful that those wounds be properly healed, and that the old sore is not liable to break out afresh. Isa 38:15.Spener:

Chap. 13. If. Even when we conclude that spiritual discipline does not call for a public judicial process, it should not be entered upon without reflection. If sinners have no fear of punishment, they will flatter themselves with the hope of impunity in sin.Hedinger:To bear long is not necessarily to bear always. Even Elisha finally called for the bears, Samuel grasped the sword, and Elijah invoked fire from heaven, when time and patience were exhausted. Scoff not at God, who will surely give testimony in behalf of His servants.

2Co 13:3. Let us see to it, that we do not so conduct ourselves that Christ is obliged to put forth His hand to punish rather than to assist us. The threatenings of Gods faithful ministers will not be found empty words.Hedinger:

2Co 13:4. Rejoice, for the Lord is King, and reigns in the midst of His enemies! Let no one be intimidated when the powers of darkness seem to prevail! If we would be exalted, we must humble ourselves and cheerfully bear Christs cross.Spener:

2Co 13:5. Many know not their own selves; for while some think too well of their own goodness, others are faint-hearted. A faithful self-examination would rectify all such errors. Most of us by nature have the bad habit of trying our neighbors and seeking a proof of what is in them, but of neglecting the same thing with respect to ourselves, Mat 7:1-3.Hedinger:Thou sayest: I am a Christian, a child of glory! But hast thou proved this? Art thou really sure of it? Is it not possible that thou hast taken up with a vain conceit and received base coin for gold? Let every one search his own heart diligently, and if he finds Christ and the graces of Christs Spirit there, if Christian love and a fraternal spirit reigns there, all is well.Spener:While we examine ourselves, we almost invariably are led to pray that the Lord also would search and make us know our hearts, Psa 139:23-24.If we have a faith which works by love, we have good evidence of our gracious state and of our salvation. Such an examination of ourselves is of great importance: 1, because our hearts are naturally so corrupt and our self-love is so inordinate that we never discover evil in ourselves without great difficulty; 2, because in the midst of so many cares and so much intercourse with our fellow-men, we are in danger of neglecting to watch over our thoughts, words, etc.; 3, because of the injury which is sure to follow the omission of this duty, in our continuance under delusive fancies, or our relapse into them; 4, because of the benefits which a frequent self-examination must bring, in the increase of faith, in assurance of salvation, in our security against apostasy, in our growing union and intimacy with God, in our better acquaintance with our faults, and in our purification from them by Divine grace. But the object or this trial is, to ascertain: 1, whether we have been truly converted, believe in Christ, and are united to Him, and whether we have the comforts and put forth the fruits of faith, such as the love of God and of our neighbor, delight in spiritual things, an inclination to every form of obedience, earnestness in prayer, lively hope, patience, etc.; 2, how successful we have been in following Jesus. The result will be, that we shall recognize what is good in ourselves with humility and thankfulness to God, and what is wrong with contrition, and prayer for forgiveness; we shall lay hold upon Divine grace with greater eagerness; and we shall arouse ourselves to walk before God with increased earnestness. It should be a special object of such an examination to discover what sins most easily beset us, and to what extent we have succeeded in laying them aside.

2Co 13:7. Preachers will find it better to use their staff of office with gentleness, than to put forth the power given them so as to give pain.

2Co 13:10. Think it not for thy injury that thy spiritual guide has touched thee rather roughly, for proud flesh needs a corrosive plaster.

2Co 13:11. We must not be surprised that believers should not unfrequently be depressed with internal as well as external afflictions, notwithstanding the seeds of spiritual joy they always possess. The admonition therefore can never come amiss, that they should be of good cheer and be joyful in the Lord.Many heads, many minds! Look therefore continually to Christ or thou canst never come to Him. God dwells in souls exercised to good works through faith in Christ.

2Co 13:13. Every minister should reflect whether such a salutation could go forth from him to his hearers in the spirit of the Apostle, with an earnest desire for their salvation and with a sincere faith in God; but it equally becomes these hearers to consider carefully whether they are prepared to appropriate such a salutation to themselves, and to confirm it with an earnest prayer and a hearty amen before God.There are many who are unreasonable enough to long for the grace of Jesus Christ and the love of the Father, but are unwilling to be directed and sanctified by the Holy Ghost.Let every one who reads and desires a part in the blessings promised in Gods word, unite in applying this benediction to all, and add his hearty amen!

Berlenb. Bible, 2Co 12:20 :Such are the disorders which follow a removal from the simplicity of the Gospel.How much reason has a sincere child of God for sorrow and humiliation when he thinks of the abomination of desolation in the holy places of the Church at the present time, and when he finds that everything there is disordered, that self-conceit, false wisdom, and confusion so generally prevails, and that almost every mans hand is turned against his brother!2Co 13:2 : We must never connive at wickedness. But if it is willing to come to the light it should be freely forgiven.

2Co 12:4. It is Gods way sometimes to seem very small in His servants, but if they are despised, He manifests Himself in His greatness.

2Co 12:5. There is no point on which men are so liable to be deceived as with reference to their own faith. On no point therefore should they be more careful to examine themselves. Unconverted men and hypocrites never prove their own selves. And yet no one can enjoy communion with God without it, for such a communion requires us to give up self-love for Gods love, and to pass an impartial judgment upon ourselves.Those who pay no attention to their condition, and never reflect whether they are prepared for another world, will surely be unable to abide the fiery trial of Gods justice and will be cast away and dashed in pieces as worthless vessels.The human heart is a fathomless abyss; we only need closely and properly to observe it to find in it every day some new thing to humble us before God and to make us willing to be judged by God and man. We must not, however, be insensible of the good which God has wrought in our hearts, for we shall never have courage to fight against our sins, if we know not our interest in Christ.Especially should we examine whether we have that peace with God through Jesus Christ, which excites us to pray, to strive against sin, to praise God, to walk before Him, and to hunger and thirst after righteousness; and whether all our hope is built upon a consciousness of faith in Christ and love to God. Nor should we be satisfied unless we find these evidences during the whole course of our lives.No one will become free from sin unless he is willing truly to know himself.

2Co 12:11. Where love and peace reign, the heart becomes a temple in which God is adored and praised in spirit and in truth.

2Co 12:13. Such is the order in which God conveys His blessings to men. Christ and His grace must precede everything else, or our evil consciences will prevent us from trusting to the love of God. Both are united together in our hearts by the fellowship of the Holy Ghost, This three-fold band encircles all who are willing to be the Lords, and makes them children of the Father, members of the Son, and temples of the Holy Ghost. Amen!

Rieger:2Co 12:20 f. We are sometimes too careful to conceal those sins which take place in our own hearts and in our Christian community, and the consequence is they are not thoroughly removed. Where we do not bring what has been done in former times with sufficient honesty into the light of Divine truth, and to the forgiving and sanctifying grace of God, great mischief will afterwards spring from them.2Co 13:1. In matters of conscience we should hold ourselves to the strictest method of proceeding. Even those remarks and judgments which Christians pass upon one another, should be so thoroughly considered that they will bear an examination like that which is given to the most suspected witness in a judicial process.

2Co 12:4. From His advent into the world until the close of His earthly career, Christ made Himself so weak that sinners thought they could do with Him as they pleased. But He now possesses through Divine power a life, in which He not only has life in Himself, but He gives life to the world, and sends His Spirit to make even the word of His cross the power of God unto salvation. A life of faith in the Son of God is even now a life of Divine power. Those who are troubled about their infirmities, will find that in losing life they receive a life eternal.

2Co 12:5. A faith which does not bring us into communion with God, nor bring Christ and His Spirit into the heart, will never abide the test.

2Co 12:7. Our threatenings and punishments must have the unction of prayer, or they will accomplish no good results. We not unfrequently find that we can get no access to men until we have found access to God.

2Co 12:11. Even where considerable faults are known to exist among brethren, we must come back to the common relation in which we all stand to one another, that by its means all may be awakened to joy without giving up their faith.

2Co 12:13. Every good thing we have or hope for from God, must come to us through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. The love of God can be exercised only toward those who find pardon and access to him through Jesus Christ. And it is only through the fellowship of the Holy Ghost that God will have or maintain any union with those whom he loves (Joh 14:23).May we all be justified by grace, as pardoned sinners be the objects of Divine love, and as temples of the triune God be restored and glorified by Spiritual communion. May every soul have a part in this faith and in this prayer. Amen.

Heubner:2Co 12:20 f. Every Church should be always ready to let any of Christs ministers examine carefully into its affairs. Chap. 13. If. There are certain limits beyond which Christian meekness cannot go, whether in the use of gentle or severe measures. But whatever change circumstances may call for in our outward action, our hearts should always be animated by the same benevolent spirit. The Christian should always act with energy.

2Co 12:3. God not unfrequently disciplines His people with severity, and they should not be unwilling to be severe with themselves. What is a single preacher against an army of soldiers? And yet he has mighty power with them. Christ will live forever and will hold His sceptre over the world. Few worldly men imagine how completely He is their Lord.

2Co 12:5. To be displeased with Christs word shows plainly that faith is dying or dead. Only those who examine themselves can truly know whether they have this faith, for no other one can determine this for them. Then the only evidence which can prove that we possess it is Christ living and working in our hearts, and our hearts burning with love at the thought of Him. How few tried Christians would be found, if this only true test were faithfully applied!

2Co 12:7. A faithful minister thinks only of the interest of souls, and not of his own authority or reputation among men.

2Co 12:9. A genuine teacher always rejoices to see his pupil become wiser than himself.

2Co 12:10. The church which gives heed to gentle and kind suggestions is much more advanced than one which can be moved only by harsh measures. The object of all spiritual power is the salvation of the Church.

2Co 12:11. God is never in a church except where the conditions required in this verse are fulfilled. Where these are complied with, Gods Spirit reigns.

2Co 12:13. Through the Son we become children of the Father and temples of the Holy Ghost.

W. F. Besser:

2Co 12:4. We may derive much benefit and comfort from contemplating the form of weakness which Christ endured during His life and on the cross, since it is the form of One who has been invested with Divine power, having entered into His glory by the power of that Father who has raised him from the dead, and of that Son who was raised from the dead, and of that Holy Ghost who declared and demonstrated that this Son of God and this Son of Mary was the Prince of life (Rom 6:4; Rom 1:4). The same Divine power which raised up Christ from the dead and set Him upon the throne of heaven, is the source of all faith in the hearts of believers (Eph 1:19-20), and is concerned in the whole work of the ministry for the consolation of the penitent and the punishment of the impenitent.

2Co 12:5. We learn two things here: a. that we may imagine ourselves to be in the faith when we are not; and b. that whoever deceives himself in this matter, so essential to his everlasting salvation, is criminally guilty for it; for God has made it the privilege and the duty of every man by faithful self-examination to ascertain with confidence whether he is in the faith.

2Co 12:7. A ministers fitness for his work will appear in two ways: a. from the good results of his labors (2Co 3:3); b. from his seasonable punishment of evil conduct.

2Co 12:11. This friendly admonition: Live in peace, throws the peaceful bond of brotherly love around the whole body of believers (Eph 4:3), and is like a lock which holds together the whole chain of exhortations running through both these Epistles. Oh, that the peace which breathes here these Apostolic words might be imparted to all men! To all sons of peace, who rest in peace as on a mothers bosom, belongs the promise: The God of love and peace shall be with you!

2Co 12:13. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God will not be far off, but pervadingly nigh the assemblies of Gods saints; for among them the Holy Spirits communion has its especial habitation and sphere of action (1Co 3:16). As the Holy Spirit communicates Himself to them through the word and sacraments, He produces and maintains in them a holy fellowship with the Triune God and with each other. As often as we hear these words of Apostolic benediction, it is only as the spirit of that faith which has for centuries communicated so many blessings to those who have received it, awakes within us, that the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, is with us and with all saints!

Florey:

2Co 12:13. How happy is our lot if our souls are united by a perpetual bond of living faith to the Triune God! This thoughta. keeps before us every day the great object that we should seek for ourselves, viz.: forgiveness through Christ, assurance of Gods love, and strength by means of the Spirits power; b. makes us see that in every event of life we should strive to confirm and strengthen our fellowship with God; c. gives us strong consolation in every affliction in the consciousness that Almighty aid is always at hand; and d. instructs us with respect to the true wisdom, the true reason, the spirit, the object, and the proper range of all our prayers.

Footnotes:

[1][Stanley (with whom Wordsworth agrees) thinks it unlikely that Paul would express himself so formally and yet so imperfectly if he merely intended to speak of the usual legal process. He therefore contends that the journeys of the Apostle, accomplished or intended, occupy throughout the Epistle a prominent place in his mind; and now they seem to him to assume almost a distinct personal existence, as though each constituted a separate attestation to his assertion. He, as it were, appears to himself, a different person, and, therefore, a different witness in each journey accomplished or proposed. The first witness was that which he had delivered during his first visit, or in his first Epistle (1Co 4:20); to which he refers in the words: I have said before (). The second witness was that which he now bore on his present journey and through his present Epistle, which was intended to supply the place of the journey once intended (2Co 1:15; 1Co 16:7) but now abandoned by him. To this he refers in the word I speak beforehand, i.e., before my next visit; and he strengthens this witness by representing himself as in a manner present on that second visit which had really been postponed ( ). It is by thus reckoning his second Epistle as being virtually a second visit, or at least a second witness, that he was enabled in the first verse, to call the visit which was now about to be actually accomplished, his third visit. And this hird visit would be reckoned as the third witness, if it were necessary that the words quoted from Deut. were to be literally complied with. We have thought it fair that this view (which had so general a support in ancient, and until recent, times), should be thus fairly presented, but we agree with Barnes when he says, that with all respect due to such great names, it seems to us that this is trifling and childish in the extreme. Hodge: Three visits are not the testimony of three witnesses.]

[22]2Co 12:19.Rec. has [with D. E. K. L. Sin. (3d hand), many cursives, versions, and Greek Fathers], but the preponderating evidence is in favor of [with A. B. F. G. Sin. the Vulg. and several ancient Lat. versions. The latter word standing at the beginning of a sentence is without an example in the N. T., and is in itself so difficult a reading as to seem improbable; inasmuch as it makes the whole sentence refer to past instead of present time (Heb 1:1); but this only makes it more likely to have been altered. Bloomfield and Wordsworth and Conybeare still adhere decidedly to , but Tisch., Lachm., Alford, Stanley, and most recent editors are equally decided in behalf of , and are disposed to regard either as the mistake of transcribers, or as a conjectural emendation and reminiscence of the parallel 2Co 3:1.]

[23]2Co 12:19.Rec. has for , as it had also in 2Co 2:17.

[24]2Co 12:20.Lachmann has for , but it has no sufficient authority. [That of Sin. has since been added to that of A. a number of cursives, Syr. Arm.verss., and Chrys. and Theophyl. in favor of Lachmanns reading. B. D. E.F. G. K. L., et al., the Ital. Syr. (later) Copt. Goth. versions, Theodt. Damasc. Tert. Ambrosiast. have .]

[25]2Co 12:20.Rec. has . but has better evidence in its favor. [The plural never occurs in classical nor Septuagint Greek. This, as well as the preceding may have been a correction to conform to the other plurals in the verse and to usage. Bloomf. thinks they were a provincialism, and probably genuine. Tisch. has with , while Sin. has with ].

[26]2Co 12:21.Rec. has .; but it is the lectio facilior, and it has the least authority. [ has A. B. F. G. Sin. and many Fathers in its favor. Most MSS. which have the accus. omit also the subsequent before . This suggests that both must have been attempted corrections.]

[27]2Co 12:21.Rec. has , but is better authenticated. The former was an attempt to make the word conform to the preceding subjunctive; [and yet it has A. K. Sin. and many Fathers. It may have been as Alford suggests, an itacism. The latter word has been adopted by Lachm. and Tisch.]

[28]2Co 13:1.Cod. A.reads . . . has in its behalf also Sin. (3d hand), many cursives (some omit ), the Vulg. and Ethiop. verss., and Damasc. Theophyl. and Aug.; but it was doubtless borrowed from 2Co 12:14. The . . has also for it the Syr. and Copt. verss., but it was probably taken from the same passage. Sin. also has . before with some less important authorities, and instead of , with the Vulg. and Arm. versions. Such authority, however, is hardly sufficient for either.]

[29]2Co 13:2.Rec. has after . It appears to have been an addition to conform to 2Co 12:10. The best MSS. [A. B. D. F. Sin.] are against it.

[30]2Co 13:4.After the first the Rec. has , but it is not found in the best MSS. [B. D. F. G. K. Sin. (3d hand inserts , as do also the Syr. Vulg. Goth. and several Greek Fathers). It appears to have been a correction on account of the doctrinal offence which the text without it gave]. See Exeget notes.

[31]2Co 13:4.The second of the Rec. [after and before ], has only feeble authority.

[32][2Co 13:4.For before A. F. Sin. have , and for before the last some less important MSS. have , by an obvious interchange].

[33]2Co 13:4.Much better authority [A. B. D. F. Sin. Damasc.] is found for than for of the Rec. [D. (3d hand) E. K. L. Chrys. Theodt].

[34]2Co 13:4.Lachmann puts in brackets, but it has ample authority in its favor. [The only important authorities for its omission are B. and Chrysostom].

[35]2Co 13:7.Rec. has so as to conform to . has decidedly better evidence.

[36]2Co 13:9.Rec. has . The best MSS. leave out the .

[37]2Co 13:14.The is not critically well established. It is wanting in the best MSS. [A. B. F. L. Sin. et al.]

[38][The whole comment of Chrysostom on this verse is so characteristic a specimen of his discrimination and acuteness, that I cannot resist the inclination to transcribe it:It was not hiere out of arrogance, nor the authority of a teacher, hut out of a fathers tender concern, when he is more fearful and trembling than the sinners are themselves at that which is likely to reform them. And not even so does he run them down (), nor make an absolute assertion, but says doubtingly (): lest perchance when I come etc. Nor does he call them not virtuous or wicked (), but: I shall not find you such as I would; everywhere employing terms of affection. And the words: I shall find, are those of one who would express what is out of natural expectation ( ), as are also those: I shall be found by you: For the thing is not of deliberate choice, hut of a necessity originating with you. Wherefore he says: I shall be found such as ye would not. He said not here: such as I would not, but with more severity: such as ye wish not for it would in that case become his own will, not indeed what he would first have willed, but his will nevertheless. For he might indeed have said again, such as I would not, and so have shown his love; but he wishes not to relax () his hearer. Yea, rather, his words would in that case have been even harsher (), but now he has at once dealt them a smarter blow, and showed himself more gentle. For this is the characteristic of his wisdom ( , ), cutting more deeply, to strike more gently].

Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange

CONTENTS

The Apostle in closing his second Epistle, refers the Corinthians to the Testimony of the threefold Witness, in Confirmation of the Truths he had written to them, and ends with his Apostolical Blessing.

2Co 13:1

(1) This is the third time I am coming to you. In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established.

I take occasion from what Paul here saith of a two or threefold witness, in confirmation of general truths, to observe to the Reader; what a blessed testimony the Church of God hath everlastingly to rest upon in the Holy Three, which bear record in heaven, and which Three are One, 1Jn 5:7 . All the Persons of the Godhead have set to their seal, of the truth as it is in Jesus. Three times from heaven, during our Lord’s ministry upon earth, God the Father, by an audible voice, confirmed the glories of his Person, and the authority of his mission, Mat 17:5Mat 17:5 ; Joh 12:28-30 . Jesus himself appeals both to his Father’s testimony, and his own, in proof of the same thing: it is also written (saith Jesus) in your law that the testimony of two men is true. I am one that bear witness of myself, and the Father that sent me beareth witness of me, Joh 8:17-18 ; Deu 17:6 and Deu 19:15 . And God the Holy Ghost, by his descent at the day of Pentecost, according to Christ’s most sure promise, as well as in the spirit of every child of God, beareth witness of Christ, Luk 24:49 ; Act 2:1-4 ; Rom 8:15-16 . Reader what know you of this threefold witness to your soul’s joy? Rom 15:13 .

Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

Crucified Through Weakness

2Co 13:4

Though He was crucified, yet He liveth, that is the whole sum and substance of the Bible. But this verse tells us much more; that He was crucified through weakness, that He liveth through power.

I. But how, crucified through weakness? Firstly, I know very well, it means that He submitted to become weak by taking our mortal nature, that He might be able to die for our sakes; that no man could have taken away His life, had He not laid it down of Himself; that He who said, ‘The earth is weak, and all the inhabiters thereof; I bear up the pillars of it,’ condescended to faint under the weight of the cross and to be helped by Simon of Cyrene. But it means a great deal more than this; else it could not join on to the latter part of the verse. ‘Crucified through weakness’ means, after a course, after a life, of weakness; and so indeed it was. And I know not but that these confessions of human weakness, so patiently borne, so openly confessed, do not above everything else show us the meaning of that saying of St. Paul, ‘He emptied Himself. Think when His disciples went away into the city to buy food, He remained by the well; acknowledging thereby that He was not able, to speak after the manner of men, to do that which they could do. Think again when they took Him, even as He was, in the ship, they were toiling in rowing, but He, as man, was so exhausted that He slept.

II. Never be ashamed to confess weakness either of body or mind. If you are told at any time to do anything which you feel to be above your strength, you will be much more like our Lord by saying so, than by making an effort which you ought not to make. For notice in these two remarkable proofs of our Lord’s weakness how His perfect wisdom turned them both to be means of blessing. He sat on the well because He was weary, and thus the woman of Samaria and her fellow-townsmen were brought to His knowledge. He slept in the vessel because He was weary, and thus He proved Himself, sleeping as well as waking, to be Almighty.

III. ‘For we also are weak in Him.’ Hear what St. Bernard says: ‘But as for me, Lord Jesus, my wonder is beyond all wonder that Thou shouldst call us weak in Thee, that Thou shouldst suffer us to lay all our weakness thus to Thy charge; that Thou shouldst give us Thy strength and take our infirmity. And is this, O Lord, the return that those Thy children ought to make? Is this all that Thou requirest of them, to be weak in Thee? Instead of urging them to give proofs of their strength, Thou only commandest them to lean their weakness on Thee; so that, saith the Bride, Thy left arm is under their head, drooping and bowed down by infirmity, and Thy right hand shall embrace them. Oh, wonderful superabundance of love. To love not strength only, but weakness; to accept, not only affection, but coldness! Who among the sons of men would thus act, save He only who is the Bridegroom of the Virgins, the true Lover of Souls?’

IV. ‘We shall live with Him.’ We could not live without Him. All the doctors of the Church agree in this, that if it were possible for His presence to be in hell, hell itself would become heaven. We shall live with Him where He is, if only we invite Him now to live with us where we are.

J. M. Neale, Sermons in Sackville College Chapel, vol. I. p. 328.

References. XIII. 4. J. M. Neale, Sermons Preached in Sackville College Chapel, vol. i. p. 328; ibid. Readings for the Aged (4th Series), p. 102. XIII. 5. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. iv. No. 218. Bishop Westcott, Village Sermons, p. 156. T. F. Crosse, Sermons, p. 133. E. W. Attwood, Sermons for Clergy and Laity, p. 125. D. C. A. Agnew, The Soul’s Business and Prospects, p. 88. S. Baring-Gould, Village Preaching for a Year (2nd Series), vol. i. p. 151. F. D. Maurice, Sermons, vol. iii. p. 207. W. J. Brock, Sermons, p. 161. W. J. E. Bennett, Sermons Preached at the London Mission, 1869, p. 73. XIII. 8. W. R. Harwood, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xlv. p. 294. XIII. 8, 9. J. M. Neale, Sermons for the Church Year, vol. ii. p. 245.

Christian Perfection

2Co 13:9

There is probably no subject Christian teachers touch so reluctantly as that of Christian Perfection. This is due partly to the difficulties of definition, and partly to the fact that it lays one open to misunderstanding. The Scriptures command perfection, promise perfection, and give examples of perfection. God does not mock us with impossible commands. There is an imperfect perfection. All perfection is relative except the perfection of God. Christian perfection does not indicate finality but fitness.

I. The meaning of perfection. To make perfect means to make fit, to put in order, adjust, adapt, arrange, and equip, so as to secure effectiveness and efficiency for the result to be achieved. The meaning is the same when applied to Christian life and experience. It is the adjustment, cleansing, and equipment of man’s nature for all the purposes of the life in Christ. It is nothing more than making man fit in every part to do the will of God.

II. All the elements of Christian character are set forth in the Scriptures as capable of perfection. The elements that make up Christian character are Faith, Hope, Love; and each of these may be perfect. (1) Faith. ‘Night and day praying exceedingly that we may see your face, and may perfect that which is lacking in your faith’ (1Th 3:10 ). (2) Hope. ‘Be sober and set your hope perfectly on the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ’ (1Pe 1:13 ). (3) Love. ‘Above all things put on love, which is the bond of perfectness’ (Col 3:14 ).

III. Christian perfection experienced in the heart is manifest in the life. ‘By their fruits ye shall know them.’ (1) The first-fruit of the threefold perfection of faith, hope, and love, is patience. (a) The Christian made perfect in faith, hope, and love will be perfect in his patience with God. (6) To many, patience with people is more difficult than patience with God. There is nothing can make us patient with trying people except faith in them, hope for them, and love of them. (2) Perfect obedience to the will of God. (3) A perfect tongue. (4) Perfect peace.

IV. ‘If thou wouldst be perfect?’ For such a life who among the redeemed has not sighed and prayed? How then may we attain unto a life so glorious? It is the work and gift of God, and can only become ours by consecration, cleansing, and indwelling.

S. Chadwick, Humanity and God, p. 249.

References. XIII. 11. Expositor (5th Series), vol. v. p. 38; ibid. (6th Series), vol. viii. p. 379.

Valediction and Benediction

2Co 13:14

The repetition of the text is the best sermon. ‘The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all’ What then? Then there will be no real separation. The true union is mystical, spiritual, Divine. We come to learn this by attending a costly and distressing school; we come to know this by experience. Disappearance does not violate union; not being able to see does not utterly impoverish the soul; there is an inward sight, there is a spiritual vision, there is a wondrous power of sympathy which can realise or put into body-forms all that is most sacred and healthful in human evolution.

I. What a wondrous argument is this benediction! It is a large theology; there is in this benediction a Trinity, a relation of persons, distinct and operative personalities, each member of the Trinity having something to do with the human soul. You cannot build your rhetoric without the Trinity; the poor sweltering rhetorician must have his three members in order to complete what he calls a climax which nobody wants to hear. You cannot anywhere fail to see the threefold action, the threefold mystery of being, cooperation, and of development. Whatever may be the metaphysics of the Trinity, I know not, I cannot enter into that ineffable mystery; but I see a ladder rising from earth to heaven, and I see the angels of God descending and ascending, ascending and descending, holding continual and vital commerce with the uttermost parts of the great heaven. So it is with this Trinity; I meet it everywhere.

With what a wondrous instinct is the right word chosen by this speaker of the benediction! No poet can amend the phrase. ‘The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ’ the favour, the pity, the daily care, the incessant solicitousness and love. ‘The grace,’ a word fit for the Cross, a word that is as the jewel syllable in the great literature crowded into the one pregnant word Atonement.

II. How, then, does the benediction proceed? ‘And the communion of the Holy Ghost.’ What fit words; what expert writing! If it were only a matter of the choice of words here is an instance of the finest bringing-together of the most exquisite terms; in a sense, the only terms that could fit the occasion. The Holy Spirit communes with the heart, speaks to it without words, hovers over it, breathes upon it, turns over the leaves when we read the words of Christ and annotates them with light. The Holy Ghost is the Spirit of companionship, filling all space, yet occupying no room; a contradiction in words, a verity and a music in experience. You cannot bless unless you have been blessed. Hypocrisy cannot pronounce a benediction; the words can be pronounced, but not the benediction itself in its innermost music and holy meaning. Only sincerity can produce the true music of the true heart.

III. ‘I will not leave you comfortless.’ ‘The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all.’ I will change the text in one word. I have never throughout my long ministry been able to pronounce this benediction exactly as it is written. The change which I make is, I think, an amendment. ‘Be with us all.’ The minister has no right to stand apart as if he were dropping something upon others in an official and authoritative manner. I sit or stand with the smallest little child that God ever sent into the world; and I do not in pronouncing a benediction say, ‘The benediction of God be with you,’ I say, ‘Be with us’ the little child, the poor cripple, the desolate soul brother of the heart. We want a common blessing as we want a common atmosphere.

Joseph Parker, City Temple Pulpit, vol. IV.

The Mystery of the Godhead

2Co 13:14

What do men know of God? The Christian teaching about God is all that we, with our present very small powers, can know about that infinite and unseen Being, whose existence we infer, and Whom we call God, comes to us in one of three ways.

I. Nature, the existing world of things and men that we see. Every year teaches us more about Nature, and, therefore, more about God. If there is a veil that hides God in Nature from us, it is in our eyes, over our minds, and not in Nature.

II. But we learn about God in a second way. There is that marvellous figure in world-history, Jesus Christ. Christ reveals God to us. Just as Nature compels the recognition of a Cause behind it, and we name the Cause God, so Christ compels us to think how He came to be.

III. And there is the third revelation, nearer still to each of us, appealing not to our reason, not to our knowledge of Christ, which is limited to those who have learned about Him, but a voice speaking in the heart to every child of man. There is the survival of the brute in us all. It is awful. But there is also the light that shines amid it all the light of God Himself in the human conscience.

J. M. Wilson, Church Family Newspaper, vol. XIV. p. 428.

References. XIII. 4. A. Whyte, Christian World Pulpit, vol. 1. p. 844. F. D. Maurice, Sermons, vol. iv. p. 147. C. D. Bell, The Power of God, p. 263. J. T. Stannard, The Divine Humanity, p. 165. S. P. Carey, Christian World Pulpit, vol. lvii. p. 262. J. Stuart Holden, The Pre-eminent Lord, p. 233; ibid. (6th Series), vol. viii. p. 372. XIII. 14, 15. F. D. Maurice, Sermons, vol. iii. p. 223. XIII. 15. Expositor (5th Series), vol. vi. p. 289. XIV. 2. Ibid. vol. vii. p. 149. XV. 6. Ibid. (6th Series), vol. vi. p. 243. XV. 27. Ibid. vol. x. p. 192. XVI. Expositor (4th Series), vol. vii. p. 75. XVI. 1-16. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xix. No. 1113.

Fuente: Expositor’s Dictionary of Text by Robertson

Christian Apostleship

2Co 13

There ought to be no difficulty about the expression of so extremely modest a wish. What is a reprobate? Is it some kind of apostle? By “reprobate” we generally understand a man who is in about the worst possible moral condition. When a man is as bad as he can be we call him a reprobate. There is a theology which is very fond of this word. The Apostle does not wish to be included in the class of reprobates, outcasts, men only fit to be trodden under foot, persons absolutely destitute of character, moral dignity, or claim to Christian attention and confidence. But is this the meaning of the word “reprobates” as it is found in this text? Were this the real meaning of the word there can be no doubt as to what we should say in reply to the Apostle Paul. But this is not the meaning of the word. What that meaning is we must discover, little by little, by carefully looking at the context.

The Apostle says, “Since ye seek a proof of Christ speaking in me” ( 2Co 13:3 ). The Corinthians had begun to doubt his apostleship. When we do not like a ministry, there is nothing so easy as to doubt its orthodoxy, to question its moral superiority, and to throw doubts generally upon its authenticity. When we like a ministry we easily see the Divine Being in it. When a ministry suits us, is more anxious for consolation than for correction, is more deeply solicitous that we should be quiet than that we should be correct, we can easily discover traces of Divine election and ordination. When it is rousing, passionate, vehement in moral demand; when it is exacting, rigorous; it is easy for us to question the divinity of its origin, and the value of its whole function. The Corinthians did not like what Paul had done; they thought that he was severe; his was a heavy hand, and the rod was not spared. They began to question his apostleship, they sought a proof of Christ speaking in him. What does Paul say in reply?

“Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith: prove your own selves.” ( 2Co 13:5 )

We might read these words monotonously, and so reading them should miss their whole meaning. Everything depends upon the identification of the emphasis in this exhortation. Reading the words in English we should say, “Examine yourselves,” placing the emphasis upon the verb; there the weight would be in place; it is there that the voice has to interpret the sentiment: “prove your own selves,” thus laying the weight once more upon the verb. But so distributing the emphasis we miss the Apostle’s meaning. In the language he wrote he put the pronoun before the verb, and thus gave the pronoun the emphasis. Instead of saying, “examine yourselves,” he said, “yourselves examine.” Who does not see that the commentary is in the emphasis? “Your own selves prove:” were we reading in English and saying “examine yourselves,” we should be justly exposed to the criticism of a false emphasis, because such a word is seldom required to bear the whole weight of the voice; but as Paul wrote it the emphasis came naturally upon the pronoun “yourselves examine.” Thus we have the balance with 2Co 13:3 “Since ye seek a proof of Christ speaking in me” or, in me speaking “yourselves examine”: let the spear be thrust into your own hearts; be not so anxious about my apostleship as about your own condition in God’s sanctuary.

Characteristically he enlarges the occasion. The fourth verse has about it something of the distance, the reserve, and the subtlety of a parenthesis “For though he was crucified through weakness, yet he liveth by the power of God,” better: he, or even he, was crucified through weakness, yet his weakness was only transitory, a necessary element in a marvellous process, for he now liveth by the power of God. “For we also are weak in him,” we share his infirmities, we have to be weak in order to know what it is to be strong, “but we shall live with him,” not hereafter, not in any sense of immortality, but we shall now live with him, representing his logosity, and clothing ourselves at his command with his authority, and with the right of exercising discipline which he alone can confirm. Then emerging out of the parenthesis, he comes to the words already quoted “yourselves examine.” The Apostle always descends upon us from a great level. He does not meet us on our own line, and chaffer with us as if we were equals; he comes to us from the tabernacle unseen, from the very temple and altar of God. He first lifts up the mind to new levels, whence new perceptions can be enjoyed, perceptions of truth and holiness and spiritual beauty; and then the moral exhortation falls upon us with an infinite impetus. If men would examine themselves they would not be uncharitably disposed towards others. Can the devil, master of all tricks, play more successfully with a man than to tell him that he is always right, and that all he has to do is to find fault with other people? Human nature takes easily to that kind of inspiration. Every man is pleased to be crowned with a tiara; every soul is delighted to think that, after all, though he did not know it at the time, he was the very pope of God; there is something soothing and tranquillising and ineffably comforting about the thought that a man is the very vice-regent of God, that when he speaks all other men are to regard themselves as snubbed dogs. It is not easy to dislodge such a sophism from the heart. The Apostle Paul would have nothing to do with that kind of self-gratulation and self-sufficiency. “Yourselves examine: your own selves prove”: let charity begin at home: it is a pity that judgment should begin abroad; let them both begin at the same place and at the same time. He who is most severe with himself is most gentle with others; he who has felt his weakness admires and appreciates what appears to him at least to be the strength of other men.

Now we come to the exact meaning of the word “reprobates.” The sixth verse opens with a “But,” thus connecting it, whilst apparently disjoining it, with what has gone before. “But I trust that ye shall know that we are not reprobates”: you cannot estimate us until you have estimated yourselves; until you have passed the examination you cannot tell whether we have passed the scrutiny or not. The figure is that of a scrutiny, a careful examination of every claim, a thorough critical testing of every aspiration, a severe weighing as with balances of gold in the light of the sun of every claim to Christian confidence. Now, said the Apostle, but I trust that ye shall know that we are not adokimoi , unable to pass the scrutiny: not reprobates a substantive, but reprobate, rejected, not weight, unequal to the occasion, men who cannot pass the proof, the examination, or men who cannot stand the test. The Apostle thus asks simply to be examined after self-examination on the part of others; as who should say, Get yourselves right; be quite sure about your own spiritual standing before God; filter yourselves; pass through the narrow and strait gate and weigh yourselves; and then I trust that ye shall know that we also are able to pass the examination: you will be more gentle and gracious, therefore more just, towards us: your own selves prove, your own selves examine; and then I trust ye shall know that we are better men than you supposed us at first to be, for we have stood the test, we have passed the general scrutiny, and we have answered the personal demand of God and his righteousness, but

“Now I pray to God that ye do no evil; not that we should appear approved, but that ye should do that which is honest, though we be as reprobates.” ( 2Co 13:7 )

How willing to sacrifice himself for a moment or two, to undergo misapprehension! how apparently willing to be looked at with some degree of suspicion, if only he could get his scholars advanced a step or two! as who should say once more, Be you right: proceed on your own way; avail yourselves of every holy opportunity to become better men, even if we should be not quite so good as you thought us to be, even although you may suspect our inability to pass the examination or the proof. No such blemish in himself does he conceive or admit in any way; but, he says, Though we be as rejected, though we be unable to pass the examination, let it stand so for a moment, only what I say to you is, Do no evil; and having advanced to this negative position, then, do that which is honest, and, as for us, examiners, disciplinarians, apostles, “we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth.” This is a passage which is often misunderstood. The Apostle does not stand up and say, I am the champion of the truth, I can do nothing against the truth; whatever I do is true and right; look upon me as an infallible man, as one who has attained, and is already perfect. That is not the meaning of the Apostle’s words. Nor does he even say, We can do nothing against the truth, because it is mightier than we are, and he who would oppose a beam of timber to the oncoming of infinite billows is a fool. That is not his speech or plea. He is talking of himself as an apostolical disciplinarian, and he says, we can do nothing against the truth: if there is no offence in you, our discipline cannot take effect; if you are right, you have nothing to fear from discipline; if you are consciously right you should invite examination after having undergone it yourselves, for we can only set fire to fuel; and if you do not supply the fuel, any fire we may apply will be utterly without effect in your case.

Thus would the Apostle make them perfect parties to the whole process. But he would have them qualified before they took any part in it. Few men come from the secret sanctuary in a temper to criticise other men severely. When a man has been really praying, his eyes are opened towards the excellences rather than towards the defects of other men. If a man says when he returns from the sanctuary that he sees the world full of defect and blemish and failure and falsehood, he has not been praying, he does not know what it is to take Christ’s view of human nature. Christ was no pessimist. Christ looked hopefully upon the wandering and the lost, and sent messages after them, and pledged his whole almightiness on the side of their redemption. We should be mighty in love after we have been mighty in prayer. Read, then, We are powerless against the truth; discipline has no effect of an evil kind upon good and honest hearts: but where the character is wrong, discipline will take effect, and ought to take effect, for all badness is elected to spend its eternity in hell. That is the election of God an election of character, quality; that is the purpose of heaven. Then, with characteristic fatherhood for every great Christian apostle is amongst us as father and mother and nurse, always binding us up, and unwilling to let the weakest die says: “For we are glad, when we are weak, and ye are strong: and this also we wish, even your perfection” ( 2Co 13:9 ); we are quite willing to be looked upon as infirm, weak, inadequate, all but incapable, if so be we can live again in you, and see our strength in your power. “And this also we wish, even your perfection.” How many mistakes are made about this last word! There are persons now who are advocating perfection. Does the word mean perfectness, as the common etymology would imply? Nothing of the sort: “and this also we wish, even your” watch the encouragement and the rebuke how they mingle in the apostolic eloquence “your restoration.” Now, we see that you have advanced in nine paces towards the journey that may be accomplished in ten, and we wish you, almost perfect Corinthians, to take the tenth step, and be perfect. The figure is very graphic. The exact word never occurs elsewhere in the New Testament. A corresponding word is found in the English of “they were mending their nets”: this also we wish, your mending, your repair, your restoration: be mending yourselves; that is our apostolic wish for you. The word also occurs in Paul’s Epistle to the Galatians “Ye who are spiritual, restore such an one.” The figure there is out of joint, it is out of socket; the Apostle says, If any man have become disjointed, ye who are spiritual play the surgeon, and rejoint such a one in a spirit of meekness, doing it very carefully and gently, considering thyself, lest thou also have a joint out of socket, lest thou also require the surgeon. How mighty, how gentle, how like a man, how assuredly a shepherd of the flock! That this is his idea is made evident as he proceeds; for he speaks in the tenth verse of “the power which the Lord hath given me to edification, and not to destruction”: or, according to the Revised Version, “the Lord hath given me to building up, not to casting down.” We have often said that any beast can crush a flower: such low miracles let us leave to the beasts, otherwise we should spoil their tinsel glory. Any maniac could destroy the abbey, the minster. Destruction is the easiest of all things. But the Apostle says his power was given to building up, to making men firmer, stronger, completer; the power to edify, until the pinnacle pierce the heavens and proclaim its radiance because of its completeness. This is the ministry we all need. When the minister is hard with me, I am afraid, I tremble before his rebuke, but when he comes down to me and says, I have been as weak as you are, and worse than you are; and if you had broken every commandment every day since you were born, God’s love is greater than your sin, Christ’s Cross is mightier than all your iniquity, immediately I begin to feel that I am in the presence of one who is as God’s messenger, and I bless him that he has not destroyed the last lingering beam of light. Let us do what we can to build men up, to edify them in knowledge, in truth, in love, and in every element of strong, solid character; then our ministry cannot be put down; men will need it, long for it, expect it, yea they will say, Open to me the gates of righteousness, and let me enter in, and hear from man’s mouth God’s indubitable word.

What is the New Testament way of dealing with men who are wrong? For the existence of wrong we must admit. The Apostle, with all his noble sentiment, has never shown that he has blinded himself to the immoralities of the Church, but still he saw the Church under the immorality, above the immorality. He opens his letter as if he were addressing angels in heaven; he closes his letter with benedictions that are like gentle mothers’ arms round about us; but between the exordium and the benediction he has been clear enough in his moral views, exacting enough in his discipline; he has spared none. Yet he cannot finish his letter without “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.” ( 2Co 13:14 ) without saying that his whole meaning all the time was to build us up. Admitting, therefore, the existence of wrong, what is the New Testament way of dealing with men who are guilty of wrong? First, there is Christ’s way; what does the Master say? “Moreover, if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone; if he shall hear thee thou hast gained thy brother.” Have we not dwelt upon these words already with rapture? “Thou hast gained thy brother;” bring him as a trophy of battle, bring him as snatched from the hand of the spoiler, bring him home, and rejoice together with godly mirthfulness, with holiest joy. “But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the Church; but if he neglect to hear the Church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican” ( Mat 18:16-17 ). We should have heard Christ’s voice when he uttered these words, for the tears would have added dignity to the tone. Then there is Paul’s method; how does Paul deal with men who have done wrong? He tells us in his Epistle to the Galatians. “But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed.” Then it was simple decency, then it was real manliness, then it was Christian apostolicity. How otherwise the passage might have read! “But when Peter was come to Antioch he found a leading article in the morning journal, that took him down a great deal.” The article was anonymous. No doubt he would wonder who wrote it. But that article did not spare him. The Apostle Paul did not do so; he said, “When Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed.” When such honesty prevails in the Church we shall have a true revival of true godliness. He proceeds: “And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him; insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation.” Why, Paul names his men! How extremely injudicious; he might have been brought up for it! Then he proceeds: “But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the Gospel, I said unto Peter before them all.” This was discipline, this was apostolicity, with a breadth of meaning and with a sacred unction we can hardly understand to-day. But this was Paul’s method of dealing with all these things. Exhorting Timothy, he says, “Them that sin rebuke before all, that others also may fear.” Addressing the same loved disciple in a second letter, he says, “This thou knowest, that all they which are in Asia be turned away from me; of whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes.” Then again he says, “For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world.” He does not say “somebody has forsaken me, somebody has gone wrong, the whole apostleship is a disgrace and is a mistake.” He names the men, he specifies the charges, he meets them face to face; and there is no other honest course to be taken. These indications of personal apostasy or wrongdoing are the more suggestive, because none so much as Paul was so appreciative of the excellences of other men. Read the closing chapter of the Epistle to the Romans; not a name forgotten, not a service neglected, the whole Church remembered as it were one by one for every cup of cold water given, for every prayer shared or stimulated. The man was equal on both sides; an infinitely generous heart, and yet an infinitely critical judgment; sparing none who did wrong, but if he judged them with the severity of righteousness he hastened to heal them with all the clemency and redemptiveness of love.

Now, in view of these reflections, we submit, first, that it may be absolutely necessary to bring peronal charges. Christian men must face every difficulty attendant upon this necessity. If any man is unfaithful to his queen, and yet wears the queen’s uniform, he should be pointed out, named, and there should be created for him an opportunity of refuting the charge as a calumny, or accepting it as a just judgment. Then, secondly, some necessary charges should be made in grief, not in anger. Everything depends upon the distinction which is here drawn. We may accuse a man without having in us the spirit of accusation; we may almost ask his permission to put our feeling into words. Wantonly to accuse a man is one thing, but solemnly, tenderly, in a grief-stricken spirit, to say to the man, I may be mistaken I pray God I am but I feel that you are not preaching Christ’s Gospel, or that I am not; we cannot both be preaching it; let us talk this matter over, lovingly, frankly, prayerfully; if I am right, you are wrong; if you are right, I am wrong; how does the case stand before God? and who can tell what breaking down there may be on both sides? what a running of heart towards heart, what a clearing up of difficulties, what a rectification of mistakes, with a grand reunion of souls; yet, if it should come to a cleavage that cannot be repaired, then let it be solemnly recognised; and let all proper consequences ensue. This, according to my reading of apostolic custom and spirit, would have been the course taken by the Apostle Paul.

I would further submit, that the most odious of all heresies is an uncharitable spirit. You cannot preach the evangelical doctrine without having first the evangelic spirit. Many persons imagine that, by merely naming a number of words and doctrines, they are preaching evangelically. Evangelical preaching is a question of temper, spirit, disposition, solicitude of heart. The evangelical preacher cannot preach without tears, without tenderness ineffable. When Bishop Ken died some one got his Bible, and on trying to open it the book fell open of itself. The friend once more tried to open it, and the book seemed almost spontaneously to fall open at the same place. Curiosity was excited. The portion of Scripture at which the Bible fell open was, “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not love, it profiteth me nothing.” We can tell which part of the Bible a man has been using by looking at the Bible itself. There is a self-revealing power about the use to which a Bible has been put. Some of us always fall open at a particular place, but I am afraid it is often at an imprecatory Psalm. Why should we not always open our heart, life and spirit at the holy words, “Now abideth faith, hope, charity; these three; but the greatest of these is love.” A man may preach orthodoxy in a heterodox spirit. No man can preach orthodoxy wantonly, defiantly, blatantly; the Cross can only be preached by the crucified; blood can only be represented by tears. God’s Gospel ceases to be a Gospel when it is uttered with iron lips. It must be declared with trembling and tenderness, sympathy and anxiety; then will the preacher be lost behind his message, and the Cross will be its own illustration. Do not believe that the divisions of Christianity or of Christian communions are any reflection upon Christianity itself; trace all differences of opinion, all separations into communions, to the vastness of Christianity, not to its littleness. Consider what it is; it is the kingdom of heaven, it is in very deed the kingdom of God; it is the all-including, all-absorbing kingdom. Who can deal with it in a concise way, or expect monotony and literal agreement? Finally, our business should be to find, not the infidel, but the believer in every man. Search for the Christian, even in the most doubtful character, and you may find more of him than you expected. We often get what we look for; want to make a man an infidel, and we soon accomplish the little miracle; want to make him a Christian, and even Zacchus may stand up a son of Abraham.

Fuente: The People’s Bible by Joseph Parker

1 This is the third time I am coming to you. In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established.

Ver. 1. Of two or three witnesses ] So he calleth his threefold admonition. God’s word neglected will one day be a swift witness against the contemners. Moses shall accuse men, Joh 5:46 . God’s word lay hold on them, Zec 1:6 , and stick in their hearts and flesh, as fire, throughout all eternity, Jer 5:14 .

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

1 10 .] He warns them of the severity which on his arrival, if such be the case, he will surely exercise, and prove his apostolic authority. To this proof, however, he exhorts them not to put him .

Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament

1. ] This third time I am coming to you : i.e. ‘ this is the third visit, which I am now about to pay you .’ Had not chronological theories intervened, no one would ever have thought of any other rendering. The usual one, ‘This is the third time that I have been intending to come to you,’ introduces here, as also in ch. 2Co 12:14 , an element not only foreign to, but detrimental to, the purpose. The Apostle wishes to impress on them the certainty of this coming, and to prepare them for it by solemn self-examination; and in order to this, he ( on this interpretation ) uses an expression which would only remind them of the charge of which had been brought against him, and tend to diminish the solemnity of the warning . As another chronological refuge, Beza, al., suppose his two Epistles to be meant by the two former ‘ profectiones ad illos .’ In answer to all attempts to give here any but the obvious sense, we may safely maintain that had any other been meant, we should certainly have had more indication of it, than we have now. On , Meyer compares Herod. 13:76, : see also reff.: and on Paul’s visit to Corinth, the Prolegomena to 1 Cor. v.

.] i.e. ‘I will not now, as before, be with you as regards the offenders: but will come to a regular process, and establish the truth in a legal manner,’see reff.

This explanation, however, has not been the usual, one: Chrys., Calvin, Estius, al., and recently Neander and Olsh. and Stanley, understanding the two or three witnesses, of Paul’s two or three visits , as establishing, either (1) the truth of the facts, or (2) the reality of his threats: so Chrys., Hom. xxix. p. 639 f.: . , . (al. ), . , , , and Theophyl., . But it is decisive against the whole interpretation, as Meyer remarks, that thus the sins committed since the Apostle’s last visit would remain altogether unnoticed. Another view, connected with the rendering of ‘ am intending to come ,’ is given by Wetstein: “Spero jam denique mihi successurum, ut vobis demonstrem, serio me desiderasse ad vos venire: sicut ea qu trium hominum testimonio probantur, in judicio fidem faciunt.” Similarly Grotius and Le Clerc. But it is fatal to this, that according to it, the had failed to establish it.

., not for ., two (where only two can be had), and three (where so many can be obtained): ‘ two and three respectively .’ , the dual number not occurring in the N. T.

Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament

CHAP. 2Co 10:1 to 2Co 13:13 . ] THIRD PART OF THE EPISTLE. DEFENCE OF THIS APOSTOLIC DIGNITY, AND LABOURS, AND SUFFERINGS, AGAINST HIS ADVERSARIES: WITH ANNOUNCEMENT OF HIS INTENDED COURSE TOWARDS THEM ON HIS ENSUING VISIT.

Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament

2Co 13:1-10 .

IF HE COMES AGAIN, HE WILL NOT SPARE: CHRIST IS HIS STRENGTH: LET THE CORINTHIANS SEE TO IT THAT HE BE THEIRS ALSO.

Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson

2Co 13:1 . . . .: this is the third time I am coming to you. “At the mouth of two witnesses or three shall every word be established.” That is, he will hold a formal enquiry in the strict legal way (see reff.) when he arrives. No evasions will be possible.

Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson

2 Corinthians Chapter 13

The apostle reverts to his intention of visiting the Corinthian saints once more, and in such a way as to give a solemn force to the visit when it should be accomplished.

“This third [time] I am coming unto you. At [the] mouth of two witnesses and three shall every word [or, matter] be established. I have foretold and foretell, as if present the second [time] and now absent, to them that have sinned before and to all the rest, that if I come again I will not spare. Since ye seek a proof of the Christ speaking in me (who toward you is not weak, but is powerful in you, for although he was crucified in weakness, yet he liveth by God’s power; for indeed we are weak in him, but shall live with him by God’s power toward you), try your own selves whether ye be in the faith, prove your own selves. Or recognise ye not as to your own selves that Jesus Christ is in you, unless indeed ye be reprobate?” (Vers. 1-5.)

It had been already explained why the second visit had fallen through. It was to spare them he had not come. When he should revisit them, they must not expect such forbearance. His patience had been misconstrued by some, if others had profited. But this third time he was coming; and when he did, everything should be established with due evidence. The previous warnings he had given, to not only those that had sinned heretofore but all the rest, only strengthened his resolve not to spare at his coming again. The, language most naturally conveys that he had not gone to Corinth the time when he had intended his second visit. Hence he says, “I have foretold and foretell, as if present the second time and now absent, to them that have sinned before and to all the rest,” etc. There is no ground apparent to my mind that this was literally a third visit, rather on the contrary the second in fact, though third in purpose.

It helps greatly to the understanding of what follows to see that, whether marked externally or not, there is a parenthesis after the first clause of the third verse which runs through the fourth also; so that the connection of the first clause of verse 3 is really with verse 5. Since ye seek a proof of the Christ speaking in me, . . . . try your own selves whether ye be in the faith, prove your own selves.” It is a final notice of and answer to their unworthy questioning of Paul’s apostleship. Did they demand a proof of Christ speaking in him? Were not they themselves proof enough? Had He not spoken to their souls in that servant of His who first caused His voice to be heard in Corinth? As surely as they were in the faith, which they did not at all question, he was an apostle – if not to others, assuredly to them. The many Corinthians who, hearing the apostle, believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, were the last who ought to gainsay the messenger if they appreciated the message and Him who sent the messenger. If they were reprobate, having confessed Christ in vain, there was no force in the appeal, which derives all its power from their confidence that Christ was in them as the fruit of the apostle’s preaching.

This also shows how baseless is the too common abuse of the passage, as well as of 1Co 11:28 , to sanction a doubting self-examination, as one often hears, not only in the practical history of souls, but in the teaching of doctrinal schools otherwise opposed. Here, say they, we are taught to search ourselves and see that we be not too confident: does not the apostle in the first Epistle to the Corinthians call on each habitually to examine or prove himself before partaking of the Lord’s Supper? and does he not pursue that special call by the general exhortation in the second Epistle to examine or try themselves whether they be in the faith? The truth is that an examination of the context in each case dispels the error as to both – an error which strikes directly at the peace of the believer, if not also the truth of the gospel. For the gospel is sent by God, founded on the personal glory and the work of His Son, to bring the believer into communion with the Father and the Son in full liberty of heart and with a purged conscience. These misinterpretations, under cover of jealousy for holiness, tend immediately to plunge the soul into doubt through questions about itself.

What then do the passages respectively teach? 1Co 11:28-31 , the duty, need, and value of each Christian testing himself by the solemn truth of the Lord’s death expressed and confessed and enjoyed in His supper. How slur over sin of any kind, were it but levity in word or deed, in presence of that death in which it came under God’s judgment unsparingly for our salvation? Nor is it enough to confess our faults to God or man, as the case may require; but as on the one hand we discern the body, the Lord’s body, in that holy feast of which we are made free and which we can never neglect without dishonouring Him who thus died for us, so on the other hand are we called to discern ourselves, scrutinising the inward springs and motives of all, and not merely the wrong which appears to others. But this intimate self-searching, to which we are each called who partake of the Lord’s Supper, is on the express ground of faith, and has no application whatever to an unbeliever. This last doubtless has been mischievously helped on by the error of “damnation” in the Authorised Version of verse 29, which verses 30-32 clearly refute, proving that the judgment in question is the discipline of sickness or death which the Lord wields over careless or faulty saints in positive contrast with the condemnation of the world. As for the passage in our chapter, we have already seen that the argument derives all its force from the certainty that those appealed to were in the faith, not in the least that they were uncertain. That they were in the faith through Paul’s preaching ought to have been an unanswerable proof that Christ spoke through him; if Christ was not in them, they were reprobate; and was it for such to question his apostleship Scripture never calls a soul to doubt, always to believe. But self-judgment is ever a Christian’s duty; and our privileges, we being in ourselves what we are, only deepen the importance, as representing Christ, of dealing with ourselves truly and intimately before God, as well as of reminding our souls habitually of the Lord’s death and of its infinite and solemn import as shown forth in His Supper.

The parenthesis connects the apostle’s ministry, Christ’s speaking in him, with all he had laid down before as its true principle throughout the epistle, as well as in the preceding chapter. Christ certainly had shown Himself toward them not weak, but powerful in them. Let them only bethink themselves of the past, and weigh what His grace and truth had done for them. And if they found fault with the apostle as indifferent to, yea, as despising and abominating, fleshly power and worldly wisdom, let them think again of the Saviour, who “was crucified in [lit. out of] weakness, yet he liveth by [lit. out of] God’s power.” Let them judge then who was consistent with Christ, His cross and His resurrection – they with their natural thoughts; or the apostle with his ministry so despicable in the eyes of some? “For indeed we are weak in him, but shall live with him by God’s power toward you.” Where was dependence in faith of the crucified One? Where real power, as became the witness of resurrection and glory on high? Where unselfish devotedness and practical grace answering to Him who loved the church and gave Himself for it?

Thus did the apostle turn the unworthy demand of some in Corinth as to his apostolate to their own souls’ blessing as well as to the overthrow of their argument. So at the beginning of this epistle he had dealt with their imputation of fickle levity if not of untruthfulness by insisting on the immutable truth of what he preached of Christ, and the power of God in the Holy Ghost’s blessing that confirmed it in the believers. Not less does he here overwhelm those who, in their anxiety to dishonour his commission from Christ, were bringing to nought their own title to Christ. Did they seek evidence of Christ that spoke in Paul, and that was not weak toward them but was mighty in them? Let them try their own selves whether they were in the faith. The apostle was content with no better evidence than his Corinthian converts, unless indeed they were reprobate, which was far from the ground they took or he. He had far rather give them, and that they required, no proof of his apostolic power in severe discipline.

“But I hope ye shall know that we are not reprobate. But we pray* unto God that ye may do nothing evil, not that we may appear approved, but that ye may do the right though we be as reprobate. For we can do nothing against the truth but for the truth. For we rejoice when we are weak and ye are strong: this also we pray for, your perfecting. For this cause I write these things while absent, that I may not when present deal severely according to the authority which the Lord gave me for building up and not for casting down.”

* A B D F G P many cursives and all the ancient versions save the Pesch. Syr. and the Gothic, instead of the sing. of the Text. Rec.

Text. Rec. adds contrary to the best authorities.

It is impossible to conceive a more admirable dealing with a state of mind which must have been as grievous as it was humiliating to the apostle. Their high-minded ingratitude and short-sightedness only brought out an answer complete and withering, yet dignified, lowly, and loving. His heart was occupied with their further blessing, more than with his apostolic office, which he asserted for their sakes more than his own. To stand in doubt of him might jeopardise their own faith rather than his apostleship, which was there to he exercised if need were in vindication of the Lord against their evil, as it had already been by grace in their conversion. But he prayed that they might give no such occasion, not that the validity of his claim might appear, but that they might do that which became saints, even though he might lack such proofs or be ever so depreciated. There would then be no occasion for the display of power, as their honourable walk would testify for the truth; and as for the apostle, he could say “we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth. For we rejoice when we are weak and ye are strong.” And he prayed for this too, their perfecting.

It was reserved for the anti-church to claim irrevocable authority along with immunity from error. Where difference exists among the faithful, it is folly to claim a character which attaches only to their agreement in the power of the Spirit. And the apostle disclaims what the Roman pontiff arrogates, that clave errante the decision binds. The inevitable effect, soon or late, will be destruction, not edification. It is not Christ, but human assumption, not to say presumption.

Whether it be an individual’s assumption or an assembly’s, or whether as in one notable theory it be the chief along with that which represents the church as a whole, such a claim is fictitious and destructive of the Lord’s glory. The promise is strictly conditional, not absolute; and never was there an apparent failure save when the condition was broken, and then in very faithfulness the Lord gave not His sanction. To be unconditionally true, there ought also to have been infallibility, which belongs not even to an apostle but to God alone. The meek will He guide in judgment, and the meek will He teach His way; and this now in the church by His own guaranteed presence and lending, though nothing seem harder to conceive where the several wills of so many would naturally act diversely. But He is there in the midst to make good His gracious power when truly waited on, with subjection in the Spirit to the written word which casts its divine light on facts and persons; that all without force or fraud may act as one in the fear of God, or those who dissent may he manifested in their self-will, whether they be few or many.

But the taking for granted that a given sentence is irrevocable, because it is the opinion of a majority or even of a whole assembly, in the face of facts which overthrow its truth or righteousness, is not only fanatical (I do not say illogical only) but wicked fighting against God. In such a case, humbling as it is, most humbling for an assembly to judge itself hasty and mistaken in pretending to the mina of the Lord, where it was only the illusive influence of prejudiced leaders or the weakness of the mass who prefer general quiet in floating with the stream at all cost, or both causes or others also, the only course at all pleasing to the Lord is, that the error when known be confessed and renounced as publicly as it was committed, being due to Him and to the church, as well as to the individuals or company, if there he such, more immediately concerned. To keep up appearances in deference to men however respected if mistaken and misleading, to give expression to high-sounding terms or to vague begging the question of truth and right, in order to cloak an evident miscarriage of justice, is unworthy of Christ or of His servants. This was far from the apostle, who, as at the beginning of this epistle he disclaimed lording it over the faith of the saints, at the end proves his sincere desire, even when grievously slighted, to avoid if possible sharp dealing with those who had afforded grave occasion, and to use the authority which the Lord gave him for building up and not for casting down.

“For the rest, brethren, rejoice [or, farewell], be perfected, be encouraged, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you. Salute one another with a holy kiss. All the saints salute you. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit [be] with you all*.”

* Text. Rec. adds with most manuscripts (not the most early) and most ancient versions, etc.

May our souls be corrected and strengthened and refreshed by so benignant a conclusion! It well befits the epistle of restorative grace. The work of bringing back the saints in Corinth to meet thoughts in the Lord as to themselves and His servants, and the apostle especially, was only begun. Much remained to be done, both in fulfilling obedience and in avenging all disobedience. But the apostle was encouraged of God, and would comfort them on his part. He bids them, not merely farewell, but rejoice; he wishes what was lacking supplied, what was awry adjusted; he desires them to be not discouraged by or in occupation with themselves, but cheered on as they looked at his exhortation to the Lord; he would have them cultivate, not crotchety points of difference, but the same mind; he calls them, not to indulge in questions gendering strife, but to live in peace; and he assures them that the God of love and peace, as one combined blessing in the power of His presence, should be with them. What a spring of consolation for those who in the measure of deepening self-judgment might otherwise have been cast down! Nor was it only of that divine source of blessedness he assures them, but he calls on the expression to one another of mutual and holy love, as he sends it from all the saints in that part of Macedonia whence he wrote.

The benediction that closes all has the same suitability which we see in each epistle, admirably adapted to the state of the Corinthian saints, and of course not only to all others in similar experience but instructive and wholesome for all that believe. Yet for this very reason one feels the unintelligence which turns such pointed words of blessing into a standing invariable form for all sorts of different occasions, as if we were reduced to one ouch mode of dismissal, or that it was of the Spirit of God to select that which might seem the most comprehensive and comforting. As God gives no licence to confusion in the assemblies, so does He not sanction those who walk in pride and passion, in self-will, railing, and contention, however graciously He may act, when they begin to judge themselves. We need, not the word of God only, but His Spirit to apply it aright: else we May unwittingly pervert even that word to real mischief, with cheer where reproof is rather called for, and rebuke where consolation would be more seasonable. But what grace is told out in this inspired servant sending under all the circumstances such a parting message to all the saints in Corinth! “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.” Poor, weak, unworthy, what can saints lack to help them when this is made good? and what simple soul among the faithful would on such a warrant doubt it? or desire less or different for himself and his brethren? The free and full favour of Him who for us died and rose; the love of that God against whom we had without cause sinned to our utter ruin, yet who sent the Saviour to redeem us; the fellowship of the Holy Ghost, the power and seal of this infinite blessing, who gives us a common and abiding share in it all, yea, with the Father and the Son: what a portion to be with us all, and assured for ever!

Fuente: William Kelly Major Works (New Testament)

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 2Co 13:1-4

1This is the third time I am coming to you. Every fact is to be confirmed by the testimony of two or three witnesses. 2I have previously said when present the second time, and though now absent I say in advance to those who have sinned in the past and to all the rest as well, that if I come again I will not spare anyone, 3since you are seeking for proof of the Christ who speaks in me, and who is not weak toward you, but mighty in you. 4For indeed He was crucified because of weakness, yet He lives because of the power of God. For we also are weak in Him, yet we will live with Him because of the power of God directed toward you.

2Co 13:1 “This is the third time I am coming to you” This gives textual credence to the theory of Paul’s painful visit to Corinth between the writing of I and 2 Corinthians (cf. 2Co 12:14). This visit is not recorded in the book of Acts.

“every fact” This begins a quote from Deu 19:15 (cf. Num 35:30; Deu 17:6; Mat 18:16; 1Ti 5:19), which deals with court procedures. To what does it refer in this chapter? There are two possibilities.

1. It refers to the church’s evaluation of Paul. He had been there twice and shared with them. They were responsible and would be held accountable as hearers of the truth.

2. It refers to church discipline related to a group within the church.

a. the factious groups of 1 Corinthians 1-4 (cf. 2Co 12:20)

b. an immoral group (cf. 2Co 12:21)

c. the “super apostles” or false teachers with connections to Jerusalem and Judaism (chapters 10-13, especially 2Co 11:13-15)

NASB”is to be confirmed”

NKJV”shall be established”

NRSV”must be sustained”

TEV”must be upheld”

NJB”is required”

The form of this verb is a future passive indicative (cf. NKJV), but Barbara and Timothy Friberg, Analytical Greek New Testament, p. 573, say it is functioning as an aorist passive imperative (cf. NRSV, NJB). See Special Topic: Stand (Histmi) at 1Co 15:1.

2Co 13:2 “those who have sinned in the past and all the rest as well” This seems to relate to two groups. The first “who have sinned in the past” (perfect active participle), must refer to those believers at Corinth who heard Paul twice, but still rebelled against his leadership. This would be the factious groups of 1 Corinthians 1-4 or an immoral group (cf. 2Co 12:20-21; 1 Corinthians 5).

The phrase “and all the rest” seems to relate to those who were not present both times, possibly the false apostles from Jerusalem and their supporters, which are the focus of chapters 10-13. However, both groups/all groups are put on notice that Paul wants them to deal with the problems, but if they do not, he will!

“if” This is a third class conditional sentence, but it is used in the sense of “when” (cf. Joh 16:7 and 1Jn 3:2).

“I will not spare anyone” Paul uses this term in a positive sense in 1Co 7:23 and 2Co 1:23, but in a judicial sense both here and in 2Co 12:6 (cf. 2Co 10:11).

2Co 13:3 “proof” This concept of testing is recurrent in this context. There is a sustained word play between the connotations of two Greek terms, dokimaz and peiraz.

1. 2Co 13:3, proof – dokim (cf. 2Co 2:9; 2Co 8:2; 2Co 9:13; 2Co 13:3)

2. 2Co 13:5, test – peiraz (cf. 2Co 13:5)

3. 2Co 13:5, examine – dokimaz (cf. 2Co 8:8; 2Co 8:22; 2Co 13:5)

4. 2Co 13:5, fail the test – adokimos

5. 2Co 13:6, do not fail the test – adokimos

6. 2Co 13:7, approve – dokimos (cf. 2Co 10:18)

7. 2Co 13:7, unapprove – adokimos

For the full word study see Special Topic at 1Co 3:13.

“of the Christ who speaks in me” Some at Corinth were challenging Paul’s authority. They were “testing” Paul! In 2Co 13:5 Paul will “test” them! Christ’s presence in Paul had been confirmed (cf. 2Co 12:12).

“is not weak” Weakness is God’s way to victory as illustrated in Jesus’ life (cf. 2Co 13:4) and Paul’s life (cf. 2Co 10:1; 2Co 10:11; 2Co 12:9; 2Co 13:9). No human being will glory before God for spiritual accomplishments that are a direct result of who God is and not who we are. It is God’s resources which accomplish spiritual results! Believers must allow His power to flow through their need and helplessness. See SPECIAL TOPIC: WEAKNESS at 2Co 12:9.

2Co 13:3-4 are the summary antithesis of the rhetorically arrogant false teachers. They claimed a superiority from

1. racial lineage

2. personal charismatic experience

3. superior Sophistic, rhetorical training

4. personal comparisons

“toward you. . .in you” This plural “you” shows that Paul is referring to a congregational experience, not personal experience (cf. 2Co 13:5). Possibly the TEV translation, “among you,” catches the flavor.

2Co 13:4 “crucified” Paul uses several terms to describe Jesus’ death:

1. death (cf. Rom 5:6 ff; Rom 8:34; Rom 14:15; 1Co 8:11; 1Co 15:3; 2Co 5:15; Gal 2:21; 1Th 4:14; 1Th 5:10)

2. blood (cf. Rom 3:25; Rom 5:9; Eph 1:7; Eph 2:13; Col 1:20)

3. cross (cf. 1Co 1:17-18; Gal 5:11; Gal 6:12; Gal 6:14; Eph 2:16; Php 2:8; Col 1:20; Col 2:14)

4. crucifixion (cf. 1Co 1:23; 1Co 2:2; 2Co 13:14; Gal 3:1)

“yet He lives because of the power of God” It is phrases like this that caused so many Christological controversies in the early church. Is not Jesus God also? Does the human Jesus live by the power of a separate deity (i.e., YHWH)? One cannot build a systematic understanding on one verse or selected verses, but must try to unify all of the theological concepts into an integrated whole. See Special Topic: Monotheism at 1Co 8:4.

Usually the terminology of this verse is used to affirm that God the Father, as an act of approval, raised the Son (cf. Act 2:24; Act 3:15; Act 4:10; Act 5:30; Act 10:40; Act 13:30; Act 13:33-34; Act 13:37; Act 17:31; Rom 1:4; Rom 6:4; Rom 6:9; Rom 8:11; Rom 10:9; 1Co 6:14; 2Co 4:14; Gal 1:1; Eph 1:20; Col 2:12; 1Th 1:10). However, there are other inspired texts that affirm that (1) the Spirit raised the Son (cf. Rom 8:11) or (2) the Son raised Himself (cf. Joh 2:19-22; Joh 10:17-18).

“we also are weak in Him, yet we will live with Him” Paul’s understanding of Christianity was an identification of the believers in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. As He lived a humble, gentle, and misunderstood life, so will we; as He died in service to others, so should we; as He was raised, so are we (i.e., new life now) and will be (i.e., resurrection body at the Second Coming).

This identification theology is so evident in Romans 6. Paul wrote Romans while he was dealing with Corinth. Paul’s systematic understanding of Christianity (i.e., Romans) was fleshed out while he was working with this dysfunctional church.

Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley

third. See 2Co 12:11.

to = unto. Greek. pros. App-104.

In. Greek. epi. App-104.

witnesses. See p. 1511.

word. Greek. rhema. See Mar 9:32.

be established = stand. The reference is to Deu 19:15. Compare Mat 18:16.

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

1-10.] He warns them of the severity which on his arrival, if such be the case, he will surely exercise, and prove his apostolic authority. To this proof, however, he exhorts them not to put him.

Fuente: The Greek Testament

Chapter 13

Now he said,

This is the third time I am coming to you. In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established. [For] I told you before, and foretell you [I’m telling you again], as if I were present [with you], the second time; and being absent now I write to them which heretofore have sinned, and to all other, that, if I come again, I will not spare ( 2Co 13:1-2 ):

“I’m going to be really hard on you this next time.”

Since ye seek a proof of Christ speaking in me, which to you-ward is not weak, but is mighty in you. For though he was crucified through weakness, yet he liveth by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but we shall live with him by the power of God toward you. [So you better] Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith ( 2Co 13:3-5 );

I mean, Paul is saying, “Look, I’m going to come, and it’s going to be heavy. I’m going to come, not in weakness, but in the power of God’s Spirit to deal with the issues that are there in Corinth. And so you better examine yourselves, because this is going to be a heavy-duty thing when I arrive.”

You remember when Paul was on the isle and ministering to the governor Sergius Paulus, and the guy was listening and very interested, and this sorcerer Elymas started to say things against Paul. And God turned and said, or Paul turned and said, “God smite you with blindness, man!” And immediately the guy was blind and everybody feared, you know. They said, “Wow, what kind of a preacher is this?” You know. And they gave greater attendance to the Lord.

But Paul says, “Hey, when I’m coming, I’m coming in power. Even Christ was crucified in weakness, but He was raised in power. And I’m weak in Christ, but hey, I’m coming in the power. And so you better examine yourself to see if you be in the faith and,”

prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be [unless you’re] reprobates? But I trust that ye shall know that we are not reprobates. Now I pray to God that ye do no evil; not that we should appear approved, but that ye should do that which is honest, though we be as reprobates ( 2Co 13:5-7 ).

Or, “you consider us as reprobates.”

For we can do nothing against the truth, but [only] for the truth. For we are glad, when we are weak, and ye are strong: and this also we wish, even your perfection ( 2Co 13:8-9 ).

Isn’t that glorious? Here the guys are giving Paul a bad time speaking against him and all, and yet his heart towards them is that they might be perfected. He’s longing, he said, “I wish that you were strong and I was weak. I would, I desire your perfection.”

Therefore I write these things being absent, lest being [when I am] present I should use sharpness, according to the power which the Lord hath given me to edification, and not to destruction ( 2Co 13:10 ).

“I don’t want to come with the power of destruction. I want to come and build you up.”

Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect [Okay, the word there is fully mature, grow up], be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you ( 2Co 13:11 ).

So these beautiful exhortations of Paul: be fully matured, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace.

Greet one another with a holy kiss ( 2Co 13:12 ).

In some of the churches in the eastern part of the world, in Greece and all, they, Italy, you know, you go in, and the guys would kiss you in each cheek, you know. They still practice that in the church, of greeting one another with a holy kiss. You walk in, Arrividerci, brother. I can’t quite handle it, but . . .

All the saints salute you. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all ( 2Co 13:13-14 ).

Notice the Trinity here in Paul’s benediction. “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.” So Paul joins the Father, Son and Spirit in this benediction to the Corinthian epistle.

Thank You, Father, for Your word, a lamp to our feet, a light to our path. May we walk in its truth. Help us, Father, help us to grow, help us to become fully matured. Help us, Lord, to walk in unity, to walk in love, to live in peace. Help us, Father, to experience Your all-sufficient grace so that we will learn, Lord, to rejoice in tribulation. For we know that it works patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope. Lord, that we might realize that You are in control of those circumstances by which we are surrounded. And so we just commit the keeping of our souls to You through Jesus. Amen.

Next week, the first two chapters of Galatians. As we move along, it just gets gooder and gooder. So do your homework. Read Galatians this week. Get your background, so that as we gather together again next Sunday night, we might again be enriched through the word of God, the love of Christ, the power of the Spirit. That we might grow up in all things in Christ Jesus, becoming matured in our walk with Him. May the Lord be with you and may His hand be upon you to bless you through this week as you experience more and more His love, His grace working in your life. In Jesus’ name. “

Fuente: Through the Bible Commentary

2Co 13:1. ) The decisive number, the third time. So the LXX. , Num 22:28.-, I am coming) I am now in readiness to come.-, of witnesses) Therefore in this matter the apostle thought of depending not on an immediate revelation, but on the testimony of men; and he does not command the culprits to be cast out of the Church before his arrival.

Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament

2Co 13:1

This is the third time I am coming to you.-We have no record of but one visit to Corinth. (Act 18:1-18). But this, with 12: 14, makes it clear that he made a visit of which we have no record.

At the mouth of two witnesses or three shall every word be established.-Moses gave the law that no man should be put to death or punished except on the testimony of two or three witnesses. (Num 35:30; Deu 17:6; Deu 19:15). This law received a fresh prominence from our Lords reproduction of it in giving directions for the discipline of his disciples (Mat 18:16), and what was more natural than that Paul should conform to this law? The things to be established were the sins of which they had been guilty in opposing him, perverting the gospel, and corrupting the church.

Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary

In view of his intention to visit them again the apostle urged them to personal examination. They were to test themselves, and to prove themselves whether they were in the faith. The reason for his appeal, he urged, was not that he might be approved, but that they might do right.

All this long-continued argument of the apostle can hardly be read without a consciousness of his deep anxiety that the Corinthians should understand him, and know that the only motive prompting him in all his dealings with them was love of them. And yet, while thus anxious that they should understand him, he desired far more that they should be right themselves with the Lord.

The last words are words of cheer. A series of brief exhortations is first given, indicating what the Corinthians’ true attitude should be. “Farewell,” which here is not equivalent to “Good-bye,” but rather to “Rejoice.” “Be perfected,” or “Be fully equipped.” “Be comforted,” an injunction carrying the thought back to the beginning of the letter, in which the apostle dealt so fully with the comfort of God, which comes to all the afflicted. “Be of the same mind,” carrying the thought back still further, to the beginning of his first letter, in which he introduced his first corrective section by a similar injunction. “Live in peace,” the all-inclusive word, for peace pre-supposes purity, and is the very condition of power.

After the injunctions comes the declaration, “The God of love and peace shall be with you.”

The whole passage closes with the benediction. First, “the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ,” because it is through Him grace has had its! Epiphany, and through Him we have access to the Father. Then “the love of God,” for that lies ever at the heart of all blessing, being the infinite fountain from which the streams flow forth. And, finally, “the communion of the Holy Spirit,” for it is through such fellowship that the blessings of grace are realized and the love of God is shed abroad in the heart.

Fuente: An Exposition on the Whole Bible

13:1-10. The warnings connected with his approaching visit are continued, but there is not much more to be said, and he says it concisely. His concluding charges are given with Apostolic firmness and decision. He explains to them what they may expect from him (1-4), what they must do themselves (5-9), and why he writes before coming (10).

1. . For the third time I am now coming to you, or, This is the third time I am coming to you; cf. 12:14. It is possible to understand the words otherwise, for some eminent scholars do so, but the only natural meaning is that he has already paid two visits to Corinth (the long one, when he founded the Church, and the short one, when its members treated him so badly), and that he is about to pay a third. Lightfooot finds 12:14 and 13:1, 2 inexplicable under any other hypothesis. Alford says that had not chronological theories intervened, no one would ever have thought of any other rendering. See on 12:14.

. The citation is slightly abbreviated; in Deu 19:15 the words after run . In 1Ti 5:19 we have for , and some texts have here, but the sense is much the same whichever reading we adopt.* Logically three should come first; three witnesses, and (or) two, if three are not to be had; but it is natural to put two before three.

It is more important, and less easy, to decide why St Paul introduces this quotation. He may mean that he is going to hold a formal investigation, in which everything will be conducted according to the law which he quotes. The accused will not be condemned unless the accusation is proved to be true on adequate testimony. He may also mean that he is not going to claim to have received revelations about the Corinthians conduct; he will act upon human testimony, which can be sifted.

But is it likely that he was about to hold a court in which charges of misconduct could be made by one Corinthian Christian against another? Would he give facilities for any such proceedings? The sins with which he is about to deal are flagrant sins, which those who committed them did not conceal, because (as they claimed) they were not sins, but acts which the emancipated Christian was free to commit, if they pleased him. There was no need of witnesses; Corinthians who gloried in their shame would be condemned out of their own mouth, and there would be no room for an Inquisition.

Again, appears to have a definite relation to , and the hypothesis of an Inquisition gives no link between the two.

To avoid these difficulties, Chrysostom and Theodoret, with Calvin and some moderns, suggest that the visits to Corinth, two paid and one about to be paid, are the three witnesses. On the previous occasions he has found much that he was obliged to condemn, and he fears that during the third visit he may find a great deal of the same kind. That will amount to threefold testimony against them. True that it is the testimony of only one witness, but it is not mere repetition of the same evidence, for he bears witness to three different groups of fact. This is not a very attractive interpretation, but St Pauls manner of using Scripture is sometimes so free that we can hardly reject this interpretation as unworthy of him. Nevertheless, if we accept it, we need not suppose with Bousset that St Paul makes the suggestion that three visits are equivalent to three witnesses humorously. The Apostle is speaking with the utmost seriousness and gravity. Hence the impressive asyndeton of the opening sentences. But with regard to the rival interpretations of the Apostles meaning we must be content to remain in doubt.

. In the original text (Deu 19:15) either rendering may be right, shall a matter be established or shall a word be confirmed, i.e. regarded as valid (Num 30:5). In the quotation in Mat 18:16, every word may be established (AV, RV), is douthetless correct, and it may be correct here (AV, RV); but matter or thing makes equally good sense, although there is no alternative rendering in either margin. It is better to avoid a translation which implies that the Apostle is about to hold a tribunal in which Corinthians will bring charges against their fellow-Christians. He is going to pronounce sentence on those whose conduct is notorious and is not denied.

2. . In order to make quite clear the balance between and , and between and , the Apostle dovetails the two clauses. He says, I have said, before, and I do say before, as when I was present the second time, so now being absent; meaning, When I was present the second time, I gave a warning which still holds good (perf. as in 12:9); and now that I am absent, I repeat the warning. Both here and 11:9 is imperf. participle. Those who deny the second visit adopt the grammatically possible, but pointless and improbable rendering, I have forewarned, and do now forewarn, as though I were present the second time, although I am now absent. We may ask with Denney, Who would ever say I tell you as if I were present with you a second time, although in point of fact I am absent? Such mention of the absence is so needless as to be grotesque.

. To those who continued in sin before (during my second visit, as in 12:21) and to all the rest, viz., all those who have lapsed into sin since that visit. St Paul is fond of stringing together words compounded with the same preposition, esp. . Cf. 9:5; Gal 5:21; Rom 8:29; 1Ti 1:18, 1Ti 1:5:24; 2Ti 3:4; , 11:20; 1Co 11:4, 1Co 11:5; , 7:10; , 1Ti 1:18; see on ; 12:7.

. If I come for the third time, I will not spare. seems to be a unique expression; but occurs Thuc. ii. 20. It is amphibolous here, but must be taken with what precedes. There is no hint of hesitation in the (cf. 1Co 16:10; 1Jn 2:1; 3Jn 1:10). In such cases if is almost equivalent to when, but the possibility of an unexpected hindrance is recognized. But St Paul may be quoting what he said at the unfruitful second visit; If I come back again, I shall not spare.

. He may have been too lenient previously; but there will be nothing of the kind now.* We have no means of knowing what manner of punishment he intends to inflict, but may conjecture public censure, degradation in public worship, and excommunication. That he would employ supernatural power to inflict bodily sickness and suffering is also possible; see on 1Co 5:5 and 1Ti 1:20.

( A B D* G, Latt.) rather than (D 3 E K L P, Syrr. Arm. Goth.) or (Copt. Aeth.). Some later Latin texts corrupted the bis after ut praesens into vobis, then vobis was struck out as having no authority, and thus bis is omitted in the Clem. Vulg.

3. . This is closely connected with what precedes, and there should be at most a semicolon (RV) at the end of v. 2. He will not spare, because the Corinthians themselves have made it impossible for him to do so; seeing that ye are seeking a proof (2:9, 8:2, 9:13) of the Christ that speaketh in me. They demanded that the Apostle should give some convincing sign that Christ was working in him. Christ ought to manifest His power in him. That made it necessary for St Paul to show how severely Christ condemned such sins as theirs, when there was no repentance. This seems to point to the supernatural infliction of suffering. There is perhaps something of irony in this. You want a proof that the power of Christ is in me. You shall have it,-in a form that will not please you.

. Chiasmus once more, as in 12:9, 20, etc.; Who to youward is not weak, but is powerful in you. is peculiar to Paul in Bibl. Grk., who uses it always of Divine power. When he wants a contrast to human weakness, he uses (v. 9, 12:10); but this may be accidental. Neither towards the Corinthians nor among them had Christ shown Himself to be wanting in power. There was the amazing fact of saints in such a city as Corinth. There were the spiritual gifts which had been so richly bestowed upon many members of the Church, and of which some of them had been so proud. And there were the wrought by the Apostle himself (12:12). Scepticism in the case of men who had had these experiences was wilful scepticism; they did not wish to be convinced. But when he comes they shall have evidence which they cannot resist.

4. . For it is quite true () that He was crucified through weakness. This explains v. 3, as v. 3 explains v. 2, and in each case there should not be more than a semicolon between the verses. To those who were on the broad way that leads to destruction the doctrine of a crucified Christ was, of course, foolishness (1Co 1:18), and St Paul is here anticipating the objection that there could not be much power in a Christ who could not save Himself from crucifixion. He admits that in a sense it was through weakness that Christ was crucified; His father and He willed that He should submit to an infamous death. But that took place once for all (aor.), and now through the power of God He is alive for evermore. The in each case marks the source; cf. 11:26. With cf. Php 2:7, Php 2:8; Heb 5:8; with cf. Rom 6:4, Rom 6:8:11; Php 2:9.

. Another explanation of what immediately precedes. The fact that both weakness and power have been exhibited in the case of Christ is all the more credible, because the very same surprising change is found to take place in those who have such real union with Him; For we also are weak in Him, yet we shall live with Him through the power of God toward you. Incidentally we here see how intensely real to St Paul was his union with Christ. In this he is ever a mystic. He is again referring to vigorous action during the remainder of his life, especially to what will be manifested in his impending visit to Corinth. Even if is not original, probably means we Apostles rather than we Christians. The Corinthians have to deal with a Christ who was raised from death to power, and with Christs Apostle who has been saved from many deaths to do work for Him.

St Paul uses both the classical fut. of as well as the later form , but the latter occurs mostly in quotations from LXX.

The before (3 A D3 E L, f Vulg. Syrr.) may be omitted with * B D* G K P 17, d e g Memph. After it is difficult to decide between B D E K L P, d e Vulg.) and ( A F G, f g Copt.). ( A B D* 17) rather than (G) or (D3 E K L). B D3 E, Arm., Chrys. (twice) omit , which Vulg. renders in vobis, as if we had , as in v. 3.

5. . The pronouns are very emphatic; It is your own selves that you must continually test, your own selves that you must continually prove (pres. imperat.). The Corinthians thought that it was their business to test him, whether he was an Apostle speaking with the authority of Christ (v. 3). He is prepared to give them proof of this; but what they ought to be doing is testing themselves, whether they are in the faith and Christ is in them. here, as often, has the neutral meaning of test or try, without any notion of tempting to evil; see Swete on Rev 2:2 and Hort on 1Pe 1:7, and cf. Joh 6:6; Jam 1:2. The testing would be self-examination in accordance with Mat 7:16; By their fruits ye shall know them; were they living Christian lives? is never used in the sense of tempting to evil; it may be neutral (Luk 12:56, Luk 14:19), but it commonly means proving in the expectation of approving (8:22; 1Co 11:28; Rom 2:18, Rom 2:14:22; Eph 5:10; 1Th 2:4). This may be the reason why St Paul adds it after : Test yourselves; and I sincerely hope that you will stand the test. More probably he adds the word in order to prepare the way for and . The three words give an opportunity for playing on words of similar formation, such as St Paul delights in; cf. 1:13, 3:2, 4:8, etc.; also Rom 1:28.

. An expression of comprehensive meaning, the principles of the new spiritual life. On the hypothesis of the integrity of 2 Corinthians it is difficult to understand how the Apostle could tell them to test themselves as to whether they are in the faith after having assured them that (1:24) and , … If he first told them to test themselves, and in a later letter assured them that he was quite satisfied, all runs quite naturally.

; Or know ye not as to your own selves, that Jesus Christ is in you? The interrogative is not rare; 1Co 6:16; Rom 6:3, Rom 6:9:21; Mat 7:4, Mat 7:9. As in 1Co 13:12, the compound verb probably implies complete knowledge; he thinks that they must be quite sure that Christ is in them,-unless, of course, they are leading utterly unChristian lives.

. Unless perhaps ye be reprobates, i.e. are not accepted () because you cannot stand the . He is allowing for the distressing possibility that they may be disqualified. Both and are mainly Pauline in N.T. (see on 1Co 9:27; Rom 1:28), and in LXX is very rare. Here the terms have a different meaning as applied to the Apostle and as applied to the Corinthians. Was the former a genuine Apostle? Were all the latter genuine Christians?

We ought perhaps to prefer (B D E K L, d e Syrr. Goth.) to . . A F G P, f g Vulg. Copt. Arm.); see on 1:1. B D, Aeth. omit after .

6. . But I hope that you will come to know that we are not reprobate. This might mean one of two things; I anticipate that experience will teach you that Christ is in us with power to inflict punishment; or, I trust that your testing of yourselves will show that you are sound, and then you are sure to see that we are sound. It is the spiritual who can judge with sureness of the spiritual. That may mean expect rather than hope is clear from 8:5; but St Paul is not likely to have meant that he expected to be obliged to punish; he certainly hoped that no such proof of his power would be needed. The rapid changes between 1 sing. (vv. 2, 6) and 1 plur. (vv. 4, 7) should be noted. In all these cases he probably means himself only.

7. . But we pray unto God that you may do nothing evil. He has no desire to have any opportunity for proving his Apostolic power by inflicting punishment. He would rather that his Apostleship should be undemonstrated than that it should be demonstrated owing to their misconduct. That they should do what is noble is worth far more to him than that he should be able to give them proof of his being an Apostle of Christ. occurs several times in LXX; Num 11:2, Num 11:21:7; 2Ki 20:2; Job 22:27; Job_2 Macc. 15:27, which is just what we have here. The here gives the purpose rather than the contents of his petition; the latter has been already expressed by acc. and infin.

implies that the act is seen to be morally beautiful, and in Bibl. Grk. is peculiar to Paul (Gal 6:9; Rom 7:21). Like , , , , and , it may be evidence of St Pauls acquaintance with Greek philosophical language.

. The means that he would in that case seem to be disqualified. He would not have stood the test; not because he had failed when tested, but because the test had never been applied to him. He could not exhibit his power of punishing, because there was no one who deserved punishment. He would welcome such a happy state of things, however much it might tell against himself.

( A B D* G P 17, Latt.) is doubtless to be preferred to (D3 E K L, Goth.).

8. . He does not mean that no one can be successful in opposing the truth; magna est veritas et praevalet; a principle which has no special point here. He means that it would be utterly at variance with his character to take sides against the truth. Such a thing is morally impossible for him. All his life through he has been an ardent supporter of what he believed to be true, and what, since he became illuminated as a chosen Apostle of Christ, he knows to be true. This he can continue to be, and will. To rejoice in iniquity, because it gives him an advantage, is impossible for him. He cannot desire that they should be found to be doing wrong, in order that he may be proved to be right.

9. . For we are not merely content, we rejoice whenever we are weak, through not being able to manifest our power, and ye are strong, through doing nothing that requires punishment or censure. Jonah was angry because the repentance of the Ninevites caused his prediction of their overthrow to be unfulfilled; but the Apostle is delighted whenever his Corinthians repent, or prove themselves to be in no need of repentance, and thus cause his promised demonstration of Apostolic power (vv. 3, 4) to be unfulfilled. The indicates that this verse is a confirmation of v. 8.

, . This is an additional thing that we pray for, even your perfecting. To pray that they may go on to perfection is a great deal more than merely praying that they may do nothing evil (v. 7). AV mars the effect by translating first pray and then wish. RV. is more accurate in having pray in both places, and also in rendering perfecting rather than perfection; it is the growth in holiness that is meant. Cf. (Eph 4:12). Neither noun is found elsewhere in Bibl. Grk., but the verb (v. 11) is common enough. The original idea is that of fitting together, whether of setting bones or reconciling parties, and hence in N.T. the verb is often used of setting right what has previously gone wrong, rectifying and restoring, rather than merely bringing onwards to perfection. See Lightfoot on 1Th 3:10 and J. A. Robinson on Eph 4:12. Such a word is admirably suited to the context; it suggests, without necessarily implying, that at present things are wrong and that a process of rectification is needed. See on 1:6 for the Pauline usage of placing between the art. and the substantive.

(* A B D* P 17, Latt.) rather than 3 D3 E K L).

10. . For this cause, as 4:1, 7:13; 1Co 4:17, etc. Therefore (AV) may be kept for (1:17, 3:12, 5:6, 11:20, etc.), and wherefore for (1:20, 2:8, 4:13, etc.). It is because he desires their restoration and perfecting that he sends this letter before coming himself. But may possible anticipate and refer to what follows.

, . When absent I write these things, that when present I may not deal sharply. The rare adverb (Tit 1:13; Wisd. 5:22) reflects its meaning upon : he writes sharply, that he may not have to act sharply. occurs Wisd. 5:20, 6:5, 11:10, 12:9, 18:15, and nowhere else in Bibl. Grk. This is further evidence (see on 4:4, 5:1, 5:9, 6:3, 6, 7, 8:20, 10:3, 5) that St Paul knew the Book of Wisdom. with an adv. and no dat. occurs Job 34:20 (); Isa 28:21 (); Dan 8:7 (); Est 1:19, Est 9:27 ().

. This depends upon . He desires to be able to abstain from dealing sharply in accordance with the authority which the Lord gave me for building up and not for casting down (10:4, 8). Chastisement, if needed, would, of course, be for their building up; but at the moment it would look like demolition.

Throughout the passage the Apostles mind hovers between hope and fear, hope that the condition of the Corinthian Church may be better than he has been led to believe, and fear that he may have to use very drastic measures. There has been wrongdoing; of that there can be no doubt; he witnessed it himself during his second visit. But they may have repented, and there may have been no recurrence of grievous evils. On the other hand, the wrongdoers may be still impenitent, and others may be following their bad examples. He has no prejudice against any of them, and it will be a great delight to him to find that his misgivings are now baseless. But it is fair to them to declare plainly, that there will be a thorough investigation, and that impenitent transgressors, if they exist, will be severely dealt with. That unwelcome thought is now dismissed, and with a few affectionate sentences the Apostle brings his storm-tossed letter into a haven of love and peace.

13:11-13. CONCLUDING EXHORTATION, SALUTATION, AND BENEDICTION

If we adopt the hypothesis that the last four chapters are part of a letter written and sent before the first nine chapters, we need not, as some do, stop short at 13:10 as the end of the earlier fragment. Beyond reasonable doubt these remaining verses are the conclusion of the earlier letter, and from 10:1 to 13:13 (14) is all one piece. The change to an affectionate tone here, after the vehemence and severity of 10:1-8:10, is as natural and intelligible as the change in the opposite direction between chapters 9. and 10. is unnatural and perplexing.* Secondly, there are fairly conspicuous links between these concluding verses and those which immediately precede them; recalls , while , looks like a direct reference to his dread of finding , , … (12:20), rampant among them. There is nothing of the same kind between these concluding verses and the latter part of 9. Moreover, the hypothesis that the whole of the last portion of an earlier letter has become united with the whole of the first portion of a later one is not a violently improbable conjecture. That a section of the earlier letter has been inserted between the main portion and the conclusion of the later letter is much less easy to believe. See p. 385.

11. . Finally; lit. as to what remains (1Co 1:16, 1Co 1:4:2; 1Th 4:1; 2Ti 4:8). Perhaps more colloquial than (2Th 3:1). See Lightfoot on Php 3:1, and on 1Th 4:1.

. Freq. in 1 Cor., rare in 2 Cor. 1-9., and here only in 2 Cor. 10-13. They are still his brothers.

. Neither farewell alone, nor rejoice alone (Lightfoot on Php 4:4); but here the meaning farewell certainly prevails. Rejoice would be rather incongruous after . Note the pres. imperat. in all the verbs; the good points indicated are to be lasting. Continue to do all these things. There must be a considerable process day by day to bring about complete spiritual restoration.

. This seems clearly to refer to (v. 9). Work your way onwards to perfection. See on , 1Co 1:10, which is similar in meaning, and see the illustrations in Wetstein on Mat 4:21. There is much that requires to be amended; many deficiencies remain to be made good, even if those who have been in sin are now penitent.

. This might mean be of good comfort (AV) or be comforted (RV), but more probably it means be exhorted, exhortamini (Vulg.), i.e. listen to my exhortations and entreaties. For comfort one another we should probably have , as in 1Th 4:18, 1Th 5:11, or (cf. v. 5).

. Be of the same mind, Be harmonious in thought and aim. All Churches needed this exhortation (Rom 12:16, Rom 12:15:5; Php 2:2, Php 4:2), but no Church more than that of Corinth. This fits on well to the renderings given above; Farewell. Go on to perfection; follow my exhortations; be of the same mind. But such a sequence as Rejoice; be perfected; be comforted; be of the same mind, is rather disjointed.

. Live in peace (1Th 5:13; Rom 12:18; Mar 9:50). In LXX the verb is specially freq. in Job and Ecclus., but nowhere is there the exhortation . It is the natural result of . But there is a more momentous result, which is the crown of all.

. This corresponds to the two preceding exhortations, to , and to . Cf. Luk 10:6. Vulg. usually has caritas for , but here, although there is no diligo to influence the rendering, it has dilectio. The God of Peace is an expression which St Paul has elsewhere; Rom 15:33, Rom 15:16:20; Php 4:9; cf. 1Co 14:33; 2Th 3:16; Heb 13:20. The God of love is used nowhere else. Even if the two preceding exhortations had not suggested the order, St Paul would probably have put before (Gal 5:22). Some texts here change the order (D E L, d e Goth. Arm.), probably influenced by the passages in which occurs.

12. . Salutations at the close of the letter are found in all four groups of the Pauline Epistles; those in 1Co 16:19-21 are specially full; still more so those in Rom 16:3-23. Cf. 1Th 5:26; Col 4:10-15; Phm 1:23; Tit 3:15; 2Ti 4:19-21. Papyri show that such salutations at the close of a letter were a common feature in ordinary correspondence, and is commonly the verb used. As in 1Co 16:20, the comes at the end with emphasis. The Apostle is sure that all the Christians with whom he is in touch in Macedonia will desire to send their love to their brethren in Corinth.

. We must follow B D E K P, d e in reading thus here. No doubt the order . has been adopted in A F G L, f g Vulg. to make this passage agree with 1Co 16:20; 1Th 5:26; Rom 16:16. See the notes on all three of these passages respecting the , and also Enc. Bibl. 4254, and Enc. Brit. art. Pax. The suggestion that the kiss of concord was already an institution in the synagogue has received confirmation from what seem to be Armenian quotations from Philo; and, if that is accepted, the view that the holy kiss in the Christian Church was never promiscuous, is confirmed. That the kiss given to a Rabbi suggested it is less probable. The sexes being separated in the synagogues, the men would kiss men, and the women would kiss women, and Christian assemblies would follow the same practice as a security that the was . Nowhere in N.T. is the holy kiss connected with public worship. Justin (Apol. 1:65) connects it with the Eucharist, Tertullian (De Orat. 18) with all prayers, and he seems to imply that the kiss in some cases had become promiscuous; thus (Ad Uxor. 2:4) Quis in carcerem ad osculanda vincula martyris reptare patietur? Jam vero alicui fratrum ad osculum convenire? and (De virg. vel. 14) dum inter amplexus et oscula assidua concalescit. But it is not clear that these passages refer to the liturgical kiss. Express prohibition of the sexes kissing one another in public worship is found in the Apostolic Constitutions (2:57, 8:11). In the East, the kiss seems to have taken place before the consecration of the bread and wine; in the West, after it. Cyril of Jerusalem says of it; Think not that this kiss ranks with those given in public by common friends. It is not such; this kiss blends souls one with another, and solicits for them entire forgiveness. Therefore this kiss is the sign that our souls are mingled together and have banished all remembrance of wrong (Mat 5:23). The kiss therefore is reconciliation, and for this reason is holy (Catech. xxiii. 3). The substitution of a pax-bred (pax-board), which was kissed first by the clergy and then passed round to the congregation, is said to have been introduced in England by Archbishop Walter of York in 1250 and to have spread to other Churches. Disputes about precedence caused the congregational use of these tablets to be abandoned. The British Museum possesses richly ornamented examples of them. In the Greek Church the holy kiss seems to be represented by the priests kissing the holy things (paten, chalice, and table) and by the deacons kissing his orarion, where the figure of the cross is (J. N. W. B. Robertson, The Divine Liturgies, pp. 290-292).

While has special point, being added in order to distinguish this kiss from the kisses of ordinary affection or respect, no special meaning is to be found in of , as if they were to be distinguished from other believers who were not . It has the usual meaning of Christians, those who by baptism had been consecrated to the service of God. Cf. 1:1, 8:4, 9:1, 12; etc. The comes last with emphasis; but Theodoret exaggerates its meaning when he suggests that St Paul is sending a salutation from the whole of Christendom. All the converts in Macedonia who knew that the Apostle was sending a letter to Corinth wished him to include a kind message from themselves. No salutations to individuals are needed, because St Paul is so soon coming himself.

RV. and AV follow earlier English Versions in taking as a separate verse, v. 13, making the benediction which follows it to be v. 14. Gregory (Prolegomena, pp. 173 ff.) has collected a number of instances in which editions differ as to the divisions between verses.

13. . The conjectures that this benediction, which is the fullest in wording and in meaning of all the benedictions in the Pauline Epistles, was written by the Apostle with his own hand (Hoffmann), and was already a formula current in the Churches which he had founded (Lietzmann), are interesting rather than probable. If the latter were correct, we should expect to find the same formula used in the benedictions at the close of later Epistles; whereas this triple form is unique. Evidently the simple form was the one which was usual with the Apostle himself. There are slight variations in wording, as to the insertion or omission of , of (as by B here), of , and of before , but it is only the Grace of the Lord Jesus that is mentioned. In no other benediction are and expressed. And it is the fact that this simple form is the Apostles usual form which accounts for the order here, the Lord Jesus Christ coming before God and the Holy Spirit. St Paul began to write according to the type found in his earlier (1Th 5:28; 2Th 3:18; Gal 6:18; 1Co 16:23) and later (Php 4:23; Phm 1:25) letters, and then for some reason made the benediction more full. The reason may have been either a wish to show that the severe passages which he has just dictated do not mean any abatement in his affection or in his desire for their spiritual advancement, or the thought that a community in which there had been so much party-spirit and contention required an abundant outpouring of the love of God and of the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. This is a more probable explanation of the order of the Divine Names than the suggestion that it is through the grace of Christ that we come to the love of God (Bengel).* From different points of view either may be placed first. No man can come to Me, except the Father which sent Me draw him (Joh 6:44); and No one cometh unto the Father but by Me (Joh 14:6). The shortest forms of benediction are found in Col 4:18; 1Ti 6:21; 2Ti 4:22; Tit 3:15. The only one which comes near to this in fulness is Eph 6:23, Eph 6:24, but in that there is no mention of the Holy Spirit. is everywhere followed by : it is the Pauline amplification of the ordinary conclusion of letters, or , or . Act 15:29 we have , but Act 23:30 must not be quoted for , which is an interpolation. From 2Th 3:17 we learn that this was , and it is probable that he usually, if not invariably, wrote it with his own hand. See on 1 Cor. 6:21, 23.

On the whole, it is safest to regard all three genitives as subjective; the grace which comes from the Lord Jesus Christ, the love which God inspires in the hearts of His children (cf. v. 11), the sense of membership which the Holy Spirit imparts to those who are united in one Body. But in either the second or the third case the genitive may be objective; love towards God, communion with the Spirit. No exegetical skill, as Lietzmann remarks, can give us certainty as to the exact meaning of . See Bousset, ad loc.

. No one is excluded. He has had to say stern and sharp things to some of them; but to every one of them, even to those who have been his bitterest opponents, he sends his blessing. The is exceptional in these benediction; cf. 2Th 3:18. See Stanley, ad loc.

This verse suggests beyond a doubt that beneath the religious life of the Apostolic age there lay a profound, though as yet unformulated faith in the tripersonality of God (Swete, The Holy Spirit in the N.T. p. 198); in other words, that St Paul and the Church of his day thought of the Supreme Source of spiritual blessing as not single but threefold-threefold in essence, and not only in a manner of speech (Sanday in Hastings, DB. 2. p. 213). It is egregium de ss. Trinitate testimonium (Bengel), for it reveals the background of the Apostles thought, and shows that he was able to expect that language of this kind would be understood in so young a Church as that of Corinth. In 1Co 12:4-6 we have similar evidence of a sense of the threefold nature of the Source of all good; the same Spirit the same Lord the same God. But it is all undogmatic and undeveloped. Forty years later Clement of Rome (Cor. 46:3, 58:2) is more definite; one God and one Christ and one Spirit of grace; and as God liveth, and the Lord Jesus Christ liveth, and the Holy Spirit. In both places he has the usual order, whereas St Paul has it in neither. Eph 4:4-6 ought not to be quoted as exactly parallel, the meaning of being different. The Apostle frequently distinguishes between Jesus Christ as and the Father as (1:3, 11:31; 1Th 1:1; 2Th 1:1, 2Th 1:2, 2Th 1:12, 2Th 1:2:16, etc.). That he was acquainted with the tradition respecting the baptismal formula preserved in Mat 28:19 cannot be inferred from this verse. Indeed, if he had been acquainted with it, we might here have had a nearer approach to the formula. Cf. Eph 2:18, 3:Eph 2:14-17; Heb 6:4-6; 1Jn 3:23. 1Jn 3:24, 1Jn 3:4:2; Rev 1:4, Rev 1:5; Jud 1:20, Jud 1:21; and see Plummer, S. Matthew, pp. 432 ff. The triple benediction in Num 4:24-26 may be compared; Jehovah bless thee, and guard thee; Jehovah cause His face to shine upon thee, and show thee favour; Jehovah lift up His face towards thee, and appoint thee welfare. But there it is only the gifts that are distinguished, the Giver being the same throughout. See Gray, ad loc.

B omits , but it may be retained. * A B C F G, 17 f g, etc., omit , which here, as in most other places, is a liturgical addition at the end of the Epistles.

The hypothesis that the last portion of one letter has been accidentally joined to the first portion of another letter is supported by the fact that this very thing has happened in the case of other documents belonging to primitive Christian literature. The true text of the Epistle to Diognetus ends abruptly at the tenth chapter. The two remaining chapters belong to some different work, which has been accidentally attached to it, just as in most of the extant MSS. the latter part of the Epistle of Polycarp is attached to the former part of the Epistle of Barnabas, so as to form in appearance one work (Lightfoot, The Apostolic Fathers, p. 488). These MSS. are nine in number, and all belong to the same family, as appears from the fact that the Epistle of Polycarp runs on continuously into the Epistle of Barnabas without any break, the mutilated ending of Polycarp, 9, , the mutilated ending of Polycarp, being followed by the mutilated beginning of Barnabas, 5, … ibid. pp. 166 f.). See also Lightfoot, S. Clement of Rome, i. p. 5.

The subscription, , has very little authority, although it is found in K, many cursives, Syr-Hark. and Copt. L omits of Macedonia; Syr-Pesh. omits Luke; a few cursives add Barnabas. Philippi may be pure conjecture; Titus and Luke come from 8:18. The best authorities, A B 17, have simply .

* Cf. Plato, Phaedo, 63 E., ..

When he arrives, he will proceed at once to hold a judicial investigation, and will carry it through with legal stringency (Denney).

As Erasmus puts it, quisquis delatus fuerit, is duorum out trium hominum testimonio vel absolvetur vel damnabitur. Cf. Judge not alone, for none may judge alone save One (Pirqe Aboth, iv. 12).

* If this threat is referred to in 1:23, then this passage must have been written before that. See Rendall, p. 39.

(Fourth century). Codex Sinaiticus; now at Petrograd, the only uncial MS. containing the whole N.T.

A (Fifth century). Codex Alexandrinus, now in the British Museum. All of 2 Corinthians from 4:13 to 12:6 is wanting.

B B (Fourth century). Codex Vaticanus.

D D (Sixth century). Codex Claromontanus; now at Paris. A Graeco-Latin MS. The Latin (d) is akin to the Old Latin. Many subsequent hands (sixth to ninth centuries) have corrected the MS.

* information respecting the commentator is to be found in the volume on the First Epistle, pp. lxvi f.

G G (Late ninth century). Codex Boernerianus; at Dresden. Interlined with the Latin (in minluscules). The Greek text is almost the same as that of F, but the Latin (g) shows Old Latin elements.

E E (Ninth century). At Petrograd. A copy of D, and unimportant

K K (Ninth century). Codex Mosquensis; now at Moscow.

L L (Ninth century). Codex Angelicus; now in the Angelica Library at Rome.

P P (Ninth century). Codex Porfirianus Chiovensis, formerly possessed by Bishop Porfiri of Kiev, and now at Petrograd.

f d The Latin companion of F

17 17. (Evan. 33, Act_13. Ninth century). Now at paris. The queen of the cursives and the best for the Pauline Epistles; more than any other it preserves Pre-Syrian readings and agrees with B D L.

d d The Latin companion of D

e d The Latin companion of E

g d The Latin companion of G

F F (Late ninth century). Codex Augiensis (from Reichenau); now at Trinity College, Cambridge.

* There is a similar change from sternness to gentleness between 2Th 3:10-15 and 16-18.

* It is through the grace of Jesus (cf. 8:9) that Paul has learned of the love of God, and therefore the name of Jesus is significantly put first. (McFadyen). Cf. Eph 2:18, which gives some support to this.

C C (Fifth century). Codex Ephraemi, a Palimpsest; now at Paris, very defective. Of 2 Corinthians all from 10:8 onwards is wanting.

Fuente: International Critical Commentary New Testament

Prove Your Own Selves

2Co 13:1-6

Once more Paul refers to the charge that his ministry was characterized by weakness. This deeply wounded him. He admitted that in his personal appearance and speech he might be all that his enemies averred, but he contended that weakness did not count when married to the divine. Was not Christ weak when He was crucified? yet through that cross He has exerted His mighty saving power upon myriads! Through the weakness of death He passed to the right hand of power and bestowed the Pentecostal gift. Suppose, then, that the servant shared the weakness of his Lord, might not the divine power work through his poor, weak nature as through the Lord Himself? Let us not always be dwelling on our weakness and limitations; did not the divine fire tremble around the poor shrub of the wilderness?

Paul goes on to urge the Corinthians to prove-that is, to test-themselves by reminding them that unless they are reprobate, the Lord Jesus is truly and literally dwelling within them. This is the fundamental fact in a holy life. When we open our hearts, He enters, and becomes in us the Life of His life and the Light of all our seeing.

Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary

Crucified Through Weakness

2Co 13:1-14

This is the third time I am coming to you. In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established. I told you before, and foretell you, as if I were present, the second time; and being absent now I write to them which heretofore have sinned, and to all other, that, if I come again, I will not spare: since ye seek a proof of Christ speaking in me, which to you-ward is not weak, but is mighty in you. For though he was crucified through weakness, yet he liveth by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but we shall live with him by the power of God toward you. Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates? But I trust that ye shall know that we are not reprobates. Now I pray to God that ye do no evil; not that we should appear approved, but that ye should do that which is honest, though we be as reprobates. For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth. For we are glad, when we are weak, and ye are strong: and this also we wish, even your perfection. Therefore I write these things being absent, lest being present I should use sharpness, according to the power which the Lord hath given me to edification, and not to destruction. Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you. Greet one another with an holy kiss. All the saints salute you. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen. (vv. 1-14)

This last chapter may really be divided into two parts, and yet they are so intimately connected that I want to discuss it all at the same time. The apostle, you remember, had told these Corinthians on two previous occasions that he had been arranging to come to see them, but certain circumstances hindered. Just what forms these circumstances took we are not told, but he was unable to come; and because he had not kept his partial promise there were those who accused him of lightness, of levity, in promising things which he did not do. Others declared there was a very good reason why he did not come. They said, He has charged us with certain things, which he is taking for granted are true, and he does not dare to come and face us about them. And he said, I am coming, the third time I am coming, and when I come, in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word will be established. I have written you beforehand of behavior contrary to Christian principles. All I have heard will be fully substantiated, and I hope when I get there I will find you really repentant of these evil things and not condoning them. I told you before, and foretell you, as if I were present, the second time; and being absent now I write to them which heretofore have sinned, and to all other, that, if I come again, I will not spare. He did not like to come. He says on one occasion, To spare you I refrained from coming, but he could not put it off; he would come to them and deal with those things face to face. Unholiness is incompatible with the testimony of the church of God, which is the temple of the living God. Holiness becometh Thine house, O LORD, for ever (Psa 93:5). And if those who are linked up with others in Christian fellowship are living unholy lives, they should be put away from the assembly, but if they repent they are to be restored to full communion. In replying again to the suggestion that Paul was not a real apostle, he says, If you seek a proof of Christ living in me, examine yourselves. Now if you take this fifth verse out of its connection you lose the meaning of it. Many people take it as though he meant that we are to examine ourselves to see if we are real Christians, but that is not what Paul was saying. They questioned his apostleship, whether the Spirit of God was in his ministry. If you will look at everything after speaking in me, verse 3 down through verse 4, as parenthetical, then you get his exact meaning. Since ye seek a proof of Christ speaking in me,examine yourselves. In other words, he is saying, Are you Christians? How did you become Christians? Was it not through my ministry? Well, then God was working in me. If you are hypocrites, if you are not real Christians, then Christ did not work in me. If you are real Christians, if you have the assurance that you are the children of God, you received that as a result of the testimony that I brought to you at Corinth. Therefore you ought to be the last people in the world to question whether Christ wrought through me.

I suppose we are all indebted to some servant of Christ for our present knowledge of the truth. If we are not living in a godly manner, it is reflecting discredit on the one who brought us to Christ. If we want to bring credit to our fathers and mothers in Christ, then we should live to the glory of God. There are certain things that the world looks upon as its own, and I am here to represent my Father, and I do not want to bring discredit on my Fathers name. The Book says, Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever (1Jn 2:15-17). Oh, I wish that we as Christians might ever keep that in mind! We are here in the world to represent our Father and to represent our Savior, and men can but get their conception of God and of Christ, our blessed Lord, through us. We may well examine ourselves, therefore, and see if we are so behaving as to bring glory to our Lord Jesus Christ.

Let us now go back and look at the parenthesis. Paul turns aside and exclaims concerning his ministry, Which to you-ward is not weak, but is mighty in you. For though he was crucified through weakness, yet he liveth by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but we shall live with him by the power of God toward you. This is the parenthesis. Now notice how solemnly he brings before us the humiliation Christ endured for our redemption, which we are in a measure called to share. He was crucified through weakness. What does that mean? Does it mean He was so weak in Himself that He was unable to resist His foes? Or was He simply the victim of circumstances? Oh, no. The preposition translated through here is generally rendered in. He was crucified in weakness, but He liveth again in the power of God. It simply means this: He chose to become a Man for our redemption. He chose to be made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death. He who was higher than the highest did not count it [equality with God] a thing to be grasped, but He emptied Himself of the glory He had before the world was, and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, and [such a death, that] of the cross. In this sense He was crucified through weakness. As excarnate God He could never have died for our sin. But He chose to become incarnate. He chose to become a man, and to be subject to hunger and thirst and weariness and every sinless infirmity of mankind, and He chose not to resist His foes. He allowed Himself to be spat upon, to be beaten, to be crowned with thorns. I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheek to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting. He chose to be despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief. It was His own desire thus to give Himself a ransom for all, and so we read in his first epistle: After that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; but unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God (1Co 1:21-24). Now listen: Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men (1Co 1:25). Think of these two expressions: First, The foolishness of God; what does it mean? It is really, the simplicity of God. It means that Gods wondrous plan of redemption through the cross is foolishness to the philosopher, the man of this world, but the Scripture says, The foolishness of God is wiser than men. And, second, The weakness of God; what does that imply? God becoming Man, God submitting to the agony and shame of the cross, God in Christ bleeding, suffering, dying for our redemption. The weakness of God is stronger than men. God could do through the cross what He never could do apart from the cross. Oh, the miracles that have been wrought through the cross all down the centuries! Do you know of anything else that can change the heart of a hard, cruel and godless man, transform him and make a new creature of him?

A minister tells how on one occasion in New Guinea, where perhaps less than a score of years before the heathen were utterly wrapped in darkness, through a testimony carried on there by faithful witnesses the people were gathered reverently at the table of the Lord, and here sat a missionary of the cross. Beside him sat an elder of the native church. The minister recognized in this elder the son of a man who had eaten the missionary father of the son sitting there. The son of the martyred missionary and the son of the man who had killed him, were both remembering the Lord Jesus as the Savior of mankind. Do you know of anything that can bind hearts together like this?

You recall the story of Kayarnak, the first convert of the Moravian missionaries in Greenland. When they went to that country and found the people so steeped in iniquity, they said, They will never understand the gospel. These people are drunkards, gluttons, they are adulterers, they are living the vilest of lives. They wont understand the grace of God, they will take it as a license for sin. So the Moravian missionaries drilled into the hearts and minds of that people Gods holy law. They said they had to do it to create a conscience in the Eskimo. But the results were nil. No man had ever sought out a missionary for conference about his soul. They listened to the messages and went back and lived their wicked lives again. And then Hans Egede came, his heart burning with love for that people. He had left wealth and honor to sacrifice himself for those unspeakably vile Greenlanders. It was announced he would speak in a certain neighborhood on a Lords Day. They crowded into a small lodge holding two hundred to three hundred people. It was a poor affair, built up from pieces of old wrecked ships. There they sat. Hans Egede stood up and preached and, for the first time in the history of Greenland, told the story of the cross. Tenderly, lovingly, with a heart that had itself been broken by the power of the cross, he told of the One who had suffered and bled for the redemption of sinners. It took an hour or two to tell his story, and when he finished Kayarnak, a young chief, who had been listening eagerly as the gospel was proclaimed, sprang forward and cried, Missionaries, why did you not tell us this before? You have been with us a year, and you never told us before. You told us of a God who created a world, and it did not make us hate our sin. You told us of a God who gave His holy law. We learned the Ten Commandments, and we went out and got drunk again, but today you have told us how our sins broke the heart of God and He came to redeem us from our sins. Missionary, Kayarnak cannot sin against love like that. From now on Kayarnak will be a Christian. And Kayarnak became the outstanding Christian testimony for years in Greenland. The weakness of God is stronger than men. We have sometimes tried to reason people into salvation, forgetting that our commission is to preach His Word, to preach Christ. Paul says, We preach Christ crucified, the power and wisdom of God. He was crucified in weakness. Let us never forget that. My sin put Him there; your sin put Him there. What do I mean? You say, We are Christians; do you mean the sins we committed before we were saved? I mean the sin that you committed last night, that sin nailed the Son of God to the cross; that sin that you have been meditating today, that sin put God on the cross. All the sins that you and I have committed, of thought, of word and of deed, God saw them all, and for all of them the Son of God suffered, and if you deliberately walk out and commit sin you are sinning against the cross of Christ. You cannot live like the world without trampling on the Son of God. You cannot go on in things that His Book condemns without deliberately piercing, as it were, the side of the Son of God afresh.

And yet it is not a dead Christ that we serve. He lives by the power of God and He said, Because I live, ye shall live also. We have a living Christ and He desires us to walk in His steps, to live in separation from the world. His people are not of the world, and that is one reason why they will never be understood by the world. You cannot walk as He walked and please the world; it is impossible. He says, Ye are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own. Oh, the absurdity-shall I say-or the fanaticism of imagining that you can be a consistent Christian and yet live like the world. It is folly of the worst kind. If you are saved through the Christ that the world rejected, you take Him as your Lord and seek to live the kind of life He lived. Do you want to know what it was? Turn back to the four Gospels and see.

Now I pray to God that ye do no evil; not that we should appear approved, but that ye should do that which is honest, though we be as reprobates. It is a dishonest thing to profess to serve Christ and not yield your life to His control. If those Corinthians were really Christians, then the gospel that Paul preached had been believed, and if believed it would show through the life. The truth proclaimed goes on from victory to victory. Note the unselfishness of this man Paul: We are glad, when we are weak, and ye are strong. That is not the worlds way. We should be willing to take the lowest place. You see, Paul never sees the saints as perfect in the body. Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may [lay hold of] that for which also I [have been laid hold of by] Christ Jesus. But he is seeking the perfection of the saints, going on to this perfect, fully-developed Christian character. That only comes as we walk in fellowship with Christ.

Therefore I write these things being absent, lest being present I should use sharpness. He does not want to say some stern things that very much needed to be said. According to the power which the Lord hath given me to edification, and not to destruction.

And then comes the conclusion of his epistle: Finally, brethren, farewell. Be [perfect]. I desire your perfection. Literally, be perfected, by continual growth. Be of good comfort. Cheer up. Be of one mind, live in peace. I think one thing that brings great distress and hindrance to the work of the Lord is when believers speak so unkindly of others. Let us learn to speak well of our brethren in Christ. Live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you. Greet one another with an holy kiss. Do not put the emphasis on kiss. He is not saying that you are to greet people with a kiss. Greet one another with a holy kiss. That is where you put the emphasis. Greet one another with a holy handshake. It is a very unholy handshake if on meeting a brother we say, Well, my dear brother, how do you do? and then turn away and say, I have no use for him. That is a very unholy handshake. Judas kissed the Lord and it was an unholy kiss; it was a kiss of hypocrisy. All the saints salute you.

And now we have that well-known benediction that has been heard ten million times since Paul wrote it: The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.

In these words we have epitomized for us the outstanding doctrines of the Christian faith. The truth of the Holy Trinity is here presented as definitely as in Mat 28:19. The grace of the Son, the love of the Father, and the fellowship of the Spirit include every blessing that is ours through the infinite mercy of God: grace to cover all our sins, and to strengthen us for every conflict; love to cheer and sustain our hearts in every trial; and a hallowed fellowship that gives us to enter into and enjoy our rich inheritance in Christ!

Fuente: Commentaries on the New Testament and Prophets

2Co 13:1

The Gospel Witnesses.

Consider some points of agreement between St. Paul and St. James.

I. Take the New Testament as we have received it. Admitting that there were two principles at work in the development of the Christian Church, they are inextricably united as regards the documents of faith. Consider the Epistle to the Hebrews, which would be sufficient evidence, if there were no other, of the identity of St. Paul’s doctrine with St. James’s. Be as disputatious as you like about its author; still it comes at least from the school of St. Paul, if not from that Apostle himself. Now look through it from beginning to end, observe well its exhortations to obedience, its warnings against apostasy, its solemn announcement of the terrors of the Gospel, and further its honourable treatment of the Jewish law, which it sets forth as fulfilled, not disrespectfully superseded, by the Gospel, and then say whether this Epistle alone be not a wonderful monument of the essential unity of the Gospel creed among all its original disseminators.

II. In the case of the original Apostles the intention of delivering and explaining their Divine Master’s teaching cannot be mistaken. Now of course St. Paul, professing to preach Christ’s Gospel, could not but avow such an intention also; but it should be noticed, considering that he was not with our Lord on earth, how he devotes himself to the sole thought of Him; that is, it would be remarkable were not St. Paul Divinely chosen and called, as we believe him to have been. The thought of Christ is the one thought in which he lives; it is the fervent love, the devoted attachment, the zeal and reverence, of one who had heard, and seen, and looked upon, and handled the word of life.

III. The doctrine of the Incarnation, or the Gospel economy, as embracing the two great truths of the Divinity of Christ and the Atonement, was not (as far as we know) clearly revealed during our Lord’s ministry. Yet how close is St. Paul’s agreement with St. John. I consider the exact accordance between these two men (to all appearance as unlike each other by nature as men could be) to be little short of a demonstration of the reality of the Divine doctrines to which they witness. “The testimony of two men is true,” and still more clearly so in this case supposing (what unbelievers may maintain, but they alone) that any rivalry of schools existed between these holy Apostles.

IV. St. John and St. Paul both put forward-(1)the doctrine of regeneration; (2) the praise of charity as the fulfilling of the law and the characteristic precept of the Gospel; (3) the duty of almsgiving; (4) self-denial; (5) the Holy Eucharist. Beyond controversy the agreement is in essentials: the nature and office of the Mediator, the gifts which He vouchsafes to us, and the temper of mind and the duties required of a Christian; whereas the difference of doctrine between them, even admitting there is a difference, relates only at the utmost to the Divine counsels, the sense in which the Jewish law is abolished, and the condition of justification, whether faith or good works. A difference of opinion as to the latter subjects cannot detract from that real and substantial agreement of system visible in the course of doctrine which the two witnesses respectively deliver.

J. H. Newman, Parochial and Plain Sermons, vol. ii., p. 175.

References: 2Co 13:1-10.-C. Short, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xiii., p. 235. 2Co 13:3-5.-Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xxx., No. 1788.

2Co 13:5

I. All Jewish history, the Apostle had told the Corinthians, was an ensample to them, upon whom the ends of the world had come. They were as liable to forget the new and better covenant as their forefathers were to forget the inferior one. They were as likely to think that they were not the children of God as those who were under the Law that they were not His servants. The consequences would be the same in kind, worse in degree: heartlessness, idolatry, division, self-exaltation, alternating with despondency. It was most needful for them to examine themselves, whether they were getting into this state of indifference and forgetfulness, to see whether outward as well as inward tokens did not show that it was creeping upon them, whether they were not conscious of a continual and growing degeneracy, whether the loss of brotherly feelings towards men did not accompany the loss of filial feeling towards God.

II. St. Paul goes on, “Know ye not your own selves, that Christ is in you?” The Apostle has been speaking of self-examination; now he speaks of the self-knowledge which justifies that examination, which makes it a reasonable, a possible, exercise. He speaks out the name of the invisible Lord and Teacher of his own spirit; he says to each man, “He is the Lord and Teacher of my spirit.” He says that He has come into the world, and taken the nature of men upon Him, and died the death of men, and risen from the dead as man, and ascended on high as man, and is ever living as man at the right hand of God.

III. Self-examination involves no wretched poring over our own motives. It leads us at once to turn from the accusing spirit, which tells us that we are yielding to some vile motive that will lead to some vile act, and to ask for the inspiration of Him in whom are the springs of all right action. This examination involves no neglect of plain work for the sake of morbid contemplation. It is in work we learn what we are liable to become if we have no helper, if we are left to ourselves. The temptation to be fretful and cowardly, to utter keen and bitter words, to feed upon flattery, to feed upon thoughts of malice or lust, to palter with dishonesty in common acts, to lie for the sake of a worldly end or of a godly end, the temptations of each particular craft and calling, the temptations of domestic life, of national life, of ecclesiastical life-these are the schools in which men have learnt to examine themselves, in which they have learnt the feebleness of mere rule, the necessity of a present living Teacher, in which they have found what this old nature is, which has to be mortified and crucified, what that new and true man whom Christ would renew in us day by day.

F. D. Maurice, Sermons, vol. iii., p. 207.

The Necessity and Right Method of Self-examination.

I. Consider the necessity of self-examination. Every one stands placed against a standard unseen, but real, that by which God judges and marks the spiritual state of every one, the eternal law, the rule of Christian character. Every one stands in some certain, precise, discriminated relation to this grand rule of judgment. That is his true and exact condition. There is a manifestation of the Divine rule, and there is himself to bring, with all his consciousness, into comparison with it. And the state he is in, by the decision of that rule, is the state of his relations with all that is the most solemn in heaven and earth, in time and eternity. Therefore “know your own selves.”

II. Notice the objects of self-examination. The earnest force of this examination should fix on the points named by the Apostle: “whether ye be in the faith, whether Jesus Christ be in you.” It should not expend itself on the mere external conduct, for if that alone, in its simple gross sense, were to be taken account of, a well-regulated formalist or Pharisee, nay, possibly a hypocrite, might go off to considerable self-complacency. And you can imagine how often man has been frightened out of his soul to take refuge in the apparently better quality of his conduct. Any impulse the examiner feels to do so should warn him to stay a while longer there, in the interior. Doubt and uncertainty ought to be a powerful incentive to self-examination. For surely the chief questions in the concern cannot be decided too soon. Indeed, to be content to remain in doubt would itself be one of the most ominous signs. If the true state of the case be unhappy and unsafe, it should be distinctly seen, that the soul may be instantly in action. If the state be, on the whole, such as the supreme Judge approves, and safe for time and eternity, who would not in this evil world desire to possess the joy of knowing it to be so?

J. Foster, Lectures, 1st series, p. 337.

References: 2Co 13:5.-H. W. Beecher, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xii., p. 409; Clergyman’s Magazine, vol. viii., p. 253; Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. iv., No. 218. 2Co 13:7.-Preacher’s Monthly, vol. ii., p. 253.

2Co 13:8

The Sceptic’s Unconscious Ministry to the Truth.

I. Two things are terribly fruitful of scepticism, nay, are its chief parents in all ages: (1) the folly, vice, and passion which are mixed up with the life of all the Churches; (2) the narrowness and selfishness of their dogmatic conceptions of Divine truth. Scepticism of a very bitter kind is always generated when the Churches are very worldly. Men take the truth and the error, the good and the evil, together; and if the error and the evil seem to predominate, they say, and set themselves to prove, that the root must be bad which bears such fruits. Christ bears in all ages, as of old, the shame of the sins of His servants, and the sceptics arm themselves with scourges to chastise the vices and follies of the Church. But the main point of importance is the other. Scepticism is generated when Churches grow arrogant and oppressive, and frown on all attempts otherwise than by preaching their dogmas to widen the realm of truth.

II. It seems as if just now a rebellion had risen in every direction against the authority of the Church, not against truth, but against truth on Church authority. The Christ of authority, as the Church believes in Him, men will not have. They say, No; we will build up a new, more natural, more human, image of Christ for ourselves and for the world. Let them build. It is with an honest heart in the main that they make the effort; they have only to search deeply enough and to see far enough to discover for themselves that the only simple Christ, the only natural Christ, the only human Christ, the only Christ who can supply man’s need and satisfy man’s longings, and fill the throne which is waiting the advent of Emmanuel in every human breast, is the Christ whom prophets foretold, whom Evangelists portrayed, whom Apostles proclaimed, whom the Church of God in every age adores.

J. Baldwin Brown, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xiv., p. 145.

References: 2Co 13:8.-Homilist, 3rd series, vol. ii., pp. 121, 181; J. Baldwin Brown, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xiv., p. 138.

2Co 13:10

The Christian View of the Perfectibility of Man.

I. One of the general ideas naturally arising at the repetition of such words would be that in futurity is the greatness of man, and that hereafter is the grand scene for the attainment of the fulness of his existence.

II. Another thing we may observe upon the words is that it is most gratifying to see the Divine revelation concerning the attribute, the condition, of perfection on any terms, in any sense, at any future period, with human nature. It would be gratifying if this were but intimated as a mere possibility; it is most emphatically so to see it expressed as an assurance, a promise. Looking at man, we seem to see a vast collection of little beginnings, attempts, failures, like a plantation on a bleak and blasted heath; and the progress in whatever is valuable and noble, whether in individuals or communities, is so miserably difficult and slow. Then how delightful it is to see revelation itself pronouncing as possible and predicting as to come something perfect in the condition of man.

III. Next, observe that this prediction of something perfect to come relates to knowledge. This is somewhat surprising. It seems more easy to conceive of perfection in another state attained or conferred in any of what may be called the moral attributes than in knowledge, even in any moderate and comparative sense. Such knowledge would imply (1) the exclusion of error, or, in other words, that all opinion will be truth. (2) It will be perfectly adequate to the infallible direction of all the activities of the superior state. (3) Those who have it will possess as much as is indispensable to their happiness, and will be sensible that they do so.

IV. Lastly, if there will be, as none can doubt, in the heavenly state, different degrees in the felicity of the redeemed spirits, and if knowledge will be one great means of felicity there, who may be expected to possess the highest attainments of it? Not necessarily those, even good men, who possessed the most of it here, but rather those who have excelled the most in piety, in devotion to God and Christ and the cause of Heaven in this world. God can, by one great act of His rewarding power, make them the highest in intelligence, and it is reasonable to believe He will.

J. Foster, Lectures, 1st series, p. 402.

References: 2Co 13:11.-J. Morgan, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xi., p. 353; M. G. Pearse, Ibid., vol. xxx., p. 401; Clergyman’s Magazine, vol. i., p. 206; F. W. Farrar, In the Days of thy Youth, p. 389; J. Leckie, Sermons Preached at Ibrox, p. 338.

2Co 13:14

The Covenant of Redemption.

I. Consider the character of this covenant, for this is a point of the highest importance as regards our thoughts, and our hopes, and our actions. The character of God’s covenant of redemption is love. The will of the Father is to gather the Christian into Christ with an everlasting salvation. All adverse appearances, all interruptions to the consciousness of this, arising from himself or from the world, must not for a moment outweigh the great central truth that God loveth him. In holding this fact in full acknowledgment of his position in Christ, consist his safety and his life. “Thy will be done” is the expression of a soul which knows and feels this. We must be tried: we must be purified; the dethronement of self and the setting up of God in our hearts cannot take place without a struggle, a war, within. This conflict may be fierce and long-continued; it may seem like the rending asunder of soul and spirit; it may bring us down into the depths of dispiritedness, and almost extinguish our hope; but let not any intensity of conflict, or any self-loathing, or any forebodings for the future ever cause us to forget that the mind of God to us is love.

II. Other points to be considered regard the covenant itself. And one is that Holy Scripture uniformly sets it forth to us as a covenant made and ratified before the foundation of the world. Another important thing for us to regard who receive and acknowledge the glory of the Eternal Trinity is the intelligent and clear appreciation in our spiritual life of the parts and offices of the Divine Persons in our redemption. In the purpose of the Father, it had its ground, and has its continuance. It is His will that we should be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. In the finished work of the Son on earth and His high-priesthood in heaven, it had, and has, its actuality as it now exists. And God the Holy Spirit begets and carries on in our souls this spiritual life, dwelling in us, purifying our hearts and motives, making us holy and gradually more and more like God. Let this important fact be ever borne in mind: that our recognition of the wonderful love of God in redemption may be no barren acquiescence in an orthodox doctrine, but a quickening reality in our own hearts and lives, full of seeds of love, and peace, and joy, and increase in holiness.

H. Alford, Quebec Chapel Sermons, vol. iv., p. 290.

References: 2Co 13:14.-Church of England Pulpit, vol. iii., p. 285; R. Maguire, Christian World Pulpit, vol. i., p. 465; J. T. Stannard, Ibid., vol. xiv., p. 260; E. Hatch, Ibid., vol. xxxiii., p. 353; J. Hall, Ibid., vol. xxxiv., p. 56; Preacher’s Monthly, vol. v., p. 294; J. Edmunds, Sermons in a Village Church, p. 243; T. M. Herbert, Sketches of Sermons, p. 318; T. T. Lynch, Three Months’ Ministry, p. 313.

Fuente: The Sermon Bible

4. Still Absent – Yet Coming. The Conclusion.

CHAPTER 13

1. Being Absent; Expecting to Come. (2Co 13:1-10.)

2. The Conclusion. (2Co 13:11-14.)

He speaks in conclusion of his coming to them. This third time I am coming to you. And when he comes again he will not spare them. He reminds them once more of their doubtings about Christ speaking in him and using him as an apostle. They themselves were proof of this. If it were that Christ had not spoken to them through him (by preaching the Gospel), then Christ also did not dwell in them. But if Christ really was in them then it was an evidence that Christ had spoken by him. Notice that part of the third verse and the fourth verse are parenthetical. Leaving out the parenthetical words gives us the correct argument. Since ye seek a proof of Christ speaking in me–examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith, prove your ownselves. Do ye not know yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates? What he wished was their perfecting. Why had he written this second epistle? I write these things being absent, but being present I should use sharpness, according to the power which the Lord hath given me to edification, and not to destruction.

Finally, brethren, rejoice. (Not farewell, but rejoice.) And the believers joy as well as glorying is in the Lord. Be perfected; be of good comfort; be of one mind; be at peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you.

Fuente: Gaebelein’s Annotated Bible (Commentary)

sinned

Sin. (See Scofield “Rom 3:23”).

Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes

the third: 2Co 12:14

In: Num 35:30, Deu 17:6, Deu 19:15, 1Ki 21:10, 1Ki 21:13, Mat 18:16, Mat 26:60, Mat 26:61, Joh 8:17, Joh 8:18, Heb 10:28, Heb 10:29

Reciprocal: Gen 41:32 – doubled 1Ki 1:14 – I also Isa 8:2 – I took Jer 1:13 – the second time Mat 17:1 – Peter Mar 5:37 – save Mar 9:2 – Peter Luk 9:28 – he Act 5:32 – are Act 10:16 – thrice 1Co 4:19 – not 2Co 2:3 – lest Gal 1:9 – so Phi 4:4 – again 1Ti 5:19 – two Rev 11:3 – two

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

AS AN APOSTLE he had special authority and power in this direction. When once the apostles had passed off the scene the only discipline possible was that exerted by the church or by the saints collectively; and that so often in these days appears to be singularly ineffectual. There are of course reasons for this. One reason is that it has been so often perverted to ends of a personal or party nature that the whole idea of it has fallen into disrepute. Another is that even when discipline has been rightly inflicted it has been done in a harsh judicial spirit instead of in the spirit of humiliation and sorrow which marked the Apostle here. We have made it the cold, heartless discipline of the court of law instead of the warm, affectionate discipline of the family circle.

Still, discipline there has to be: the discipline of Gods house, which is not prejudiced nor unreasoning but founded on well established facts. Hence when Paul came he intended that every word should be established in the mouth of two or three witnesses. All should be sifted with impartiality, so that if some reports were not based upon fact their falsity might be exposed, and their weight fall not upon the head of the accused but upon the head of the accusers. Some may have sinned by licentiousness as Paul feared; but others may have sinned by backbitings and whisperings of false accusations, because their hearts were filled with envy. All would be made manifest and judged, as we see in the opening verses of chapter 13. We venture to think that, if today there were as much zeal in bringing discipline to bear against the backbiters and whisperers as against the licentious, it would be for the spiritual health and well-being of the church of God.

Pauls authority as an apostle had however been questioned, and the Corinthians had very foolishly given ear to these questionings. They were the last persons who should have done so, or should have had any doubts as to whether Christ had spoken through him. Since they had entertained such doubts, some kind of answer was needed, and a very crushing one Paul was able to give. He had simply to say, Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith. Since they were his converts, the fruit of his labour, they themselves were the proof-unless indeed they were reprobates, just worthless frauds. If they were but frauds then indeed Christ might not have spoken in Paul; but if they were true men He most certainly had.

Verse 2Co 13:5 has sometimes been taken apart from its context and turned into a plea for continual self-inspection, and even doubt as to ones own salvation. This is because the parenthesis extending from the middle of verse 2Co 13:3 to the end of verse 2Co 13:4 has not been noticed. If we connect the early part of verse 2Co 13:3 with verse 2Co 13:5 the sense is quite clear. There is again a touch of irony in Pauls words, for the doubts they had foolishly entertained as to Christ speaking in him really recoiled upon their own heads. If indeed Christ had not spoken in Paul then-since they had professed conversion under his speaking-Christ would not be found in them. But if Christ was indeed found in them it was conclusive proof that Christ had spoken in him.

It is quite possible of course that in speaking thus the Apostle wished to convey to them the fact that he was not too sure of the genuineness of some of them, and thereby he desired to stir them up and exercise their consciences. At the same time he was quite confident as to the majority of them.

This is evident if we consider the parenthesis, the first words of which tell us that Christ had not been weak toward them but rather mighty in you. Looking back to the work that had been wrought when first he came among them, Paul was full of confidence that the power of Christ had been in it. The whole path of Christ on earth had been characterized by a weakness which culminated in His crucifixion. Yet He is alive in resurrection by the power of God. Now that which marked the path of the great Master marked also the path of the servant, who was following in His life and way. Weakness also characterized the external life and service of the Apostle but under the surface the power of God was vitally present with him.

The words at the end of verse 2Co 13:4 are remarkable- by the power of God toward you. These words indicate that what was in the Apostles mind was not that he would live in resurrection in the time to come, but that, as associated with the living Christ, he would display in the present the power of that life towards the Corinthians. Christianity is marked by the power of a new life which operates in blessing. Nothing short of that, whether it be creed or ceremony or work, will do.

The whole passage shows once more that what God looks for is reality and power. It emphasizes also that, as far as outward appearances go, weakness has been stamped upon the true saints and servants of God from the beginning, even when the Gospel was winning its earliest and greatest triumphs. We need not therefore be surprised if weakness is stamped upon us today. The thing to be concerned about is that we may judge and refuse all that would jeopardize that power.

The self-abnegation of the Apostle again comes strikingly to light in verse 2Co 13:7. He prayed that they might do no evil, and so be manifestly approved and not reprobate; and this, not that it might approve his work amongst them, and so be for his glory, but that they might do what is right, and so prove beyond all question that they were not reprobates. If that were so he would be content, even though he appeared to be a reprobate himself. That he was not a reprobate he knew very well, and he trusted they knew it too, as he says in verse 2Co 13:6.

So also we see his self-abnegation in verse 2Co 13:9. He was not only content but glad to be weak if it but led to spiritual strength in those to whom he ministered; the great object before him being the perfecting of the saints. He longed to see them led forward to completion-to full growth in Christ. As for himself, he knew that all the power in which he served was Divine in its origin, and so was only available for so long as he was labouring for the truth and in the truth. If he had turned against the truth he would instantly have been shorn of that power. There are powers antagonistic to the truth, but in the long run they cannot prevail. Hence against the truth he was powerless, whilst for it he was powerful.

In all this a note of sharpness or severity has not been absent, and in verse 2Co 13:10 we have the explanation of why he had written in this strain. He anticipated being amongst them for the third time and desired to overthrow and clear away the evil by means of this letter, and so have only the happy work of building up what is good when he came. He had authority given of the Lord, but it was primarily for building up. Overthrowing is necessary, as we saw when reading the early part of 2Co 10:1-18, but only in view of building up, which is the great thing the Lord desires for His people.

Verse 2Co 13:11 gives us the closing desires. If we are perfected, of good comfort (or encouraged), of one mind, and at peace, we shall indeed do well. It is easy to see that these were things much needed by the Corinthians But we need them just as badly. The church of God today, as a whole, is in a condition very similar to them. There is plenty of immaturity, of discouragement, of disunity, of strife: indeed these things seem very much to flow one out of the other. They are met and countered by a true ministry such as Pauls; and maturity, encouragement, unity and peace are promoted. May it be so with us, and we too shall know the presence of the God of love and peace.

Verses 2Co 13:12-13 give the closing salutations. Verse 2Co 13:11 being fulfilled in them, there would be no difficulty amongst themselves, no jealousies and strifes and evil speakings, which would prevent their saluting one another in holiness. The spirit of faction, the desire to boast of being of Paul or Peter or Apollos, would be cast out. Moreover all the saints saluted them, for their affections had not been alienated from them by reason of their blameworthy condition of unspirituality. The saints elsewhere had not formed a party against them, or what is even worse, fallen themselves into parties as the result of hearing about the schisms at Corinth. All the saints saluted them, in spite of their failures.

Verse 2Co 13:14 gives the closing benediction. Here we have indicated the great realities which are calculated to produce the things desired in verse 2Co 13:11 – grace, love and communion, proceeding respectively from the three Persons of the Godhead. Let us notice in passing that the Lord Jesus, who is so often spoken of as the Second Person, is put in the first place here, just as the Holy Spirit is put in the first place in 1Co 12:1-31. All such terms as First, Second or Third Person must therefore be used with a considerable measure of reserve.

The grace of the Lord Jesus was known by the Corinthians, as the Apostle had acknowledged in chapter viii. It is another and a further, thing for it to be with us all. Then we shall all be pervaded by its blessed influence. So with the love of God; and so too with the communion of the Holy Spirit. In this benediction the grace is put first, for if that fails with us all will fail.

Heaven will be filled with the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit, but we shall not need grace-at least, not as we need it here. It is in the circle of the church on earth that all kinds of trials and testings occur. It is here that we have to do with perverse men and trying brethren, all the while possessing wayward hearts ourselves. Nothing but the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ can preserve us in a way that is pleasing to God. But the grace of the Lord can do it.

And if the grace of the Lord does preserve us, then the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit may have full course and be with us all. The Spirit being holy the communion which He inspires must be holy. We shall be found in happy partnership and fellowship as to the whole range of things which He reveals to us, even the deep things of God.

The love of God shines upon us as His children, even when our practical condition is not at all pleasing to Him. But when it is with us all its benediction is felt throughout the great circle of all saints. Indeed it overflows that circle and goes out to the world beyond. A lovely picture is thus presented of what the church is according to the thought of God: a circle governed by grace, overflowing with love, and filled with a holy communion concerning the things of God.

We cannot say that the church is that practically; but we can say that it may and should be that. We can say also that if any of us approximate to this, even in a small degree, we shall be greatly blessed, and be a benediction to others.

So may it be then with all of us.

Fuente: F. B. Hole’s Old and New Testaments Commentary

2Co 13:1. See the comments at 2Co 12:14 on the meaning of third time. In the preceding chapter Paul expresses a fear that he would find conditions undesirable when he got to Corinth the next time. He also expresses a warning intimation that if he found such conditions, he would rebuke them for their sins. Now he emphasizes the warning, but assures them that his treatment of them would be fair and according to a principle already established in the Scriptures (Deu 19:15), that a charge must be sustained by two or three witnesses.

Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary

2Co 13:1. This is the third time I am coming to you. It is surprising that in face of so explicit a statement, repeated at 2Co 13:2, and of the one at 2Co 12:14, Paley (Hor. Paul. iv. 11) and other excellent critics should maintain that the apostle paid only two visits to Corinth, It is true that we have no record of an intermediate visit between the first and the third, but that is no reason for distorting the natural sense of the apostles own statement that he did pay two visits before this one.

At the mouth (on the testimony) of two witnesses or three shall every word be established. A judicial investigation of every charge, in such cases as referred to in 2Co 12:20-21, was to be held under his superintendence. The Jewish law in judicial cases was very strict, requiring at least two witnesses for the condemnation of any one (Num 35:30; Deu 17:6; Deu 19:15). Our Lord directed the same rule to be observed in the exercise of church discipline; and here the apostle intimates his resolution to proceed on this principle at Corinth.

Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament

The apostle having throughout both his epistles blamed the Corinthians for several gross enormities found amongst them, and hearing there were some who had not repented of them, he gives them plainly to understand, that he had a full purpose to come unto them with his rod of ecclesiastical discipline and church censures, and would not spare a man of them, but execute that power on the impenitent, which Christ had given him, by excluding such unreclaimable offenders from church communion.

Note here, With what wisdom and caution the holy apostle proceeds in the executing and inflicting the severe censures of the church; he uses admonition a first, a second, and third time, before he proceeds to the awful sentence of excommunication, I told you before, I foretell you now, and being absent, I write to you, that when I come I will not spare.

He tells them farther, that they had tempted him hereunto, in that they had required a proof from him whether Christ had owned him as an apostle or not, and would ratify his censures by judgments following them. He shows that Christ had owned him, and manifested his power in his ministry among them, by converting many of them to the Christian faith, by bestowing the gifts of his Spirit upon them, and by many signs and miracles which he enabled him to do in the midst of them.

When God calls his servants to the work of the ministry, he leaves not either himself or them without witness; he bears testimony to their sincerity, by giving them, in some degree, the seal of their ministry, in the conversion or edification of those they are sent unto: Since you seek a proof of Christ speaking in me, to you ward he is not weak, but is mighty in and amongst you.

Next, the holy apostle draws a parallel, and makes a comparison between his blessed Lord and Master and himself. As Christ, in his state of humiliation, appeared to be a weak and frail man, by being crucified; but was evidenced to be the great and mighty God, by his rising from the dead: so the apostle, considered in himself, and in respect of his afflictions, appears a weak and contemptible man; but yet they had found, and should farther find, a resemblance of the power and strength of Christ in his life and ministry; and particularly, they should find him armed with authority from Christ, to execute censures upon the contumacious and impenitent.

Though the ministers of Christ, like their Master, when here on earth, are in a state of weakness, poverty, and contempt, yet they are clothed with divine power in the execution of their office, and their ministry is a living, powerful, and efficacious ministry, in the vigorous effects of it upon the hearts of their people; We are weak in him, but we shall live with him by the power of God toward you.

Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament

Verse 1 Paul had visited Corinth twice before and is now prepared to come a third time. Paul was further prepared to deal with the false teachers. It would not be rash action, but would be confirmed by two or three witnesses ( Num 35:30 ; Deu 17:6 ; Deu 19:15 ; Mat 18:15-17 ).

Fuente: Gary Hampton Commentary on Selected Books

2Co 13:1. This is the third time I am coming to you Or, as some understand it, am preparing to come: see on 2Co 12:14. For in the Acts of the Apostles no mention is made of his being at Corinth more than once before this second epistle was written. It must be observed, however, that that history by no means contains all the apostles transactions: and it is not improbable that, as Macknight supposes, during the eighteen months which passed from St. Pauls first coming to Corinth, to the insurrection in the proconsulship of Gallio, the apostle left Corinth for a while, and travelled through Laconia, Arcadia, and the other countries of the province of Achaia, where he converted many, (2Co 1:1,) having preached the gospel to them gratis, as at Corinth, (2Co 11:10,) and founded several churches, referred to 2Co 9:2, and called Achaia, that is, churches of Achaia. If therefore the apostle made the excursion here supposed, and spent some months in it, his return to Corinth would be his second visit; consequently, the coming spoken of in this verse was his coming the third time to them. In the mouth of two or three witnesses Agreeing in the attestation of any thing; shall every word be established I will hold that to be true which shall be so proved.

Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

This is the third time I am coming to you. At the mouth of two witnesses or three shall every word be established. [Deu 19:15]

Fuente: McGarvey and Pendleton Commentaries (New Testament)

1. This third time I come unto you. In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established. This has reference to the statements which follow. He had sent Timothy in the first place, who had labored faithfully to correct all of those troubles. Afterward he had sent Titus, who had done the same; both of them having held protracted meetings of reasonable prolixity, making all due and faithful effort to accomplish the end in view. Of course now when he goes down, he himself will be the third witness on the stand in favor of the prosecution of the guilty.

2. I have forewarned you, and I now forewarn you as being present a second time; even now absent, to those who have sinned hitherto, and to all the rest, that if I come unto you again I will not spare. He has done his utmost to save them all, and now he is going to enforce the law of the New Testament and excommunicate all offending parties.

3. Since you seek the approval of Christ who speaketh in me, who unto you is not weak, but mighty among you. For indeed He was crucified from weakness, but He liveth by the power of God, who raised from the dead. For indeed we are weak in him. i.e., we are weak physically and influential because in Him we have surrendered all temporal power, resources and availability, and hence in respect to these things we are weak and destined so to be. But we shall live along with Him by the power of God with respect to you. Though we have forfeited all temporal power by our identity with Christ, who Himself permitted the world-powers to overcome Him and take His life, yet because we live in Him we participate the very power of God, so far as they are concerned. Hence, he wants them to understand that the disciplinary power he is going to bring into availability is none other than the power of God in Christ. We should all learn a valuable lesson here:

(a) Temporal power in church discipline is a misnomer, and of the devil. Hence, in this way the by-gone ages were deluged with martyrs blood.

(b) In the second place, we must make the fact that all disciplinary power in the Church of God is purely spiritual pursuant to the revealed Word, the only code of rules and regulations really authoritative in any matter of ecclesiastical discipline. here we see while he utterly disclaims all temporal power, he assures them that the discipline shall be summary and decisive in every case.

5. Examine yourselves if you are in the faith; prove yourselves; know you not yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you unless you are reprobates? This verse is clear and unmistakable in the great problem of experimental Christianity, setting forth the fact that all are reprobates, i. e., mere counterfeits and pretenders, who have not Jesus Christ in them. While the Christ life is imparted in regeneration, the personal enthronement of Christ in the heart only takes place in entire sanctification. Paul in the highway saw Jesus without, shining into him, when lie was converted. Down in Arabia in his second experience (Gal 1:15), God revealed His Son in Him, i. e., sitting upon the throne of his heart. The great work of the Holy Ghost is to reveal and honor Christ hence, when you receive the personal Holy Ghost as an indwelling Sanctifier and Comforter, He invariably reveals the glorified Savior and enthrones him in the heart. Hence, we see from this clear admonition that the only alternative is Christ within or reprobate.

6. I hope that you will know that we are not reprobates. The better translation of adokimoi in this verse is disapproved; arising from the different attitudes occupied by the Corinthians and the apostles. In case of the former, disapproval or reprobate meant ejectment from Christ and the forfeiture of salvation, because their attitude was simply that of Christians. The case is quite different with the apostles, their Christianity not being in controversy, but simply their apostleship. Hence disapproval from the apostolic attitude still left them bona fide citizens of the kingdom, while disapproval from the attitude of saintship means ejectment from the kingdom of Christ and forfeiture of all hope.

7. But we pray unto God that you may do no evil; not that we may appear approved, but in order that you may do good and that we may appear as it were disapproved. His chief desideratum is that the Corinthian saints may turn out all right, showing up and sustaining an irreproachable Christian character in the clear light of Gods Word, even though it may turn out that they may be as it were disapproved. Of course, he knows that he is all right with God spiritually and apostolically. Hence he is resting perfectly easy with reference to himself. All his solicitude focalizes in the interest of the Corinthians.

8. We are not able to do anything against the truth, but in behalf of the truth. Here is a grand case of church trial, clearly elucidatory of every problem and final in the settlement of every difficulty along that line. Shall we not profit by it? God help us. You see here the truth, i. e., the Word of God revealed in the New Testament is the only umpire in the case. Hence you see the solution of every question that has vexed the church through the ages. Every possible issue is here brought to a focus. The New Testament is a plain book, easily understood. It is plainer, more simple and perspicuous than any of the creeds, rules or regulations. Hence we have nothing to do but bring everything to the law of the Lord as we read it in His precious Word. Away with all human authority. It is all Divine, human agency simply recognizing and enforcing it. What a pity that church courts are not content to walk in the footprints of Paul, try their members according to Gods Word alone, making it the ineffaceable finale in every case. It would play sad havoc with the frolicking, worldly churches of the present day, turning out about nine out of every ten. But the angels would come down from Heaven to supply their places.

9. For we rejoice when we may be weak and you may be strong: truly we pray for this, your perfection. You see Paul and his comrades were all a unit in Christian perfection, praying and working for it incessantly. This was the grand ultimatum in all the apostolic ministry. How any person can read the Bible and not see Christian perfection flashing and glowing from Alpha to Omega, radiating out in the prayers, and flaming in the sermons, and flashing in the exhortations and testimonies, we can not comprehend.

10. Therefore, being absent, I write the same things, in order that, being present, I may not use the severity which God gave me for edification, and not for destruction. All true preachers of the gospel are successors to the apostles, so far as proclaiming the living Word and enforcing church discipline are concerned. Hence it is our imperative duty to declare all the counsel of God and to enforce New Testament law and discipline to the letter, fearlessly of men and devils. We are no better than Paul, and he here declares that he will use severity and not spare the guilty. Alas for the woeful delinquency in the discharge of duty, and the appalling maladministration in the churches at the present day! Where can you find a membership verifying the New Testament standard of Christian morality? Why do not the preachers dare to walk in the footprints of Paul in this matter? While the Word is plain and unmistakable, and we see millions flagrantly violating it, therefore disciplinary duty involving excommunication becomes the inalienable obligation of every pastor, yet we see from this Scripture that this power is given to us for edification, and not for destruction. Therefore we should learn wisdom from the prudential procedure of Paul, firing on them at long range and doing his utmost to wheel them all into line before his arrival. In this he gloriously succeeded. I used to come to my circuit responsive to the appointment of my Conference, and find the majority of my members living beyond the dead- line, where it became my painful duty to excommunicate them. I always made it a rule to run a protracted meeting from the hour my feet rested on my territory till the expiration of the Conference year, by the help of God rolling the revival flame from shore to shore. The result was my unworthy members would get convicted and converted and go for holiness, and great hosts of outsiders would be gloriously converted. And, instead of reducing my membership by expulsion, I would go back to Conference with three times as many as I began with, seldom ever turning any one out of the church. Why? Because I turned on them the Pauline maneuver, doing everything in my power to get them saved before I proceeded to enforce the law in their excommunication. God wonderfully came to my relief in every case. But, mark it down, if they had not repented and got religion, I would have made a clean sweep like Paul said he would at Corinth. But, after all of these protracted meetings held by Timothy and Titus, and these powerful letters written, and the awful warnings given, we have no reason to believe that a single one became the victim of the preannounced severity; from the simple fact that they all heeded the warning, repented and got right before his arrival. So he came on late in the fall of 57, staying with them three months and writing that wonderful Book of Romans, and we have not an intimation of a single one expelled. On the contrary, they had a glorious hallelujah time and much edification.

11. Finally, brethren, rejoice. This is the literal meaning of the Greek chairete. Farewell (E.V.) is neither literal nor suitable here, as he was not bidding them adieu, but saluting them on his speedily anticipated arrival. The idea, of course, is all rejoice in the Lord, which is quite a hackneyed phrase in Pauline parlance. Be perfected. This verb is in the imperative mood, thus positively and explicitly commanding them all along the line of Christian perfection, the favorite theme of every apostle, and should be of every gospel minister. John Wesley exhorted his preachers: Preach Christian perfection constantly, urgently and explicitly. Be comforted, i. e., be sure that you all receive the blessed Holy Comforter, that He may come into your heart and abide forever. Be of the same mind, literally, mind the same thing. All sinners have the carnal mind only. All wholly sanctified people have the mind of Christ only. The unsanctified are intermediate between these two classes and double-minded (Jas 1:4; Jas 4:8); i. e., having the mind of Christ imparted by the Holy Ghost in regeneration, but still the carnal mind in a subjugated state dominated by the mind of Christ, but, like a prisoner in jail fearing the hangmans rope, ready at any time to slay his keeper and make his escape. Hence this is simply another commandment on the same line on entire sanctification along with the preceding, thus adding more and more emphasis to the Divine requirement of Christian perfection. Live in peace, and the God of love and peace shall be with you. Jesus is recognized throughout the Bible as the Prince of Peace, and at the same time portrayed by the inspired writers as a mighty warrior, fighting and conquering sin, death and Hell. In conversion we receive peace with God, but in sanctification, the peace of God which passeth all understanding, and is competent to keep our minds and hearts in harmony with our great Captain. Jesus is Prince of that peace which follows an exterminating war upon sin, without whose literal destruction there is no such thing as permanent and abiding peace.

12. Salute one another with a holy kiss. This commandment is so frequent in the apostolic letters, and so positive, that I do not wonder the Holiness people in some localities are giving it the prominence it enjoyed in the apostolic age. Let us not be wise above what is written, and be very careful lest we criticize the Word of the Lord. The Greek word, phileema, here used, not only means a kiss with the lips, but a love-token manifested in a diversity of ways. Yet we must give Scripture its full force and not depreciate its literal signification.

13. All the saints salute you. The facts favor the conclusion that this letter was written in Berea in Macedonia, where they enjoyed an exceedingly bright and beautiful Christianity, evinced by their ardent and enthusiastic appreciation of the Holy Scriptures. We do not wonder that they all send their loving salutations of Christian affection to the dear saints of Achaia.

14. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. While we find benedictions at the conclusion of every apostolic letter, some quite brief and unique, and others rather prolix, no one has ever attained the notoriety of the above, from the accidental fact of the prominence given it in the creeds of Christendom. The English language is rapidly spreading over the earth under the wonderful aggressive conquests of the British Empire, planting the national church of England in many heathen lands and opening the way for missionary enterprises generally. Consequently the Episcopalian ritual and formula have been extensively adopted by the Protestant churches generally in all the earth, carrying with them this soiled apostolic benediction, which multitudes recognize by that name, though it is no more apostolic than any of the balance. While we have no criticism for the free use of this benediction, to avoid monotony we would advise you to not use it constantly, but avail yourself of the variety furnished by all the apostolic officials. This is the great argument for the leadership of the Holy Ghost; He will never have you run in the same old rut till you lose the freshness and power, which is the objection to the constant use of the above benediction, or any other set and definite form in the worship of God. This is the great reason why the ordinary church services lose their power. Hence it is exceedingly unwise and grievous to the Holy Spirit to tie ourselves to any forms and routines, which will ere long assert their claims and actually become your idols, running you into the awful sin of idolatry before you are aware. The Holy Ghost is the founder, organizer, perpetuator and glorifier of the Church. Whenever you get away from His personal leadership you are already derailed and going fast into the devils mud, where you will stick and rot, while the New Jerusalem trains move by you at lightning speed. This benediction is a beautiful and significant exhibition, not only of the personal Trinity, but the reciprocal work of the Trinity in the gracious economy. The world is saved by the free grace of God in the Lord Jesus Christ, that grace super induced by the matchless and unutterable love of the Father, all culminating in the fellowship of the Holy Ghost indicated by the Greek koinoonai, which really indicates the matrimonial alliance. The Holy Ghost becomes our constant Companion, waking and talking with us, our loving Companion in holy wedlock.

Fuente: William Godbey’s Commentary on the New Testament

2Co 13:1. This is the third time I am coming to you. Compare the following texts. Act 18:1; Act 20:2-3; Act 21:13. The difficulty here is removed by the admission, that his second coming was on a journey, and therefore not counted when he speaks of their having a second benefit. 2Co 1:15.

2Co 13:5. Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith. Those are here exhorted who had indulged in fornication and uncleanness, 2Co 12:21, and also the false apostles who had required a proof of Christ speaking by him. He had complied with this. Now he required them to give proof whether they were in the faith, and holy in their practice, lest on Gods examination, they should be found reprobates. The Greek adokimoi signifies untried. It alludes to the touchstone, or tests of silver and other metals. It is rendered castaway in 1Co 9:27; and surely this caution was designed to prevent so great a calamity. Calvin lays no stress upon the text, from a leaning towards the doctrine of reprobation.

2Co 13:11. Be perfect: aim at carrying every grace to the highest possible perfection. The word is often applied to the perfecting of a building. It is applied also to the mending or perfecting of a broken net. Mat 4:21. Mar 1:19. See 2Co 7:1.

2Co 13:12. A holy kiss. The phliema agion of antiquity was this. The moment the blessing was pronounced, the women gave each other a kiss; for they sat separate from the men. The men often kissed each other on the cheek. This is called also the kiss of peace.

Fuente: Sutcliffe’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

2Co 13:1-10. Warnings in View of a Visit.This closing chapter starts from a vivid realisation of that which is only too likely to be the situation when he arrives for the third time. With increased emphasis, and added detail, he reiterates his solemn warning, and with biting irony turns against his adversaries one of the sarcastic demands they level at him. They ask for proof that Christ speaks in him. They shall have it (cf. Isa 28:9 ff.). Christ will show Himself not weak among them, as they have reckoned His apostle, but powerful for judgment. His experience, dying to reign, will repeat itself in Paul, who has already put this interpretation on his own weakness, that in it he fills up that which is lacking of the sufferings of Christ. Let them examine themselves whether they are truly Christians; let them get back the primal Christian experience, and ascertain whether Christ is really in them. The word translated reprobate means such as have failed to pass the test; and 2Co 13:6 implies that the Corinthians may find that they have not so failed, by discovering that Paul has met and stood every kind of test. Yet he prays that they may not have that fact brought home to them in an unwelcome way through any breach of loyalty either to Christ or to Paul; that on the contrary they may display a noble loyalty. If that be so, he is willing to let the proof of his own authority; and so of his own worthiness, remain in abeyance. He knows that he has the right and the power to exercise discipline of the extremest kind, but he will sacrifice everything, even the knowledge that it is so, if only he can persuade the Corinthians to give him no occasion to apply it.

Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible

It is essential that Paul should repeat that this was the third time he was coming to them. Such emphasis was needed to awaken proper exercise. For the second time he had not come, in order to spare them. Nor did he desire now to cause distress there. He would use discipline only on the basis of fully competent witness; yet when this was established, he would not spare those who were guilty. He had told them as much before, and now was forewarning them as if he had actually gone there the second time: if flagrant evil was not self-judged, or judged by the assembly, then he would use the authority God had given him as an apostle: and it would mean no little humiliation for all involved.

Since the Corinthians desired some proof of Christ speaking in Paul, the proof as to them was far from weak, but “mighty in you.” Verse 4 is a parenthesis, so that verse 5 continues the force of verse 3: “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith.” They were themselves the result of Paul’s labour: if Christ was in them, how powerful a proof that Christ was speaking in Paul!

Verse 4 however is an insertion to show that power is most to be found in what appears to be weakness. If they saw in Paul what seemed to be weakness, let them remember that Christ was crucified through weakness, yet lives by the power Of God. The apostles too were willingly identified with such apparent weakness in the world’s view, but with absolute certainty of eventual resurrection life by the power of God, the same power that operated in the Corinthians.

At least, if this were true of them, Jesus Christ was in them: if not they were reprobates, that is, worthless, and only fit to be rejected. They would not accept this designation! Nor would they likely go so far as to brand Paul as reprobate, and verse 6 should at least have served to alert them as to the heartlessness of their unfair criticism of him.

It was his prayer to God that they should do no evil, certainly not the attitude of a reprobate. Nor did he desire this in order that he himself would be credited with such results in them, but for their own sakes as in the sight of God: if they kept from evil, Paul would not object to being thought of as reprobate, for it was not his own reputation he sought. (Of course, if the Corinthians would practice honesty in thought as well as deed, it would be evident to them that Paul was not reprobate.)

Verse 8 emphasizes that, whatever one does, even with motives of opposition to the truth, nothing can overthrow truth, but will actually work only in such a way as to show truth to be completely triumphant. Faith as to this will put us now wholeheartedly on the side of truth.

Paul’s weakness then, as dependent upon the strength of God, was a matter of gladness to him, specially if it issued in making the Corinthians strong spiritually: he wanted no ascendancy over them, but desired the strength of God to operate in them in full measure. Their perfection or mature growth was the object of his labours with them.

For this he wrote this epistle, rather than to come himself at the time, for though his letter is indeed “weighty and powerful,” yet if he came, he might (for the same spiritual reason) be required to use such sharpness as would be unpleasant for him and for them, consistently with the authority the Lord had given him. Yet he always remembered that this authority was intended for edification, not for destruction.

And his last exhortation is consistent indeed with this. He first bids them to “rejoice,” (not simply “farewell”): their joy was not to be diminished because correction was needed among them. “Be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace.” These are matters deeply precious in any assembly; and certainly their taking to heart the many reproofs of the epistle would contribute greatly to such valuable results. And this further would result in the conscious knowledge and joy of the presence with them of “the God of love and peace.” It was fitting too that their affections toward one another should be expressed by “an holy kiss.”

Now, sending the greetings of all the saints with whom he was, Paul closes the epistle with a peculiarly precious benediction: for in contrast to the stilted measure of blessing they were enjoying, he wishes them all the fullness of blessing that flows from the eternal Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, in grace, love and communion. Can there be a question left as to how expanded and full the heart of Paul was toward them?

Fuente: Grant’s Commentary on the Bible

Verse 1

I am coming; that I have formed the intention of coming.–In the mouth, &c.; Deuteronomy 19:15. In a manner somewhat analogous, he was to bear his repeated testimony before them.

Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament

SECTION 19. UNLESS THE OFFENDERS REPENT, PAUL WILL RELUCTANTLY GIVE THEM SEVERE PROOF OF HIS AUTHORITY CHS. 12:19-13:10.

For a long time you are thinking that to you we are making reply. Before God, in Christ, we speak. But all things, beloved ones, are on behalf of your edification. For I fear lest in any way, when I come, not such as I wish I find you, and I be found by you such as you do not wish, lest in any way there be strife, jealousy, outbursts of fury, factions, evil-speakings, whisperings, self-inflations, disorders; lest again when I have come my God will humble me with regard to you and I bewail many of those who sinned-before and have not repented, about the uncleanness and fornication and wantonness which they practiced. This third time I am coming to you. At the mouth of two witnesses and of three every word shall stand. (Deu 19:15) I have said before and I say beforehand, as when present the second time and absent now, to those who have before sinned and to all the rest, that if I come again I will not spare. Since a proof you seek of Him who speaks in me, even Christ, who towards you is not weak but is strong in you. For indeed He was crucified through weakness, but He lives through the power of God. For we also are weak in Him, but we shall live with Him, through the power of God, towards you.

Try yourselves whether you are in faith: prove yourselves. Or, do not understand yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? Except perhaps you are reprobates. But I hope that you will know that we are not reprobates. But we pray to God that you do nothing bad; not that we may be seen to be approved, but that you may do the good and we be as unapproved. For we cannot do anything against the truth but on behalf of the truth. For we rejoice when we are weak but you are strong. This we also pray, your full equipment. Because of this, these things while absent I write, that when present I may not act severely, according to the authority which the Lord gave to me, for building up and not for pulling down.

Pauls boasting is now complete. He therefore returns to the matter which prompted it, viz. the misconduct of some whom he has already (2Co 10:2) threatened to punish. He writes fearing that there are evils at Corinth which will make his visit painful to him, 2Co 12:19-21 : if the sinners do not repent he will give them severe proof of his authority, 2Co 13:1-4 : but he begs them to prevent this by self-examination and well doing, 2Co 13:5-10.

2Co 12:19. For-a-long-time: viz. while listening to Pauls boasting, 2Co 11:1 to 2Co 12:18.

Making reply: anglicized into apology: same word in Rom 2:15; Act 26:1-2; Act 26:24; 1Co 9:3; 2Co 7:11.

We: as in 2Co 10:2-11 : suggested perhaps by Pauls defence (2Co 12:18) of Titus.

To you: emphatic: your approval being my aim.

Before God, in Christ, we speak: 2Co 2:17 : in the presence of God, and prompted by spiritual contact with Christ as the encompassing element of Pauls life. Cp. Rom 9:1.

All things: all he says and does, including the foregoing boast.

On behalf of your edification: to help forward your spiritual development. Notice the triple reference of Pauls words, before God, in Christ, for the spiritual growth of men. So 2Co 5:13 f. These three are ever united.

2Co 12:20-21. Explanation of the kind of edification Paul has in view in his self-defence. He has magnified his authority and has threatened to punish, to lead some guilty ones to repentance, lest he find them, and they him, other than he and they wish.

In any way: as in 2Co 11:3.

When I come: on the visit proposed in 2Co 9:4; 1Co 16:2 ff.

Be found by you: literally to you, as in Rom 7:10, denoting the influence upon them of this discovery.

Lest lest lest; expounds in full Pauls fear. The second lest introduces two classes of sins which Paul fears that he will find but does not wish to find at Corinth.

Strife, jealousy, outbursts of fury, factions: same words in same order in Gal 5:20. See under 1Co 3:3; Rom 2:8.

Evil-speakings, whisperings: Rom 1:29. Their place here reveals the evil of them.

Self-inflations: special failing of the Corinthian Christians: cognate to puffed up, 1Co 4:6; 1Co 4:18 f.

Disorders: 2Co 6:5; 1Co 14:33.

2Co 12:21. Will humble] Nothing brings a Christian teacher into the dust so much as the defection of those whom he has looked on as fruits of his labor and as his crown of rejoicing. This humiliation Paul now fears.

Again: i.e. will again humble. Its conspicuous position allows no other connection. Thus understood it has almost tragic force. For it implies (cp. 2Co 2:1) that on a previous visit Paul had already been thus humbled. And, remembering that time, he now fears that it will be so again.

My God: as in (1Co 1:4,) Rom 1:8. It is a reverent acknowledgment that even the feared humiliation, though caused by mans unfaithfulness, will be from God, i.e. taken up into His plan to work out His purposes of mercy for Paul. In regard of you, or in reference to you. Contrast 2Co 3:4; Rom 4:2.

I shall bewail: sorrow for the guilty will accompany Pauls own humiliation.

Before-sinned: probably before Pauls second visit, to which the word again refers. So before-sinned in 2Co 13:2. This does not necessarily imply that before Pauls second visit they had committed the gross sins mentioned immediately afterwards, but simply that they had committed sin. He fears that he shall find that the sins he reproved long ago (2Co 13:2) had developed into these aggravated forms.

And have not repented: at the time of Pauls expected visit, of which he is now speaking. Not all but many of those who had before sinned were, Paul fears, guilty of the gross sins mentioned below.

About the uncleanness etc.; may go with repented, but has more force as giving the specific matter of Pauls sorrow about these unrepentant ones.

Uncleanness: general sensuality.

Fornication: a specific form of it, viz. intercourse with harlots.

Wantonness: insolent casting aside of all restraint. Same three words together in Gal 5:20.

Which they have practised; gives vividness to, and lingers over, the picture.

2Co 12:21 forms with 2Co 12:20 a climax, touching what Paul fears he will find when he comes to Corinth. He has written for his readers good (2Co 12:19) strong words, because he fears there are at Corinth the evils enumerated in 2Co 12:20. He also remembers those who before his last visit had committed sins, and who have not yet repented. And he now writes fearing lest, touching many of these, he will find and will have to mourn over their gross sensuality and reckless insolence, sins far more terrible than those of 2Co 12:20. To find this at Corinth, will fill him with sorrow and smite him down to the very dust. Cp. 2Co 2:3. Therefore, seeking their edification, (2Co 12:19,) he has defended his own apostolic authority, which Jewish strangers have taught them to despise; that thus he may with more force reprove those who have sinned. He hopes thus to save himself from pain and humiliation. And the pain and humiliation which he dreads reveal the greatness of the sins he reproves.

2Co 13:1-2. Paul has already (2Co 12:20 b, 2Co 12:21) told his readers what sort of men he expects, but does not wish, to find them. He will now tell them what sort of man they will find him.

This third time; implies clearly that he has twice before been at Corinth. For the first coming was an actual visit. And Paul refers now to what will happen, not on his way towards Corinth, but after his arrival. With this he could not compare a never-completed second journey. Song of Solomon 2Co 12:14. He evidently wishes to recall, in view of a third visit, his conduct on two earlier visits.

I am coming: written from Macedonia on the way from Ephesus to Corinth. Cp. 1Co 16:5.

At the mouth etc.: word for word from Deu 19:15. When Paul comes, a church court will be held: and every charge will be judged, according to the Mosaic Law, on the evidence of two witnesses and, where available, of three. A similar quotation with the same purpose in Mat 18:16. There is no indication whatever that, as some have suggested, Pauls journeys were the witnesses; or that this word has here any but its common meaning of one who has seen and can testify.

2Co 13:2. Said-before; contrasts with his previous words on his second visit Pauls present words by letter: say-before; contrasts his present words with their approaching fulfillment. Pauls words by letter now when absent correspond with his words of mouth when present the second time, i.e. on his bygone second visit.

To those who before-sinned: i.e. before his second visit, as in 2Co 12:21. But his present words by letter apply of course to any who sinned subsequently. Before, reminds us that some had sinned long ago.

And to all the rest: all the church-members, by way of warning. The tone of uncertainty, if I come again, when Paul was actually on his way to Corinth, suggests that he here quotes his own words on the second visit.

He would then speak naturally of his next visit as coming again. Notice the emphatic prominence (cp. 2Co 2:1; 2Co 12:21) of this word.

I will not spare; is more than exclusion from the church, and suggests bodily punishment similar to that of 1Co 5:5; Act 5:5; Act 13:11. The miraculous powers in the apostolic church made more inexcusable the case of those who by open sin set at nought such powers. And now this dread power is ready to fall in supernatural punishment on those who are continuing to treat it with contempt.

Of this INTERMEDIATE VISIT of Paul to Corinth, we have no express mention. But without it the conspicuous and emphatic word again in 2Co 2:1 and 2Co 12:21, and this third time in 2Co 12:14 and 2Co 13:1, are practically meaningless; whereas with it they have almost tragic force; and xiii. 2 would otherwise be uncouth. No doubt is cast on it by absence of reference to it in the Book of Acts. For, how much of Pauls career is not mentioned there, 2Co 11:23-26 proves. That no reference is made to it in the First Epistle, is more remarkable; especially as on this unmentioned visit Paul found at Corinth the sins which in that epistle he severely condemns. (This objection is well put in Baurs Apostle Paul pt. ii. ch. 2.) Certainly the visit cannot have been later than the First extant Epistle: or the explanation in 2Co 2:3 f about that epistle would be needless. But if it took place some time before the lost letter was written, the fact that by this letter Paul had given the Corinthians a later expression of his mind about sensuality might account for his silence about the visit: whereas his thoughts, while writing this second extant letter, about his approaching visit to Corinth would naturally and sadly recall his last visit It is much easier to suppose this than to reconcile the passages referred to above with the supposition that Paul had visited Corinth only once. Opportunities of going there would be frequent during his three years (Act 19:10; Act 20:31) sojourn at Ephesus: and his anxiety about the church at Corinth would be a constant motive for such a journey. It has been suggested that the unmentioned visit was a return to Corinth after a temporary absence during Pauls eighteen months residence there But the lapse of time between his departure from Corinth narrated in Act 18:18 and the writing of this epistle, which included three years at Ephesus, makes the other supposition more likely. The whole subject is well discussed in Conybeares St. Paul, ch. xv. Dr. Farrar (Life of St. Paul vol. ii. p. 118) silently agrees with Baur in rejecting an intermediate journey.

The silence of the Book of Acts, and the indications in this epistle, suggest that the visit was short. To Paul it was (2Co 2:1; 2Co 12:21) painful and humiliating. But, instead of punishing at once those whom he then found guilty of gross sin, he threatened that, if they did not repent, he would do so at his next visit. And he now fears that; with similar sorrow and humiliation, he shall be compelled to fulfill his threat.

2Co 13:3-4. Since you seek a proof: reason why he will not spare. By punishing he will prove, to those who doubt it, his apostolic authority.

Proof of Him etc.: probably (cp. 2Co 9:13) proof afforded by Christ. But such proof is also proof that Christ speaks in Paul.

Not weak but powerful: and therefore able to give the proof sought.

Towards you: as influencing from without.

Among you: as working in the midst of you. A climax: Of Christs power towards and among the Corinthians, Paul has already given full proof, viz. (2Co 12:12) the miracles wrought in their midst and (2Co 3:2) the spiritual effects of the Gospel in their hearts. He will now add the more terrible proof of special punishment.

2Co 13:4. Proof of the (2Co 13:4 a) power of Christ (2Co 13:4 b) in Paul, in view of admitted human weakness. The crucifixion of Christ was a result of His human weakness. This involves, as does 2Co 8:9, the mystery of the Incarnation. And the dread reality of these words must not be set aside. We are here told expressly that Christ was crucified because He had not power to save Himself. Yet He is unchangeably divine, and had dwelt from eternity in infinite power. We must therefore conceive the Eternal Son as willingly taking upon Himself at His incarnation, in a mode to us inconceivable but divine, for a time and for our salvation, real human weakness; and as being in His dying moments forsaken (Mat 27:46) by God, and powerless in the hands of His enemies. The ridicule of the Jews, (Mat 27:42) others He saved: Himself He cannot save, was solemn truth. So in the garden (Mat 26:53) the only way of deliverance which Christ mentions is prayer to His Father for angelic assistance. Thus in all things He was made like His brothers: Heb 2:17.

But He lives: upon the throne.

By the power of God: who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, 1Pe 1:21. The resurrection of Christ is ever attributed to the Fathers power: 2Co 4:14; 1Co 15:15; Rom 4:24; Rom 6:4; Rom 8:11, etc. He who was so weak that He could not save Himself from the cross now lives by the outstretched arm of God. And the power thus manifested is proof that (2Co 13:3) Christ is powerful in His Church to save and to punish. For the power of the Father abides in those whom it rescues; even, we may reverently suppose, in the Risen God-Man. (Cp. Joh 5:26; Joh 6:57; Col 1:19.) Therefore the power of God which raised Christ is proof that Christ has power to inflict punishment in His Church.

2Co 13:4 b. Expounds speaks in me: as 2Co 13:4 a expounds who is not weak. It shows how Christs life by the power of God bears upon Paul and his readers.

Weak in Him: helpless amid peril, as Christ was and because the Spirit of Christ moves Paul to similar self-devotion for the salvation of men.

We shall live, on earth rescued from imminent peril by the power of God so as to minister for you. And, just as Christs rescue from death by the power of God is a proof of His present power towards and among His professed servants so Pauls frequent and almost miraculous deliverance from impending death, from perils endured for Christs sake, proves that in him the power of God is enabling him to exercise apostolic authority. Compare and contrast 2Co 4:7 ff; 2Co 10:1 ff. Guilty men may well fear both Him who was raised from the dead and His servant who, even within the jaws of death protected by the arm of God, continues and will continue to live.

2Co 13:5. Direct appeal, coming with great force after the solemn words of 2Co 12:20 to 2Co 13:4.

Try, or tempt: put to the test, with good or bad intention. Same word in 1Co 7:5; 1Co 10:9; 1Co 10:13; Mat 4:1; Mat 16:1; Heb 11:17; Jas 1:13; Mat 4:3; 1Th 3:5 : cognate to temptation, 1Co 10:13; Gal 4:14; 1Ti 6:9, etc.

In faith: i.e. having belief of the gospel promise of eternal life as the element of life. [The article presents this as a well-known and therefore definite object of thought.] Cp. stand in the faith, 1Co 16:13; continue in faith, 1Ti 2:15; live in the faith, Gal 2:20. Paul has in mind men guilty of open sin. But such cannot (see under Rom 10:9) believe the Gospel. He therefore urges his readers generally to search their hearts whether they are continuing in faith; that thus the guilty ones may find that they have lost the condition of salvation and no longer belong to Christ, and may by this discovery be led to repentance.

Prove: a nobler word than try, only used of a trial with good intent: find out, by testing, your own genuineness. So 2Co 8:8; 1Co 3:13; 1Co 11:28; 1Co 16:3. The addition of it here suggests a hope that the trial will be satisfactory. These words are very emphatic. Yourselves, test ye: yourselves prove ye.

Or do you not etc.: alternative appeal, which ought to supersede those going before. For, Christ in them is a proof that they are in faith. Is it needful to make the examination? do you not read your own hearts and find there marks of the presence of Christ?

Christ Jesus in you: by His Spirit giving victory over sin, prompting filial confidence in God, and reproducing the whole mind of Christ. Cp. Rom 8:9 ff; Eph 3:17. This is a result of faith; and a proof that it is not vain.

Except perhaps etc.; adds force to this question by stating the only alternative.

Reprobate, or disapproved: rejected after trial. Same word in 1Co 9:27; Rom 1:28; 2Ti 3:8; Tit 1:16; Heb 6:8.

2Co 13:6. A severe but disguised warning, in view of the foregoing alternative.

We: emphatic transition from the readers to Paul and his colleagues. Whether or not the Corinthians test themselves, their conduct will put to the proof Pauls apostolic faithfulness. In this trial he will not fail. And he hopes that they will know this. That he refers to proof given by inflicting punishment, 2Co 13:7 shows.

Reprobate: as in 2Co 13:5, one who fails in trial: chosen in order to contrast Pauls faithfulness with the faithlessness of some at Corinth. It also suggests that his faithfulness will compel him to punish. It is, like 2Co 13:3, a severe warning to those who question his authority.

I hope: 2Co 5:11. He desires that, in case of obstinacy, they may have, and may recognize, the proof.

2Co 13:7-9. A disinterested prayer for the readers, appropriately concluding the warning.

Pray to God: formal transition from the presence of men to the presence of God. Cp. 2Co 5:13.

May be seen to be approved: as is every teacher by the excellence of his pupils. Pauls prayer that they do nothing bad is not prompted, as it might easily be, by a selfish wish to gain approval through their goodness, but simply by a desire that they may do what is good And their well-doing will deprive Paul of a proof of his apostolic authority, viz. that afforded by the punishment he would inflict. In this case, he will not be reprobate i.e. one who has failed in trial; but, as destitute of the proof afforded by inflicting supernatural punishment, he may speak of himself comparatively as unapproved: same word as reprobate, 2Co 13:5. (Similarly unscrupulous rulers have sometimes wished for a weak rebellion as an occasion for showing their power to crush it.) Paul thus reminds his readers that his prayer for their good behavior is not self-seeking, but self-denial. For their continued obstinacy would magnify his power.

2Co 13:8-9 a. The foregoing unselfish prayer traced to a necessity of Pauls nature.

We cannot: because it would be contrary to our inmost disposition.

The truth: the word of God, which corresponds always with absolute reality. See under Rom 1:18. It is designed to mold mens conduct in correspondence with Gods will, that thus they may do the truth. Consequently, to lead men into sin, is to act against the truth. This, to Pauls renewed nature, was impossible. His powers like those of Christ, can be put forth only on behalf of the truth.

For we rejoice etc.: reason of this impossibility.

We, you: each emphatic.

Strong: capable of spiritual activity and endurance. Cp. Rom 15:1.

Weak: not spiritual weakness, which could not be a joy to Paul or help others to be strong. It is, as in 2Co 13:4, human incapacity for doing anything great. The spiritual strength of his readers was a joy to Paul: and this joy was not lessened by the fact that, in order to impart to them this strength, Paul himself went into positions of weakness. And this was with him an abiding principle. For the objects which give us joy determine our whole character. And this joy of Paul kept him back from doing anything to hinder the truth from molding his readers conduct; and compelled him to put forth his powers on behalf of the truth.

Consequently, since for their strength he was willing to be weak, he cannot wish them to persevere in sin that thus he may have an opportunity of showing his apostolic power. For this would run counter to his very heart, which rejoices in their spiritual strength. 2Co 13:7-9 a are full of terrible warning. So completely are the unfaithful ones in Pauls power that selfish motives would suggest a wish that they would continue obstinate. Consequently, desire for their repentance is pure self-sacrificing love for them.

2Co 13:9 b. Leads us back to the starting point in 2Co 13:7.

Also pray: as well as rejoice when you are strong.

Your full equipment: in apposition to this. Paul prays that his readers be strong; or, what is practically the same, that they be fully equipped. Cognate word in 1Co 1:10. See note. He prays that they be thoroughly furnished with all gifts of the spiritual life, fitting them to do the work and fight the battles of God. For the fallen ones, this implied complete restoration. That of these Paul here thinks chiefly, is proved by foregoing and following warnings.

2Co 13:10. Concludes DIV. III., by giving its purpose, with a solemn warning; and by restating a principle of clemency which has been kept in mind throughout. It is thus an epitome of the whole.

Because of this: because I rejoice in and pray for your spiritual strength and complete restoration. This prompts him to write to them while absent. For the same reason (2Co 1:23 to 2Co 2:4) Paul changed his purpose of coming to Corinth direct from Ephesus, and wrote his First Epistle. This implies that the reformation (2Co 7:11) wrought by the First Epistle was not a complete one. Even after its good results Paul finds it needful to add the severe words of DIV. III. of the Second Epistle.

That when present etc.; develops because of this, in view of the readers present state.

Severely: by inflicting punishment. Cognate word in Rom 11:22.

The authority which etc.: almost word for word as in 2Co 10:8. Even if Paul act severely, he will act according to his divinely-given authority. But he remembers that the purpose of this authority is not to pull down but to build up the church. Therefore, if he is obliged to pull down he will do so as little as possible. And these are his last words to the refractory church-members.

Building up, or edification; takes hold of 2Co 12:19, marking the completion of (19 there begun.

REVIEW. Throughout his long boasting, in 15-18 or 2Co 11:1 to 2Co 12:18, Paul has been appealing, in self-defence, to his readers. He now tells them, with the dignity of a true servant of God, that their approval has not been the aim of this self-defence. He has spoken before God, resting in and united to Christ. Not the approval, but the spiritual good, of his readers has been his aim. His fear about them prompts him to write, lest when he comes the gross and unrepented sins of some of them humble him into the very dust. His readers know him well. Already he has been with them twice. When he comes again he will fulfill his threat, and punish those who by sufficient witnesses are proved to be guilty. Those who call in question his apostolic authority will then have the proof they profess to seek. Just as Christ, though powerless to save Himself even from the cross, yet reigns now by the power of God, so they will find Paul, though apparently a poor weak man, but weak for Christs sake, yet armed with divine power. He bids them put themselves to the test whether they continue believing and whether Christ still dwells in them: else they are already rejected as unfaithful. They will soon find that Paul is not unfaithful. He prays for them with disinterested love. For their obstinacy will magnify his apostolic authority. But this he does not desire: for he cannot but wish for their highest good. He therefore writes these severe words, that thus he may be spared from severe actions, remembering that severity is not the purpose of the authority with which he has been invested by Christ.

DIVISION III. opens to us a terrible view of the church of Corinth in Pauls day. As we look from our modern standpoint into the confusion which reigned then and there and into the strange mixture of diverse and mutually opposing elements, we distinguish two groups of opponents to Paul, each one with marked characteristics. One of these comes into view gradually, assuming greater definiteness as we watch it, until at last the features of its leaders are clearly seen. The second group startles us by its sudden appearance in distinct and dark colors. The former group was Jewish; the latter, probably Gentile. Doubtless both came under Pauls warning at the outset of DIV. III. (2Co 10:2) to those who reckoned him as walking according to flesh. For, both they who openly disputed his authority and they who set it at nought by open sin looked upon the apostle as acting from merely human motives and as armed only with human powers.

Pauls Jewish opponents were professed Christians: for they boasted (2Co 10:7; 2Co 11:23) that they belonged to Christ. He that comes (2Co 11:4) suggests that they were not inhabitants of Corinth, but arrivals from elsewhere. They claimed (2Co 11:5; 2Co 11:13; 2Co 12:11) the highest rank in the Church, viz. to be apostles of Christ. Doubtless it was they who needed (2Co 3:1) commendatory letters. They professed to be disinterested friends (2Co 11:12) of the Corinthians: but their claim was (2Co 11:13) falsehood and guile. For they were bad men, doing Satans work, and on the way to perdition. they (2Co 11:20) ate up the Corinthian church and caught it unawares: they tried to bring it into bondage to the Mosaic Law, or rather to themselves: and treated it with insolence. They openly charged the apostle with being bold only at a distance, and powerless when present; and insinuated (2Co 12:16) that he had guilefully made others his instruments for plundering the Corinthians. Yet even these men were listened to and tolerated (2Co 11:19) in the church which owed its existence to the long toil and the dauntless courage of Paul. In Gal 2:4 we find similar men in the birthplace of Christianity.

The second group of adversaries was guilty of gross sensuality. Such men, Paul was humiliated at finding (2Co 12:21; 2Co 13:2) even on his unrecorded second visit. He forbore to punish them, but threatened to do so when he should come again if they were still unrepentant. This sensuality seems (1Co 5:9) to have prompted his lost letter. A very aggravated case of it, which Paul could not tolerate even while absent, he deals with (1Co 5:1 ff) in his first extant letter. And the general unfaithfulness was his chief reason (2Co 1:23) for writing that letter instead of coming, as he first intended, direct from Ephesus to Corinth. Although the letter moved the church generally to repentance, it failed to reach some of the worst cases of sensuality. And Paul wrote the severe threatenings of DIV. III. of this Second Epistle to avoid, if possible, severe discipline, painful both to them and to him, when he comes to see them.

Paul declared that these disorders at Corinth would, if continued evoke a proof of his apostolic authority. They have done so, in a way beyond his thought and to us most valuable. For Pauls reproof of these disorders is an infallible mark of the genuineness of the Epistles before us. That against the Corinthian church we find charges of sensuality far more terrible than anything else we have from his pen, accords with the world-wide infamy of the city whose temple to the goddess of lust had once been served by a thousand impure priestesses. And certainly no forger personating the apostle after his death would venture to write thus about the early days of a church which in the second century was well known and important. The severity of these Epistles proves that they came from the only man who would have dared to write thus.

In dealing with these serious disorders Paul begins with an implied threat of punishment, which he supports by appealing to the supernatural results which his gospel has already produced in the hearts of his readers. And then, since his authority had been openly questioned by his Jewish opponents, he boldly contrasts himself with them. This leads to his long boasting, of which I have given a summary under 2Co 12:18. And this is followed by an explanation of his purpose in writing to them these bold words, an explanation full of warning and of disinterested love.

Fuente: Beet’s Commentary on Selected Books of the New Testament

CHAPTER 13

SYNOPSIS OF THE CHAPTER

i. There were some at Corinth who had abandoned themselves to impurity, others who were proud and contentious (xi. 20, 21), others given to other sins, and disposed to regard S. Paul’s admonitions cheaply. He threatens such in this chapter, that he may provoke them to repentance.

ii. He bids them (ver. 3) keep in mind and reverence the effectual grace given him by Christ, and the wonderful works it had enabled him to perform.

iii. He beseeches them (ver. 7) to do no evil, lest he be forced to use against them his power to punish.

iv. He exhorts them (ver. 11) to perfection, to love one another, to live at peace, to greet one another, and sends them his own salutation.

Ver. 1.-This is the third time I am coming to you. Or the third that I have purposed to come; and when I come it will be to punish those who are convicted, on the testimony of two or three witnesses, of having sinned, and of not having done penance.

In the mouth of two or three witnesses. Every accusation, every cause shall be settled on the deposition of two or three witnesses, so that the guilt that I shall punish may be sufficiently established. Others explain this to mean that the two or three witnesses are his three visits to Corinth, and they point to the reference to his three visits which immediately precedes this clause. I am one, he would then say; but coming to you a third time (xii. 14, note), I shall have the authority of two or three witnesses (Maldonatus, Not, mss.). But this interpretation is too jejune. The lofty mind of the Apostle has in view something wider and higher than this; moreover, it seems foreign to his drift. He is quoting Deut. xix. 15, the plain meaning of which, as applied here, is that when he comes to judge, each accused person shall he condemned or acquitted on the evidence of two or three witnesses.

Although this law, in so far as it is part of the judicial law of the Old Testament, has been abrogated by Christ, yet in so far as it is part of the law of nature, it is still in force, and has been admitted by both Civil and Canon Law; for common-sense has taught all nations that it is only fair and fitting that no one should be condemned but on the testimony of two or three witnesses at least. One witness may easily be suborned or be deceived, but not so well two. S. Paul then accepts and follows this law in its literal meaning, as does Christ in S. Mat 18:16.

Ver. 2.-I to1d you before, and foretell you, as if I were present, . . . and being absent. As I declared when I was present with you, so do I still say when absent. The Greek copies add after present, the second time, but the meaning, is unaltered. His writing from a distance is, as it were, a second personal address.

Ver. 3.–Since ye seek a proof of Christ speaking in me. Do you mean to disregard my injunctions, in order to see whether I dare and have power to punish the disobedient by the power given me by Christ? So may a teacher say to his rebellious pupil, “Do you wish to feel the weight of my arm, and to try the birch?”

Which to you-ward is not weak. Christ has already shown Himself not weak but powerful, by powerfully working through me so many wonderful miracles, and by so recently punishing the fornicator by my excommunication, and handing him over to Satan as his tormentor. He refers principally to this power of punishing possessed by him.

Ver. 4.–For though He was crucified. Through the weakness of His humanity, yet by the power of His Godhead He rose and lives.

For we also are weak in Him. With Him and for Him we are weak, we suffer, and are afflicted. According to this the for denotes not cause but likeness, and is put for so, by a usual Hebrew usage, which expresses similitude by doubling the conjunction.

We shall live with Him by the power of God toward you. Through Him and with Him we will show the power of Christ, i.e., the spiritual vigour of the Gospel, and in particular the power of punishing the contumacious amongst you (Theophylact). Anselm and Theodoret explain it: We with you shall rise by the power of God to eternal bliss. But the first sense is more in harmony with the context. This is supported by the phrase toward you (not merely in you), as well as by the fact that he is concerned with showing the power of Christ lodged in himself, to punish the contumacious. His argument is: As Christ, though weak in Himself, yet rose with power to a life of unending bliss, so equally does He work in us Apostles, and by us, weak though we be, and will continue to work powerfully in producing unearthly virtues, conversions, miracles, and punishments.

Ver. 5.–Examine yourselves whether ye be in the faith. A stern rebuke. See, 0 Corinthians, that ye do not foolishly put faith in the false apostles, and so be out of the faith. Try yourselves, and see whether you believe or not. If you hold fast the faith, and continue in it, you will believe, nay, you will see Christ to be powerful in you, and also in me, by the mighty works He does through me, and thus you will be led to acknowledge my apostleship and evangelical truth.

Theophylact and Gagneius take it otherwise: Make trial of yourselves, and see if you are powerful through Christ indwelling within you, so that through Him you work miracles. In the primitive Church the faithful laity even had the power of working miracles. These two writers, therefore, understand S. Paul here to refer to that faith which works miracles united to the gift of prophecy and of tongues, which faith is a sign of the indwelling of Christ in that congregation in which it flourishes.

Others, thirdly, explain it thus. Try yourselves, and see if you have faith which worketh by love, whether you have the love of Christ abiding in you. But the first meaning is the true one, and the one that suits best the context.

Observe here that this precept shows that the faithful do not know for certain, and therefore should not, and cannot, believe that they have faith, and consequently cannot be assured of their righteousness.

It may be retorted that S. Paul adds: “Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you?” I answer that he does not mean that Christ was in their hearts, or in their faith which justified them, or in them individually, but in them collectively as a church. The proof of this was that they saw so many miracles, so many gifts and graces conferred upon their church, that they had no doubt about the presence and working of Christ among them. His conclusion is that the Corinthians ought to hold fast to this Church and to Christ by faith, and therefore to Paul as His vicar (Theophylact).

This appears, secondly, from the fact that the object of faith is not “that I am just,” but that “Christ Jesus is among us,” i.e., in our Church, and working powerfully in it through the Apostles; consequently we are the true Church of Christ, and the Apostles and their descendants are true teachers.

It may be urged here that S. Augustine (de Trin. lib. iii. c. 1) and S. Thomas here say that we may have certain knowledge that we possess faith. I answer: We know certainly that we believe and cling to Christ, but whether we do this by Divine or human faith, whether so earnestly, firmly, divinely as our righteousness and salvation require, we know not, but can only conjecture.

Except ye be reprobates. “A reprobate,” says Anselm, “is one who either knows not, or has deserted the upright faith: and honest heart that he received in his baptism.” Theophylact hence says that S. Paul hints that the Corinthians were corrupt in life and character. You do not, he seems to say, recognise that Christ is in you, because you are wicked and of evil life. Evil living is the beginning and the cause of apostasy and heresy. It was lust and pride that caused Luther, Calvin, Bucer, Ochino, and all the Protestant leaders, whether priests or monks, to throw off the habit of the Catholic faith and the Roman Church, and to throw themselves into forbidden nuptials, apostasies, and heresies.

Secondly, it is better to take reprobates, as in ver. 7, in the sense of despicable. From the signs of grace and of the miracles wrought among you by Christ, you know that Christ is in you, unless perchance you have been rejected by Christ, and deprived of the light He gives, and so reduced to your former darkness and abject state. Hence I said. “Examine yourselves whether ye be in the faith;” see if your faith is honest: if it is, you know that Christ is in you; if you do not know, it is a sign that your faith is useless, that you have been rejected by Christ, and are no longer believers.

Ver. 6.-But I trust that ye shall know that we are not reprobates. Not rejected by Christ, and deprived of His grace, and so mean and inglorious. You see indeed the opposite: you see Christ working powerfully in me, converting the Gentiles, punishing the rebellious, approving all that I do, cooperating with me, and giving me a successful issue in all things, so making me well known through all Achaia, nay through all the world.

Ver. 7.–Now I pray to God that ye do no evil. S. Augustine from this lays down, in opposition to the Pelagians, that grace is required not only to do good works, but to abstain from evil, to resist temptations, to keep ourselves unspotted from the world and the flesh. To overcome the more grievous temptations is impossible for nature unassisted by the grace of God.

Not that we should appear approved. I am not labouring to have my fame and power approved by you, and to manifest to you the power I have to effectually punish those among you who do wrong: for all this I care little. One thing I do care for, and that is, that ye should do that which is honest, though we be as reprobates. Reprobates may mean, as Gagneius thinks, “esteemed wicked.” Or better still, it means regarded as rejected, as abjects-deprived of power, inglorious, without authority to punish. If they were obedient, this authority would not be exercised, and so might, by those so disposed, be denied. It is clear, therefore, that reprobate is not here used as the opposite of predestinated, or of devout or holy, but of approved and highly thought of (Theophylact and Anselm). Cf. 1Sa 15:9; Psa 118:22.

Ver. 8.–For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth. Truth, not mental or verbal, but that truth of life which is righteousness and equity. We cannot, he says, do anything against those who live as Christians righteously, against those who do what is good; we cannot show against them our power to punish. But, on behalf of truth or righteousness, we can both punish those who violate it, and praise and reward those who follow after it.

Secondly, Theophylact explains it to mean: We cannot pass any sentence against the truth, so as to punish a man who does not merit punishment; but we can, and ought to pass sentence for the truth, and punish the guilty. This meaning follows from the first, and is plainer and easier.

Others take the passage thus: As we cannot pass it over if you do anything against the truth, i.e., against righteousness and your Christian calling; so, if you act according to righteousness, we cannot punish you, because we can do nothing against the truth. All our power is to be jealously guarded, and used on behalf of truth and righteousness.

Ver. 9.–For we are glad when we are weak. I rejoice to be looked upon as weak, owing to my not being called upon to display my power to punish you, through your abounding grace and virtues, and freedom from guilt (Theodoret, Theophylact, Anselm).

The innocent are called, and are, strong, as here, because they have no reason to fear Apostle, or devil, or angel, or death, or hell, or anything in the word. The Latin Version reads “because” for when-we are glad because we are weak. The meaning is the same. S. Paul is speaking conditionally: he does not say that he actually is weak and they strong, but that if it is so, if at any time it so happen, then he is glad.

Ver. 11.-Be perfect. The Greek word used here denotes to mend a torn garment. S. Paul is alluding to the vices, evil habits, and especially the lukewarmness of the Corinthians. He says in effect: Make yourselves whole again, correct your old faults, curb the license of your lives, re-knit your severed friendship, union, and concord, so that you may have nothing to correct, nothing calling for punishment at my hands. Or, again, the word used is one bidding them agree amongst themselves and with their head, even as members in a body agree with each other under a common head. Cf. 1 Cor. xii. 16, note.

Be of good comfort. Exhort one another to better things (Latin version). Have consolation in mutual agreement (Vatablus).

Be of one mind. Have the same convictions, the same will: be of one mind and one soul.

Live in peace, and the God of love and peace shall be with you. God is the author and giver of peace, and is well pleased with peace: as its guardian, He will be with you (Anselm). Ediner, in his Life of Anselm, relates that he was wont to say that those who in this life conform their wills to the will of others, so far as righteousness allows, merit at God’s hands to have Him conform Himself after this life to their will, and live at peace with them. On the other, those who quarrel here with the wills of others will hereafter find no one to conform his will to theirs. It is the just rule of God’s justice, that with whatever measure we mete it shall be measured to us again. God acts in the same way in rewarding other virtues and punishing other sins.

Ver. 12.–Greet one another with an holy kiss. What was this kiss? Xenophon (Cyropdia, lib. i.) and Herodotus (Clio) testify that it was a heathen custom to salute one another with a kiss at meeting, in token of friendship. Suetonius says that Tiberius tried in vain to put an end to the practice. The Jews had the same custom. Cf. 2Sa 20:9. Judas, too, was but conforming to what was usual when he betrayed Christ with a kiss. It was a still more solemn and common custom with the early Christians, both on other occasions, and especially when they met for Holy Communion, to salute one another with a kiss, or other familiar salutation, saying, “Peace be with you.” This was a symbol of goodwill towards those about to communicate, of the forgiveness of all injury, and of pure charity. Cf. Cyril (Cat. Myst. 5). Tertullian (de Orat.) calls this kiss “the symbol of prayer.”

S. Chrysostom gives the mystical meaning to be, that through our mouth enters the body of Christ. We, therefore, kiss it, just as the early Christians, out of reverence for the sacred building, used to kiss the doors of the church. He gives directions how to guard this mouth against all that defiles, and to consecrate it to the praises of God. In some churches, even now, it is the custom for the canons to give this kiss before the Holy Communion. When some men, though the sexes sat apart, secretly crept in among the women and kissed them, the kissing the tablet of peace, as it is called, took the place of the kiss of peace.

A holy kiss, therefore, is not one that is heathen, carnal, fraudulent, but one that is devout, pure, and sincere, as a Christian’s should be (Chrysostom). Cf. S. Augustine (Serm. 83 de Diversis) and Baronius (Annals, A.D. 45). The author of the work “on Friendship,” included among the writings of S. Augustine, gives four reasons why this holy kiss is given: (1.) as a sign of reconciliation between those who have been enemies; (2.) in sign of peace, as in the sacrifice of the Mass; (3.) in sign of joy and of renewed love, as when a friend returns after a long absence; (4.) in sign of Catholic communion, as when a guest is welcomed with a kiss. But in all such matters the custom of the place is to be followed, and care must be taken that this kiss do not degenerate into a merely sensual delight.

Ver. 13.-The grace of the Lord, &c. Chrysostom, Ambrose, and Theodoret point out that this passage proves that the Holy Trinity is consubstantial, or of the same nature, power, and operation, especially in the work of our redemption, which is more particularly in the Apostle’s mind. Ambrose says. “In the Trinity there is a unity of power, perfecting the whole of our salvation. For the love of God sent His Son to save us, by whose grace we are saved; and that we might possess this saving grace, He makes us sharers of His Holy Spirit.”

Observe 1. that by the phrase “the love of God,” the name of God is appropriated to the Father. For the Father is the fount of Godhead, and the Origin of the other Persons of the Blessed Trinity.

2. Love is fitly attributed to the Father, grace to the Son, and fellowship to the Holy Spirit: for from the Father and His love our redemption took its rise. “The Father so loved the world that He gave His Only-Begotten Son” to die for us. By the Son came grace, inasmuch as, when we merited nothing but evil, He redeemed us by His death, and merited all grace for us. By the Holy Spirit we are made partakers of grace and of the gifts of grace. Anselm explains “the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ” to mean that our sins are freely forgiven, and salvation given us; “the love of God” to be the love of the Father in freely giving His Son for us; “the fellowship of the Holy Spirit” to be the co-operation of the Holy Spirit with the Father and the Son in the work of man’s salvation.

3. Fellowship may be taken actively or passively. Passively, it is identical with participation, and the meaning would then be: May the Holy Spirit be given to you, that you may be partakers of His grace and its gifts, may be changed into the Holy Spirit not essentially but participatively (Theophylact). Actively, the meaning is: May the Holy Spirit, who has fellowship with the Father and the Son in essence, in love, in power, and working, also have fellowship with them in communicating to you His gracious love, and, the gifts attached to it. Especially may He cause you to lay aside all divisions, and be joined together in mutual love, inasmuch as He is the bond of union between the Father and the Son, and therefore between all the faithful, who partake of the same Spirit and are united in His love. S. Paul, therefore, wishes for them the gift of fellowship, to take away all divisions.

4. Grace, love, fellowship may be either created or uncreated. Grace and love uncreate are the loving-kindness of the Father and the Son towards us. Thus we are said to find grace, i.e., goodwill, favour, in the eyes of God. E.g., in Tit 2:11, we read: “The grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared,” viz., when out of His love for us He condescended to assume flesh for us. Similarly, the uncreated fellowship of the Holy Spirit is that communion or fellow-ship which He has with the Father and the Son, or that participation of Godhead, and of all the Divine attributes which the Father and the Son communicate to the Holy Spirit, and He in him to us. Created grace is that which is infused into us to make us pleasing to God; created charity is that by which we love God; created fellowship of the Holy Spirit is the participation of His gifts given to us.

If, then, firstly we take this verse of uncreated grace, love, and fellowship of the Holy Ghost, the sense is this: May the grace, or the loving-kindness of Christ, and the love that the Father has for us, and the fellowship, or that bond of love by which the Holy Spirit shares all the Divine attributes with the Father and the Son, and then communicates them to us, be and remain with you, to give you, and ever give you, fellowship in that love and all other good gifts of God.

If, secondly, we take it of created grace, love, and fellowship of the Holy Spirit, all of which flow from their uncreated originals, then the sense will be: May the grace which Christ gives, and the love bestowed by the Father, and the gifts communicated by the Holy Spirit be and remain always with you; and especially that mutual and brotherly love, which of all things is the brightest, the most pleasing to God, and the most necessary to you, 0 Corinthians, viz., the fellowship of the Holy Ghost. Similarly, in Rom 5:5 love has both meanings.

Give us ever Thy grace, 0 Jesu Christ, our Redeemer; give us ever thy love, 0 Father, our Creator and Glorifier; give us ever fellowship with Thee, 0 Holy Ghost, our justifier; that, in time and eternity we may love Thee and glorify Thee, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost, One God, Divine Trinity, Triune Eternity. What have I in heaven but Thee, and what is there that I can desire on earth in comparison of Thee? God is the Strength of my heart and my Portion for ever.

Fuente: Cornelius Lapide Commentary

2. Paul’s warnings 13:1-10

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)

There are at least four possibilities about what Paul meant by the two or three witnesses that would confirm his credibility and his critics’ guilt. First, he may simply have been saying that the church would pass judgment and, on the testimony of the witnesses that Jesus Christ prescribed, should decide who was right (Mat 18:15-20; 1Co 5:3-5). Second, Paul may have viewed his three visits to Corinth as three witnesses to his innocence. Third, he may have been referring to his warnings that he would not spare the Corinthians. These may be the one in 1Co 4:21, possibly a warning given during the painful visit, and the one in 2Co 13:2 b. Fourth, Paul may have meant the witness of his fellow workers when he returned to Corinth. He may have meant Titus and the brethren who accompanied him (cf. 2Co 8:23) and or Paul’s fellow travelers. I tend to favor the first possibility because it views the witnesses as people, which is the normal meaning of witnesses in the passage quoted (Deu 19:15). The fourth view seems weak to me since Paul’s friends would have appeared biased to his critics.

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)

Chapter 28

CONCLUSION.

2Co 13:1-14 (R.V)

THE first part of this chapter is in close connection with what precedes; it is, so to speak, the explanation of St. Pauls fear {2Co 12:20} that when he came to Corinth he would be found of the Corinthians “not such as they would.” He expresses himself with great severity; and the abruptness of the first three sentences, which are not linked to each other by any conjunctions, contributes to the general sense of rigor. “This is the third time I am coming to you” is a resumption of 2Co 12:14, “This is the third time I am ready to come to you,” and labors under the same ambiguity; it is perhaps more natural to suppose that Paul had actually been twice in Corinth (and there are independent reasons for this opinion), but the words here used are quite consistent with the idea that this was the third time he had definitely purposed and tried to visit them, whether his purpose had been carried out or not. When he arrives, he will proceed at once to hold a judicial investigation into the condition of the Church, and will carry it through with legal stringency. “At the mouth of two and (where available) three witnesses shall every question be brought to decision.” This principle of the Jewish law, {Deu 19:15} to which reference is made in other New Testament passages connected with Church discipline, {Mat 18:16; 1Ti 5:19} is announced as that on which he will act. There will be no informality and no injustice, but neither will there be any more forbearance. All cases requiring disciplinary treatment will be brought to an issue at once, and the decision will be given rigorously as the matter of fact, attested by evidence, requires. He feels justified in proceeding thus after the reiterated warnings he has given them. To these reference is made in the solemn words of 2Co 13:2. English readers can see, by comparing the Revised Version with the Authorized, the difficulties of translation which still divide scholars. The words which the Authorized Version renders “as if I were present” ( ) are rendered by the Revisers “as when I was present.” All scholars connect this ambiguous clause with : “the second time.” Hence there are two main ways in which the whole passage can be rendered. The one is that which stands in the Revised Version, and which is defended by scholars like Meyer, Lightfoot, and Schmiedel: it is in effect this-“I have already forewarned, and do now forewarn, as I did. on the occasion of my second visit, so also now m my absence, those who have sinned heretofore, and all the rest, that if I come again I will not Spare “this is certainly rather cumbrous; but assuming that 2Co 2:1 gives strong ground for believing in a second visit already paid to Corinth-a visit in which Paul had been grieved and humbled by disorders in the Church, but had not been in a position to do more than warn against their continuance-it seems the only available interpretation. Those who evade the force of 2Co 11:1-33. I render here in the line of the Authorized Version: “I have forewarned” (viz., in the first letter, e.g., 1Co 4:21), “and do now forewarn, as though I were present the second time, although I am now absent, those who have sinned,” etc. So Heinrici. This, on grammatical grounds, seems quite legitimate; but the contrast between presence and absence, which is real and effective in the other rendering, is here quite inept. We can understand a man saying, “I tell you in my absence, just as I did when I was with you that second time”: but who would ever say, “I tell you as if I were present with you a second time, although in point of fact I am absent?” The absence here comes in with a grotesque effect, and there seems hardly room to doubt that the rendering in our Revised Version is correct. Paul had, when he visited Corinth a second time, warned those who had sinned before that visit, he now warns them again, and all others with them who anticipated his coming with an evil conscience, that the hour of decision is at hand. It is not easy to say what he means by the threat not to spare. Many point to judgments like that on Ananias and Sapphira, or on Elymas the sorcerer; others to the delivering of the incestuous person to Satan, “for the destruction of the flesh”; the supposition being that Paul came to Corinth armed with a supernatural power of inflicting physical sufferings on the disobedient. This uncanny idea has really no support in the New Testament, in spite of the passages quoted; and probably what his words aim at is an exercise of spiritual authority which might go so far as totally to exclude an offender from the Christian community.

The third verse {2Co 13:3} is to be taken closely with the second {2Co 13:2}: “I will not spare, since ye seek a proof of Christ that speaketh in me, who to you-ward is not weak, but is powerful in you.” The friction between the Corinthians and the Apostle involved a higher interest than his. In putting Paul to the proof, they were really putting to the proof the Christ who spoke in him. In challenging Paul to come and exert his authority, in defying him to come with a rod, in presuming on what they called his weakness, they were really challenging Christ. The description of Christ in the last clause-“who towards you is not weak, but is powerful in you, or among you”-must be interpreted by the context. It can hardly mean that in their conversion, and in their experience as Christian people, they had evidence that Christ was not weak, but strong: such a reference, though supported by Calvin, is surely beside the mark. The meaning must rather be that for the purpose in hand-the restoration of order and discipline in the Corinthian Church-the Christ who spoke in Paul was not weak, but mighty. Certainly any one who looked at Christ in Himself might see proofs, in abundance, of weakness: going directly to the crowning one, “He was crucified,” the Apostle says, “in virtue of weakness.” Sin was so much stronger than He, in the days of His flesh, that it did what it liked with Him. Sin mocked Him, buffeted Him, scourged Him, spit upon Him, nailed Him to the tree-so utter was His weakness, so complete the triumph of sin over Him. But that is not the whole story: “He liveth in virtue of the power of God.” He has been raised from the dead by the glory of the Father; sin cannot touch Him any more: He has all power in heaven and on earth, and all things are under His feet. This double relation of Christ to sin is exemplified in His Apostle. “For we also are weak in Him; but we shall live with Him, in virtue of Gods power, toward you.” The sin of the Corinthians had had its victory over Paul on the occasion of his second visit; God had humbled him then, even as Christ was humbled on the cross; he had seen the evil, but it had been too strong for him; in spite of his warnings, it had rolled over his head. That “weakness,” as the Corinthians called it, remained; to them he was still as weak as ever-hence the present : but to the Apostle it was no discreditable thing; it was a weakness “in Christ,” or perhaps, as some authorities read, “with Christ.” In being overpowered by sin for the moment, he entered into the fellowship of his Lords sufferings; he drank out of the cup his Master drank upon the cross. But the cross does not represent Christs whole attitude to sin, nor does that incapacity to deal with the turbulence, disloyalty, and immorality of the Corinthians represent the whole attitude of the Apostle to these disorders. Paul is not only crucified with Christ, he has been made to sit with Him in the heavenly places; and when he comes to Corinth this time, it will not be in the weakness of Christ, but in the victorious strength of His new life. He will come clothed with power from on high to execute the Lords sentence on the disobedient.

This passage has great practical interest. There are many whose whole conception of the Christian attitude toward evil is summed up in the words: “He was crucified through weakness.” They seem to think that the whole function of love in presence of evil, its whole experience, its whole method and all its resources, are comprehended in bearing what evil chooses, or is able, to inflict. There are even bad people, like the Corinthians, who imagine that this exhausts the Christian ideal, and that they are wronged if they are not allowed by Christians to do what they like to them with impunity. And if it is not so easy to act on this principle in our dealings with one another-though there are people mean enough to try it-there are plenty of hypocrites who presume on it in their dealings with God. “He was crucified through weakness,” they say in their hearts; the cross exhausts His relation to sin; that infinite patience can never pass. over to severity. But the assumption is false: the cross does not exhaust Christs relation to sin; He passed from the cross to the throne, and when He comes again it is as Judge. It is the sin of sins to presume upon the cross; it is a mistake that cannot be remedied to persist in that presumption to the end. When Christ comes again, He will not spare. The two things go together in Him: the infinite patience of the cross, the inexorable righteousness of the throne. The same two things go together in men: the depth with which they feel evil, the completeness with which they suffer it to work its will against them, and the power with which they vindicate the good. It is the worst blindness, as well as the basest guilt, which, because it has seen the one, refuses to believe in the other.

The Corinthians, by their rebellious spirit, were putting Paul to the proof; in 2Co 13:5 he re-reminds them sharply that it is their own standing as Christians which is in question, and not his. “Try yourselves,” he says, with abrupt emphasis, “not me; try yourselves, if ye are m the faith; put yourselves to the proof; or know ye not as to your own selves, that Jesus Christ is in you?-unless, indeed, ye be reprobate.” The meaning here is hardly open to doubt: the Apostle urges his readers individually to examine their Christian standing. “Let each,” he virtually says, “put himself to the proof, and see whether he is in the faith.” There is, indeed, a difficulty in the clause, “Or know ye not as to your own selves, that Jesus Christ is in you?-unless, indeed, ye be reprobate.” This may be read either as a test, put into their hands to direct them in their self-scrutiny; or as an appeal to them after-or even before-the scrutiny has been made. The manner in which the alternative is introduced-“unless, indeed, ye are reprobates”-a manner plainly suggesting that the alternative in question is not to be assumed, is in favor of taking it in the sense of an appeal. After all, they are a Christian Church with Christ among them, and they cannot but know it. Paul, again, on his side cannot think that they are reprobate, and he hopes they will recognize that he is not, but on the contrary a genuine Apostle, attested by God, and to be acknowledged and obeyed by the Church. Very often that temper which judges others, and calls legitimate spiritual authority in question, is due, as in part it was among the Corinthians, to inward misgivings. It is-when people ought to be putting themselves to the proof, and are with cause afraid to begin, that they are most ready to challenge others. It was a kind of self-defense-the self-defense of a bad conscience-when the Corinthians required Paul to demonstrate his apostolic claims before he meddled with their affairs. It was a plea, the sole purpose of which was to enable them to live on as they were, immoral and impenitent. It is properly retorted when he says, “Try yourselves if ye are in the faith; it is in every sense of the word an impertinence to drag in anybody else.”

In both cases Paul hopes the result of the trial will be satisfactory. He would not like to think the Corinthians (“reprobate”), and no more would he like them to regard him in that light. Still, the two things are not on exactly the same footing in his mind; their character is much dearer to him than his own reputation; provided they are what they ought to be, he does not care what is thought of himself. This is the general sense of 2Co 13:7-9, and except in 2Co 13:8 the details are clear enough.

He prays to God that the Corinthians may do no evil. His object in this is not that he himself may appear reproved; indeed, if his prayer is granted, he will have no opportunity of exercising the disciplinary authority of which he has said so much. It will be open to any one then to say that he is , reprobate, a person to be rejected because he has not demonstrated his claim to apostolic authority by apostolic action. But as long as they act well, which is the real object of his prayer, he does not care, though he lugs to pass as . He can bear evil report as well as good report, and rejoice to fulfill his vocation under the one condition as well as the other. This is only one aspect of that sacrifice of self to the interest of the flock which is indispensable in the good shepherd. As compared with any single member of his congregation, a minister may be more in the eye of the world, more still in the eye of the Church; and it is natural for him to think that some self-assertion, some recognition and reputation, are due to his position. It is a mistake: no man who understands the position at all will dream of asserting his own importance against that of the community. The Church, the congregation even, no matter how much it may be indebted to him, no matter if it owes to him, as the Corinthian Church to Paul, its very existence in Christ, is always greater than he; it will outlive him; and however tender he may naturally be of his own position and reputation, if the Church prosper in Christian character, he must be as willing to let these dear possessions go, and to count them worthless, as to part with money or any material thing.

The real difficulty here lies in the eighth verse, where the Apostle explains, apparently, why he acts on the principle just stated. “I pray this prayer for you,” he seems to say, “and I am content to pass as a reprobate, while you do that which is honorable; for I can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth.” What is the connection of ideas alluded to by this “for?” Some of the commentators give up the question in despair: others only remind one of the French pastor who said to some one who preached on Romans: “Saint Paul est deja fort difficile et vous veniez apres.” As far as one can make out, he seems to say: “I act on this principle because it is the one which furthers the truth, and therefore is obligatory upon me; I am not able to act on one which would injure or prejudice the truth.” The truth, in this interpretation, would be synonymous, as it often is in the New Testament, with the Gospel Paul is incapable of acting in a way that would check the Gospel, and its influence over men; he has no choice but to act in its interest; and therefore he is content to let the Corinthians think what they please of him, provided his prayer is answered, and they do no evil, but rather that which is good before God. For this is what the Gospel requires. “Content,” indeed, is not a Strong enough word. “We rejoice,” he says in 2Co 13:9 “when we are weak, and you are strong: this we also pray for, even your perfecting.” “Perfecting” is perhaps as good a word as can be got for : it denotes the putting right of all that is defective or amiss.

It is in favor of this interpretation of the eighth verse that the reason seems at first out of proportion to the conclusion. With an idealist like Paul it is always so. He appeals to the loftiest motives to influence the lowliest actions, -to faith in the Incarnation as a motive to generosity-to faith in the Resurrection Life, as a motive to patient continuance in well-doing – to faith in the heavenly citizenship of believers, as a motive to separation from the licentious. In the same way he appeals here to a Universal moral rule to explain his conduct in a particular case. His principle everywhere is not to act in prejudice of () the Gospel, but in furtherance of it (); he has strength available for this last purpose, but none at all for the former. It is the rule on which every minister of Christ should always act; and if the line of conduct which it pointed out sometimes led men to disregard their own reputation, provided the Gospel was having free course, the very strangeness of such a result might turn to the furtherance of the truth. It is by-ends that explain nine-tenths of spiritual inefficiency; singleness of mind like this would save us our perplexities and our failures alike.

It is because he has an interest like this in the Corinthians that Paul writes as he has done while absent from Corinth. He does not wish, when he comes among them, to proceed with severity. The power the Lord gave him would entitle him to do so; yet he remembers that this power was given him, as he has remarked already, {2Co 10:8} for building up, and not for casting down. Even casting down with a view to building up on a better basis was a less natural, if sometimes a necessary, exercise of it; and he hopes that the severity of his words will lead, even before his coming, to such voluntary action on the part of the Church as will spare him severity in deed.

This is practically the end of the letter, and the mind involuntarily goes back to the beginning. We see now the three great divisions of it plainly before our eyes. In the first seven chapters Paul writes under the general impression of the good news Titus has brought from Corinth. It has made him glad, and he writes gladly. The one case that he had been concerned about has been disposed of in a way that he can consider satisfactory; the Church, in the majority of its members, has acted well in the matter. The eighth and ninth chapters are a digression: they are concerned solely with the collection for the poor at Jerusalem, and Paul inserts them where they stand perhaps because the transition was easy from his joy over the change at Corinth to his joy over the liberality of the Macedonians. In 2Co 10:1-18; 2Co 11:1-33; 2Co 12:1-21; 2Co 13:1-10, he evidently writes in a very different strain. The Church, as a whole, has returned to its allegiance, especially on the moral question at issue; but there are Jewish interlopers in it, subverting the Gospel, and reconverting Pauls converts to their own illiberal faith; and there are also, as it would appear, numbers of sensual people who have not yet renounced the vilest sins. It is these two sets of persons who are in view in the last four chapters; and it is the utter inconsistency of Judaic nationalism on the one hand, and Corinthian license on the other, with the spiritual Gospel of the Son of God, that explains the severity of his tone. “The truth” is at stake-the truth for which he has suffered all that he recounts in 2Co 11:1-33 -and no vehemence is too passionate for the occasion. Yet love controls it all, and he speaks severely that he may not have to act severely; he writes these things that, if possible, he may be spared the pain of saying them.

And then the letter, like almost every letter, hastens in disconnected sentences to its close. “Finally, brethren, farewell.” He cannot but address them affectionately at parting; when the heart recovers from the heat of indignation, its unchanging love speaks again as before. Some would render “rejoice,” instead of “farewell”; to Pauls readers, no doubt, it had a friendly sound, but “rejoice” is far too strong. In all the imperatives that follow there is a reminiscence of their faults as well as a desire for their good: “be perfected, be comforted, be of the same mind, live in peace.” There was much among them to rectify, much that was inevitably disheartening to overcome, much dissension to compose, much friction to allay; but as he prays them to face these duties he can assure them that the God of love and peace will be with them. God can be characterized by love and peace; they are His essential attributes, and He is an inexhaustible source of them, so that all who make peace and love their aim can count confidently to be helped by Him. It is, as it were, the first step of obedience to these precepts-the first condition of obtaining the presence of God which has just been promised-when the Apostle writes, “Greet one another with a holy kiss.” The kiss was the symbol of Christian brotherhood; in exchanging it Christians recognized each other as members of one family. To do this even in form, to do it with solemnity in a public assembly of the whole Church, was to commit themselves to the obligations of peace and love which had been so set at naught in their religious contentions. It is a generous encouragement to them to recognize each other as children of God when he adds that all the Christians about him recognize them in that character. “All the saints salute you.” They do so because they are Christians and because you are; acknowledge each other, as you are all acknowledged from without.

The letter is closed, like all that the Apostle wrote, with a brief prayer. “The grace of the Lord Jesus [Christ], and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.” Of all such prayers it is the fullest in expression, and this has gained for it preeminently the name of the apostolic benediction. It would be too much to say that the doctrine of the Trinity, as it has been defined in the creeds, is explicitly to be found here; there is no statement at all in this place of the relations of Christ, God, and the Holy Spirit. Still, it is on passages like this that the Trinitarian doctrine of God is based; or rather it is in passages like this that we see it beginning to take shape: it is based on the historical fact of the revelation of God in Christ, and on the experience of the new divine life which the Church possesses through the Spirit. It is extraordinary to find men with the New Testament in their hands giving explanations, speculative or popular, of this doctrine, which stand in no relation either to the historical Christ or to the experience of the Church. But these things hang together; and whatever the worth may be of a Trinitarian doctrine which is not essentially dependent on the Person of Christ and on the life of His Church, it is certainly not Christian. The historical original of the doctrine, and the impulse of experience under which Paul wrote, are suggested even by the order of the words. A speculative theologian may try to deduce the Triune nature of God from the borrowed assumption that God is love, or knowledge, or spirit; but the Apostle has only come to know God as love through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is this which reveals Gods love and assures us of it; it is this by which God commends his own love to us. “No man cometh unto the Father but by Me,” Jesus said; and this truth, pre-announced by the Lord, is certified here by the very order in which the Apostle instinctively puts the sacred names. “The communion of the Holy Spirit” stands last; it is in this that “the grace of the Lord Jesus and the love of God” become the realized possessions of Christian men. The precise force of “the communion” is open to doubt. If we take the genitive in the same sense as it bears in the previous clauses, the word will mean “the fellowship or unity of feeling which is produced by the Spirit.” This is a good sense, but not the only one: what Paul wishes may rather be the joint participation of them all in the Spirit, and in the gifts which it confers. But practically the two meanings coincide, and our minds rest on the comprehensiveness of the blessing invoked on a Church so mixed, and in many of its members so unworthy. Surely “the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost” were with the man who rises so easily, so unconstrainedly, after all the tempest and passion of this letter, to such a height of love and peace. Heaven is open over his head; he is conscious, as he writes, of the immensities of that love whose breadth and length and depth and height pass knowledge. In the Son who revealed it-in God who is its eternal source-in the Spirit through whom it lives in men-he is conscious of that love and of its workings; and he prays that in all its aspects, and in all its virtues, it may be with them all.

Fuente: Expositors Bible Commentary

Disfruta de miles de canciones cristianas en exclusiva sólo en Bibles