Paul has been dealing with critics and those influenced by false teachers in the church at Corinth since the beginning of the letter of 2 Corinthians. He is hoping to come visit them, as he had promised before. When he arrives, he will verify the truth of what he has heard about false teachers and/or Christians who haven’t repented of their sins. At the mouth of two or three witnesses, he will establish the veracity of the accusations (quoting Deut. 17:6; 19:5; ver. 1).
Concerning those who had sinned in the past (but had not repented) as well as those who were actively opposing Paul’s teaching as an apostle, he will come and will not spare the discipline required (ver. 2). If the opponents are seeking proof that Christ spoke through him, he could and would show it! Yet, the evidence was in them, mightily (ver. 3; cf. 12:12). Using Christ’s cross as a parallel, Paul writes that He was crucified in weakness but lives by the power of God. We might be weak from a physical perspective, but in Christ, we are spiritually strong (ver. 4).
Consequently, the Christians needed to examine themselves and test themselves to see if they were, honestly, in “the faith” of Jesus Christ (ver. 5). Otherwise, they would “fail the test.” Paul and his co-workers, since they were doing nothing against the truth but rather for the truth (ver. 8) had not “failed the test” (ver. 6). So Paul prayed that the Corinthians would do no wrong, even though they did not have the opinion of Paul they should have had (ver. 7).
As Paul had done in chapter 11, in verse 9, Paul was thankful that he was “weak” while the Corinthians were “strong” and he continued to pray that they would become “complete” or “mature.” If they did not “grow up” and act like spiritually-minded Christians, Paul would have to come visit with discipline; he would rather visit to encourage them (ver. 10).
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There are 22 imperatives in the letter of 2 Corinthians. One-third of them are here in these last few verses. Since we are obligated to obey Paul, then we need to take these commands seriously and work them out in our lives: Rejoice (in Christ); be complete; be comforted (he uses this verb 18 times in 2 Cor.); be like-minded (“to think” is used in Philippians 10 times!); live in peace. If we obey these commands (and others from the inspired writers), then we’ll enjoy the love and peace God has to share (ver. 11).
Paul concludes by encouraging the Christians to greet one another with holy affection (ver. 12) and the saints with him send their greetings (ver. 13). “Saint” is Paul’s favorite designation for Christians. Finally, Paul concludes his letter with an exhortation, offering a blessing from each member of the Godhead: grace from Jesus; love from God; and fellowship from the Holy Spirit.
Paul, in his lifetime, had the authority to punish disobedient Christians. We need to obey his commands in order to enjoy the peace and love God has to share.
Paul Holland