2 Corinthians 13
New King James Version
Coming with Authority
13 This will be (A)the third time I am coming to you. (B)“By the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall be established.” 2 (C)I have told you before, and foretell as if I were present the second time, and now being absent [a]I write to those (D)who have sinned before, and to all the rest, that if I come again (E)I will not spare— 3 since you seek a proof of Christ (F)speaking in me, who is not weak toward you, but mighty (G)in you. 4 (H)For though He was crucified in weakness, yet (I)He lives by the power of God. For (J)we also are weak in Him, but we shall live with Him by the power of God toward you.
5 Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, (K)that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you [b]are (L)disqualified. 6 But I trust that you will know that we are not disqualified.
Paul Prefers Gentleness
7 Now [c]I pray to God that you do no evil, not that we should appear approved, but that you should do what is honorable, though (M)we may seem disqualified. 8 For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth. 9 For we are glad (N)when we are weak and you are strong. And this also we pray, (O)that you may be made complete. 10 (P)Therefore I write these things being absent, lest being present I should use sharpness, according to the (Q)authority which the Lord has given me for edification and not for destruction.
Greetings and Benediction
11 Finally, brethren, farewell. Become complete. (R)Be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love (S)and peace will be with you.
12 (T)Greet one another with a holy kiss.
13 All the saints greet you.
14 (U)The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and (V)the [d]communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.
Footnotes
- 2 Corinthians 13:2 NU omits I write
- 2 Corinthians 13:5 do not stand the test
- 2 Corinthians 13:7 NU we
- 2 Corinthians 13:14 fellowship
2 Corinthians 13
The Message
He’s Alive Now!
13 1-4 Well, this is my third visit coming up. Remember the Scripture that says, “A matter becomes clear after two or three witnesses give evidence”? On my second visit I warned that bunch that keeps sinning over and over in the same old ways that when I came back I wouldn’t go easy on them. Now, preparing for the third, I’m saying it again from a distance. If you haven’t changed your ways by the time I get there, look out. You who have been demanding proof that Christ speaks through me will get more than you bargained for. You’ll get the full force of Christ, don’t think you won’t. He was sheer weakness and humiliation when he was killed on the cross, but oh, he’s alive now—in the mighty power of God! We weren’t much to look at, either, when we were humiliated among you, but when we deal with you this next time, we’ll be alive in Christ, strengthened by God.
5-9 Test yourselves to make sure you are solid in the faith. Don’t drift along taking everything for granted. Give yourselves regular checkups. You need firsthand evidence, not mere hearsay, that Jesus Christ is in you. Test it out. If you fail the test, do something about it. I hope the test won’t show that we have failed. But if it comes to that, we’d rather the test showed our failure than yours. We’re rooting for the truth to win out in you. We couldn’t possibly do otherwise.
We don’t just put up with our limitations; we celebrate them, and then go on to celebrate every strength, every triumph of the truth in you. We pray hard that it will all come together in your lives.
10 I’m writing this to you now so that when I come I won’t have to say another word on the subject. The authority the Master gave me is for putting people together, not taking them apart. I want to get on with it, and not have to spend time on reprimands.
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11-13 And that’s about it, friends. Be cheerful. Keep things in good repair. Keep your spirits up. Think in harmony. Be agreeable. Do all that, and the God of love and peace will be with you for sure. Greet one another with a holy embrace. All the brothers and sisters here say hello.
14 The amazing grace of the Master, Jesus Christ, the extravagant love of God, the intimate friendship of the Holy Spirit, be with all of you.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson