[Steve Myers] Welcome back to Epistles of Paul. We are in 2 Corinthians. At the end of Chapter 12, we had been pointing out the fact that Paul was taking heart that even though he had gone through so many difficulties, so many trials, so many challenges, so many physical infirmaries, weaknesses, that ultimately it was all for his benefit. God used all those things to help him. God poured His grace out on him, gave him the strength to be able to deal with all those things and ultimately draw closer to God, and, ultimately, to put on Christ-like character. And so he says, he would rather boast in his infirmities so that the power of Christ would rest upon him. And so it's a good reminder for all of us that as he understands that God is present, God is always there, no matter what circumstance there may be in our life, God can use it for good. God can use it for our ultimate good.

And so Paul rehearses that important spiritual point with the Corinthians. I'm sure some of them were probably putting him down because he went through all of those things and saying, "Well, see, he must not be a real apostle if he had to go through all that." But here he's showing the significance of that, the spiritual significance of that. So as he concludes Chapter 12, he kind of comes back to some of those thoughts that he had talked to them about in his first letter. You remember that first letter, very harsh, severe, corrective, most corrective letter in all of the New Testament. He kind of comes back to that as he gets to verse 20. In fact, in verse 20, it's almost an opposite kind of an account from what he earlier mentioned. Maybe we should just go back to the earlier point that he had made. In 2 Corinthians 7, he was describing that difference between worldly sorrow and godly sorrow, really describing what true repentance was all about.

So if you look at 2 Corinthians 7:11, he talks about true repentance and godly sorrow and what it did, what it produced. Well, he says in verse 11.

2 Corinthians 7:11 "What diligence it produced, what clearing of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what vehement desire, what zeal, what vindication. In all things you proved yourselves to be clear in this matter."

So here he shows what real repentance is, what it means to seek God's forgiveness and to be declared righteous, to be justified before God. How critical that was. Now, of course, not all of the Corinthians had come to that point. So if we go back to 2 Corinthians 12, we almost see a kind of parallelism here, but here it's on the opposite side of the coin, that's contrasting what we read in Chapter 7.

2 Corinthians 12:20-21 He says, "I fear, lest when I come, I shall not find you such as I wish." Yeah, he wants to find them in a Chapter 7 kind of frame of mind, a godly, sorrowful kind of frame of mind, a repentant frame of mind. But he says, "I might not find you like that, that I shall be found by you such as you do not wish, lest there be contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, backbitings, whisperings, conceits, tumults, lest, when I come again, my God will humble me among you, and I'll mourn for many who have sinned before and have not repented of the uncleanness, the fornication, lewdness which they practiced."

So here we see that opposite side of the coin even though it's parallel to Chapter 7. Here he talks about the works of the flesh is really what he's getting at here. The works of the flesh. Galatians 5:19, describes a number of these same types of things.

Instead of being the work of the Spirit like Chapter 7 talked about, having a repentant attitude, drawing closer to God, here he talks about contentions, that's strife, that's quarreling. Was that a 1 Corinthians kind of a thing? Absolutely. He talks about jealousies, which is they're being envious of each other. Yeah, that was personal relationship issues within the church in Corinth. Outbursts of wrath, there you go, this human way of looking at things, anger that's just boiling to the top. Yeah, that was a 1 Corinthians kind of issue that he had already dealt with, and yet here some of it was still there. He talks about selfish ambitions. These are kind of like rivalries. Yeah, they're trying to put themselves forward. Their cliques, their groups, their infighting, they were dividing up into different parties with that kind of a wrong kind of a disagreement between different groups among them. Instead of being one, they were all in their own little cliques and groups and had these selfish ambitions.

He also talks about backbiting and whisperings. Those are kind of things happening in the background, behind the scenes sort of things, that they're happening among themselves where they're talking about the problems and difficulties and putting each other down, not to someone's face but behind their back, they're backbiting. And, of course, the whispering is like the slandering, the gossiping, the innuendos, the insinuations against each other. That's what they were acting like. He says there were conceits. This is in fact the only place in the New Testament you'll find that word for conceits. It's connected to the same base word as he's talked about a lot in the past and that was being puffed up. Being puffed up, this idea of conceits, you're conceited, you're arrogant. Yeah, connected to that idea of being puffed up. You've got this inflated ego. It's really what he's talking about. So some of them had not changed. And he talks about tumults. That's the confusion, the disorder. Yeah, you could say like a riot or a chaos.

Yeah, oftentimes, he talked about that in 1 Corinthians. Sometimes those things just happened among the church members there. He said, "That's unacceptable. It can't be our practice." And so he says, "That has to change." He says, "Okay, when I come, I will mourn for those who have sinned before and not repented. They haven't repented of these things, unclean this fornication, lewdness that they've practiced." So this is their way of life. This isn't just a one-time thing that he's talking about here. This is the things that they have practiced. They have continued these things. And he's not going to overlook it. He's going to deal with it head-on. And so as he gets into Chapter 13, that's what he continues to warn them about. And so all the way up to the very end of the letter, he's telling them, "Listen, I am an official apostle of Jesus Christ, and I'm not afraid to use this authority if I have to." So as we begin Chapter 13.

2 Corinthians 13:1 He says, "This will be the third time I'm coming to you." The third time. And so this seems to be reflecting, this is the third time he wanted to come. If we look back to Chapter 12:14.

2 Corinthians 12:4 He says, "Now, for the third time, I'm ready to come to you." So he wanted to come. And so this seems to be reflecting that idea. I wanted to come three times and this time I'm coming.

2 Corinthians 13:1 And he says, "By the mouth of two or three witnesses, every word shall be established."

So here he's quoting all the way back to Deuteronomy 19. You might just make a note of that. Maybe it'll be in your middle reference if you've got them. Deuteronomy 19:15, you know, quoting from the law that, you know, there has to be multiple witnesses for proof. And so that verifies the situation when there's multiple witnesses, don't accept, you know, accusations with just one person. So he says, "By the mouth of two or three witnesses, every word shall be established."

So in other words, I've got the goods on you. There are multiple witnesses to this misbehavior, and it has to change. And so Paul tells them that "ultimately they have to change because the proof is against them." Also kind of interesting, you know, when we think of two or three witnesses, you know, how many is it that show up in the end time to preach about God's way, to prophesy about God's way? Yeah, two, two witnesses. And so we see this validated over and over again in Scripture. And so he says to them in verse 2.

2 Corinthians 13:2 "I've told you before and foretell as if I were present the second time, and, now, being absent, I write to those who have sinned before and to all the rest that if I come again, I will not spare." Not going to hold back. Not going to hold back anymore since you seek a proof of Christ speaking in me, “who's not weak toward you, but mighty in you.” All right, no holding back. You're going to get both barrels, in other words. You're going to hear about it.

2 Corinthians 13:3-4 And so he says, "Christ is speaking in me. You seek a proof of Christ speaking in me?” All right, He's weak, not weak toward you but mighty in you. “For though He was crucified in weakness, yet He lives by the power of God. For we also are weak in Him, but we shall live with Him by the power of God toward you."

And so kind of interesting, Paul makes a connection here really to himself. He says, "Christ was weak." Well, how was He weak? Well, He was crucified. So only in appearance was He really weak, He allowed Himself to be killed, and yet as He subjected Himself to the scorn and to the beatings and ultimately the crucifixion, it didn't hamper God's plan at all. In fact, that was God's plan, that ultimately He lives by the power of God. He was resurrected. He was brought back to life. And so Paul makes this connection to himself. We also are weak. Paul just got done going through all the trials and the difficulties that he was subjected to, sickness, problems, physically, mentally, emotionally, all of these different things. We are also weak in Him, but we shall live with Him by the power of God toward you.

And so don't get fooled by appearances is really what Paul is saying here. Don't get fooled by any of these things. Yeah, I'm not going to be weak toward you. That's not really the way it is. There's going to be power, and it's going to be evident. And there is this evidence that God has been working as He worked through Christ, He's working in me as well. And, in a sense, he's saying, "Well, how about you? What's going on with you?"

2 Corinthians 13:5 He says, "Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith."

He uses this word, examine is the word peirazo. Peirazo is the word for examine yourself. This is to recognize, well, what kind of person are you? Sometimes they translate this word to test or to try someone, but it's in order to discern what are you all about in helping to realize, all right, what are the facts? What are the facts? So he says, "Examine yourself." So, oftentimes, the word is translated testing. If you hold your place here, the same word is used in John 8. In John 8, we find the story of the woman caught in adultery. And it's not the point to go through the story, but what's interesting as this story is told, we find something interesting in these leaders who brought this woman to Christ. They brought this woman to Christ, and they tell Him, "Okay, Moses' law says she should be stoned. What do you say?"

John 8:6 It says, "This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him."

The reason we look at this verse, they were peirazo Him. They were testing Him. What kind of person are you? Who do you stand for? What are you all about? Sometimes the word is even translated as tempting Him. Here they're testing Him. They're peirazo Him. All right, and so we can see this word could be used in a good sense or it could be used in a bad sense as well. To test one, in this sense, means to do it kind of craftily and to do it to test His virtue, to test His character. So, in that sense, this is used in kind of an evil way.

But it's also interesting that if we go back toward Corinthians, let's make a stop at 1 Corinthians on the way here. And in Chapter 10, we'll find this word used once again in 1 Corinthians 10. Take a look at 1 Corinthians 10. Notice verse 13. Notice verse 13, interesting passage here where this word peirazo is used to examine, or to try, or to test.

1 Corinthians 10:13 "No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man. But God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you're able. But with the temptation will also make the way of escape that you may be able to bear it."

Can you pick out the peirazo word there? The tempted word, the tempted. He won't allow you to be examined or tried or tested beyond what you're able. And so here we see that God is with us. God is with us. And even though we may be tried with this trying, with this examination of what kind of person are we, it says, "God will make a way of escape." He may take away the problem. If not, He'll give us the strength to bear it. And, boy, does Paul tell that story.

As we look back at 2 Corinthians 11 and 12, he certainly tells that story. That God helped Paul to be able to bear all of that examination that he went through. And so if we head back to 2 Corinthians 13, notice he's admonishing the Corinthians to do just this, to examine themselves, to test themselves, to really try to ascertain what kind of people are we? You know, he got done pointing out, well, some are repentant, but some of you are not. So you better look at yourself. You better put yourself, in a sense, on trial because that's when the real examinations happen. You go to court, yeah, they're going to examine you. They're going to test you. You're going to find out if your testimony is true. And that's, in a sense, what he's telling them to do. You examine yourself. You make sure you're the right kind of person and you're in the right frame of mind. Are you really a faithful person? You truly in the Church? Are you truly in the faith? Well, he says, peirazo, recognize this fact, really put yourself on the stand and examine yourself.

Then he says in verse 5, "Not only peirazo," he says, "test yourselves." Now, this is a different word. This is a different word than peirazo. This is the word, dokimazō. Dokimazō, we've talked about this word in the past as we went through 1 Corinthians. So we peirazo, we test, we put ourselves on the stand, we put ourselves to the test, but here we're also to dokimazō. We're to test ourselves. Sometimes that word is translating, prove yourself. Sometimes it's translated, examine yourself. But this kind of takes it to the next level. So you might be put on the stand in a court case for your testimony. But when you're really under pressure, they're scrutinizing you. They're really taking things right down to the finest point. That's the sense of this dokimazō, to really scrutinize yourself.

If you remember back to our studies in 1 Corinthians, this word was used as a banking term that applies to us. Because people would file down those coins in Roman times and collect enough of the filings to make their own coins. And so that initial coin wouldn't be full value. And so a dokimazō would examine that coin to make sure it was legit, that it was full value, that it was the real deal, that it wasn't a fake, wasn't a phony, wasn't a counterfeit. And so when we think of that word, that's what he's getting at here. All right, make sure you put yourself to the test. Are you really in the faith? Are you the real deal? Are you a fake or a phony? Are you a counterfeit? You hold your place here. This same word is used back in 1 Corinthians 11. You'll remember talking about this idea of dokimazō back in 1 Corinthians 11.

1 Corinthians 11:28 Here it says, "Let a man examine himself."

That's the dokimazō word. Even though it's translated examine, it's not the peirazo word. This is really get down to the very specific scrutinization to prove whether you are the real deal. Are you legitimately in the faith? So, "You examine yourself," and then, "so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup." In fact, let's make our way back to 2 Corinthians. Maybe before we get to the last chapter, let's pause in Chapter 8 for a moment on the way. Chapter 8:8 also uses this same word.

2 Corinthians 8:8 It says, "I speak not by commandment, but I'm testing the sincerity of your love by the diligence of others."

That testing word, dokimazō. So are you the real deal? Are you genuine? Are you a counterfeit Christian? You see, those who hadn't repented in Corinth, that's exactly what they were. And so he tells them, "Examine yourselves. Are you in the faith? Test yourselves." He says, "Don't you know yourselves..." This is back to 2 Corinthians 13:5.

2 Corinthians 13:5-6 He says, "Don't you know yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you, unless indeed you are disqualified."

You know what this disqualified word is? They just put a little A in front of dokimazō. So you're not legit. You're not the real deal. You're not a true Christian. You're not in the faith. Yes, you are a counterfeit. That's what he's saying. You're disqualified. But I trust you know, we are not disqualified. Yeah, we're not disqualified. We don't have to be disqualified. How do you avoid that? Be repentant. Be forgiven. Be declared righteous. Be justified before God. Yeah, that's how it's got to happen. If you do examine yourself and you do test yourself, you do go back to 2 Corinthians 7 and you truly repent, then we know that we are qualified through Jesus Christ. And so he's saying, verse 7.

2 Corinthians 13:7 "Now, I pray to God that you do no evil, not that we should appear approved but that you should do what's honorable, though we may seem disqualified."

And so he recognizes this, that you know we're not disqualified as long as we are repentant before God. And it's interesting this, you recognize this fact, you know this fact. And that idea is really to thoroughly understand. You thoroughly understand this. You haven't been disqualified. Or, literally, sometimes they'll translate this as you haven't failed the test. I think the Old King James translates it as reprobate. You're not a reprobate, which kind of carries that connotation of being cast off or thrown aside. No, that's not the case. You're not rejected when we are repentant before God, truly repentant. And so he's telling them, you know, we have to be different. We have to be repentant. In fact, I'm reminded of what he had said just a little bit earlier in 1 Corinthians 9. If you go back to 1 Corinthians 9, he certainly makes that similar kind of a point here. At the end of that chapter, he uses the same phrasing, you know, a little bit different kind of a metaphor.

1 Corinthians 9:27 "I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest when I preach to others, I myself should become adokimazō," disqualified or rejected or cast off. So he says, "No, we don't have to be."

So we have to be repentant before God. And so if we are, we're not going to fail the test. We're not going to be reprobates. No, we'll be qualified, in that sense, by God the Father through His Son, Jesus Christ. So head back to 2 Corinthians once again, and he says about appearing approved in verse 7. And then in verse 8.

2 Corinthians 13:8 He says, "We can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth."

So in the sense that you can't fight against truth. I mean, you can, but where is that going to get you? God's truth is truth. And so if you want to fight against the truth, you're fighting against Him who is truth. So who wins? Well, God wins. Yeah, you can't do anything. You can't do anything. But he says, "We stand for truth. We could do nothing against the truth but for the truth." So validating his ministry, but also pointing out to the Corinthians, you want to fight what I'm talking about here? You're really not fighting me. You're fighting God. That's who you're fighting against. Then in verse 9.

2 Corinthians 13:9 He says, "We are glad when we are weak and you are strong. And this we also pray that you may be made complete."

Yeah, he wants them to go on to perfection. Some translations will even say that this idea of perfection or being complete. It is interesting here that he wants them to be disciplined, be complete. It's a little bit different than the maturity word, in this regard, when he says, "To be complete. That you be made complete," he uses that a number of times here these next couple of verses. So we'll talk about it here in just a moment. But remember that. He says, "We're praying that you may be made complete." Yes, they want them to be right with God. He wants them to put on the character of Christ. But it's interesting the connotation of that particular word, and we'll come to it in verse 11 again. Notice what he says then just before here in verse 10.

2 Corinthians 13:10 He says, "Therefore, I write these things being absent, lest being present, I should use sharpness according to the authority which the Lord has given me for edification and not for destruction."

All right, Paul's been praying for them to repent. He doesn't want to have to drop the hammer. He will if he has to. He's saying that "well, this correction is for your good. That's what it's for, and, hopefully, you will get it and change. But if I have to, yeah, I will." And so it's, "According to the authority which God has given me," and that's an important point. Almost the same way he began the letter. Same way he begins really all of his letters. He doesn't claim his own authority. He recognizes the fact that his authority comes from God. And so that alone offsets him from these false teachers once again. And so he points to the authority which is delegated authority. He's been delegated authority by God. And ultimately that authority is for their good, to build them up, not to destroy them, not for their destruction. And so that's the point he's really trying to help them to see. Even though he's laying it on the line here that they've got to change, he's saying, "If you do recognize the authority that comes from God and you can change and you can put on Christ, you can be built up." That's ultimately what he hopes and he prays for.

So then as he concludes.

2 Corinthians 13:11 He says, "Finally, brethren, farewell," which is kind of an interesting way to word these final couple of thoughts that he has here.

This particular word for farewell, probably not the best translation. It's actually the word chairō. chairō is the word here or chairō. And it's the same word that's most, oftentimes, translated joy or rejoice. So this isn't just saying goodbye, like farewell, in that sense. You follow this word throughout the New Testament 42 times it's translated rejoice, not just farewell, but rejoice. And it ties back to Chapter 12 or...I'm not...sorry, not Chapter 12, but Chapter 7. If you take a look at 2 Corinthians 7, notice verse 16. Notice verse 16.

2 Corinthians 7:16 "Therefore, I chairō that I have confidence in you in everything. I rejoice that I have confidence in you in everything."

Same word right there in 2 Corinthians 7:16.

2 Corinthians 7:16 So he says, "Rejoice, be glad."

Well, why should they be glad? Well, because they have the opportunity to be right with God. And so he says, "Be complete." That's the same word used back in verse 9, "Be complete." Same base word, same base word in verse 9.

2 Corinthians 13:9 "Be complete."

But instead of just meaning mature or go on to perfection, some translations translate it that way, it's interesting that this idea of being complete, this particular word is a specialized word that means to be sound or to be healthy, in that sense. But you can only be healthy if you fix what's broken or you can mend what's broken, like a broken bone. The only way you can be complete, you set that bone and it heals. And that's the idea of this particular word, to be complete. Fix what's broken. Repair. You need repairs. So make the repairs that are necessary and be Christ-like. That's really the point that he's making.

So rather than just saying go on to maturity, okay, he's not saying that. You got to fix what's broken. You got to mend these things. You got to be right with God. You've got to be sound. That's what he's saying here. So rejoice and be sound. Fix what's broken, and then, "Be of good comfort." That's the parakaleó word. The same base word describes the comforter, the encourager, God's Holy Spirit, in that sense. Yeah, be of good comfort. Yeah, be encouraged in other words. Don't just be down and discouraged because I wrote you some pretty difficult things here, but you can be encouraged. You can be comforted. It takes us back to the beginning of the letter, we have the God of all mercy and all comfort. That's who we serve.

2 Corinthians 13:11 So he says, "Be of good comfort. Be of one mind." Verse 11, "Be of one mind."

Kind of the opposite of what he just wrote in Chapter 12:20, where he talked about contentions and jealousies and wrath and selfish ambition and backbiting. Yeah, just the opposite as he concludes his letter here. Just the opposite. If you're of one mind, you have to be in that same framework. That's what he's talking about. The opposite of the way some of them were acting. He says, "You've got to have the mind of Christ." Reminds me what he wrote, if you hold your place here, go back to Romans 15. He wrote a similar thing to God's church in Rome in Chapter 15. Notice verse 5. Sounds very similar to the sentiment that he expresses in 2 Corinthians is what he wrote here to the Romans in Chapter 15. Notice verse 5.

Romans 15:5 He says, "Now, may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another according to Jesus Christ, that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ."

Yeah, that's the frame of mind we're supposed to have. He wrote a lot about that to the Philippians as well. Philippians 2 details the mind of Christ. That's the perspective we're supposed to have. And so he's encouraging the Corinthians to have that frame of mind. We have to have one mind, not your mind, not your thinking. But he says, "Put on the mind of Christ." That's what we need, be of one mind. And if we begin to do that, we can live in peace. That's the next attribute that he mentions here in verse 11. Yeah, live in peace. Live in peace. That idea of security, that idea of harmony, opposite of dissensions and jealousies and outbursts, opposite of all those things. We can have that when we're of the same mind, when we fix what's broken, then it's possible to do that. He says, "If we do," he says, "the God of love and peace will be with you." Yeah, that is the God of agape, the God of sacrificial love. He loves us. He cares for us. We can be secure in that love. We can have calm and peace and harmony.

Can be just the opposite of the way some of you are acting when we put God first, when we do complete the transformation that we're supposed to have in Christ when we put on His mind. Yeah, that's the way it can be. And so ultimately, he says, "That's what God wants. In fact, that's what God is all about. God is about love and peace." Pretty hard for God to be with you if you're living contentiously. Hard to have God be with you if you're all wrapped up in your own selfish ego. Hard for God to be with you when you're gossiping and backbiting against your brother. Can't happen. And so let's fix those things and let's go on to maturity. And then God will be with you, no doubt about that. And so he not only spells out the problem, but he beautifully gives us the solution, right? And so when we look at that, it's a wonderful thing. In fact, then he says, "Let's sort these things out so that we can really be a brotherhood."

2 Corinthians 13:12 He says, "Greet one another with a holy kiss." It says, "With a hagios kiss, a holy kiss."

And it's kind of interesting that, you know, he points this out a number of times. He said the same thing in 1 Corinthians. He says the same thing to the Romans. If you remember our studies in Thessalonians, he told the Thessalonians the same thing. Of course, this points to the custom of friends meeting. Here, of course, brothers and sisters in Christ meeting, expressing a mutual care, a mutual concern, a sincere affection for each other. Yeah, they care about each other. And so the holy kiss, this is innocent, this is sincere, this is a godly kind of a kiss. Of course, when you think of, you know, Eastern traditions of kissing another person on the cheek or maybe both cheeks, I mean, it refers to something like that. The peace, the caring, the concern, the goodwill between people.

And of course, the Corinthians, wouldn't this be remarkable? You know, that there wouldn't be the dissension and the disagreements and the cliques and the different groups, but they would greet each other. And when you recognize this, I mean, it's showing this brotherhood of the faithful family of God. And we do care about each other. And so there's nothing bad between us except love and care and goodwill. And so it's demonstrating that very fact. And so that would be one of those things that would be evidence. All right, we're working things out, and we're recognizing that we are to be of the same mind. He says, then, "All the saints greet you." So those that are with Paul also sending their greetings. And then he concludes, verse 14. Almost like a prayer here, as he concludes in verse 14, notice what he says.

2 Corinthians 13:14 He says, "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen."

And so he talks about a couple of things. Of course, the grace of Jesus Christ, Christ's favor, that's what he's referring to when he talks about grace, the favor of Jesus Christ. Christ favors us. He wants the best for us. There's no doubt about that. And that's expressed in the love of God, God's love. This is the agape love, the sacrificial love, the love that has no self-interest, that is selfless. And expresses that to others. He says, "That's where we have to be." And so through the favor that Jesus Christ has given us by His sacrifice, the love of God that He's expressed through us, He says, "That can be with us." And also, he says, "The communion of the Holy Spirit." Communion of the Spirit here. This is that word koinonia. We've talked about that particular word in the past. Koinonia, literally, the sharing of the Spirit. Sometimes that word is translated the fellowship of the Spirit. You are partnering in the Spirit.

And so it's interesting, he's certainly delineating the difference between our Savior Jesus Christ, certainly a member of the Godhead, and the Father, also a member of the Godhead, but not the Holy Spirit. He says, "It's the sharing of the Spirit. It's the communion of the Spirit, the partnership in the Spirit, the fellowship." Yeah, that's entirely different. It's how God does things by the power of His Spirit. And so he points to the fact that this is what's going to bind us together. When we submit to the Spirit of God, it's Christ in us. It's God in us. And so we can share, and we can be united. We can have true, godly fellowship when we submit to the Spirit of God in us. And so he says then, "With all of these things, yes, the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen."

And so he said, "This is like a prayer. Yeah, so be it." Certainly, a literal idea of what this amen means, not translated. In fact, it's almost identical to the Hebrew word, aman, that means to believe or to be faithful. And so when you really see this amazing meaning of the word amen, yeah, so be it is okay. But he's really putting an exclamation point on really the entire letter, and then especially this final statement that he makes, that this is undoubted. That this, yes, so be it. This is sure. This is something that you can believe, that this is undoubtable. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God is undoubted. You can't argue with this. It's absolute. This is something you can have absolute confidence in, that we have God's favor. We have His grace. We have His mercy. We have the sharing of the Holy Spirit. God's given us a spirit so we can overcome sin. And He is the God of love. He has mercy on us. And you can take these things to the bank. That's what the final amen is saying. Absolutely, truly, no doubt, we can count on it.

And so, ultimately, this is totally true. And we can have faith in God because He's the one that verifies it all. And so no wonder this particular letter, he concludes with that powerful word, amen. Well, that will also conclude our studies in 2 Corinthians as well. So I hope you've enjoyed going through this second letter that Paul wrote to Corinth. It's been certainly a wonderful opportunity to be able to talk about these things and an honor to be able to bring God's Word before all of you, and appreciate that opportunity, and hope that you found it valuable as well. We'll look forward to the next time we go through one of Paul's letters as well.