October 23, 2017

Grace, Love and Fellowship

“May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”  2 Cor. 13:14

It is the last sentence of 2 Corinthians.   Paul has laid out in the letter a masterful presentation to the church in Corinth and certainly in the final chapter he holds nothing back in warning the early church.  He has just told the church to examine itself to see if it is in the faith – the real faith, actual truth, and the genuine gospel.  Paul has written repeatedly in the letter about “false apostles,” those bringing a false gospel message to the church. 

Embrace weakness, Paul declares.  Have the treasure of Christ in you as the earthen vessel you are, because earthen vessels can be broken; the treasure cannot be broken.  Paul goes so far as to say he was weak, weak for the gain of the church.  He was weak so the surpassing power of Christ could be seen. 

He then ends the letter with grace, love, and fellowship.  It is his prayer for this young church – that they would receive the grace of King Jesus.  Weakness needs grace.  Jesus took on weakness and He put on grace.  Both were visible from the cross.  Paul prayed the church would experience the transforming love of God; that the church would reach the “perfection” Paul describes earlier in chapter 13 (meaning maturity) as a direct result of being touched by God’s love.  Weakness needs love.  The prayer ends with the petition for the church to understand and walk in relationship together as the body of Christ, led by the fellowship of the Holy Spirit.  Weakness needs guidance and direction from the Holy Spirit to be pointed to the right path.

Here we read of the Trinity in operation: the Father; the Son; and the Holy Spirit.  Each one is special and unique.  All three are necessary and they work together as One.  Let this be our prayer for the church today.