Paul prays for them and closes his Letter
2
Corinthians 13:7-14 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. For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth. For we
are glad, when we are weak, and ye are strong: and this also we wish, even
your perfection. 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. 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. Greet one another with an holy kiss. All the
saints salute you. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and
the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen. KJV
Paul declares that it is the truth of the gospel
manifested in their lives which he desires to be a witness to and not to use
his apostolic authority to punish transgressors. Paul has always been more
concerned with the spiritual maturity and authenticity of those whom he brought
the gospel to as he testified with these words to them in Chapter 11 when he wrote, “Five times I received from the Jews
thirty-nine lashes. Three times
I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a
night and a day I have spent in the deep. I have been on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers,
dangers from robbers, dangers from my
countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the
wilderness, dangers on the sea, dangers among false brethren; I have been in labor and hardship,
through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in
cold and exposure. Apart from such
external things, there is the daily pressure on me of concern for all the churches.” (2 Corinthians 11:24-28).
Paul listed some of the most horrific things that
could happen to any human being (speaking of himself), but in verse 28 he says that those “external
things” that happened to his physical body were not more troublesome (to him)
than the pressure he felt “internally” for the spiritual condition of every
Church he planted. Paul’s prayer for those believers in Corinth (and all of us
today wherever we are) is that they would not live their lives in the
continuous practice of evil, knowing that if they or we do so, then that would
testify of their inauthenticity, which is exactly why he just told them to
“examine themselves” in verse 5.
Paul knows that it is not the desire of any truly regenerated, redeemed, and
resurrected child by the Blood of Christ to want to continue in evil doing. The
Apostle John wrote practically the same thing in his first epistle using these
words, “Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices
righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; the one who practices sin
is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God
appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil. No one who is
born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin,
because he is born of God. By this the children of God and the children of the
devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God,
nor the one who does not love his brother.” (1 John 3:7-10).
This very same doctrine and truth is what Paul was
now praying for them to come to realize as he declared to them that “Jesus
Christ is in you” and just as the Apostle John writes in 1 John 3:7-10, so has Paul told these Corinthian believers that
“Jesus Christ in you” will not allow you to “practice sin” as your way of life
or lifestyle, it is impossible. To practice sin or evil means to make it your
customary way of operation or behavior and as the Apostle John declared above
only the devil’s children do that. It is their spiritual authenticity that Paul
is praying for and he cares not whether others see him as disapproved or not,
for he has the witness of the Spirit in his own heart (Romans 8:9-16) and he wants them to be conscious of that same
witness which their deliberate unrepentant sin will block. Paul knows that all
who walk or live according to the truth of the gospel preached to them by him
can only serve as a witness before God of their sincerity. Paul wanted to be among them in weakness because their conduct was becoming of the Gospel of Christ and if that meant that he was considered unapproved by God because their good conduct and behavior only made him manifest weakness, then so be it, for this was his prayer to God the Father for them. It was Paul’s prayer and desire that they would be mighty or strong in faith and the fruit and gifts of the Holy Spirit, then his appearing weak and disapproved among them was tolerable. Now when Paul says that he desires their “perfection”, he does not mean or is he speaking here of “sinless perfection” while they are still down here on the earth, for as we have documented earlier Paul sees continually the sin in his own heart (Romans 7:18), but the English word he uses is from the the Greek words katartisis and katartizo which means thorough equipment or to complete thoroughly or to repair; literally or figuratively to adjust; to fit, mend, frame, restore, and to make perfectly joined together.
Paul is saying he wants to see them be sincere in their faith joined with one another in the truth of the Gospel and not in disunity, disagreement, and disharmony. Paul declares that their fellowship was like a man walking around with a dislocated shoulder saying to himself everything is alright, when his arm is dangling free from the joint with no strength or power at all in it, so was the case with the Corinthian Church out of order, wayward in morals, and with no power or influence in their city for Christ. Therefore, their “perfection” would be like the man with the dislocated shoulder going to a physician and getting it put back in place, so is his prayer for them to go to the “Great Physician, Jesus Christ” in repentance that He would put their fellowship back in place for His Glory and their good. Paul then bids them farewell until he sees their faces again and reiterates all the things he is praying to God the Father for them, which will open up God the Father through God the Holy Spirit to work in each of them peace, comfort, and love when they are all of the same mind “in truth” and free from all the filth he listed earlier in 2 Corinthians 12:20-21.
My own Personal Note: Paul was ever praying for and desiring to see the people he preached the Gospel of Grace to, to walk or live in the truth of it and that their consciences would be ever sensitive to the admonitions and warnings that God the Holy Spirit spoke through him for their spiritual edification, enlightenment, and education, with the only goal in mind as he wrote in this manner to the Ephesians, “And He came and preached peace to you who were far away, and peace to those who were near; for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit” (Ephesians 2:17-22).
“As we are the apostles of God, we cannot bring to you any false doctrine; and, as we profess to be under the influence of God’s Spirit, we cannot do anything that is opposed to that truth, or which might be prejudicial to it. On the contrary, what we say and do is for that truth, to propagate and establish it. The Gospel of Jesus is truth; and my testimony concerning it is truth also. In my coming, and in my rod, you have nothing to fear, if you retain and abide in this truth.” Adam Clarke
“This was the great end of his writing this epistle, and that freedom he used with them by writing these things (those friendly admonitions and warnings), being absent, that so, being present, he should not use sharpness (2 Corinthians 13:10), that is, not proceed to the utmost extremity in the exercise of the power which the Lord had given him as an apostle, to revenge all disobedience, (2 Corinthians 10:6). Matthew Henry
“Be perfect - Aspire to the highest degree of holiness. Be of good comfort - Filled with divine consolation. Be of one mind - Desire, labour, pray for it, to the utmost degree that is possible.” John Wesley
If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...
Sincerely in Christ,
Clifford D. Tate, Sr.
Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reade, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…
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