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2 Corinthians 13

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This is the third time I am coming to you. In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established.

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2

I told you before, and foretell you, as if I were present, the second time; and being absent now I write to them which heretofore have sinned, and to all other, that, if I come again, I will not spare:

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Since ye seek a proof of Christ speaking in me, which to you-ward is not weak, but is mighty in you.

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For though he was crucified through weakness, yet he liveth 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.

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Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?

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But I trust that ye shall know that we are not reprobates.

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Now I pray to God that ye do no evil; not that we should appear approved, but that ye should do that which is honest, though we be as reprobates.

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For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth.

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For we are glad, when we are weak, and ye are strong: and this also we wish, even your perfection.

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Therefore I write these things being absent, lest being present I should use sharpness, according to the power which the Lord hath given me to edification, and not to destruction.

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Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you.

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Greet one another with an holy kiss.

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All the saints salute you.

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The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen. The second epistle to the Corinthians was written from Philippi, a city of Macedonia, by Titus and Lucas.

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2 Corinthians 13

The final chapter opens with stern apostolic authority: 'Every charge must be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses,' a juridical principle from Deuteronomy 19:15 applied to the correction of sin and testing of the community's fidelity. Paul commands the community to 'examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves'—the reversal places judgment authority upon the community itself, a call to honest self-examination (dokimazō) that anticipates Paul's arrival. The self-directed examination ('Do you not realize that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless, indeed, you fail the test!') frames the community's Christ-indwelling as the standard against which all conduct and belief must be measured. Paul's disclaimer—'I hope you will find out that we have not failed the test'—modulates authority with humility, insisting that Paul himself remains subject to the same scrutiny. The assertion 'we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth' establishes the limits of apostolic power: not to oppose truth but to serve it, a principle that subordinates authority to the transcendent standard of divine truth. The final exhortation—'Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you'—echoes the letter's opening (comfort/paraklesis) and restores the pastoral tone, making reconciliation and peace the goal of apostolic discipline. The greeting—'Greet one another with a holy kiss'—signals the restoration of communal fellowship. The concluding Trinitarian benediction—'The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all'—weaves together the three persons in a prayer that encompasses Christ's grace, God's love, and the Spirit's communion, bringing the letter full circle from the God of comfort to the God of love and peace, affirming that apostolic authority serves ultimately the reconciliation and sanctification of the beloved community.

2 Corinthians 13:1

This will be my third visit to you. 'Every matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses' — Paul invokes *Deuteronomy 19:15*: the *logon* (word/matter) must be *stathē* (established) by *stóma... distin... trion martyrōn*, the witness of two or three. Paul's *third visit* functions as *judicial proceeding*. The *final confrontation* requires *legal formality*.

2 Corinthians 13:2

I already gave you a warning when I was with you the second time. I now repeat it while absent: On my return I will not spare those who sinned earlier or any of the others — Paul's *protested* (*prooida*) already, and now *grapho*, writes, while *apōn*, absent. The *apheídeia*, severity, is *announced beforehand*; the Corinthians cannot claim *surprise*. *Fairness* requires *prior warning*.

2 Corinthians 13:3

since you are demanding proof that Christ is speaking through me. He is not weak in dealing with you, but is powerful among you — the Corinthians *test* (*dokimázō*) Paul's *apostolē*, asking for *apódeixis*, proof, of Christ's *speaking through him* (*laléō di' emou*). Paul's response: Christ is *not asthénēs* (weak) but *dynamis* (powerful) among them. The *power* is *exousia*, exercised authority.

2 Corinthians 13:4

For to be sure, he was crucified in weakness, yet he lives by God's power. Likewise, we are weak in him, yet by God's power we will live with him in serving you — the *Christological foundation*: Christ's *crucifixion* (*stauros*) was *astheneia*, weakness, yet resurrection (*záō*) is *dynamis*, power. Paul's *astheneia* (weakness) *mimics* Christ's. The Corinthians' *oikodomen*, edification, requires apostolic *participation in Christ's weakness and power*.

2 Corinthians 13:5

Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you — unless, of course, you fail the test? — Paul turns the *tables*: the Corinthians must *dokimázō*, examine/test, themselves. Is Christ *en hymîn*, in you? The *conditional* (*ei mēti*) is *devastating*: *failure* would mean absence of Christ. Self-examination precedes apostolic judgment.

2 Corinthians 13:6

And I trust that you will discover that we have not failed the test — Paul's *confidence* (*oida*) rests on the Corinthians' honest *self-examination*. His *apostleship* will be *vindicated* when they recognize Christ's presence in their own community through his ministry.

2 Corinthians 13:7

Now we pray to God that you will not do anything wrong — not so that people will see that we have stood the test but so that you will do what is right even if we fail the test — Paul's *prayer* (*euchomai* + *proseúchomai*) prioritizes the Corinthians' *moral rectitude* (*kalos*) over his own *vindication*. *Selflessness* characterizes genuine apostolic care. His *reputation* is *secondary* to their *righteousness*.

2 Corinthians 13:8

For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth — the *principium* is *absolute*: Paul and his colleagues can do *nothing against* (*kata*) *alētheia*, truth, only *hyper*, for/in service of truth. All apostolic action is *constrained* by *fidelity to revelation*.

2 Corinthians 13:9

We are glad whenever we are weak but you are strong; and our prayer is that you may be fully restored — the *paradox continues*: apostolic *astheneia*, weakness, is *joy* (*chairō*) when the *community* is *dynamis*, strong. Paul's *deēsis*, prayer, is for *katartisis*, complete restoration/healing, of the Corinthians. *Individual* apostolic vindication is *irrelevant* compared to *corporate* spiritual maturity.

2 Corinthians 13:10

This is why I write these things when absent, so that when I come I may not have to be harsh in my use of the authority the Lord gave me — for building up and not for tearing down — Paul's *letters* are *therapeutic* rather than *punitive*. His *exousia*, authority, given by the *kyrios*, is *exclusively* for *oikodomen*, building up. *Harshness* would contradict apostolic purpose.

2 Corinthians 13:11

Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you — Paul's *final exhortation*: *chairō*, rejoice; *katartízō*, restore/repair; *parakalého*, encourage; *phroneo to autó*, be of one mind; *eirēneúō*, live in peace. These are *practical ethics* grounded in *eschatological hope*. God of *agapē* (love) and *eirēnē* (peace) will *indwell* them.

2 Corinthians 13:12

Greet one another with a holy kiss — the *phylēma hagion*, holy kiss, is *sacramental*: communal affection expressed *corporeally*, embodying the reconciliation Paul has urged throughout. Physical embrace enacts *spiritual communion*.

2 Corinthians 13:13

All God's people here send their greetings — the *epistle's final movement* is *communal*: *all the saints* (*hoi hagioi*) with Paul *salute* the Corinthians. *Solidarity* across communities is affirmed.

2 Corinthians 13:14

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all — this is Christianity's *most comprehensive Trinitarian blessing*. *Charis* (*grace*) of the *Son* (the *kenotic gift*), *agapē* (*love*) of the *Father* (*God*, ho theos), and *koinōnia* (*communion/participation*) of the *Holy Spirit* — the *three persons* in their *distinctive operations*, yet one *blessing*, one *divine reality* sustaining the community. The epistle concludes not with *authority* but with *grace*, *love*, and *communion*.