2 Corinthians 13:1-14 - Heed the Shepherds of our Souls

2 Corinthians 13:1-14 

Coming with Authority

1 This will be the third time I am coming to you. “By the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall be established.” 2 I have told you before, and foretell as if I were present the second time, and now being absent I write to those who have sinned before, and to all the rest, that if I come again I will not spare— 3 since you seek a proof of Christ speaking in me, who is not weak toward you, but mighty in you. 4 For though He was crucified in weakness, yet He lives 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 as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified. 6 But I trust that you will know that we are not disqualified.

Paul Prefers Gentleness

7 Now I pray to God that you do no evil, not that we should appear approved, but that you should do what is honorable, though we may seem disqualified. 8 For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth. 9 For we are glad when we are weak and you are strong. And this also we pray, that you may be made complete. 10 Therefore I write these things being absent, lest being present I should use sharpness, according to the authority which the Lord has given me for edification and not for destruction.

Greetings and Benediction

11 Finally, brethren, farewell. Become complete. Be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.

12 Greet one another with a holy kiss.
13 All the saints greet you.

14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.

This letter to the church in Corinth ends with a caveated confirmation of the apostle coming for a third time to minister the gospel and build them up in their faith through teaching and preaching all things (Matthew 28:20, Acts 28:31) that Jesus had taught him and the other twelve eyewitness messengers of God and His gospel.  The caveat as always was if it was in the Lord’s will (1 Corinthians 4:19, James 4:15) he would be there unless diverted to fulfill God’s predetermined purpose elsewhere.  His visit and correction of their sin not being dealt with is likened to the confirmation by two or three witnesses for validation to take action on in regards to speaking with them about this and other issues needing to be addressed with church discipline through repentance and reconciliation to restoration.  These Corinthians did not respond as well to his writing as Paul’s presence, so he reminded them he would not spare the unrepentant sinners as Christ spoke through him as God’s mouthpiece with power and authority to require an account and action.  Thought the apostle and co-laborers with him like Titus seemed weak to the church in Corinth, he reminded them all that when he arrived it would be in living the power of God through them and not their own human weakness they would experience.  Yes, we also are weak in Him, but we live with Him by the power of God toward others in our own ministry as called to speak for repentance to reconciling correction by faith in love and grace.  This of course is based on the assumption of regeneration in the hearers because we have no authority to correct those outside the church body of born again ones (1 Corinthians 5:12), outsiders who are under God’s wrath until converted (Acts 3:19) by the gospel received and believed (John 1:12, 5:24) by God-given faith (Ephesians 2:8-9).  He assured them he and his cohorts had dealt with this matter individually with the Lord Jesus Christ and urged them to be certain of their own standing (2 Peter 1:10-11) if they persisted in the desire to continue in sin and not deal with it as the Lord commands us all.  In the end, Paul pleaded gently with them to consider all he had written and spoken in person with them about these things to date and asked them to do the honorable thing before God.  He worked for the truth in love for them in weakness leveraging Christ’s strength and authority to them to proclaim to us all that our weakness in Christ becomes strength that others can be encouraged by and enabled to do what is right and honoring to the Lord.  We are left then with the command and heart’s desire that all become complete and mature in our faith (1 Peter 5:10-11) by settling our faith’s life foundation on the righteousness of Christ lived out in response (Ephesians 2:10) and who works in us (Philippians 1:6) for our spiritual maturity of sanctification to be God-pleasers in following His word as we are taught by God through the leaders He appoints over us as shepherds of our souls.  (1 Peter 2:25, 5:1-3, 4-5).  Amen.