2 Corinthian 13 - The Ultimate Test!

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Final Warnings

 On his first visit to Corinth, Paul founded the church and stayed a year and six months (Acts 18:11). His second visit was a brief, painful visit in between the writing of 1 Corinthians and 2 Corinthians. Now he is prepared to come for a third time.

As Paul prepares for his third visit to the Corinthians, he wants them to be prepared. Some had knocked him for being to soft on sin. He assured them it would not be like this on his third visit. It was not his own authority with which he would come to them, but the authority he had in Christ. Interestingly Paul says this, 

"Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?"

This is gut check time for the believers in Corinth. If they were acting in these ways were they truly Christians? This was not a test of perfection. It was a test if Christ was in them. If they were truly followers of Christ, they would know that Christ lives in them. If Christ was not living in them, their behavior was understandable because they didn't know any better. But if Jesus was living in them, they had failed the test. The failed to show by their actions that they had been crucified with Christ, and the life that they now lived was by faith in the Son of God. Galatians 2:20-21

“To examine yourself, in fact, is to submit to the examination and scrutiny of Jesus Christ the Lord – and this never to fix attention on sin but on Christ – and to ask Him to reveal that in you which grieves His Spirit; to ask Him to give you grace that it might be put away and cleansed in His precious blood.” Self examination “takes the chill away from your soul, it takes the hardness away from your heart, it takes the shadows away from your life, it sets the prisoner free.” (Redpath) 

Final Greetings

Paul ends on a positive note. Despite their trials they could rejoice that restoration was possible. They had not fallen too far away from God's grace. God could still use these incidents for good and them to be stronger than ever before. 

Paul uses the phrase "Greet one another with a holy kiss!" What does this mean? 

The idea of greeting one another with a holy kiss was common in that ancient culture. Our cultural equivalent is a handshake or a hug and a warm greeting.

Despite the sobering tone of this letter, Paul still wanted the Corinthians to enjoy the fellowship Christ had called them to. They still needed to encourage each other. It is when we are having hard times, division, or discord in our church that we need pull together. We need to encourage each other and greet each other with a holy kiss or handshake or hug! We need to offer each other grace not bitterness, anger, and back-stabbing. 

He ends with a familiar salutation. 

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

We still use these same words in the Lutheran church I pastor. People often ask about the Trinity and is it biblical. This is another example where each person of the Trinity is given an attribute grace, love, and fellowship. 

Those are the three qualities that should permeate every church. We should love each other with God's unconditional love, the love of the Father.  Extend grace to each other just as Jesus has given us His abundant grace. And we should keep the bond of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of peace! 

Grace, love, and peace are signs that God is in your church! 

Who do you need to extend grace, love, and peace to in your life? Who do you need to encourage today? Are you a person who strives to keep unity, or someone who stirs up dissension? As you examine your heart is there anything that is grieving the Holy Spirit? 

Self examination “takes the chill away from your soul, it takes the hardness away from your heart, it takes the shadows away from your life, it sets the prisoner free.