2 Corinthians 13:14 - Printer Friendly

ESV: The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

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

NASB: The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.

CSB:

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

KJV: The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.

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

Here concludes a long letter to the church at Corinth with Paul's blessing. This is the only one of his benedictions to specifically reference all three members of the Trinity. He describes each member of the Godhead as the source of one aspect of his prayer of blessing for them.

First, Paul prays for the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ to be with them. The grace of God is possible only through faith in Christ and because of Christ's substitution for us in His death for our sin on the cross. Paul identifies Christ as the Lord.

Next, he prays for the love of God for the Corinthians. God's love for the world is what motivated Him to send Christ to earth to make His grace and forgiveness for sin possible (John 3:16).

Finally, Paul prays for the fellowship of the Spirit to be with them. Every person who comes to faith in Christ receives God's Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 1:21–22). The Spirit makes it possible for Christians to communicate with the Father and to be in relationship with Him while we wait to be with Him physically in the glory of eternity (Romans 8:23–27).

Paul prays for this for "you all," meaning every Christian in Corinth who reads—or hears as others read—this letter. His prayer and hope is they will set aside divisions, repent of sin, and be united together as one family in Christ.

Second Corinthians 13:11–14 contains Paul's closing farewell to the Corinthians. He urges them to rejoice, to strive for restoration, and to comfort and encourage each other in like-minded unity. He assures them that the God of love and peace will be with them, reminds them to greet each other with a holy kiss, and offers greetings from believers in other churches. Finally, Paul offers a prayer of specific blessing for them from each of the three members of the Trinity.

The final chapter of Paul's letter begins with a harsh warning. Nobody living in unrepentant sin when Paul arrives will be spared Paul's discipline. All will learn that Christ speaks through Paul—because Christ will deal powerfully with their sinfulness despite Paul's own weakness. Paul urges them to examine themselves and verify that Christ is in them and, by extension, that he is a true apostle. He prays for their restoration and hopes they will repent of all sin before he arrives so that he will not have to be severe in the use of his authority.

Second Corinthians 13 follows Paul's listing of two sets of sins he is concerned he will find among the Corinthians when he arrives. These are personal divisions and sexual immorality. He warns them once more that nobody will be spared from Christ's discipline if they remain in sin. Paul urges them to examine and test themselves to see if Christ is in them. He prays for their restoration and hopes they will repent of sin so that he does not have to be severe with them in his authority as Christ's representative when he arrives.

Second Corinthians returns to similar themes as those Paul mentioned in his first letter to this church. Paul is glad to hear that the church in Corinth has heeded his advice. At the same time, it is necessary for Paul to counter criticisms about his personality and legitimacy. Most of this text involves that subject. The fifth chapter, in contrast, contains comforting words which Christians have quoted often in times of hardship. Paul also details his expectations that the church in Corinth will make good on their promise to contribute to the needs of suffering believers in Jerusalem.