Benediction

2 Corinthians: Benediction

2 Corinthians 13:11-14

2 Corinthians 13:11–14 ESV

11 Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. 12 Greet one another with a holy kiss. 13 All the saints greet you. 14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

1. Introduction – Today we come to the end of the letter of 2 Corinthians.

a. We started the first week of January at 1:1 and we have read and studied every single word of this letter together as a church.

i. It’s not a secret that this is a difficult letter to grasp. There’s a lot of back story to it – we had to put together a lot of pieces in order to place 2 Corinthians in its historical context.

1. No doubt though – this is a spiritually rich letter.

a. “We are the aroma of Christ to God” “If anyone is in Christ he is a new creation.|

i. “We are ambassadors for Christ – God making is appeal through us.

1. “For our sake Jesus became poor so that by his poverty we might become rich.”

a. My grace is sufficient for you…”

2. Those are just a few of the beautiful verses we’ve studied along the way.

ii. It’s a difficult letter, it’s a spiritually rich letter, and it is also a deeply personal letter.

1. More than any of his other epistles, Paul wears his heart and his emotions on sleeve in this one.

a. He opens up about the stress and anxiety and the physical toll that ministry has taken on him.

i. He writes about how much he loves the Corinthians and how hurt he is that they didn’t stick up for him.

2. Paul is confrontation, yet loving – as he seeks to woo the Corinthians back to the truth.

b. Most Bibles put a heading on these closing verses. Its most likely called “Final Greetings.”

i. But these words are deep and rich. Honestly, we could spend 5, 6 maybe 8 weeks simply unpacking all that is contained in these 4 verses.

1. These verses are so much more than a fancy way of saying goodbye.

a. These verses summarize the main themes of this letter. They promote unity among church members.

i. And the final verse, the benediction, just might be the most beautiful verse in the entire letter.

c. Let’s read these words together – then we’ll talk about how these verses are structured.

i. Hear God’s Word – 2 Corinthians 13:11-14.

1. The way I break this passage down is like this.

a. In v.11 – Paul crams everything else he wants to say into 5 short, pithy commands.

i. He does this in many of his letters. As he is closing, he switches from long proses…and sometimes even run on sentences, to these short staccato like phrases.

b. In vv.12-13, Paul give his final greeting. He also typically does this at the end of his letters.

i. So and so sends their greeting. Greet this person and that person.

1. 2 Corinthians focuses on unity and togetherness.

c. And in v.14 we have the benediction. It is Triune in its construction – and it is deep and rich in its theology.

2. Exhortations – Let’s start in v.11. As I just mentioned Paul abruptly switches styles in this verse.

a. Gone are the long, flowing sentences that mark this book. Instead what we have are short staccato commands.

i. No elaboration or explanation – just the commands themselves.

1. Given the tone and subject matter of this letter – one would expect Paul to take one last shot at the Corinthians.

a. But instead of being pessimistic – instead of reaming them out – he finishes the letter on a positive note.

b. First – take note of how he starts – Finally, brothers… the word is adelphoi – it’s a family term…it could very well be ‘brothers and sisters…’

i. Despite all that has taken place…despite all that he has written, Paul still uses a term of affection when addressing this church.

1. Actually, writing this word, adelphoi, is actually a counter-cultural statement.

a. In the ancient Roman Empire, it was unlawful to call anyone but an actual brother, brother. It was unlawful to call anyone but actual family members by family names.

ii. What Paul does here is he addresses the Corinthians in familial terms. It shows how deep the relationship between Christians should be.

1. It shouldn’t be a “hey you” kind of relationship, not a relationship where we simply put up with or tolerate each other…

a. But the bond between Christians is to be so deep and strong we can rightfully call each other adelphoi…brother or sister in Christ.

i. By calling them brothers, he is making a radical statement about the relationship Christians have with each other. A relationship that runs counter to the world around us.

c. And after addressing them in such a way – Paul starts in on his list of short and sweet commands.

i. Rejoice, he writes first. This word kinds seems out of place here.

1. There’s not really be a lot to rejoice about in this letter. There’s been a lot of heat in this letter – but the letter doesn’t end of a discouraging note.

a. Paul wants the Corinthians to rejoice.

ii. Next he writes – aim for restoration. In the passage we studied last week, Paul said he was praying for their restoration.

1. Praying that God would mend what was broken. And here Paul tells the Corinthians to actively do their part.

d. Next Paul writes, “Comfort one another.” No doubt there was some tension in the Corinth church.

i. No doubt there was some uncomfortable moments and uncomfortable people to be around.

1. Since the Corinthians were family – they were to bring comfort to each other.

a. Comfort has been an over-arching theme throughout this letter.

i. Paul wrote in chapter 1 that God comforted him in difficult times, so that he could them comfort others.

1. In ch.7, Paul wrote about God comforting the downcast – as he lifted Paul up by reuniting him with Titus in Macedonia.

ii. And here, at the close of the letter, Paul completes this great them by reminding them to comfort each other.

e. Agree with one another and the next command ‘live in peace’ go hand in hand with each other.

i. They both remind the Corinthians that factions within the church are hurtful and breed disunity.

1. So to stomp out factions in the church, Paul writes ‘Get along. Work through our differences in a peaceful manner and become on in mind.”

ii. And Paul adds a caveat at the end of v.11. If these instructions are heeded – God will be with them.

1. Now this sentence could mean that God’s love and peace will be with them.

a. But more likely Paul is stating some of God’s characteristics.

i. God, who is a God of love and peace, will be with you.

iii. Paul doesn’t elaborate on these commands, but leaves for the Corinthians to work through.

3. Final Greetings – In vv.12-13, we come to Paul’s final greeting in this letter.

a. And his final greetings remind the Corinthians, and us today, about unity within a local body of believers – and unity in the wider church.

i. First Paul says this, “Greet one another with a holy kiss.”

1. Paul is so concerned about unity and restoration in this church, that he encourages them to show their affection to one another.

a. This too is counter-cultural and against the social conventions of his day.

i. If calling someone brother – who wasn’t a member of your family was unlawful in Roman society – then a holy kiss takes church family unity to a whole different level.

b. A kiss is a token of deepest relationship and unity. And a holy kiss seems to be a Christian innovation.

i. It has no parallel in any other religion, and no other ethical teacher in Paul’s day exhorted readers to act in this way.

1. A holy kiss among Christian brothers and sisters would have stood out amongst the paganism of the Roman Empire.

c. But think of the Corinthian context. They were a warring church – a bickering church – they were a divided church.

i. And here Paul calls for unity – unity among the factions…and he calls the Corinthians to show their familial love towards each other by greeting with a kiss…a holy kiss…probably on the cheek.

1. The mutual exchange of a holy kiss – between different members of different factions – could very well effect the restoration that Paul longed to see.

d. The church was building a new social reality – a place where people belong.

i. A place where all members are equal under the cross of Jesus. A place where people of different social classes, backgrounds, ethnicity, gender…a place where the slave and the slave owner were equals…

1. And the holy kiss served as a sign to show the agape love that Christians are to have for one another.

ii. A holy kiss was a public declaration that in Christ there is neither male nor female, Jew nor Greek, slave nor free.

e. Church family unity is what Paul is stressing here. And it is something that should be stressed in our day.

i. The reality is, we are a spiritual family. So we should be referring to each other as brothers and sisters. We are indeed a family. We are a covenant community and adelphoi, brothers and sisters – is how we express our agape love for each other.

1. And now the awkward question…what about the holy kiss? Is that how we should greet each other today?

a. It probably isn’t the best idea to put into practice right now – September 2020, when we’re trying to limit contact and the spread of germs.

ii. But generally speaking – I think there is something to showing unashamed and unhindered affection towards each other as family members.

1. Whether that is the aforementioned holy kiss, a hug or some other form of warm greeting – I think it’s entire appropriate.

a. We are a family – a spiritual family. We are part of a new social reality – where we all operate on the same level and are related to each other through the blood of Christ – so why not publicly express the agape we have for each other?!

f. Paul finishes by sending greetings from all the saints. Now, most likely this means all the saints – Christians – who are in the area where Paul was writing this letter from – Ephesus.

i. But this simple phrase would remind the Corinthians that they aren’t the only church in the world.

1. This is also a reminder that God’s church is bigger than one individual church.

a. And it’s a reminder for us today. It’s easy to get tunnel vision – to get so tied up in what where doing and where we’re going…we forget that there are other like-minded church arounds who are also doing the will of God.

4. Benediction – And finally, we come to the as verse of this letter. It’s a benediction…a prayer.

a. Did you notice when we read it earlier how all 3 members of the Trinity are mentioned?

i. But what’s of particular interest here is the order that Paul writes.

1. Usually when talking about the Trinity we say Father, Son, Spirit.

a. But here, Paul starts with Jesus the Son. The grace of the Lord Jesus, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit.

b. And when we look at the characteristics Paul associates with each member of the Trinity, the order makes sense

i. Because the order Paul writes in is the experience of our salvation.

1. Let’s unpack this benediction.

c. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ – what is Paul referring to here?

i. Well, back in 8:9, Paul wrote this…For you know the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ…” The grace of Jesus is his dying on our behalf to take away our sins.

1. And we experience that grace through faith – faith that Jesus’ sacrifice is sufficient to forgive our sins.

a. We receive that grace by believing that Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes way the sin of the world.

d. And once we’ve experienced that grace of the Lord Jesus – as if salvation wasn’t enough – along comes the love of God.

i. God is love – not God is loving, though he is, but God is the very definition of love.

1. The love of God is expressed beautifully in the story of the Prodigal.

a. When the returning son was still a long way off…the Father runs out to meet him in order to restore him as a full standing member of the family.

i. It’s that love we receive, though we don’t deserve it and we can’t earn it – God freely gives it us…he runs out to meet us when we return to him.

ii. But the love of God is expressed most profoundly in the sending of Jesus to die for our sins.

1. God showed his love for us in this – while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

a. This is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

i. Neither life nor death, angels nor demons, not things present of things to come, not powers, heights, depths or anything in all of creation will what???

1. Be able to separate us from the love God in Christ Jesus.

a. For God so loved the world…

ii. I could go on and on and on.

iii. The hymnwriter is correct – to write the love of God above would drain the ocean dry.

1. Nor could the scroll contain the whole though stretched from sky to sky.

e. The grace of the Lord Jesus – his atoning sacrifice for our sins…

i. The unfathomable love of God – expressed in the sending of his Son…

1. And to top it all off, our salvation experience includes fellowship with the Holy Spirit.

a. And fellowship with the Spirit includes fellowship with the Father and the Son.

i. But it also includes profound fellowship with other believers.

ii. The grace of the Lord Jesus – exponential mercy and goodness.

1. The Love of God – infinite and unending.

a. The fellowship of the Holy Spirit – a fellowship with heaven itself.

i. What an incredible closing verse.

5. Conclusion – So, Paul wrote this as a corrective and restorative letter…did it work? What is successful?

a. History seems to suggest it was successful!

i. There’s evidence that the collection was taken up in Corinth and brought to Jerusalem.

1. And when Paul did make his 3rd visit, he stayed!

a. And while he was in Corinth on this third visit – it was there that he wrote his letter to the Romans.

b. So there you have it – we’re done 2 Corinthians. 30 weeks. Here’s what that looks like…

i. I read about 2000 pages of research – wrote another couple hundred pages of my own research.

1. It was an enjoyable yet challenging study.

a. And as we close, I have one challenge for you. Don’t simply listen to the rich truth presented in this letter…live it out.

ii. Comfort each other, see yourself as a new creation in Christ.

1. See God’s power working through your weaknesses. Strive for unity, see how God is working in your through the afflictions you endure.

a. Sure, why not, greet each other with a holy kiss…just ask permission first!

c. Go ahead and read this letter again from start to finish…try to do it in one sitting. Read it with the insights you’ve gained from our in-depth study, and glean new and fresh insights on your own.

i. And with that, let’s close in prayer.

John 3:16 ESV

16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

1 John

Romans 8:38–39 ESV

38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

1 John 4:10 ESV

10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

Romans 5:8 ESV

8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.