1 Corinthians 16:23 - Printer Friendly

ESV: The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you.

NIV: The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you.

NASB: The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you.

CSB: The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you.

NLT: May the grace of the Lord Jesus be with you.

KJV: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

NKJV: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

In the previous verse, Paul prayed a curse on those who have no love for the Lord. Given his other writings, this probably means false teachers who pretended to be Christians in order to lead Christians away from faith in Christ.

Now he prays a more standard blessing, a benediction, for his readers in Corinth: "The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you." This prayer of blessing in God's grace for the Corinthians comes at the end of a letter containing many rebukes and commands to change their attitudes and behaviors. As a group, in one way or another, the Corinthians were failing to trust God and demonstrating wild misunderstanding of the great truth of Christianity.

Still, Paul ends as he began: "I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus…who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Corinthians 1:4, 8). Despite some failings, Paul believes the Christians in Corinth to be covered by the grace of God through faith in Christ.

First Corinthians 16:19–24 concludes Paul's first letter to the church in Corinth. These are final greetings from the churches in Asia, from their friends Aquila and Prisca, and from believers elsewhere. Paul writes the last lines with his own hand, taking the pen from his scribe. He curses those who do not love the Lord—meaning false teachers—then prays for Christ's return, and prays for the grace of the Lord to be with them. His final words declare his love for all of them in Christ Jesus.

Having finished the main teaching parts of his letter, Paul wraps up with some matters of business. He tells the Corinthians how to gather funds for a special contribution. He describes his travel plans, including his plan to arrive there before winter. He warns them to treat Timothy well and commends a delegation from Corinth that have come to see him. He concludes with greetings from other believers, along with a curse and a blessing. He curses those who do not love the Lord—here apparently meaning false teachers—and prays the grace of the Lord on everyone else.

First Corinthians 16 concludes Paul's long letter to the church in Corinth with several business matters. He instructs them on how to prepare a special contribution for needy Christians in Jerusalem. He describes his plan to visit them in person after wrapping up his ministry in Ephesus and stopping by churches in Macedonia. He reveals that Timothy is coming to them more quickly and that Apollos is not. Finally, he commends a delegation from Corinth that has come to see him. His final words in the letter are a declaration of love for all of them.

First Corinthians is one of the more practical books of the New Testament. Paul writes to a church immersed in a city associated with trade, but also with corruption and immorality. These believers are struggling to properly apply spiritual gifts and to resist the ungodly practices of the surrounding culture. Paul's letter gives instructions for real-life concerns such as marriage and spirituality. He also deals with the importance of unity and gives one of the Bible's more well-known descriptions of love in chapter 13.

Accessed 12/4/2024 3:42:23 AM