2 Corinthians 13:1-14 This is the third time I am coming to you. In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established.… There is no evidence that Paul wrote a word to them after this. The letters had evidently been a task to a man of his tender nature. No doubt he felt a burden rolled from his heart, and a freer breath, when he dictated the last sentence. I. WORDS OF WARNING. He warns them of a chastisement which he was determined to inflict upon all offenders against the gospel of Christ. 1. The discipline would be righteous (ver. 1). He will not chastise any without proper evidence. Therefore the true need not fear; the false alone need apprehend. 2. The discipline would be rigorous (ver. 2). He had threatened this in his former letter (1 Corinthians 4:13-19). There is no more terrible chastisement than excommunication from the fellowship of the good. 3. The discipline would demonstrate the existence of Christ in him (ver. 3). He could have given this proof sooner, but he acted in this respect like Christ, and was content to appear "weak " amongst them, in order that his power might be more conspicuously displayed (vers. 3, 4). II. WORDS OF EXHORTATION (ver. 5). Self-scrutiny is at once a duty the most urgent and the most neglected. Observe — 1. The momentous point to be tested in self-scrutiny. 2. The momentous conclusion to be reached by self-scrutiny. "Know ye not" (emphatic), etc. If you are in the faith He is your life. Should you find you are not in the faith, ye are counterfeits, spurious, not genuine; tares, not wheat. III. WORDS OF PRAYER (ver. 7). Not for his own reputation or himself, but — 1. That they should be kept from the wrong. "Do no evil," nothing inconsistent with the character and teaching of Christ. 2. That they should possess the right. "Not that we should appear approved, etc. IV. WORDS OF COMFORT (ver. 8). 1. Truth is uninjurable. Man may quench all the gas lamps in the world, but he cannot dim one star. Men can destroy the forms of nature, level the mountains, dry up the rivers, burn the forests, but can do nothing against the imperishable elements of nature, and these elements will live, build up new mountains, open fresh rivers, and create new forests. You can do nothing against the truth. 2. Goodness is unpunishable (ver. 9). (1) Because it is goodness. The best of men are too "weak" in authority to punish those who are "strong" in goodness. The way to paralyse all penal forces is to promote the growth of goodness. (2) Because it is restorative. (ver. 10). Its destiny is edification, not destruction. V. WORDS OF BENEDICTION. 1. Be happy. "Farewell," which means "rejoice." 2. Be blest of God. "The grace of our Lord," etc. (D. Thomas, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: This is the third time I am coming to you. In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established. |
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