2 Corinthians 13:11-14 says...
Today's verses are 2 Corinthians 13:11-14, which read,
v.11 - Finally, brethren, rejoice, be made complete, be comforted, be like-minded, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.
Paul gives a list of what he is praying that the Christians in the Corinthian church would be. This letter of exhortation that looked like a defense of himself against the false teachers accusations was really a letter to point the Corinthians back to the Scriptures and the repentance of sin. The sin lingering has impacted the body of believers greatly and Paul is ready to return to address it directly if need be. This list is how he would wish the Christians there to be.
We are to rejoice, be made complete, be comforted, be like-minded, and live in peace but lingering sin hinders all these things from happening. It takes away our joy; it stops our growth; it blocks us from receiving and recognizing God's compassion; it puts us not in unity with our brothers and sisters in Christ; and it keeps us in a state of war with light and darkness battling within us. We are not able to experience the full extent of the love and peace of God when we have lingering sin looming over us and in us.
v.12, 13 - Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints greet you.
The holy kiss was and is a Middle East custom between man to man and woman to woman. It is kind of foreign in our culture that has been replaced by the handshake or the hug. The key word is "holy." We are to greet our brothers and sisters in Christ with our hearts and lives clear of anything that would divide us. I can hug someone on a Sunday morning but be harboring something against them but that would not be "a holy kiss." It would be an act of hypocrisy and the sin to be taken care of lingers on.
Paul is telling the Christians in Corinth to be the type of people who make short work of sin so that their greetings will reflect a reconciled life to God and to others. With that instruction, Paul lets them know that the saints, the Christians from all over the known world, greet them with "a holy kiss" from afar.
v.14 - The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.
Paul ends this letter with the acknowledgment of the trinity of God. The Corinthians received the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ through His death and resurrection. The Corinthians received the love of God by Him giving His one and only Son Jesus to be their substitute on that cross. The Corinthians received the fellowship of the Holy Spirit with this abiding Spirit being given by Jesus to His followers to guide and comfort them in all that Christ has said and done.
What more could we ask for of ourselves and others than that we and they would have experienced and be living this type of a life? What could compare to accepting the grace of God through the cross of Christ and the continual indwelling of His Spirit for those who we love? We pray a lot of things for ourselves and those who love but is this ultimate request on our list?
We end our 2 month study of the book of 2 Corinthians and a little more than 5 month study of both books of the Corinthians. Thank you for walking with me through God's word and now we will move on to the book of Ephesians. May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.
"Lord, as we finish out this book of 2 Corinthians may we have seen the effects of lingering sin. May we realize the damage it does not only to us but also to those around us and to church in which we attend. The solution is not to stay in that state or to distance ourselves from others but to repent of the sin to be even closer to You and Your people. May we make short order of sin that You died for to reaffirm our love for You and others. Amen."
Pastor Adam
v.11 - Finally, brethren, rejoice, be made complete, be comforted, be like-minded, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.
Paul gives a list of what he is praying that the Christians in the Corinthian church would be. This letter of exhortation that looked like a defense of himself against the false teachers accusations was really a letter to point the Corinthians back to the Scriptures and the repentance of sin. The sin lingering has impacted the body of believers greatly and Paul is ready to return to address it directly if need be. This list is how he would wish the Christians there to be.
We are to rejoice, be made complete, be comforted, be like-minded, and live in peace but lingering sin hinders all these things from happening. It takes away our joy; it stops our growth; it blocks us from receiving and recognizing God's compassion; it puts us not in unity with our brothers and sisters in Christ; and it keeps us in a state of war with light and darkness battling within us. We are not able to experience the full extent of the love and peace of God when we have lingering sin looming over us and in us.
v.12, 13 - Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints greet you.
The holy kiss was and is a Middle East custom between man to man and woman to woman. It is kind of foreign in our culture that has been replaced by the handshake or the hug. The key word is "holy." We are to greet our brothers and sisters in Christ with our hearts and lives clear of anything that would divide us. I can hug someone on a Sunday morning but be harboring something against them but that would not be "a holy kiss." It would be an act of hypocrisy and the sin to be taken care of lingers on.
Paul is telling the Christians in Corinth to be the type of people who make short work of sin so that their greetings will reflect a reconciled life to God and to others. With that instruction, Paul lets them know that the saints, the Christians from all over the known world, greet them with "a holy kiss" from afar.
v.14 - The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.
Paul ends this letter with the acknowledgment of the trinity of God. The Corinthians received the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ through His death and resurrection. The Corinthians received the love of God by Him giving His one and only Son Jesus to be their substitute on that cross. The Corinthians received the fellowship of the Holy Spirit with this abiding Spirit being given by Jesus to His followers to guide and comfort them in all that Christ has said and done.
What more could we ask for of ourselves and others than that we and they would have experienced and be living this type of a life? What could compare to accepting the grace of God through the cross of Christ and the continual indwelling of His Spirit for those who we love? We pray a lot of things for ourselves and those who love but is this ultimate request on our list?
We end our 2 month study of the book of 2 Corinthians and a little more than 5 month study of both books of the Corinthians. Thank you for walking with me through God's word and now we will move on to the book of Ephesians. May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.
"Lord, as we finish out this book of 2 Corinthians may we have seen the effects of lingering sin. May we realize the damage it does not only to us but also to those around us and to church in which we attend. The solution is not to stay in that state or to distance ourselves from others but to repent of the sin to be even closer to You and Your people. May we make short order of sin that You died for to reaffirm our love for You and others. Amen."
Pastor Adam
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