A verse-by-verse explanation of this section.
An overview of the principles and applications from this section.
Tying the section to life with God.
Historical, geographical, and grammatical enrichment of the commentary.
Suggested step-by-step group study of the section.
Zeroing the section in on daily life.
“Discipline is like a bridle to restrain and tame those who rage against the doctrine of Christ; or like a spur to arouse those of little inclination; and also sometime like a father's rod to chastise mildly and with the gentleness of Christ's Spirit those who have more seriously lapsed.”
John Calvin
Paul closed this epistle by reminding the Corinthians that he intended to visit them soon. How would the visit go? It could be a time of joy and close fellowship, or it could be a time of rebuke and discipline. It was up to the Corinthians to decide.
Few things ruin a family visit more than quarreling, especially during the holiday season. Christmas is one of those rare times when many of us get together with our extended families: mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, grandparents, nephews, and nieces. We travel long distances and have every intention of sharing our love with one another. Yet, we all know that some Christmas visits end up in conflict and quarrels. Instead of enjoying the time with our family members, we end up fighting over old hurts or falling into old habits of bickering and turmoil. Parents try to control their adult children, and children act disrespectfully toward their parents. Someone is too sensitive, someone else is too distant, and everyone is on edge.
In this passage the apostle Paul told the Corinthians that he would visit them as soon as he could. He longed to fellowship with his brothers and sisters in the church, and he hoped the visit would go well. But Paul realized that it could also be a time of sadness. If the Corinthians prepared for his visit by listening to his instructions, it would be an opportunity for tenderness and affection. But if they continued to ignore his instructions, this visit would be a time of bitterness. The choice was theirs.
People Get Ready
MAIN IDEA: Paul encouraged the Corinthians to prepare for his upcoming visit. He wanted them to repent of their sin and to think rightly about Paul and those who would accompany him so they would be well received.
A Pledge of Good Intentions (12:14–18)
SUPPORTING IDEA: The false apostles apparently had warned the Corinthians that if Paul returned he would drain their financial resources. Paul pledged that he would not take money from the church at Corinth for himself.
12:14a. Paul began by saying that he was ready to visit… for a third time. He had remained in Corinth for a year and a half during his first visit. Then he had received letters and visitors from Corinth while in Ephesus and had traveled from Ephesus to visit them a second time. As he wrote 2 Corinthians, he planned to visit again after Titus had prepared the way. He mentioned this visit again because he wanted it to be a positive experience of God's blessing.
12:14b. To head off any fears, the apostle pledged that he would not be a burden to the church. He had already reminded them that he had not received financial support from them previously. He wanted to assure them that he would not change this policy. Before his second visit, he had considered receiving money from the church for his mission efforts, but at this point he thought it better not to receive such help.
Paul's motives were simple but profound. He did not want the Corinthians to think their money was more important to him than they were. As he put it, What I want is not your possessions but you. On several occasions, Paul had expressed his desire for an intimate, trusting relationship with the church at Corinth. He wanted to experience the joy of seeing his spiritual children in harmony with one another and with him.
12:14c–15a. To explain himself, Paul appealed to the common practice of parents. Children do not normally provide for their parents. On the contrary, parents save and give to their children. Paul considered himself the father of the church at Corinth. He knew that children do at times give generously to their parents (cf. Mark 7:10–13), but this was not the primary direction of support. For this reason, Paul promised that he would gladly spend… everything he had and expend himself as well.
12:15b. Paul added an aside that he hoped would touch the Corinthians’ hearts. He asked, If I love you more, will you love me less? This was the tender plea of a loving parent to his wayward children. He opened his heart to them in hopes that they would reciprocate his affection and commitment to them.
12:16. Then Paul came back to his main point. He had not been a burden to the Corinthians. But the apostle's opponents had filled the Corinthians’ minds with false accusations. They must have argued that Paul had served without financial support in order to trick the Corinthians into remaining loyal to him.
12:17–18. To defend himself, Paul asked a question that should have settled the matter. Had he exploit[ed] them through any of the men he had sent to Corinth? Paul had sent Titus and a brother to them as his representatives, but they had served the church consistently with Paul's direct work. Previously, he had sent Timothy, who also had served well. By asking if Titus had exploited them, Paul challenged the Corinthians to consider that Titus had acted in the same spirit and followed the same course of selfless service as Paul had. From Paul's perspective, the answers to these questions were obvious—no one had exploited the Corinthians. There was no reason for them to question Paul's motives.
Everything for Their Good (12:19–21)
SUPPORTING IDEA: In the preceding chapters Paul had spent much time boasting about himself. He made sure this boasting would not be misinterpreted.
12:19. Paul realized that the Corinthians might misunderstand his motives. He wondered if they had been thinking all along as he boasted that he had been defending himself to the Corinthians. It might have been easy for some of them to answer, “Yes.” But the apostle wanted to make doubly clear that he felt no need to defend his own integrity or authority for his own sake. He had stooped to this strategy only for the Corinthians’ strengthening. Paul believed that all things in the life of the Christian church should be done for edification. This was his motivation as he defended his ministry against the false apostles.
Paul's intensity at this moment is apparent. He repeated his declaration that he had been speaking in the sight of God. He also mentioned that he spoke as one in Christ, and he appealed to the Corinthians as his dear friends. It was important to him that they believed his selfless motivation.
12:20. Paul explained why he had gone to the extreme of boasting to edify them. He was afraid. He feared what he might find when he arrived on his third visit. He was afraid that he might not find them as he want[ed] them to be, and that they might not find him as they want[ed] him to be. Paul knew that if the Corinthians did not observe his instructions in this epistle, he would have to rebuke and discipline them.
Paul listed a number of things he was afraid he would find in the church. He had addressed some of these earlier: quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, factions, slander, gossip, arrogance, and disorder. If these attitudes and actions continued to characterize the Corinthian church, Paul would have to deal with them in person, and he did not want to have to do that. As a wise leader, he gave the church opportunity to get itself in order before he came.
12:21. Paul was also afraid for himself. The sins at Corinth did not cause trouble only for the church. If they continued, then God would humble Paul himself before the church at Corinth. Paul considered it a humiliation to have to deal with the sins of the church another time. He wanted to take pride in his children and had boasted of them many times. Yet, if he had to rebuke them even after writing to them, his reason for boasting would be removed and he would be humiliated. He was too committed to the Corinthians to separate his feelings about himself from his feelings toward them.
Paul did not speak of this humiliation in human terms. He explained that it would come by the hand of God. Paul knew that divine grace was necessary for the Corinthians to find repentance; he understood that the success of his letters depended upon the good favor of God. He also realized that a lack of repentance in Corinth would have a divine purpose (Rom. 8:28). He did not enjoy the thought of it, but he realized that his own humiliation would be one aspect of God's purposes.
He further described his humiliation in terms of his grief. He would be grieved if he found many who had sinned earlier and had not repented. Paul desired the repentance and forgiveness of everyone who had fallen into serious sin. Just as he had rejoiced over and even advocated for the immoral brother who had repented, he would be happy if he found the church in order when He arrived. But he would be deeply grieved if he found it otherwise.
When speaking of those who had sinned, Paul did not have in mind the kinds of sins every Christian commits in his or her imperfection. Rather, he focused on serious violations of God's law. He was especially concerned with those who had not repented of the impurity, sexual sin and debauchery. The city of Corinth was known as a city of sexual immorality. The apostle realized that more than a few within the Corinthian church had fallen into these sins. But his chief concern was that they repent of these sins in which they had indulged.
Final Warning (13:1–10)
SUPPORTING IDEA: Having raised the possibility that some in Corinth may not have repented of their serious sins before he arrived, Paul offered a forceful final warning to the church.
13:1a. The apostle began by reminding them again that this would be his third visit. From the information we have in the New Testament, Paul gave more attention to the Corinthian church than to any other. He stayed there one and one-half years; he wrote to them frequently; he visited a second time; and here he told them plainly he was coming again. Paul had been patient with the Corinthians, and he had gone to great lengths to be kind to them. But his patience was waning.
13:1b. Paul told the Corinthians to prepare to face the issues he had raised with them. To begin with, he did not want to have to deal with rumors and unsubstantiated accusations. He would not listen to accusations unless they were established by the testimony of two or three witnesses. Paul relied on Mosaic legal procedures for this point (Deut. 19:15), applying this national policy from the Old Testament to the legal procedures to be followed in the church (cf. Matt. 18:16).
13:2. Paul's insistence on witnesses indicated his intention to deal strongly with the situation in Corinth. He had already given them a warning on his previous visit, and he was repeat[ing] it here. On his third visit, there would be no more warnings. He was not going to spare those who sinned earlier or any of the others. The first group consisted of those who had fallen into the immoral practices of Corinth. The others of whom he spoke are more difficult to identify. Paul probably meant anyone else whom he had to discipline. If any Corinthian Christians failed to heed this warning and to repent, Paul would discipline that person when he arrived.
13:3. Impatience with the Corinthians’ sin did not motivate Paul to threaten them with discipline. Rather, the Corinthians demanded proof that Christ was speaking through Paul, and the discipline was to be the proof. Throughout his epistles to Corinth, Paul dealt with challenges to his authority as an apostle. Some within the Corinthian church doubted Paul's authority as Christ's spokesman. They wanted to see some proof. Paul warned that the proof would come in the form of harsh discipline. We cannot be sure precisely what kind of proof Paul had in mind, though it was to be indisputable proof (dokime ).
The example of Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1–11) is unique in the New Testament, but it demonstrates that the apostles could exercise discipline that had physical effects. Paul instructed the discipline of the immoral man in Corinth in order that his body (sarx ) might be destroyed, which may have physical implications. The sick and dead in Corinth who had abused their brethren at the Lord's Supper perhaps suffered similar discipline. John warned of “sin that leads to death” (1 John 5:16), which may be closely associated with the kind of radical discipline Paul had in mind here.
Through the apostle John, Jesus warned that he would revoke his blessings from rebellious churches (Rev. 2:5), and Peter warned that judgment would “begin with the family of God” (1 Pet. 4:17). At the very least, Paul must have been prepared to inflict serious spiritual discipline on the church. He believed the discipline to come would be so dramatic and supernatural that it would prove he spoke authoritatively on Christ's behalf.
13:4. To support his warning that discipline would prove Christ's authorization of his ministry, Paul reminded the Corinthians that Christ humbled himself to a shameful death (Phil. 2:8), being crucified in weakness, but that he also lives by God's power. Paul often associated divine power with the Holy Spirit (Rom. 1:4; Eph. 3:16). He also taught that God the Father raised Christ from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit (1 Thess. 1:10).
Christ's weakness and power paralleled Paul's ministry. First, Paul and his company had been weak. Paul knew sufferings from persecution; he served the Corinthians at great cost and without personal profit; he even suffered the humiliation of a physical ailment by the hand of God. The apparent weakness of his ministry had led some of his opponents to defy his authority. These and other difficulties resulted from Paul's union with Christ in his suffering and death on the cross, and they were appropriate to legitimate ministry.
Second, Paul affirmed that by God's power he and his company would live with Christ to serve the Corinthians. Just as Christ's resurrection and ascension had demonstrated the Spirit's power, Paul's own ministry was powerful. He had been resurrected with Christ, and he had received the power of the Spirit common to all believers and peculiar to apostles.
The words we will live with him did not refer to the final resurrection on the day of judgment, but to Paul's third visit to Corinth. This is clear because Paul and his company were to live for the purpose of disciplining the Corinthians. This would occur when Paul visited (13:1–2). What awaited their arrival was the discipline of the Corinthians. Paul described this discipline as living with Christ by God's power in order to emphasize that he and his company would act as God's instruments on Christ's behalf and that the discipline would show God's power. Even harsh discipline would be for the Corinthians’ benefit by leading to their eventual repentance.
13:5a. Paul wanted the Corinthians to take his third visit so seriously that he challenged them to examine and test themselves to see whether they were in the faith. Paul used the reflexive pronoun yourselves twice to emphasize the idea that they should start looking more at themselves than at him or others.
13:5b. To encourage them further toward self-examination, Paul asked if they did not realize that Christ Jesus was in them. Christ's Spirit at work in the believer has certain effects of sanctification and faithfulness (Gal. 5:22–23; 2 Pet. 3:18). If the Corinthians’ claims to faith were true, they were united to Christ, and the Holy Spirit was making the truth of their claims evident in their lives. But if the life of any believer showed no signs of the Spirit's activity, then the Spirit was not working in him and Christ was not indwelling him. Paul had already mentioned that the Corinthians were being tested. Their response to his instructions would prove whether their faith was genuine.
13:6. Anticipating his opponents’ objection, Paul assured the Corinthians that they would discover that Paul and his company had not failed the test. Paul evidently expected some people within the church to question his own Christian living. In response, he admitted that even he needed to continue demonstrating saving faith in Christ, just as the Old Testament patriarchs had to demonstrate their faith through testing (Gen. 22:1).
13:7–8. To clarify his motivations, Paul told the Corinthians that he pray[ed] to God that they would not do anything wrong. He hoped they would respond properly to his instructions. Although the Corinthians were responsible to obey and to remain faithful to Christ, Paul knew that only divine power could enable them to do so (Phil. 2:12–13).
The apostle's primary desire was not that the Corinthians would vindicate his reputation, but that they would do what was right even though in the eyes of his opponents he might seem to have failed. From the perspective of human wisdom so deeply cherished by many Corinthians, Paul was not very impressive, and perhaps would appear to have failed. He exhorted the church to conform to his instructions, despite what others said about him, so they might do what was right and pleasing to God. Paul stated that he and his company could not do anything against the truth. He was confident that he and his company were true believers, and therefore that they could not actually fail the test, despite what others might conclude.
13:9. Paul's ministry to the Corinthian church proved that he was not interested in preserving his reputation for his own sake. His company was likewise not interested in their own reputations. Rather, they were all glad when they appeared weak and the Corinthians strong. Their central prayer for the church at Corinth was that God would bring them to perfection or completion. Paul's desire was that the Corinthians would come to maturity in their service to Christ.
13:10. To close this section, Paul summarized his motivations in yet another way. He wrote these things when he was absent so that when he arrived he might not have to be harsh. His harshness was intended to render unnecessary any harsh use of authority when he visited. Paul had the power and authority, given to him by the Lord, to inflict much trouble on the church in discipline. But he knew that discipline was not the central purpose of his authority. The Lord had given Paul this authority for building… up, not for tearing… down. Insofar as discipline served to build up the church, Paul was willing to inflict it when necessary.
His primary desire, however, was to build up the church through positive means. He felt the best way to build up the church was to exhort them to repent and to discipline them only if his words failed to bring about change. Paul preferred a gentle touch, but he was ready to do whatever was necessary to rescue them from sin.
Final Good-By (13:11–14)
SUPPORTING IDEA: Paul closed this letter with a combination of brief exhortations, encouragements, and benedictions.
13:11. Paul listed five exhortations, followed by a promise of divine blessing. Five imperatives introduce the exhortations.
First, the expression translated good-by in the NIV is often rendered “rejoice” (NASB). The latter translation is more literal, but it may be too wooden to convey Paul's meaning. The Greek expression appears to have been both a normal greeting and farewell at this point in history. If this is correct, then the NIV correctly translates it simply as good-by. Paul was wishing them well and expressing hope for their happiness.
Second, Paul encouraged the Corinthians to aim for perfection. This had already been his prayer for them in 13:9.
Third, he asked them to listen to his appeal or to “be comforted” (NASB). Paul may have been encouraging them to take comfort, as was his wish for them expressed in the letter's opening. Or he may have been reinforcing in their minds the fact that he wanted them to be swayed by his arguments.
Fourth, He exhorted them to forsake their factions and to be of one mind, just as he had exhorted them before.
Fifth, and similar to the exhortation to be of one mind, he encouraged them to live in peace.
If the church at Corinth heeded these encouragements, they were assured of God's blessing. God would be with them. Drawing upon Old Testament expressions, Paul assured the Corinthian church that if they conformed to his instructions, the God of love and peace would bless them with his presence. The expression “God of love and peace” bore a double meaning in this context. On the one hand, God delights in love and peace and would bless the church that was full of love and peace. Love and peace are blessings in and of themselves. With God's blessing the Corinthians would experience even more love and peace within their church.
13:12. In a manner rooted in the Jewish culture of that time, Paul encouraged the believers at Corinth to greet one another with a holy kiss. Even today many churches in the Middle and Far East practice light kissing on the cheek or lips among members of the same gender. To avoid erotic implications, Paul described the practice as holy. The kissing was that which was and is still customary among brothers and sisters in a family.
13:13. In line with his desire to see unity established in Corinth, Paul assured them that all the saints sent their greetings. The term simply means “holy ones” or “sanctified ones,” and is an appropriate description of all believers (Rom. 1:7; Col. 1:2). It is not clear who Paul had in mind, but it is likely that the term all was intended to include all the believers in general with whom Paul associated. He wanted to assure the Corinthians of the good intentions of all churches toward their congregation.
13:14. Paul's final words to the congregation depicted his deepest desires for them. He closed with a trinitarian benediction. This is Paul's only full trinitarian benediction in all his writings. Normally, he mentioned only Christ and/or God the Father. Sometimes he mentioned none of the persons of the Godhead specifically. Only occasionally did he mention the Holy Spirit (Rom. 15:13).
The associations between the persons of the Trinity and the specific blessings are not particularly significant. Elsewhere, Paul associated Christ with love (Rom. 8:35) and fellowship (1 Cor. 1:9). He also set God alongside grace. Further, he associated the Holy Spirit with both love (Col. 1:8) and grace (i.e., charismata or “gifts of grace,” 1 Cor. 12:4).
Paul prayed for grace, love, and fellowship with the persons of the Trinity because these blessings are so essential to the spiritual well-being of the church. Divine grace is the unmerited mercy of God toward his people, granting them forgiveness of sin. Divine love is God's affection and loyalty toward his true people that secures them in a saving relationship with him. Divine fellowship is the experience of the nearness of God that encourages and empowers believers in their daily walk before him.
Paul wanted all this and more for the congregation at Corinth. Despite the troubles they had given him over the years, his desire was to see them enjoy the rich blessings of God in their lives. If they would take his epistle to heart, they would surely receive those blessings.
MAIN IDEA REVIEW: Paul encouraged the Corinthians to prepare for his upcoming visit. He wanted them to repent of their sin and to think rightly about Paul and those who would accompany him so they would be well received.
In this closing section Paul tied together many of the themes he had touched throughout this epistle, focusing especially on the significance of his upcoming visit. Paul hoped the Corinthian church would take to heart his many instructions before he arrived and that they would prepare appropriately. If they did not, he would be sure to address these matters more forcefully when he came. Paul desired God's blessing on the Corinthians, but he knew this blessing would not come apart from their submission to his apostolic instruction.
PRINCIPLES
The big day had come. Joan was waiting behind the stage to give her first piano recital. In the weeks before that day, she had practiced occasionally, but she really hadn't been very disciplined. So now that she was next, Joan was unsure of herself.
As her piano teacher walked by, Joan looked at her and complained, “I wish I could practice just one more time.”
But her teacher put her hand on Joan's shoulder and said, “There's no more time for practice now, Joan. It's the moment of truth.”
Lots of things in life are like this. We have opportunities to prepare for some performance or action. But eventually the time comes when there is no more time for practice. We cannot escape showing what we can or cannot do.
In these closing chapters of his epistle, Paul told the Corinthians that the time of their trial was close at hand. He had given them many opportunities to correct the problems in their personal lives and in their church. He had been patient. But the next contact they would have with him would be face-to-face. Paul had put up with their problems long enough. It was time for them to receive his instructions and to act on them. It was time to perform—no more practice.
Paul's closing words to the Corinthians have many implications for the lives of modern Christians. We do not face an imminent visit from an apostle as the Corinthians did, but we know that we should not delay responding faithfully to the Word of God. We never know when God's patience with our disloyalty may end.
Father, we know that we do not always obey you, and that we sometimes fall into serious sin. Thank you for being patient with us and for allowing us time to repent. Please forgive us for our sins, and help us repent wholeheartedly so that we can obey, adore, and praise you more. Amen.
A. Christ Is Speaking Through Me (13:3)
In one sense, whenever a person proclaims the truth of Scripture, he or she speaks the word of God—the true word about and from God. In another sense, when one proclaims the true gospel, it may be argued that God actually speaks through that person. In this verse Paul meant that his words were actually spoken by Christ through him, but he also meant something more. Paul asserted that Christ was speaking through him in order to prove that he carried Christ's delegated authority (“he is not weak in dealing with you”). He was Christ's ambassador, Christ's representative, and as such held a position of authority.
B. Lord Jesus Christ… God… the Holy Spirit (13:14)
The doctrine of the Trinity—God exists in three persons, one essence—is not taught clearly in any single passage of Scripture. But the New Testament shows that its authors assumed the truth of this doctrine. Clearly, the Father is a distinct person from his Son Jesus Christ (Matt. 24:36), Jesus Christ is a distinct person from the Holy Spirit (John 14:26), and the Holy Spirit is a distinct person (Eph. 4:30) from the Father (Luke 11:13). Further, the Holy Spirit is divine (John 16:7), the Son Jesus Christ is divine (John 1:1; 20:28), and the Father is divine (Rom. 1:7). Moreover, there is only one God (Eph. 4:6).
A. INTRODUCTION
B. COMMENTARY
C. CONCLUSION: NO MORE TIME FOR PRACTICE