Notes on 2 Corinthians 13

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.

Paul's spiritual authority has been challenged. Some in the church have questioned if he really speaks for Christ at all. He will not use his own power to demonstrate that he belongs to Christ, but the power of the Holy Spirit. Some think that reprobates are those who once knew Christ, but then rejected him. I don't believe they ever knew him at all. Christ said he would "in no wise cast out" those who come to him (John 6:37). Those whom Christ rejects, which is what a reprobate is, are those who have first rejected him. If we are truly his, he lives in us, by his Spirit. Having just discussed his spiritual credentials, Paul says he will establish them beyond any doubt on his arrival, and the identity of the real reprobates will be established for all to see.

7 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.
8 For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth.
9 For we are glad, when we are weak, and ye are strong: and this also we wish, even your perfection.
10 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.

Regardless of their opinion of him, Paul wants the Corinthians to grow in spiritual maturity, and to be strong in the Lord. He really does not want a confrontation with them, but he will do that if it's what is required to bring them back to the truth. What he does want to do is to build them up, or edify them. While confrontation can and does split churches, we can't simply ignore evil for fear of offending someone. Jesus himself did not hesitate to confront it, in the temple and in the face of the Pharisees and Sadducees. There is a huge difference between stirring up trouble with our brethren over personal issues, and calling them, or those who allege to be our brethren, to task over sinful behavior. We can tolerate differences of personality and opinion, but this should never extend to ignoring open sin, as the Corinthians had done, in the name of Christian love. One of the great failings of the large liberal denominations is this willingness, even eagerness, to accept "alternative lifestyles", rather than naming sin as what it is.

11 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.
12 Greet one another with an holy kiss.
13 All the saints salute you.
14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen. <<The second [epistle to the Corinthians was written from Philippi, a city of Macedonia, by Titus and Lucas.]>>

Being "perfect" means being mature, or complete, in the Lord, not being free of any human flaws, an impossibility this side of glory. Being of good comfort means to live in an attitude of prayer and fellowship with the Lord. The word is similar for the Greek word for the Holy Spirit as the Comforter, the one who ministers to us in our troubles and keeps us from despair and defeat. We are to be of one mind, or one accord, both with one another and with Christ; it is this unity that brings us peace, as individuals and as the body of Christ. If we live in peace, we are also living in God's love, which is blocked when we are in conflict and turmoil. A kiss was the ancient symbol of affection and fellowship, as it still is in many Middle Eastern cultures. With us it is usually a hug; the point is that we should give an outward demonstration of our affection and concern for one another. Many churches hesitate to condone even this practice, for fear it may have sexual connotations. That is a sad commentary on just how far we in the church have gone in embracing, so to speak, the attitudes and practices of the world.

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