Beloved, I am glad to share with you today the above theme from 2 Co 13:1 and following. Indeed, the first epistle to the Corinthians was about the Assembly. The second told us about Christian ministry or service. We found there the feelings, the supplications, the fatigues, the moral and physical sorrows of the servant of the Lord. Paul was only the weak instrument, but he did not desire on earth a better share than that of his Master. But Christ had been here on earth in abasement, crucified in infirmity; but He lived now, resurrected by the power of God (2 Co 13:4).
At the end of his epistle, Paul addresses to God a final prayer for his dear Corinthians. It can be summed up in one word: their improvement (2 Co 13:9). But at the same time, he exhorts them: “perfect yourself”. For asking for the Lord’s help does not exempt one from zealously applying oneself to making progress in Christian walking and service.
“Rejoice…,” he said to them again, “be consoled; have the same feeling; live in peace…” (2 Co 13:11). May each of us, dear children of God, take these exhortations for ourselves and enjoy the promise attached to them. Yes, may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of us.
As we go through all that this epistle has taught us about apostolic ministry and Christian ministry, we are struck by the view that the authority of the ministry to chastise, not to spare the one who rises against Christ, comes only last. In fact, the Apostle presented in the course of this writing what Christian ministry is as a ministry of the Spirit, grace and freedom. He then showed this ministry at work, either to the world or to the Assembly, which he exhorts to walk in practical holiness. Then he showed this ministry, taking care of the most humble functions, the material good of God’s children, and sparing himself no fatigue to bring help to those in need. He then presented this ministry, in his own person, reproducing the very characters of Christ in the eyes of all, and finding its source and power in Him.
Finally, in the last chapter, there comes a subject that any other than the apostle would have put in the foreground to show the authority that was in his hands. You have seen in the previous chapters that Paul’s ministry encountered many obstacles even among his children in the faith, that many miseries still remained in the Corinthian congregation, even though in many things their consciences had spoken and that they had judged and repaired evil. But, besides that, false apostles claimed to have their authority received among them by fighting Paul’s. In the face of all these obstacles, it is remarkable that he does not speak once, in the preceding chapters, of wanting to exercise his authority in punishment.
Paul could rejoice in possessing this authority and thus bringing captive souls to Christ’s obedience. Indeed, throughout his ministry, his struggle was continually with what stood in the way of this knowledge, whether it was the religion of the Jews or the wisdom of the Gentiles: “Being ready to take revenge for any disobedience, after your obedience has been made complete.” Their obedience was the first goal, but this goal achieved, Satan’s workers who had sought to oppose God’s work among the Corinthians, would be struck by the rod of authority in the apostle’s hand, as the Egyptians once did by the rod of Moses.
If he speaks like this, it is at the end of his epistle. So, he said, “If I come again, I will not save”; I will use “severity.” In the first epistle to the Corinthians, he had decided to deliver the wicked to Satan, so that he might be saved as through fire, but he had suspended his judgment, and we see in the second epistle that it was to produce in their hearts a complete judgment of evil. We note that the apostle’s opponents tried to get the Corinthians to question whether Christ really spoke through him. Such boldness is difficult to understand, but what will Satan not dare in his war against Christ? Then the apostle gives them the peremptory justification of his divine mission: “Examine yourselves, and see if you are in the faith; test yourselves.”
He finally concludes this epistle, exhorting them, as a Congregation, to do five things: Rejoice. What a barrier Christian joy opposes to all that by which Satan seeks to displease our souls. Perfect yourself. He was already asking for them to be perfected. This image is taken from an object that must be made to work properly. Nowadays, a watch is the best example of this. It can be well arranged, without any room that it lacks, and yet there is something missing: it does not work. It is therefore necessary to retain each piece, so that the movement can be carried out accurately. That is what we have to do, both in the House and individually. For we have to work to ensure that every cog works according to an order that God can approve.
This word: perfect yourself! does it not speak to our consciences? Each of us is called to examine ourselves in particular and to ask ourselves: Is it I, perhaps, who hinders the functioning of the Assembly to the satisfaction of Christ? “Be consoled (or encouraged).” Important thing in the Christian life: nothing encourages us more than a good conscience and the feeling that God approves of our walk. “Have the same feeling”. Let there be no feelings among God’s children opposed to each other, and may in all things they walk in the same path. “Live in peace”. Joy, peace, the same thought, are also in the epistle to the Philippians the elements of a good state of the Assembly. “And the God of love and peace will be with you.” He is with those who seek peace, for that is his character; but here he is also the God of love. If this state was hardly that of the Corinthians, the apostle desired it for them. Do we also follow these five precepts? the God of peace will come to make his home in our midst and the God of love will make us penetrate ever more into the secrets of his own heart.
The following verses have been compiled for your edification and grouped together for your better understanding.
- Witnesses: at least two necessary to convince of crime
Nb 35.30 If a man kills someone, the murderer’s life will be taken, on the testimony of witnesses. A single witness will not be enough to get a person sentenced to death. Dt 17.6 He who deserves death shall be executed on the testimony of two or three witnesses; he shall not be put to death on the testimony of a single witness. Dt 19:15 A single witness will not be sufficient against a man to establish any crime or sin; a fact can only be established on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Mt 18:16 But if he does not listen to you, take with you one or two people, so that the whole matter may be settled on the statement of two or three witnesses. 2 Corinthian 13:1 Paul, apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Brother Timothy, to the Church of God in Corinth, and to all the saints who are in all of Achaia;1 Tim 5:19 Receive no accusation against an elder except on the testimony of two or three witnesses. He 10:28 He who has violated the law of Moses dies without mercy, on the testimony of two or three witnesses;
- Strength is promised in weakness
Ps 8:3 Through the mouths of children and those who are at the udder You have founded your glory, to confuse your opponents, to impose silence on the enemy and the vindictive. 1 Co 1:27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to confuse the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to confuse the strong;2 Cob 12:9-10 and He said to me: My grace is enough for you, for my power is fulfilled in weakness. I will therefore boast much more willingly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 That is why I love in weaknesses, in outrages, in calamities, in persecutions, in distress, for Christ; for when I am weak, that is when I am strong. 2 Co 13:4 For he was crucified because of his weakness, but he lives by the power of God; we too are weak in him, but we will live with him by the power of God to act towards you. Heb 11:33-34 who, by faith, conquered kingdoms, exercised righteousness, obtained promises, closed the mouths of lions, 34 extinguished the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, healed of their diseases, were valiant in war, put foreign armies on the run.
- Self-examination is beneficial
Lm 3:40 Let us seek our ways and search, and return to the Lord; Mt 7:5 Hypocrite, first remove the beam from your eye, and then you will see how to remove the straw from your brother’s eye. 1 Co 11:28 That everyone, therefore, experiences himself, and thus eats bread and drinks the cup; 2 Co 13:5 Examine yourselves, to know if you are in the faith; experience yourselves. Don’t you recognize that Jesus Christ is in you? unless maybe you are reprobate. Gal 6.4 Let everyone examine his own works, and then he will be subject to glorify himself for himself alone, and not in relation to others;
- The duty to seek perfection
Gen 17:1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, Jehovah appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am the God Almighty. Walk in front of my face, and be honest. So be perfect, Therefore, Mt 5:48, as your Heavenly Father is perfect. 2 Co 13:11 For the rest, brethren, be joyful, perfect yourself, console yourselves, have the same feeling, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. Eph 4:13 until we have all attained the unity of faith and knowledge of the Son of God, the state of man made, the measure of the perfect stature of Christ; Col 1:28 It is he whom we announce, exhorting every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom, to present to God every man who has become perfect in Christ. He 6:1 Therefore, leaving the elements of christ’s word, let us tend to what is perfect, without again laying the foundation for the renunciation of dead works; He 13:21 enable you to do every good work for the accomplishment of His will, and do in you what is pleasing to Him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory in the centuries of the centuries! Amen! John 1:4 But patience must do its work perfectly, so that you may be perfect and accomplished, without failing in anything. 1 P 5:10 The God of all grace, who has called you in Jesus Christ to His eternal glory, after you have suffered a little time, will perfect you himself, strengthen you, strengthen you, make you steadfast.
From all of the above, we note that God loves to stand in the company of those who do to do five things: Rejoice. What a barrier Christian joy opposes to all that by which Satan seeks to displease our souls. Perfect yourself. He was already asking for them to be perfected. He is called the God of love and peace. It’s not just like in Philippians: “Do these things, and the God of peace will be with you.” Whether there are many of us, or only two or three to represent the Assembly in this world, the Apostle’s desire is for these things to be with all of us. If that had been the case, what other aspect would the Corinth Assembly have presented! Let us take up for ourselves each of these precepts; let us meditate on them, and let us be certain that if we seek to achieve these things individually and collectively, special blessings will be granted to us. Instead of a march of weakness and disunity, carelessness and sleep, the life of the Assembly will flourish in such a way that the world itself gives this witness: “God is really in their midst. The God of love and peace is with them. Greet one another with a holy kiss.” It is the witness of the mutual love that Paul desires to see among Christians. The epistle ends with these words: “May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” The Lord Jesus Christ, God, the Holy Spirit, the fulness of the Trinity. The Lord Jesus Christ, in the manifestation of his grace, that is, of a love descended in the midst of the scene of sin to bring the sovereign remedy; God, in the expression of his love in Christ; the Holy Spirit, through whom we have communion with the Father and the Son, and with one another. What a delightful picture of an Assembly according to God. The apostle desired these things to be with them all, not just a few. Our prayers are with you all.
PRAYER OF ACCEPTANCE OF JESUS CHRIST AS LORD AND PERSONAL SAVIOR
I now invite every person who wants to become a new creation by walking in the truth, to pray with me the following prayer:
Lord Jesus, I have long walked in the lusts of the world ignoring your love for humans. I admit to having sinned against you and ask your forgiveness for all my sins, because today I have decided to give you my life by taking you as Lord and personal Savior. I recognize that you died on the cross of Calvary and rose from the dead for me.
I am now saved and born again by the power of the Holy Spirit. Lead me every day to the eternal life that you give to all who obey your Word. Reveal yourself to me and strengthen my heart and faith, so that your light may be shining in my life right now.
Thank you Lord Jesus for accepting me into your divine family, so that I may also contemplate the wonders of your kingdom.
I will now choose a nearby watering point to baptize myself by immersion, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
All adoration, power and glory are yours, now and forever and ever. Amen!
I would be happy to respond to any questions and comments you may have, before sharing with you tomorrow “Paul’s greetings to the churches of Galatia.”
May the Lord Jesus Christ bless you abundantly.
David Feze, Servant of the Almighty God.