II Corinthians 13:11 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.
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.
Paul’s final words to the Corinthians at this time were just as important as any other words. They were all inspired of God. The challenge to the saints was to be perfect. The Greek word translated as “perfect” does not mean free from sin. It means “to be fit, sound, complete”. The Corinthians were not at that place yet, but they needed to be there. The same is true for all saints.
God does not save anyone so they will be a spiritual misfit. God gives every true child of His the power to become a son of God.
John 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
No true Christian will be free from sin in this life. However, we are also not crippled by sin. No true Christian is in bondage to sin. We have been delivered from that. We can overcome and we can grow stronger as we grow in the Lord. God will never lead His child to the place of arrogance and pride. That is of the devil. God leads His child to be a greater light for Him.
Paul also wanted the saints to be of good comfort. He also wanted them to be of one mind. The ecumenical movement and the New Evangelical crowd is striving to be of one mind, but through compromise. That is contrary to Paul’s first exhortation here. True saints need to be perfect. The unity must come through surrender to God’s Truth and the rejection of man’s lies.
If we are truly of one mind, we will be able to live at peace with one another. Again the peace within the social “Christians” is through compromise. God’s design for peace is through submission to sound doctrine. The Bible IS the Word of God. We must submit to what God says.
If we will listen to the exhortation given, then the God of love and peace shall be with us.
God wants to be with His child all the time. His child must yield to Him. That is not optional for the true child of God. That is necessary.
In verse 12 we see the encouragement for genuine love for one another. The holy kiss would be a kiss on the cheek. It had no sensual meaning or intent in it. We do not generally use that method in North America. We generally shake hands. The government tried to rob us of that during the Wuhan virus debacle. There are people who still will not shake hands now. It has always been important to wash hands after using the washroom and before or after eating. We want to avoid the spread of germs. However, the abandonment of the hand shake is not a good thing among God’s people.
In verse 13 we see the care of the saints. There is a common bond among true saints. Those who are known and those who are not known. True saints are united in Christ.
In verse 14 we see the blessing of living under the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. That is that spiritual help that we need in order to be able to be perfect, of good comfort, of one mind and living at peace.
The love of God is also important. Everyone wants to be loved. Most people have no understanding of what true love is. True love is not the ignoring of sin. True love is what we have witnessed through this entire book and through the entire Bible.
The communion of the Holy Ghost is important as well. His indwelling presence and His continuous working in the heart of every true saint is important. It is important to be in agreement with God’s Work in the heart. That Work will always be in agreement with the true Word of God. Thus it will be identifiable and it will be a blessing.
Pastor Bartel