Translation & Sermon by
Nate Wilson for Christ The Redeemer Church, Manhattan, KS, 27 Sept.
2026
Underlined words in Scripture quotes indicate words that
are in common with the Greek text of the sermon passage. Otherwise,
underlining indicates words to emphasize when reading this transcript
out loud.
We have been studying 2 Corinthians for a year and two months, and finally we’re at the end. It has been an epic journey alongside the Apostle Paul.
My perspective on pastoring a church has really matured as a result of meditating for about 1,000 hours on what Paul wrote here.
I’ve made you listen to 34 hours worth of sermons on it, and I believe it has helped us grow as a church in understanding who we are and how to relate to one another.
The theme of the whole book of 2 Corinthians is to align the church with the truth by reviewing the core message of the church – that Jesus Christ came to save sinners, by warning the church about false teachers preaching a different message, by church discipline which removes bad influencers from within the church, by maintaining genuine and loving personal relationships within the church, and by sharing the good news with the world.
As a parting exercise, I reviewed all 45 sermons that I wrote on 2 Corinthians and made a summary of lessons learned from each chapter. I’d like to share that with you to help you fix in your mind all that we’ve learned together. I know that this is an awfully information-dense way to do it, but I promise that if you’ll concentrate now, I’ll reward you with a briefer-than-usual sermon! You might want to scan each chapter with me (In which case I expect to hear a lot of page-turning!), or you might want to just close your eyes to concentrate on absorbing this list – I don’t mind that, as long as you open your eyes again to look at the last verses of chapter 13 when we get to that! Here are my summaries on the 13 chapters of 2 Corinthians:
In Chapter 1 we learned to draw-in God’s comfort (through reading and listening to God’s word, through trusting Jesus to save us from our sin and praying for the Spirit’s help and comfort, and through encouraging and being encouraged by the community of the church) and then to share with others the comfort which God gives us. We were also reminded to conduct ourselves “in simplicity and holiness, in sincerity and integrity,” not in fleshly wisdom but in the grace of God, and to “celebrate” these good things when we see them in our church.
In Chapter 2 we learned to look to Jesus to help us bring joy to others through going-easy on others rather than being relentlessly fault-finding, humbly working to bring joy to His church instead of being controlling, exhorting people over sin yet expressing confidence in God’s work with His people, and doing everything out of love for others, even if it brings tears. Sin hurts the whole church and must be disciplined, but a disciplining church must readily pivot to forgive and comfort repentant sinners.
In Chapter 3 we saw how far superior Christianity is to Christless Judaism – the New Covenant has greater glory, gives righteousness instead of condemnation, and is eternal rather than temporary. We learned to recognize the glory of the faith which we possess so that we don’t go chasing after competing ideas and relationships that offer inferior glory. Therefore, “since we have such a hope, we use much openness” – we pray to God boldly and we share this good news boldly with others.
In Chapter 4, we saw that our weakness proves that the power in us comes from God. Stress will not break you. If you believe in Jesus, the Holy Spirit has “put the light of the knowledge of God in the face of Christ” into your frail body in order to show the greatness of His power. We therefore need to humble ourselves before God and seek for Him to work through us so we can give Him the glory.
Chapter 5 taught us that when Jesus returns, we will get a new, heavenly body, custom-made by God, in which we will enjoy life forever with Him. Just as surely as your union with Christ means that He takes your sin and gives you His righteousness, it also means you are now Christ’s servant and must do whatever He wants. You live for Christ, and that means being His ambassador, representing His heavenly kingdom in this earth, and doing the thing He cares about most dearly – that is, calling the lost to be reconciled to Him by faith.
Chapter 6 reminds us that we need to serve God in a pure, knowledgeable, patient, practical, Spiritual, and sincere way, using the word of truth, using the life-giving power of God, and using “the weapons of righteousness on the left and on the right” - the grace to handle both honor and dishonor, letting neither hardships nor joys distract us from serving God. We also need to forsake the unfaithful and idolatrous influences which close our hearts up against the spiritual leaders whom God has given us in the church.
Chapter 7 reminds that we are in a special relationship with a personal God and must therefore walk in holy relationship with God and cut off unholy relationships. “Perfecting holiness” also involves expanding our hearts for other saints, showing solidarity with other Christians instead of condemning them. “Godly sorrow produces repentance” and reformation, and will end in salvation.
Chapter 8 focused in on the Christian grace of financial giving: Giving is a result of God’s grace to us; therefore we should be generous, willing, and proportionate in our giving. We need to follow Jesus’ example in divesting Himself in order to enrich others; let giving be a way to show the genuineness of your love. We also saw that giving must be done with “diligence,” “earnestness,” and “carefulness.”
Chapter 9 added that God gives grace for doing good works to those who give purposefully, voluntarily, and cheerfully. So let us conscientiously give thanks to God, the Giver of every good gift, the Supplier of all we need to be able to give to others, the Controller of the results of all giving, and most of all, the Giver of salvation through our Lord Jesus.
Chapter 10 reminded us that we are in a spiritual war – a battle about how to think. Our “weapons” are the word of God (specifically the Gospel) and faith in the power of God to overcome rebellion against Him. These weapons are made “powerful by God for taking down strongholds” – to dismantle false systems of thought which stand opposed to the good news of Jesus Christ. This requires care in choosing the teachers to whom we expose ourselves: they should be humble, centered on Jesus and His word, and should have integrity between what they say and the way they live their daily lives. Ultimately, God is the one who sets the standard for us in the canon of the Bible.
Chapter 11 teaches principles for how to thrive as a healthy church: bear with your pastor, exercise godly jealousy, beware of spiritual enemies who distract you from Christ, don’t put up with another Jesus (or a different Spirit or gospel), prioritize Pauline theology, and don’t ignore other knowledgeable teachers. If we are serious about planting more churches and finishing world evangelization, we must count the cost and pay the price out of love to our Lord Jesus (Who gave His all for us)! We can recognize a Christian’s authenticity by his scars – by how he or she has suffered for Christ and how they boast about how God saved them in their weakness.
Chapter 12 taught us that the “thorn” or “messenger of Satan” that God has given you to humble you and call you to depend on Him is your opportunity to say, “Hey, watch this! God is going to show Himself strong in my weakness!” If we have asked God repeatedly for relief from a problem and God hasn’t responded with a miracle, we need to trust that God’s grace toward us is sufficient to sustain us THROUGH that problem. It also gave us a recipe for “building up” the church: View the church as those you love and give of yourself to (not as a pool of resources to exploit), associate yourself with people of integrity (who walk in the Spirit and follow in Jesus’ steps), pursue closeness with God (which will bring you closer to everyone else who loves God), remember that Jesus is your final judge as well as the one who will ultimately declare you righteous (This will free you from the impossible bondage of trying to get other people to like you.), and link arms with your brothers and sisters in Christ to fight against continuing sins like strife, envy, rage, slander, gossip, swelling pride, and sexual immorality.
Finally, in Chapter 13 we are taught not to underestimate God’s power of giving life – that’s where the real power is. Lack of worldly power and pleasure in this life does not disprove the Gospel; it will be more than made-up-for in the age to come! “Examine” your faith and become convinced, just as Paul was, that “Jesus Christ is with us!” Don’t leave it in doubt. Also, the way we relate to one another in the church should be organized around a desire to “edify” – to be “constructive” rather than “destructive” with one another. Walking closely with God – the source of love and peace is what equips you to be at peace, to be unified in thinking, to be comforted, fixed-up, and cheerful, to stand with the truth, and to pray for the well-being of the church.
Finally we are at the last few verses of the book. Second
Corinthians ends with these words, starting at 2 Cor. 13:11
As
for the rest, brothers, Cheers, let yourselves be kept in good
condition, keep letting yourselves be comforted, keep being smart
about the same thing, continue to be peaceful, and the God of love
and peace will be with y’all! Greet one another with a holy kiss.
All those who are holy [here] greet y’all. May the grace of the
Lord Jesus – the Anointed One, and the love of God, and the
fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of y’all. Amen.
Manuscripts dating all the way back to the oldest ones put the title of the letter at the very end instead of at the beginning, so here is where the Greek manuscripts say, “To the Corinthians – part B.” And somewhere around the year 800 AD, Greek Bible publishers began adding that this letter was “written from Philippi” and delivered “by Titus and Luke,” and, although it probably didn’t come from the pen of Paul and Timothy, it is consistent with the information Paul and Timothy actually gave us in 2 Corinthians.
Verses 12 and 13 read very much like the way Paul closed his previous letter: 1 Corinthians 16:20 “All the brothers greet y'all. Greet one another with a holy kiss.” (NAW)
The command to “greet/welcome other Christians with a holy kiss” is found throughout the New Testament in places like:
1 Thessalonians 5:26 “Start greeting all the brothers with a holy kiss.” (NAW)
Romans 16:16 “Start greeting one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of the Anointed One greet y'all.” (NAW)
1 Peter 5:14 “Greet one another with a kiss of love. Peace be to you – to all those in Christ Jesus...” (NAW)
The Apostolic Constitutions, written about 300 years after the New Testament also instruct Christian men and women (separately) who are about to partake of the Lord’s Supper to kiss one another: “When you call an assembly of the Church... let the [lector] ... read [two Old Testament passages], let some other person sing the hymns of David, and let the people join at the conclusions of the verses. Afterwards let our Acts be read, and the Epistles... and afterwards let a deacon or a presbyter read from the Gospels... In the next place, let the [elders] one by one... exhort the people... After this, let all rise up with one consent, and looking towards the east, after the catechumens and penitents are gone out, pray to God... Then let the men give the men, and the women give the women, the Lord's kiss... After this let the deacon pray for the whole Church, for the whole world... After this let the [overseer] pray for peace upon the people, and bless them... After this... let every rank by itself partake of the Lord's body and precious blood in order…”1
John Chrysostom, writing at about the same time in the late 300’s AD, observed that his church members in Constantinople were kissing the entryway of the church building and said, in effect, “If you can do that, why not kiss the face of the living sanctuaries of God – your fellow believers? And if you are willing to touch the bread and cup in holy Communion to your mouth, does it not make your very mouth holy for giving a holy kiss?” That’s a good point.
However, not long after, the holy kiss became a matter of controversy and scandal, resulting in many churches discontinuing the practice. Around the year 1700 AD, Matthew Henry wrote that, in the Anglican church it had “long been disused, to prevent all occasions of wantonness and impurity, in the more declining and degenerate state of the church.”
But the practice has lived-on in some other churches – I think of churches in France and South America and the Middle East where I’ve seen it continued, perhaps because they weren’t so “degenerate or declining,” or perhaps just because their local cultures are more generous in showing physical affection.
A kiss requires physical closeness, and it symbolizes relational closeness. It is a way that we express that we are family. I kiss my wife and children every night, but I don’t kiss the neighbors, because they’re not my family!
Fellow believers in Jesus are called “brothers” and “sisters” in the Bible. God is called “our Father” in the Bible, so the holy kiss is designed to give evidence of fondness to those in your spiritual family. (This is not to be confused with the Hollywood movie kiss which is designed to use someone else to get sexual excitement.)
Do you love the other Christians in your life? If not, ask God to fix you up in that area of your life. And when God’s love is flowing through you, let your brothers and sisters in Christ know that you are fond of them!
Simply acknowledging their presence with a greeting when you first meet is a very basic step.
And, by the way, a hug or kiss is not the only way to communicate a warm greeting. There are other ways, in addition to physical affection, to show love: giving gifts, speaking encouraging words, spending time together, and doing things to serve them can be very meaningful ways to express your love.
Paul not only says that the members of the church in Corinth should “greet” one another, but also that the Christians in the other churches – presumably those in Macedonia – send greetings to the church in Corinth.
He calls them “saints/holy ones,” using the same root word that he used to describe the “holy/sanctified” kiss.
Calling them “saints” just means that God has made them part of His people – not that they have done anything extra-holy.
Paul called all the Corinthian Christians “saints” back in chapter 1 verse 1.
Greeting other Christians who are part of other local churches is a strategic way to encourage love and peace among Christians in an age when we are so fractured with denominational differences. Be sure to greet members of other faithful churches warmly.
It will be most meaningful to them if you follow their cultural values for a warm greeting.
The culture in which I grew up expressed that by looking someone in the eye and giving them a firm, brief handshake and a slight nod of the head, so, naturally that’s my default.
I’m not the huggy type, but when I reached out to shake the hand of the pastor of the local Assembly of God at a coffee shop recently, he didn’t keep his arm extended like you do for a handshake; he started pulling my hand in toward him. I realized he was going for a full-on hug, so I quickly shifted balance and went in for it. I could tell it made him happy, so it made me happy too.
I’m not the kissy-type either, but when I visited a Brethren church in California once as a teenager, I had to make myself lean in for an awful lot of cheek-smacks, but once the kissing was finally over-with, they accepted me into their exclusive worship service (which they believe is only for true Christians).
Another time, I was walking through downtown Kampala, with a Ugandan pastor that I had gotten to know on that mission trip. Over the space of a couple of weeks, we had listened to each other preach and teach, we had shared our life stories with each other over long bus rides, we had shared meals together, and I had come to really respect this guy. He felt the same way about me, so he reached out and clasped my hand in his as we walked down the street. It felt really weird to me to be holding hands with another man, but I accepted it, because I knew that, to him (and to everyone else around us) it meant we were good friends.
There are, however, people who are hostile to the Christian faith with whom we should not express such brotherly solidarity. We can be polite, but when Mormons come to my door, I don’t hug them. (I don’t kiss them either!)
Paul closes his letter with a beautiful benediction referencing all three persons of the Holy Trinity: Jesus, God the Father, and the Holy Spirit2.
Each person of the Godhead has a resource which we need:
Jesus gives us “grace,”
God the Father gives us “love,”
and the Spirit gives us “fellowship/communion/koinonea.”
These three resources are all subjective genitives in Greek, indicating the source from which they came3.
This is an overarching theme of both 1 and 2 Corinthians:
1 Corinthians 1:3 “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ... 16:23 “The grace of the Lord Jesus the Anointed One is with y'all.” (NAW)
2 Corinthians 1:2 “May grace be with you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus, the Anointed One…. 8:9 “...y'all know the grace of our Lord Jesus the Anointed One, that though He was rich, He became poor for your sakes, in order that y'all might become rich by means of that man's poverty.” (NAW)
I like John Calvin’s commentary on the meaning and application of these three divine resources: “...God, viewed in himself, loved us before the creation of the world, and redeemed us for no other reason than this — because he loved us. As for us, on the other hand, as we see in ourselves nothing but occasion of wrath, that is, sin, we cannot apprehend any love of God towards us without a Mediator. Hence it is that, with respect to us, the beginning of love is from the grace of Christ… The term ‘grace’ ... is taken by metonymy, to denote the whole benefit of redemption… The fellowship of the Holy Spirit is added, because it is only under his guidance, that we come to possess Christ, and all his benefits.” (1546 AD)
And, not only do we need God to give us His grace, love, and fellowship, God commands that we, in turn, give these three things to others!
Charles Hodge commented: “We have here the familiar Christian paradox: God’s presence produces love and peace, and we must have love and peace in order to have his presence. God gives what he commands. God gives, but we must cherish his gifts…”
Geoffrey Wilson added, “Thus the believer becomes actively engaged in doing the will of God through the enabling power of the same Spirit by whom he was first quickened.”
Grace, love, and fellowship correspond neatly with the exhortations which Paul has given to the Corinthians in this second letter in particular.
The grace of salvation from sin and eternal life (accomplished by Jesus and freely given to us in our weakness), must be vigorously protected from the distortions of false teachers and enthusiastically bragged-about throughout the world, as well as mirrored in the grace of giving to help the needy. 2 Corinthians 5:21-6:1 “For He made the One who did not know sin to be sin on our behalf, in order that, as for us, we might become God's righteousness by means of Him. So, as we work together, we also exhort that it not be in vain that that you receive for yourselves the grace of God...”
Next, the love of God meant that He suffered in order to draw us into relationship with Him and comfort us.4 In response to such love, Paul and anyone else who intends to minister the gospel must be willing to suffer in the process of being ambassadors of God’s love to others.
And the fellowship of the Holy Spirit results in fellowship not only between us and God (which requires humbly confronting sin, repenting, and perfecting holiness, while receiving His power and sharing in his glory), but also it results in fellowship with other believers (requiring sincerity, bearing with church leaders, and building up the church).
For all these gifts we should be overflowing with thanksgiving to God!
“This is a very solemn benediction, and we should give all diligence to inherit this blessing. The... grace of Christ as Redeemer, the love of God who sent the Redeemer, and all the communications of this grace and love, which come to us by the Holy Ghost; it is the communications of the Holy Ghost that qualify us for an interest in the grace of Christ, and the love of God: and we can desire no more to make us happy…” ~M. Henry, 1714 AD
And, I might add, in the spirit of 2 Corinthians, that this is not just for you personally but for the good of the whole church.
brag/bragging/celebrate 26
ministry 18
know/s/ledge/ing 18
glory 17
spirit 17
grace 16
grief/grieved 15
weak/ness/es 14
good 13
comfort/ed 11
flesh 11
body 10
power/ful 10
abound/abundance 10
giving/en 8
dangers 8
faith 7
hope 7
righteousness 6
stress 6
salvation 5
rejoice 4
generosity 3
sufferings 3
testing 3
zeal 3
ByzantineB |
NAW |
KJVC |
NKJVD |
NASBE |
NIVF |
ESVG |
RheimsH |
MurdockI |
CopticJ |
11 Λοιπόν, ἀδελφοί, χαίρετε, καταρτίζεσθε, παρακαλεῖσθεK, τὸ αὐτὸ φρονεῖτε, εἰρηνεύετε· καὶ ὁ Θεὸς τῆς ἀγάπης καὶ εἰρήνης ἔσται μεθ᾿ ὑμῶν.L |
11 As for the rest, brothers, Cheers, let yourselves be kept in good condition, keep letting yourselves be comforted, keep being smart about the same thing, continue to be peaceful, and the God of love and peace will be with y’all! |
11
Finally, brethren, farewell.
Be perfect,
be of
good comfort, be
|
11
Finally, brethren, farewell.
|
11
Finally, brethren, rejoice,
be made
complete,
be
comforted, be
|
11
Finally, brothers, good-by.
|
11
Finally, brothers, rejoice.
|
11
For the rest, brethren,
rejoice,
be perfect,
take
exhortation,
be of
|
11
Finally, my brethren,
rejoice,
and be perfected,
and be
comforted:
and |
11
FinallyB/ now thereforeS, my brethren,
rejoice; be
perfectedB/perfect
yourselvesS;
take courageB/
be consoledS;
beB/
thinkS
(of) |
12 ᾿ΑσπάσασθεM ἀλλήλους ἐν ἁγίῳ φιλήματι. |
12 Greet one another with a holy kiss. |
12 Greet one another with an holy kiss. |
12 Greet one another with a holy kiss. |
12 Greet one another with a holy kiss. |
12 Greet one another with a holy kiss. |
12 Greet one another with a holy kiss. |
12a Salute one another with a holy kiss. |
12 Salute ye one another, with a holy kiss. |
12 Salute one another in/with a holy kiss. |
13 ἀσπάζονται ὑμᾶς οἱ ἅγιοι πάντες. |
13 All those who are holy [here] greet y’all. |
13 All the saints salute you. |
13 All the saints greet you. |
13 All the saints greet you. |
13
All the saints
[send]
|
13 All the saints greet you. |
12b All the saints salute you. |
13 All the saints salute you. |
12b All the saints salute you. |
14 ῾Η χάριςN τοῦO Κυρίου ᾿Ιησοῦ Χριστοῦ καὶ ἡ ἀγάπη τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ ἡ κοινωνία τοῦ ῾Αγίου ΠνεύματοςP μετὰ πάντων ὑμῶν. ἀμήνQ. |
14 May the grace of the Lord Jesus – the Anointed One, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of y’all. Amen. |
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. |
14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen. |
14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all. |
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. |
14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. |
13 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the charity of God and the communication of the Holy Ghost be with you all. Amen. |
14
The |
13 (The) grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the holy spirit (be) with you all. |
Προς κορινθιους βR εγραφη απο φιλιππων δια τιτου και λουκα |
[To the Corinthians - part B, written from Philippi, delivered by Titus and Luke.] |
The second epistle to the Corinthians was written from Philippi, [a city of Macedonia], by Titus and Lucas. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
{To
Corinth X, written |
1Book 2 chapter 7. Source: https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/07152.htm
2“The meaning of the Trinity is learn[ed] ... in response, through personal faith, to what God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, have done for our redemption.” ~P. E. Hughes
3Hanna: “To maintain parallelism with the previous two phrases, it is best to consider this genitive as subjective, ‘the fellowship from the Holy Spirit.’”
4Romans 8:39 “nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (NKJV)
AWhen
a translation adds words not in the Greek text, but does not
indicate it has done so by the use of italics or greyed-out text, I
put the added words in [square brackets]. When one version chooses a
wording which is different from all the other translations, I
underline it. When a version chooses a translation which, in my
opinion, either departs too far from the root meaning of the Greek
word or departs too far from the grammar form of the original text,
I use strikeout. And when a version omits a word
which is in the original text, I insert an X. I also place an X at
the end of a word if the original word is plural but the English
translation is singular. I occasionally use colors to help the
reader see correlations between the various editions and versions
when there are more than two different translations of a given word.
NAW is my translation.
BThis Greek New Testament is the 1904 "Patriarchal" edition of the Greek Orthodox Church. As published by E-Sword in 2016. The Robinson-Pierpont Byzantine majority text of the GNT and the Textus Receptus are very similar. The Westcott-Hort, Nestle-Aland, UBS, and Tregelles editions, however, are a slightly-different family of GNTs developed in the modern era, focusing on the few manuscripts which are older than the Byzantine manuscripts. Even so, the practical differences in the text between these two editing philosophies are minimal.
C1769 King James Version of the Holy Bible; public domain. As published by E-Sword in 2019.
DNew King James Version, Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. As published by E-sword in 2016.
EScripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. As published by E-sword in 2016.
FScripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.
GScripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. As published by E-sword in 2009.
HRheims New Testament first published by the English College at Rheims, A.D. 1582, Revised and Diligently Compared with the Latin Vulgate by Bishop Richard Challoner, Published in 1582, 1609, 1752. As published on E-Sword in 2016.
IJames Murdock, A Literal Translation from the Syriac Peshito Version, 1851, Robert Carter & Brothers, New York. Scanned and transcribed by Gary Cernava and published electronically by Janet Magierra at http://www.lightofword.org, and published on E-Sword in 2023.
JThis is my conflation of the English translations of the Northern Bohairic and Southern Sahidic traditions published by Oxford Clarendon Press in 1905 and 1920 respectively, neither of which named the translator or editor. The beginnings and ends of multiple-word variants are marked out with brackets, with a superscript “S” for Sahidic or “B” for Bohairic. The editor of the Sahidic compilation did not have manuscripts for some verses and I have not discovered a published English translation of the subsequently-discovered manuscripts, so variants in that section for that tradition are not listed.
KThis
word is used throughout chapter one and chapter seven to mean
“comfort” (1:4, 6, 2:7, 7:6-7, 13), but throughout the rest of
the letter the same word is used to mean “exhort/beseech/urge,”
so the Vulgate rendered it “be exhorted” here, and Hughes
vouched for that, and the NIV initially followed that meaning
(“listen to my appeal” – NIV1984).
For what it’s
worth, here are the exhortations which Paul had given in this
letter:
• 2:8 “Wherefore I beseech* you that ye would
confirm your love toward him.” (KJV)
• 5:20 “...as
though God did beseech* you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be
ye reconciled to God.” (KJV)
• 6:1 “We... beseech*
you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain.” (KJV)
• 8:6 “...we desired* Titus, that as he had begun, so he
would also finish...” (KJV)
• 9:5 “Therefore I
thought it necessary to exhort* the brethren, that they would go
before unto you...” (KJV)
• 10:1-2 “Now I Paul myself
beseech* you... that I may not be bold...” (KJV)
In the 2011
edition, the NIV joined all the other English versions with
“encourage” (or “comfort”), but it joined the ESV and NLT in
translating it as though it were in the middle voice (“comfort
yourselves”). This Greek verb, however, is spelled in the passive
voice, so it actually means, “y’all be comforted” (and,
of course, chapter 1 explains that when we receive comfort from God
we are empowered to comfort others as well).
LG. Wilson quoted commentary from C. Hodge: “We have here the familiar Christian paradox: God’s presence produces love and peace, and we must have love and peace in order to have his presence. God gives what he commands. God gives, but we must cherish his gifts…” Wilson added, “Thus the believer becomes actively engaged in doing the will of God through the enabling power of the same Spirit by whom he was first quickened.”
MAorist tense imperative focuses on simple action, unlike the previous imperatives. It could means “start greeting” or it could indicate giving one kiss at each greeting rather than giving profuse amounts of kisses at every greeting.
N“The term ‘grace’ does not here mean unmerited favor, but is taken by metonymy, to denote the whole benefit of redemption.” ~J. Calvin
OMost Greek manuscripts read “the Lord” (including all the oldest ones from before the 11th century), but all the ancient versions read “our Lord,” a translation which is permissible in Greek grammar (L&N Supplement #92.11a) but not mandatory. There are 11 Greek manuscripts dated between 1000-1500AD which read “our” instead of “the,” but that begs the question of whether they got it from the old foreign-language versions or whether the old versions and younger Byzantine manuscripts got it from an ancient Greek source which has not been preserved.
PChrysostom commented, “[H]e in another place speaks of ‘the communion of the Son’ [1 Cor. 1:9] and of the ‘love of the Spirit’ ... (Rom. xv. 30.) ... and... whereas the grace is of the Son, it is also of the Father and of the Holy Spirit; for [we read], ‘Grace be to you from God the Father.’ ...Thus the things of the Trinity are undivided ... I say these things, not confounding the Persons, (away with the thought!) but knowing both the individuality and distinctness of These, and the Unity of the Substance.”
QThe “Amen” is in the majority of Greek manuscripts (the oldest being the 6th century Bezae, but also a correction in the 4th century Sinaiticus and also in the ancient Vulgate and Peshitta versions from around the 4th century) and is the reading of the Textus Receptus and Greek Orthodox editions of the Greek New Testament. But 9 Greek manuscripts (including the four oldest-known from before the 6th Century) read without the “Amen,” and that is the reading of contemporary critical editions of the GNT and of contemporary English Bibles translated since the 1880’s (with the exception of the NKJV).
RThe title “To [the] Corinthians [part] B” is attested by all five manuscripts dated older than the 9th century – all the way back to the year 200. It appears that around the 9th century the rest was added. Barnabas’ name was appended to half a dozen manuscripts after the 10th century. The whole inscription was kept with the Textus Receptus, and the Bohairic Coptic, but not with the Greek Orthodox or contemporary critical editions.