2 Corinthians 13

==2 Corinthians 13:1-4==
1 This is the third time I am coming to you. In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established. 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: 3 Since ye seek a proof of Christ speaking in me, which to you-ward is not weak, but is mighty in you. 4 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.
Paul concludes the letter with several admonitions. He has already addressed them twice before and is now addressing them a third time about the sin among them. Before he has been longsuffering towards those who have sinned among them, but if he has to address it again, his longsuffering will be at an end.
When he comes again, since there are still those that doubt his apostleship, he will show them, though the gospel message itself should be sufficient to demonstrate he is what he claims. The gospel is that power and he preaches the same message as Christ. He then speaks of their life in Christ through the gospel, that individually they may be weak on their own, but with God on their side, they are powerful.
==2 Corinthians 13:5-8==
5 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? 6 But I trust that ye shall know that we are not reprobates. 7 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. 8 For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth.
This section is useful to demonstrate that a person's salvation status can be known. They were to examine themselves and know that Jesus Christ was in them or not. Those who were reprobates did not have Christ in them. The word for reprobate here is that of a metal that undergoes a stress test and does not measure up to quality. Paul is referring to Christians who have rejected the faith and fallen from grace (James 5:19-20), not people who were never "really" Christians as is taught today. IF Christians could not become reprobates (Calvin's Perserverance of the Saints or Eternal Security) then there would be no purpose to this self examination that Paul is requiring.
==2 Corinthians 13:9==
9 For we are glad, when we are weak, and ye are strong: and this also we wish, even your perfection.
I isolated this verse to talk about the idea of perfection or completion of the church at Corinth. Paul states that he is happy that his own weakness (physical weaknesses that come from persecution, trial, and just general exhaustion from his work) builds up the church at Corinth and makes them strong. His goal is their maturity as a congregation and the overall goal is the maturity of the church at large which he spoke of in the first letter in 1 Corinthians 13 and to Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:16-17.
==2 Corinthians 13:10==
10 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.
Paul is writing one last time to give them opportunity to correct their sin so that when he physically arrives he does not have to be harsh with them. He would rather build them up with his personal presence than have to rebuke them in person, a much harsher experience for them and Paul.
==2 Corinthians 13:11==
11 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.
This parting series of commands is often passed over, a rote salutation at the end of one of Paul's letters, but there is powerful thoughts contained within.
===Finally, brethren, farewell===
Paul is not saying farewell as in "goodbye" but he is literally telling them that he hopes the fare well in the days to come between the receiving of this letter and his coming to them.
===Be perfect===
This is in contrast to the idea of reprobate above. He wants them to be without that continual sin, to be complete, mature, sound...like a metal that can easily withstand any test applied to it. It is a goal the church has lost in recent decades, instead, subscribing to the Calvinistic idea that "we are all sinners" and sin every day all the time. We must re-embrace this goal of completion and maturity so that we do not continue in sin (Romans 6:1).
===be of good comfort===
This expression is middle/passive voice in the Greek and it simply means that they were to be the ones comforted. In all the turmoil the church faced at the hands of the Jews and Judaizers at this time, comfort was nothing to dismiss lightly.
===be of one mind===
Paul speaks of this unity of mind in several letters than he writes. This command cannot be dismissed lightly. The church of Christ often categorizes things we can disagree on, not be unified on, in terms of simple physical things like curtains or carpets or the color of songbooks and things we must be unified on as "salvation issues". What the church does not talk about is where a lot of doctrinal issues that fit neither of these other categories (at least in their minds) fall in this idea of unity. The teachings listed below are not curtain and carpet issues, yet we are divided on them. Many say these are not salvation issues either, but is that really the case? What has being divided on these issues, nay, what has the acceptance of being divided on these issues done to the church? How does it achieve compliance with the command Paul gives here?
# Mission and Medium of the Holy Spirit
# Eschatology - Revelation and other Biblical prophecy about the end of time (or not about the end of time, though people think that it is)
# Universities, Orphan Homes, and other institutions
# Dress Code - Well, yeah, this one actually sounds to me a lot like curtains and carpets.
# Dancing
# "Mixed swimming" (different genders going swimming in the same location at the same time - yes, its an "issue")
# Drinking alcohol
# Gambling
# Paying preachers
# etc.
==2 Corinthians 13:12-14==
12 Greet one another with an holy kiss. 13 All the saints salute you. 14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.
I don't care to nit-pick analyze the physical aspect of the "holy kiss". The point Paul is making with this salutation is that the Christians at Corinth were to greet on another with love and purity in their hearts toward one another, not strife, spite, or disdain.
The word "communion" in the KJV is simply koinonia, or fellowship. Grace, love, and fellowship are all different aspects of the same thing. Paul is leaving them with the idea of walking together in truth, of being united under the divine trinity (no its not a word in the Bible, yes it is a Biblical concept, no I don't care if you disagree).
Our focus should be the same, unity in mind, unity with God by teaching the gospel, and maturing in our faith.
In Truth and Love.
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2 Corinthians 12
2 Corinthians 13