2 Corinthians 13:11-14 - Rejoice, Live in Peace, and Receive God's Grace (Rev. Erik Veerman

2 Corinthians 13:11-14 - Rejoice, Live in Peace, and Receive God’s Grace

Please turn to 2 Corinthians 13 verses 11-14. That is on page 1153 in the pew Bibles.

It’s always bittersweet to finish a sermon series. On the one hand, I wish it wasn’t coming to an end because 2 Corinthians has been such a blessing. On the other hand, it’s good to move on to other books of the Bible and be blessed and challenged in different ways.

So, this will be our last sermon in this series. Next week, we are going to have a missions focused Sunday. And then after that, stay tuned.

Let’s now come to these concluding words of 2 Corinthians. This is inspired, inerrant God’s Word, given through the apostle Paul.

Reading of 2 Corinthians 13:11-14

Prayer

Every book of the Bible, in different ways, relates to our culture and the church, today. Sometimes, the connection is more direct. Other times it is more indirect. Well, in 2 Corinthians we’ve seen many direct parallels.

I think the reason is that the city of Corinth is like our culture today. It was a confluence of many backgrounds, beliefs, and idols. If you remember, it was a Roman city in Greece. The city had been resettled about 100 years earlier by Julius Ceasar. It therefore boasted of Roman authority and power but being on the Achaia peninsula in Greece, it was still influence by Greek philosophy and gods. The temple of Aphrodite – the goddess of love – overlooked the city. That unholy influence increased the city’s sexual promiscuity and prostitution.

Furthermore, it was also a major port city. People and goods travelling east and west would travel through Corinth. That made it a desirable place to live for many people from many cultures. You had sea merchants and other traders capitalizing on its primary industry. Other entrepreneurs set up shop to profit off of the all travelers. Since it was a rather new city, Roman and Greek nobles came to fill in the vacuums of political power. Put this all together, Corinth was very cosmopolitan. It was a melting pot of people groups with diverse religious, political, and commercial interests and backgrounds.

Sound familiar? I don’t think there’s any major international city today that doesn’t share some of the same characteristics, at least to one extent or another… the Atlanta area included.

Think about the effect on the church. The world’s philosophies and priorities were pressing in on the church in Corinth. And it wasn’t just a single cultural influence; it was a combination of all those influences. That made it even more difficult for the church to filter out truth from error and righteousness from sinfulness.

And it’s the same thing today. Yes, there are different influences, but they are surprisingly similar. And like every generation in the past, those influences affect the church.

Someone asked me the other day whether there was a particular teaching in the church today that 2 Corinthians directly confronts. And the answer is yes.

2 Corinthians directly confronts the Prosperity Gospel. As you know, the prosperity gospel has come up several times over these last few months. It teaches a false theology of suffering, an idolatrous view of money, and a perverted Gospel – a gospel not based on faith in what Christ has done on the cross and in his resurrection, but a false gospel that is socially conceived; focusing on earthly health and wealth and not faith in Christ alone. And, of course, it lines the pockets of the prosperity preachers.

So, the false apostles in Corinth, which Paul called “super apostles” are in many ways analogous to prosperity Gospel preachers today. They not only perverted the truth, but arrogantly exalted themselves, their social status, and their worldly credentials.

Now, to be sure, it’s not a perfect parallel. The church in Corinth had its unique challenges, but the parallels to Prosperity preaching are there.

And you can see some of those parallels in the various things that Paul has been addressing in the book. We’ve come across several of them. In summary, there have been five streams of teaching that have dealt with the issues in Corinth. They include:

1. Number 1, Authentic ministry. Not only has the apostle Paul over and over defended his apostleship, but in doing so, he has laid the foundation to true and authentic ministry. A faithful church and a faithful minister is humble and seeks to reflect Christ. Faithful churches and pastors pursue integrity and sincerity and point to Christ, not themselves. As Paul put it just a couple verses earlier, they build up and don’t tear down. Those are the signs of faithful ministries.

2. A second stream that has come up multiple times is strength through weakness. That is, the strength of Christ in the weakness of our human flesh. 2 Corinthians has given us rich truths that we can hold on to in our weaknesses and suffering. Rather than try to summarize it here, let me just remind you of those verses.

·      Chapter 1: “[God] comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God."

·      Chapter 4: “…we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.” It’s speaking about the treasure of the Gospel given to us which we have in our frail bodies.

·      How about this one: “For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen, which are eternal…”

·      And one more, chapter 12… “But he said to me [that is, the Lord said to Paul], 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

There are others. What God has done in 2 Corinthians is reorient our doctrine of suffering. God uses our suffering to remind us of his strength that we may rely on him, because when we are weak, then we are strong.

3. Ok, the third stream – God’s Covenant promises of old have been fulfilled in Christ – in his Gospel. Through Jesus, the old covenant has been fulfilled. Remember, “For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.” This one has particular relevance to Corinth given some of the Jewish influences. The false apostles were trying to drag the people back into the forms and practices of the old covenant. But remember, those old forms and practices (like the sacrifices and festivals) were shadows of what was to come. Remember, the moon and planets reflect the sun, which is the source. It’s a similar idea.

Chapter 3 was all about this correction. The 10 commandments condemn us, but Christ has redeemed us. Chapter 5 gave us amazing truths. Verse 17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” And you’ve heard me say that 5:21 is in my mind, the clearest single verse that articulates the Gospel. “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” God made him, that is Jesus, to be sin for us, that we may receive his righteousness.

4. Number 4 – the fourth category. Giving and wealth. The middle chapters, 7-9, spoke of the grace of giving. Paul testified to Corinth that the Macedonians, though they were poor from a worldly standpoint, gave generously out of their poverty. The church has a responsibility to support the church. However, giving is not a means to salvation or a means to a better life, as today’s false prosperity teachers say. No, rather, giving is a response to the grace of God in Christ. “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.” It’s not talking about earthly riches but the riches of grace in Christ Jesus. Salvation and hope in him. The ultimate motivation for our giving is the grace of God in Christ.

5. And then the last thing – the last stream, number 5. Repentance and restoration. The whole letter, in a sense, is a call to repentance. Repentance and restoration have been key themes throughout. That’s because the church in Corinth’s beliefs and practices and lifestyle looked more like the Roman and Greek culture around them rather than the beliefs and practices and lifestyle that God had revealed to them in his Word and through his true apostles.

That message is a message for every church and every believer in every generation. We are all tempted to trust in the things of this world and conform our beliefs to the philosophy of this world, rather than putting our trust in God and seeking to be conformed to him by faith. Chapter 10, we should “take every thought captive to obey Christ” and last week, chapter 13, we should therefore “examine ourselves.”

So 5 emphases, 5 streams of correction which broadly speaking, the church in Corinth needed to hear. Not every individual, but the church as a whole, which is why at the beginning of this chapter the apostle warned of judgment if they did not to repent.

Paul prayed for and entreated them to repent. The big question is, did the church in Corinth actually repent? Did they return to God in Christ in faithfulness? And I have an answer for you. But you’ll have to wait a couple more minutes.

First, let’s actually get into our text this morning. I know we’re more than halfway through our usual time, but I think that review was helpful both as a conclusion to our series as well as context for these final verses.

So let’s look at them. First look at verse 11. Paul calls them “brothers.” Last week, remember, he had just dropped the hammer of judgment - the warning of judgment. And now he reminds them that they are brothers and sisters in Christ. And I want you to think back on our study of 2 Corinthians. Really, Paul had been writing to two groups in the church. One, the faithful believers. He is thankful that their godly grief has produced repentance. He wrote that in chapter 7. In chapter 8, he called on them to also excel in the grace of giving, just like in other areas.

But Paul has also been very direct at times with those who were not walking in godliness and truth. Some in the church were following the false apostles. Remember from chapter 11, some were “putting up with them readily enough.” And in chapter 12, Paul fears that they will not repent.

Nonetheless, they are all in the church and they are therefore brothers and sisters. He says, “finally brothers” In other words, listen to me for you are my church family.

And then notice that he gives them 5 imperatives in verses 11. That’s a lot! Five commands in one verse. And each of them connects in different ways to the rest of the letter.

Let’s briefly consider these commands.

He begins with “rejoice!” That specific Greek word for “rejoice” includes a sense that is not captured in our English word rejoice. It’s rejoicing in sadness or suffering. That is how it is used in chapter 6, “though sorrowful, we are rejoicing.” And that particular emphasis of rejoicing in suffering, directly relates to the second command in verse 11. Look at it. “Comfort one another.” That brings us all the way back to chapter 1. Comfort one another in your affliction because you share in both the affliction and comfort of Christ.

The next one is also very connected to the rest of the book. “aim for restoration.” It’s a recognition that restoration is not always possible. But as much as it depends on you, aim for restoration. Do what you can to restore those who have wandered from God’s truth and word. Remember from last week, Paul desired their restoration. Even if one of the so-called super apostles repented, he should be restored to the family of faith. Aim for restoration.

The last two imperatives in verse 11 are related. “agree with one another” and “live in peace.”

That’s one of the things that the church in Corinth struggled with. Unity. Remember, the city had people from all over… people from different cultural backgrounds. Scattered throughout 1st and 2nd Corinthians, we are given glimpses of the makeup of the church. The church had Jewish background believers in Christ. It had gentile believers from both lower classes in society and from wealthy families. It had Greeks, Romans, some from northern Africa (that’s where Apollos was from) and likely some people from Asia. Given the diversity, they struggled to get along. They often sinned against one another by quarrelling or slandering or gossip. That struggle has been well documented. And God calls them, through Paul, to agree with one another and to live in peace.

Do you see how verse 11 is like a summary?

Then after those 5 imperatives, he says, “and the God of love and peace will be with you.”

Living in harmony in Christ with one another will bring to bear the love and peace of God. In other words, with all their troubles, the Corinthians were not experiencing God’s love and peace. It’s not that they didn’t have the love of God or peace from God, but all their troubles suppressed that love and peace.

It’s very difficult to live in a community or family where people are always at odds with one another. I’ve never experienced that, but I’ve known plenty who have. It fosters relational sin that at times can spiral out of control if the forgiveness and grace of Christ does not prevail. That forgiveness and grace needed to prevail in Corinth. It needs to prevail in every church. That’s a good word for us.

And then Paul says, “greet one another with a holy kiss!” This refers to a brotherly or sisterly kind of kiss. Most believe it refers to kissing someone on the cheek – Kind of like in Italy or France today. The point is to show some kind of affection to each other. It’s a sign of commitment. Paul desired them to be with one another in person and display love and devotion because they were united together in Christ.

You can’t do that if you remain in your little tribes and only talk to your people. There’s something about being together and displaying your brotherly or sisterly affection to one another that disarms conflict.

A parallel today could be communicating in the digital world. You know, we send emails and texts. And sometimes, we inadvertently imply something that we didn’t intend. Or someone assumes something based on how we worded something. But when you are in person, many of those opportunities for miscommunication go away.

I am not saying that we should only communicate in person. In fact, that’s what this letter was, a written word. But Paul was on his way there to be with them in person. And he wanted them to be with present with one another.

And he adds, “All the saints greet you.” It was a reminder that all the believers from all the churches are bound together in Christ. We greet one another knowing that we share the amazing promises of God in him. The Corinthians were not alone. No, they shared their faith in Christ with the poor Jewish believers in Jerusalem. And with the churches of north Africa. And with the Macedonians and those in Asia minor. The were all brothers and sisters in Christ.

Ok, before we get to this great benediction in verse 14, let’s return to the question. Did the church in Corinth repent? Were the false apostles kicked out or even better come to know the truth and grace of Christ? Did those causing division and those living unholy lives return to faithful living in Chist? Did they follow through on their commitment to give to the poor saints in Jerusalem?

And the answer is, yes. Or I should probably say all indications are yes, they did.

In the beginning of Acts 20 we’re told that Paul spent 3 months in southern Greece. There is no mention of conflict in the church. Furthermore, at the end of Romans in chapter 15, Paul confirms that yes, the church in Achaia, where Corinth was, contributed to the saints in Jerusalem. And that is all consistent with the report that Titus brought to Paul earlier in chapter 7 – repentant hearts.

The work of the Holy Spirit, through Paul as a true apostle appears to have unified the church in Corinth.

As he’s writing these final words, Paul doesn’t know what will happen… But he nonetheless concludes his letter with a great benediction.

It’s one of the two most used benedictions in Scripture. The other being the Aaronic benediction from Numbers 6. In fact, 2 Corinthians 13:14 is one of the main trinitarian verses in Scripture. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ… that is, the grace that saves and the grace that sustains us. It is that grace which has been the central emphasis of every single chapter in this book - the grace found in the cross of Christ, which restores and reconciles. May that grace be the center of our ministry and lives.

And may the love of God… that is, the love of God the Father who gave his son for us. A love greater than any love anywhere at any time. It is a love that we did not deserve, but a love which God nonetheless poured out on us.

And may the fellowship of the Holy Spirit… that is the unifying work of God through his Spirit who has brought us together in Christ. It is the only thing that can break down the walls of hostility and make us one body, because he has broken down the walls in our hearts and made us one people in Christ.

May God who is three in one, in all these ways, bless and keep us, just as he did for the Corinthians. Amen?

I want to encourage you to re-read 2 Corinthians this week. I think you’ll be blessed to be reminded about all that we’ve studied.