Galatians 13

CHAPTER 13

 

Final Warnings (13:1-10)

1 In this section Paul gives his final warnings to the Corinthians. When Paul comes to Corinth, he will punish those who have not repented of their sins. But he will not listen to unproven charges. Every matter—that is, every accusation—will have to be proven by the testimony of two or three witnesses (Deuteronomy 19:15; Matthew 18:16). Paul will not listen to any accusation brought by only one person.

It needs to be said here that a true “witness” is not someone who merely repeats someone else’s accusation; rather, he is a person who has seen something with his own eyes or heard it with his own ears. Those who repeat someone else’s critical talk are not witnesses; rather, they are gossips and slanderers (see Romans 1:29-30; 2 Corinthians 12:20).

Not only that, but witnesses must be of one mind; their testimony must be in agreement. When the witnesses are not in agreement with each other, then no judgment or decision should be made. There is always a danger that a witness will try to falsely accuse a believer (see Psalm 27:12; Mark 14:55-56; Acts 6:12-13). False witnesses who accuse other Christians can even be found within the church; they do the church great harm.

2 Paul had warned the Corinthians earlier that when he came he would punish the unrepentant sinners. Now Paul gives them a final warning.

God will bear with an unrepentant sinner for a long time, but not forever!

3 The Corinthians had demanded proof that Paul was a true apostle of Christ. “Okay,” says Paul, “I’ll give you proof. If you do not repent, you will soon discover that I have the full power and authority of Christ! That will prove to you that I am His true apostle.”

4 When Christ was crucified, He appeared weak like other men. But Christ was raised from the dead by God’s great power, and now He lives by God’s power. In the same way, Paul appears weak; but he, too, lives by God’s power (see Romans 6:5,8; Galatians 2:20). At first Paul came to the Corinthians in weakness, in meekness and gentleness (1 Corinthians 2:3; 2 Corinthians 10:1). But now Paul is ready to come to the Corinthians with the power and authority of Christ Himself.

If Paul came to our church today, what would he find? How would he come? Would he come with a whip, or with a gentle spirit? (1 Corinthians 4:21).

5 In our Christian lives one of the most important things we must do is to regularly examine ourselves (see 1 Corinthians 11:28). Are we in the faith? Are the fruits of our faith visible in our lives? Do we experience Christ living within us? Or do we fail the test? We must ask ourselves these questions.

But instead of examining ourselves, we spend more time examining our brother! Instead of looking for our own sin and confessing it, we prefer to look for our brother’s sin. We consider ourselves “straight,” and our brother “crooked.” When we do these things, how great is our sin!

6 If, when the Corinthians examine themselves, they discover that they do not fail the test, they will at the same time discover that Paul has not failed the test either. The reason is, of course, that their faith has come from Paul’s preaching. If their faith is genuine, then Paul’s faith also must be genuine. If they are in Christ, then Paul also must be in Christ.

7 Paul prays that the Corinthians will not do anything wrong—that is, he prays that they will repent of their sins and keep their church pure. If they do this, then Paul won’t have to use his power and authority to punish sinners. If Paul doesn’t use his power, it will seem as if he has no power. That is, it will seem as if Paul is not in Christ; it will seem as if he has failed the test. Well, if it seems that way to people, so be it. Paul’s only desire is that the Corinthians repent, so that he won’t have to come to them “with a whip.”

8 If the truth has been established in the Corinthian church by the time Paul comes, then he won’t have to use his power and authority. Paul’s power is not for opposing the truth but for opposing sin and falsehood. If the Corinthians are not sinning, then Paul cannot do anything against them.

9 Paul’s hope and prayer is that the Corinthians might be strong—that is, perfect and holy and strong in faith. If the Corinthians are strong in this way, then Paul will not have to use his own authority; that is, he will appear weak. That’s why Paul says he is glad when the Corinthians are “strong” and he is “weak.”

Notice that Paul doesn’t use his authority just as he pleases. Those with authority must be very careful not to misuse it. Authority is not something to be taken and used for oneself. All authority comes from God, and it is to be used only in the service of others (see Mark 10:42-45).

10  Paul’s main purpose in writing to the Corinthians can be seen here: namely, that the Corinthians might repent and that he might not have to be harsh with them.

Again we see the purpose of authority: it is for building people up, not for tearing them down (see 2 Corinthians 10:8).

Final Greetings (13:11-14)

11 Aim for perfection. That is, make perfection your goal. In verse 9, this is Paul’s prayer for the Corinthians. Not only that, it is also the command of Christ: “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48).

… be of one mind (see Romans 15:5; 1 Corinthians 1:10 and comments).

12-13 All the saints are all the Christians with Paul at the time he is writing this letter (see Romans 16:16; 1 Corinthians 16:20).

14 This verse is perhaps the most quoted verse in the entire Bible. Here are mentioned the three forms or persons²⁴ of the one true God: namely, Jesus Christ the Son, God the Father, and the Holy Spirit. These three are one. Whatever they do, they do together.

Notice what Paul writes here. First comes the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ; second comes the love of God; and third comes the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. In a sense, we can say that we experience God in that order. First, we receive the grace of Christ, His forgiveness, His righteousness. Next, we experience the love of God filling our hearts. And third, we receive the Holy Spirit, who lives within us and gives us fellowship. But we need not separate grace, love, and fellowship. These are all the one work of the one God. And we need all three—grace, love, and fellowship— every minute of our lives.

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

 

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¹ Some Bible scholars think that this “severe” letter was actually Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians. But most scholars think it was a different letter, which has now been lost.

² We call Paul’s third letter “2 Corinthians,” because the actual second letter he wrote has been lost.

³ Corinth was the capital of the province of Achaia.

⁴ The province of Asia was located in the western part of what is now modem Turkey. Its chief city was Ephesus.

⁵ Judea is the southern province of Israel; Jerusalem is its main city.

⁶ In the Hebrew language, the language of the Jews. Amen is said in place of “yes.”

⁷ Paul was like a father who is obliged to discipline his children. 1he loving father always feels the pain he inflicts upon his child.

⁸ Titus was a close colleague of Paul (see Galatians 2:1,3 and comment).

⁹ Macedonia was the main province of northern Greece. Together, Macedonia and Achaia (the southern province) made up most of the country of Greece.

¹⁰ The first five books of the Old Testament are often called the “Law,” or the “Law of Moses.” Paul often uses the words “law” and “covenant” interchangeably. Both the Jewish law and the covenant relationship between the Jews and God are contained in those first five books of the Old Testament. For further discussion, see Word List: Law.

¹¹ The first five books of the Old Testament were written by Moses.

¹² For further discussion, see General Articles: Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit.

¹³ In place of the words reflect the Lord’s glory, some translations of the Bible say, “behold the Lord’s glory.” It is not certain in the original Greek text which meaning Paul intended. Both translations are possible and make good sense.

¹⁴ When we suffer because of our own sin or stupidity, our suffering will then be a form of discipline given by God. If we repent of our sin and accept God’s discipline, then even this kind of suffering will bring great spiritual benefit in the end (see Hebrews 12:11).

¹⁵ In 2 Corinthians 3:6, Paul calls himself a “minister of a new’ covenant.” That new covenant is the covenant of grace. Thus being a minister of the new covenant and being a minister of grace are the same thing.

¹⁶ Sometimes, of course, leaders fall into sin. When this happens, at least two witnesses are needed before any charge can be brought against a leader (see 1 Timothy 5:19-20). The charges must be clearly proven, or they should be dropped.

¹⁷ Those in hell remain in a state which is like death, because in hell they are separated from God and Christ. Those who are separated from God and Christ can have no true spiritual life

¹⁸ Belial a Another name for Stun.

¹⁹ The sins of the spirit are such things as unbelief, pride, discontent, criticism, idol worship, etc. The spirit mentioned here is the human spirit All ans arise in man’s lie art and mind, but some sins especially involve man’s body, while other sins especially involve man’s spirit.

²⁰ Death, in a material sense, is the ultimate state of poverty. Through death we lose not only our possessions but also our bodies.

²¹ The particular matter that Paul is referring to in this verse is a financial matter. All church leaders must make themselves and their work accountable to other Christians, especialy in financial affairs. It is not enough to say. “I am accountable only to God.” Satan will surely trip up the leader who retuses to be accountable to other believers.

²² Although God usually gives Christians material blessings along with the spiritual blessings. He doesn’t always do so. Sometimes God leads us through periods of hardship in order to test us or in order to give us even greater spiritual blessings.

²³ Damascus is the capital of the Middle Eastern country of Syria.

²⁴ When referring to God. it is more accurate to speak of His three"modes of existence.” rather than His three “forms” or “persons.” For simplicity’s sake, however, this commentary generally uses the word “form.”