1 This will be my third visit to you. “Every matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.”2 I already gave you a warning when I was with you the second time. I now repeat it while absent: On my return I will not spare those who sinned earlier or any of the others,3 since you are demanding proof that Christ is speaking through me. He is not weak in dealing with you, but is powerful among you.
4 For to be sure, he was crucified in weakness, yet he lives by God’s power. Likewise, we are weak in him, yet by God’s power we will live with him in our dealing with you.
5 Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?6 And I trust that you will discover that we have not failed the test.7 Now we pray to God that you will not do anything wrong. Not that people will see that we have stood the test but that you will do what is right even though we may seem to have failed.8 For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth.9 We are glad whenever we are weak but you are strong; and our prayer is that you may be fully restored.
10 This is why I write these things when I am absent, that when I come I may not have to be harsh in my use of authority—the authority the Lord gave me for building you up, not for tearing you down.
11 Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.
12 Greet one another with a holy kiss.
13 All God’s people here send their greetings.
14 May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
My thoughts -
Paul's had some pretty harsh things to say in this second letter to the church in Corinth and he's closing it with some of the harshest yet. He's telling them they've been warned. He's already dealt with a false gospel there. He's also addressed their giving. Now he's telling them about their sins and how they will not be overlooked.
He called them out at the end of chapter 12 for "quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, factions, slander, gossip, arrogance and disorder" as well as "impurity, sexual sin and debauchery". Now, it seems as though he is addressing these concerns over perhaps just a handful of people within the church. But he has also called out the entire church for the sins of a few earlier for so easily tolerating false prophets and a false gospel. It seems clear (to me, at least) that Paul would like for the church in Corinth to make all of its people responsible for any of its people's sin and to correct the matter. He's the same guy who told the Roman church that the strong ought to build up the weak. He's big about the church being one body.
So Paul's calling the church in Corinth out. He's letting them know he's coming back to town and that he's bringing his big stick. They want proof that Christ is speaking through him so he's bringing it. And apparently Christ is going to be pretty powerful in dealing with this stuff.
But this isn't just a threat. Throughout both letters to the church in Corinth Paul has used some of his most beautiful language about love. And he is imploring this church to receive his love for them through Jesus. A lot of this second letter really reads like a love letter begging for reconciliation and affirming what good there still is in the relationship. Even here he is imploring them to examine themselves to see Christ in them. He wants nothing more than for this church that he so clearly loves to earnestly follow Christ and to grow stronger and more mature in their faith. Like a parent he only wants what is best for this church, his beloved child.
So he's using a little bit of tough love here. Sometimes that hurts but it can bring about growth. Those of us with children know how difficult parenting can be. If you really love you child you cannot allow that child to just do whatever he/she pleases because that will create a monster. You have to set boundaries and sometimes, when your child pushes up against those boundaries, you have to punish him/her. And that's no fun for anyone. But it helps to shape this growing child into a fully functioning responsible adult, provided that it is done in love.
But look how Paul closes out the letter. It isn't all bad. See verse 11:
Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.
Everybody wants peace and love. No one wants conflict. At least, no healthy person does. This sucks. Calling people to task for what they do wrong sucks. Fighting over stuff like this sucks. It really does. But if you want to have a healthy church, or a healthy family, or healthy relationships you have to deal with stuff like this. You have to do it proactively, consistently, openly, and most importantly in love. When you can do this then you can restore these relationships and the God of love and peace will be with you.
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