II CORINTHIANS WEEK 14

2 Corinthians 13 (By Associate Teacher, Jerry Blankenship)

Verse 1: Paul warns them that he is coming to them. Two or three witnesses must prove that someone has done wrong things. During the ‘painful’ visit, he said this: He would punish those who had done wrong things. Now he says that he will do this. This will happen when he comes for the third time. His purpose was to make them better people. This would prove to them that he comes in the power of the *risen Jesus. Christ appeared to be weak while he was on earth and especially on the *cross. His followers share that weakness. Now he is alive in the power of God. The Christians at Corinth will see that power in Paul’s life.

Verse 5-14: He ends with a final warning. They have been testing him. Now they should test themselves. They should see that Christ is in them. That is unless they fail the test. But no real Christian would fail this test.
Examination:

1. Keep Christ’s commandments 1 John 2:3-5

2. Love other Christians 1 John 3:14

3. Experience the Holy Spirit’s indwelling presence 1 John 3:24

Paul had not failed the test. The proof of that was that they had become Christians. They must do what was right. Then Paul would not need to show his authority or to punish them. He did not need to do anything against what was true (right and proper). He wanted the Christians at Corinth to do the right things. Then he would be glad to be weak (not to have to show his power). He would be glad that they were strong. He prays that they may be perfect. The word ‘perfect’ here has a special meaning. It describes how people repair an object. Then they can use it again.

The word often referred to *fishermen who mended their nets. He hoped that by warning them he would not need to be severe with them. He wanted to encourage them, not to punish them.

Verse 11: So he says goodbye to them. He encourages them to change their ways. They should listen to his appeal. They should live in peace (that is, calm) and greet one another in a friendly way.

"Be perfect" - Greek verb: katartizo - to be fit, completely furnished
"be of good comfort" - Greek passive verb: parakaleo - be comforted i.e. receive this exhortation
"be of one mind" - a call for unity
"live in peace" - another call for unity

The result? "...and the God of love and peace shall be with you." Can't you just all get along?

His final prayer is that they may know the power of the Trinity. (The Trinity is God the Father, God the Son, and God the *Holy Spirit. God describes himself in this way. But there is only one God.) He refers to it in the order that we know about it. We first know the kindness of Jesus by the *cross. This leads us to the love of God resulting in the *fellowship of the *Holy Spirit. So we can have *fellowship with God and with each other.