Grace and peace to you in the name of God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Let us together now gather our hearts as we together receive the call to worship this evening, which is from the book of Psalms, chapter 47. Psalm 47, verses one to two. This is God's word. Clap your hands, all peoples. Shout to God with the loud songs of joy. For the Lord, the most high, is to be feared, a great king over all the earth. Amen. Let's together take up our hymnals as we join in singing hymn number 18, Thee We Adore, Eternal Lord. Number 18, if you're able, please stand to sing. Through all the world, we worship Thee. Through all the world, we worship Thee. angels cry, the land and all the powers combined, the only and prophets were the immortal song. Thy part was noble, only grace. Eternal anthems to thy praise. Eternal anthems to thy praise. ♪ Exalt and proudly honor thee ♪ ♪ Thy faith we worship and adore ♪ ♪ Earth without end, forevermore ♪ ♪ Earth without end, forevermore ♪ If you will, please remain standing and turn to hymn number 130, Crown His Head with Endless Blessing. 130. ♪ Father's pain ♪ ♪ General passion's deathless ceasing ♪ ♪ Of salvation to proclaim ♪ ♪ Hail ye saints who know his name ♪ ♪ Who within his gates are found ♪ ♪ Hail ye saints, saints, God and Savior ♪ Jesus, be our Savior daily. Lead our God in praise we know. Highest honors never failing, life's eternal round I know. Please be seated. And now let us come to God's throne of grace. Let us all pray. Our Father in heaven, we do come with great shouts of joy into your presence this evening. We are glad that you are the God of our great salvation. that you are the God who has made the way open through your own Son, our Savior Jesus Christ, that we might gather and call upon you and find that you are well disposed towards us, that though you are the King Most High, that you are to be feared by all in this great creation, a great King, over all the earth. Yet to your people, you are our heavenly Father. We come as blood-bought children to call upon you. We find the smile of your face toward us, that you are indeed glad to receive us, and for this we give you thanks. Father, then we come to give you the praise that is due to your great name. Again, we praise you for all that you are, even as we thought of you this morning as the sovereign God of salvation, the one who has made that way open, the one who makes that free offer of his gospel to all, to the whosoever believes. Lord, we rejoice, we praise our God for that Marvelous, that wonderful wisdom that is displayed in your great redemption. Father, then we come to confess our sins of this day. Again, we acknowledge our many shortcomings, our many failings, our sins against You, O Lord, and against our fellow man. Forgive, O Lord, for the sake of Your Son, in whose name we pray. Lord, then we are continually thankful for your provision for us this day. We're thankful again for food upon our tables, clean water to drink, shelter of our homes, our employments. We're thankful for the love of our families. We're thankful, O Lord, for the relative measures of peace and security you grant to us, the liberties we enjoy. that we gather here this evening unmolested by the authorities. Lord, for all these good gifts, we give you thanks. Most of all again, O Lord, we thank you for that grace which is renewed to us day by day, in which we persevere, in which we plod on step by step. We are thankful for sustaining grace. Lord, then we come with our prayers of intercession. We come to pray for your church. We pray for the persecuted church. Have mercy upon her. We think of saints throughout the world, O Lord, that pay a great price in this world for naming the name of their Savior. We pray that You would sustain them and keep them. We pray that You might restrain the hands of evil men, that You might give some measure of relief to those, O Lord, who are sorely tried, beaten, imprisoned, separated from other believers, denied fellowship of other Christians. Lord, You know the circumstances. Lord, have mercy upon them, we pray, and help them. Father, we do pray for the advancement of your gospel and your kingdom throughout the world. We were thankful this past Wednesday evening to have an update report from our brother Kevin Wang, and we do pray for him and his family, and for the saints there in Taiwan. We are thankful for the calling you have given to our brother. We pray that you'd continue to help him as he preaches your word, as he seeks to pastor the flock that you have given into his care. We are thankful for the gifts and graces you have given to this young man. We pray that you continue to Grow him and develop him, O Lord, in these things that he might be an effective servant in your kingdom. Lord, we do pray for their circumstances. You know them. We pray that you would help your church. Grant them, O Lord, not to be fearful, but to rest in you. We pray, O Lord, that they might see that You are the sovereign God even over all the earth, that You are King over all. Have mercy and help them, we pray. As we think about the church worldwide, O Lord, we remember those congregations known to us nearer to home. We pray for your church here on the West Coast and those congregations we know in the states of Washington and Oregon, here in California, in Nevada, in Arizona. Lord, we pray for each one of them. And we ask that you continue to help them in their witness, in their communities. Lord, you know the difficulties, you know the challenges in these days, but we pray that you would enable your saints to stand firm and steadfast in the truth, and make that good confession, even as your Son, our Savior did, as he stood before Pilate. Lord, then we pray for our own needs again. Lord, help us in these days of challenge and difficulty. Lord, we pray that you would help us in the various providences that you have ordered for us in our lives. Lord, sometimes we face great difficulties, whether they be in the workplace, whether they be in our neighborhoods and communities, whether it be just in an ordinary goings out and comings in. in the culture in which you have placed us at this time. Lord, help us, we pray. Give us wisdom. Grant us the understanding of your word that we might live as faithful Christians. Grant us, O Lord, always to bear that good confession that we are called to do before the face of men. Grant us always to be ready to give a reason for the hope that is within us. Lord, You know the opposition. Sometimes we are caused to, Lord, as it were, fear and quake, wondering, Lord, how can we ever stand up to the seeming rising tide that increases day by day? Turn our eyes to You, we pray, and grant us to see again the King upon the throne and the One, O Lord, when even all of this world in all of its ability conspires against You and Your Son, You merely laugh in derision. So grant us such confidence in Yourself. Grant us such confidence in Your authority and in Your reign, and grant us, O Lord, to bear that good witness even wherever you may have placed us. Father, then we ask for your help as we come to your Word again this evening. We pray that as we read it consecutively, as we hear it proclaimed, you would again send your Spirit, open eyes and unstop ears, grant us understanding, we pray, and grant us the will and grant us the ability to respond in faith. We ask these things in Christ's name. Amen. For the consecutive reading of God's Word in the Old Testament, we turn this evening to the book of Job and chapter 34. Job chapter 34, and we're going to read the whole chapter from verse 1 through verse 37. Job chapter 34 and verses 1 through 37. Would you please rise, if you are able, for the reading of God's Word. Job 34 and verse 1. Then Elihu answered and said, Hear my words, you wise men, and give ear to me, you who know. For the ear tests words as the palate tastes food. Let us choose what is right. Let us know among ourselves what is good. For Job has said, I am in the right, and God has taken away my right. In spite of my right, I am counted a liar. My wound is incurable, though I am without transgression. What man is like Job, who drinks up scoffing like water, who travels in company with evildoers and walks with wicked men? For he has said, it profits a man nothing that he should take delight in God. Therefore, hear me, you men of understanding. Far be it from God that He should do wickedness, and from the Almighty that He should do wrong. For according to the work of a man, He will repay him, and according to his ways, He will make it befall him. Of a truth, God will not do wickedly, and the Almighty will not pervert justice. who gave him charge over the earth, and who laid on him the whole world. If he should set his heart to it, and gather to himself his spirit and his breath, all flesh would perish together, and man would return to dust. If you have understanding, hear this. Listen to what I say. Shall one who hates justice govern? Will you condemn him who is righteous and mighty, who says to a king, worthless one, and to nobles, wicked man, who shows no partiality to princes, nor regards the rich more than the poor, for they are all the work of his hands? In a moment, they die. At midnight, the people are shaken and pass away, and the mighty are taken away by no human hand. For his eyes are on the ways of a man, and he sees all his steps. There is no gloom or deep darkness where evildoers may hide themselves. For God has no need to consider a man further, that he should go before God in judgment. He shatters the mighty without investigation and sets others in their place. Thus, knowing their works, He overturns them in the night, and they are crushed. He strikes them for their wickedness and a place for all to see, because they turned aside from following Him and had no regard for any of His ways, so that they caused the cry of the poor to come to Him. And He heard the cry of the afflicted. When He is quiet, who can condemn? When He hides His face, who can behold Him, whether it be a nation or a man? And a godless man should not reign, but he should not ensnare the people. For has anyone said to God, I have borne punishment, I will not offend anymore, teach me what I do not see? If I have done iniquity, I will do it no more. Will He then make repayment to suit you, because you reject it? For you must choose and not I, therefore declare what you know. Men of understanding will say to me, and the wise man who hears me will say, Job speaks without knowledge. His words are without insight. Would that Job were tried to the end, because he answers like wicked men, for he adds rebellion to his sin. He claps his hands among us and multiplies his words against God. Amen. And thus far the reading of God's Word. Please be seated. Please now turn this final time in our exposition in the book of 2 Corinthians to chapter 13. 2 Corinthians chapter 13, and we're going to read the whole chapter from verse 1 through verse 14. The exposition this evening will focus on the section from verse 7 to the end. As you are turning there, let me take opportunity to acknowledge my appreciation and dependence upon the work of many scholars in Second Corinthians as we've gone through this series. Men like J. Philip Arthur, Murray Harris, Charles Hodge, Philip Hughes, Colin Cruz, Derrick Crime, R.B.G. Tasker, and many, many more. We're always thankful for those who have gone before us, giants in the faith to whom the Lord has given understanding of his word. Let me also say, I hadn't finally settled all of this by the time we went to print for the bulletin, but for preparation next Lord's Day evening, it is my plan and intention to begin the book of Joshua. So we'll return to the Old Testament. We've been in New Testament morning and evening for a little while. That's how the sequencing has gone in the Lord's Providence as we've gone through books. And most times, as you know, we have tried to have a balance of New Testament and Old Testament exposition in our life together as a church. And so, Lord willing, next Sunday evening, we'll begin the book of Joshua. The sermon will be by way of an introduction, an overview of the book to set the foundations for that future series. So, Lord willing, the book of Joshua next Lord's Day evening. But, returning now to the final exposition, 2 Corinthians chapter 13, and reading at verse 1. Again, please give your careful attention. We read God's Word. This is the third time I am coming to you. Every charge must be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. I warn those who sinned before, and all the others, and I warn them now while absent, as I did when present on my second visit, that if I come again, I will not spare them, since you seek proof that Christ is speaking in me. He is not weak in dealing with you, but is powerful among you. For he was crucified in weakness, but lives by the power of God. For we also are weak in him. But in dealing with you, we will live with him by the power of God. Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? Unless, indeed, you fail to meet the test. I hope you will find out that we have not failed the test. But we pray to God that you may not do wrong. Not that we may appear to have met the test, but that you may do what is right, though we may seem to have failed. For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth. For we are glad when we are weak, and you are strong. Your restoration is what we pray for. For this reason I write these things while I am away from you, that when I come I may not have to be severe in my use of authority that the Lord has given me for building up and not for tearing down." Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration. Comfort one another. Agree with one another. Live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you. Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints greet you. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen. The grass withers and the flower falls, but the Word of our God abides forever. The Apostle Paul was about to visit Corinth again. He realized that he could not hold off this visit any longer. Things could not be allowed to go on unchecked. And so the time had come to go back and see how things stood. On the one hand, the situation could be retrieved in the Lord's mercy and grace. And the church could address the issues that threatened its very survival. They could seek by God's mercy and grace to reestablish the church's credibility and go on to make progress in the faith. On the other hand, the church might fail to respond to all that Paul has written here by way of appeal, by exhortation, by warning, by counsel. and ultimately, in such rejection, sink into oblivion. Which was it to be? What would they do now, having received the apostolic epistle, which we call Second Corinthians? Well, as we turn to the end of chapter 13, we use that same summary that we used last week for the whole chapter, where we see here Paul brings his letter to the church in Corinth to a close by saying certain things about his upcoming, his impending visit. This evening, we're going to think about four things. First of all, by way of reminder, readied firmness, revisited. The burden and focus of the sermon from last Sunday evening. And then secondly, preferred gentleness. Thirdly, final words. And then fourthly and finally, concluding questions. So first of all then, readied firmness revisited, verses 1 through 6. Paul was ready to be firm here with the believers in Corinth if the situation demanded it. But everything would be scrupulously fair and above board. We saw that from what he says in verse 2. The apostle here is not lashing out in retaliation. He's not seeking to get his own back. Rather, he reminds them he is Christ's spokesman, verses 3 and 4. We learn from that and it's good to be reminded again this evening that church discipline ultimately is the will of the crucified and risen Christ, the head of the church, speaking through his human instruments. And so whilst ready to be firm with these Christians in Corinth, Paul nevertheless hoped that the Corinthians would take action themselves to put things right. that if they do so, and if they were willing to do so, and followed through on that, then outside intervention, the coming of Paul, willing to be firm if necessary, would then prove not to be required. Well, against that background then, we come to the remaining verses, and we come in the second place this evening, to preferred gentleness. Preferred gentleness, verses 7 through 10. Paul's prayer here that the Corinthians may not do wrong, verse 7, reveals his earnest desire that the church would indeed reform its practice, that they would take corrective action. that they would do it would be a vastly preferable outcome to Paul having to initiate church discipline when he came. Of course, we might illustrate this from the family. A responsible father will not shirk from disciplining children when necessary, from chastising them when it is necessary. But it is a much more preferable situation when those same children hear his instruction and heed that instruction, correcting their own behavior based on what they are taught from day to day. That's far preferable. And those who are fathers, I trust you know that, you understand that. And for those who are not, you can see that by way of illustration. And that's the situation here. Paul will do it if necessary, and he has the right to do it, he's being given the authority of Christ to do it, but he much prefers that the Corinthians would heed his appeal, his counsel, his exhortation, his admonition, even his rebukes, and take action themselves. Again, we have a clue here as to the apostle's motives in his phrase, verse 7, not that we may appear to have met the test. What does Paul mean here? Does he mean, well, we have failed? He doesn't mean that. What he means by this is it was more important that the Corinthians should do right than that Paul's reputation should be vindicated. Now that doesn't mean that Paul gave no thought to what was said concerning him. Particularly as it reflected upon Christ and the Gospel. But he is saying that's not the first priority, my personal reputation here. His great priority at this point for them was that they should do what is right. Of course, that sets up a great contrast again between Paul and his rivals that we've seen over and over again here in 2 Corinthians. For his rivals, that was their prime concern. Not just occasionally, but constantly. They were always after cultivating their own image and their own reputations. But Paul shows here he's far more concerned that the believers in Corinth should do good, as he says, than that he should look good. One commentator puts it like this, he says, quote, it was a concern for genuine righteousness within the church rather than mere window dressing in the reputations of individuals, end quote. And so if the church responded positively to all that Paul had said in this epistle, And if he found on his arrival that all was well, that they had taken action, the truth would have gained the upper hand in Corinth, as he prayed it would do. And there would be no further need for Paul to act. Verse 8. So Paul's concern here, as we see all along, was the health of the church rather than his own personal circumstances and comfort and preferences and reputation, verse 9. We see here again the apostles' preference, as we might call it, where it was possible for what we call a leadership style. which was gentle, appeal-based, counsel-based, in many ways self-effacing with regard to himself. We see that as he explains his purpose here in writing the whole epistle, verse 10. It's for their well-being, for their building up, not for his image in the eyes of those in Corinth. Now, of course, by contrast, we know both in the time of Paul and in our own time, for that matter, that Christian leadership differs radically from leadership in the world. The undershepherds of Christ's flock are sheep themselves. We were thinking about that in our Sunday school hour this morning. And so they are prone to the same fallibilities as the people they serve. If we don't understand that, we need to go back to our Bibles. It's so, so clear. Of course, the supreme role model for the under-shepherds of Christ's church is the Great Shepherd Himself. What was characteristic of His ministry to the sheep? He was one who did not come to be served, He said, but to serve. and give his life a ransom for many. Matthew 20 verse 28. Now, of course, there are unique aspects of that that the undershepherds cannot enter into. They don't come to give their lives as a ransom, as atonement, as sin-bearers. But they do take up that same characteristic of sacrificial service. And that's what Paul is laying out here. The principle that must guide the undershepherds of the church. Even as our Lord says, whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. Mark 10 at verse 43. Remember how hard it was sometimes for the disciples to learn that. Those whom Christ had called to the office of apostle. So often they argued amongst themselves, did they not, as to who was the greatest amongst them. Vying for the places of prominence. Even dragged their families in. James and John, their mother, coming to Christ. And saying, grant to my sons one to sit on your left and one to sit on your right in the kingdom. Hearts of men are so prone to that. And the under shepherds are not exempt from it. So whilst there is a place, even as we were thinking in our Sunday school hours in recent weeks, there is a place in the churches of Christ for the display of decisive, bold, courageous authority that God has granted to the office of pastors and elders. Notice why the Lord gives that authority. Whether it's to the office of apostle, in Paul's case here, or to the office in our day of elder, why is God given that? He's given it for building up and not tearing down. Notice how significant that is, because Paul puts it in the context of, if it's necessary, he will be firm. It's in the context of, if they will not respond to his appeal and to his exhortation, Then he says, I will not spare them. He has the authority to deal with it in the name of Christ. He is Christ's spokesman. But he still sees that authority ultimately is for the building up of the church. Christ's authority to his church is not given as a wrecking ball to simply come crashing down and to tear down. And Paul makes that clear here. So what is the great measurement, as we might say, of action in the church? Whether it's taken by office bearers, whether it's taken by the church as a whole, whether it's taken by individual Christians, as we were thinking this morning, where discipline can begin by simply an admonition coming individual to individual. Where does it all start? How do we determine what action is appropriate? And when and if it should be taken? It's for the good of the church. Is this for the good of another believer, Christian brother or sister, for the good of the congregation as a whole? That's what determines this. For the building up and not tearing down. Now, that means that admonition and rebuke may be necessary. That may be what's needed and it will be for the good of the church. Again, as we see that in other contexts in society as God has ordered it, family, society, there is order, there is authority, there is consequence for those who will not hear and heed. But it's always with that purpose in mind. As we thought last week, Paul does not use this to lash out and to get his own back on those that have attacked him, those who've betrayed him. His constant motivation here is the good of the church. Now we almost also need to see here what is the balance of what is normal the case and what is perhaps occasionally required. Paul here contrasts those two things. The context, the normal pattern, as we might say, of Christian leadership is one of deep affection, one of gentleness, one of sacrifice for the people. 1 Thessalonians 2.7, for instance, Paul says to that congregation, where there weren't these issues that there were in Corinth, he says, but we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. There's hardly a more gentle picture than that, is there? And Paul's not embarrassed to take that illustration. and says, clearly, it's not literally the case. Paul's a man, he's not a nursing mother. But he said, that's the gentleness that he can say in integrity before the Thessalonians. That's what we will like amongst you. So that's the norm. And so all of the things being equal, Paul hoped to be able to deal with the Corinthians like that. That was by far his preference. to adopt that same approach when he came this third time to Corinth. If they had not responded, it would not be the case, at least temporarily. But he far preferred that. And that instructs us today, brethren, that that ought to be the approach of leaders in the church, typically. Now, when there's something to deal with, they must deal with that. And if people will not respond to the gentle appeals and admonitions and the pastoral care of the elders, then they may need to be more firm. And they must not be reluctant to do that. But that's not the first response. It's not the go-to out of the playbook. Let's just tear down. Let's just crush. Strategy is just get with the program or else. That's how it is not to be. We begin with this normative pattern. We were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. Well, then that brings us in the third place to final words. Final words, verses 11 through 14. As the Apostle brings this epistle to its conclusion, again, his closing words here are kind ones. Gentle, kind words. This is somewhat remarkable in and of itself. Remembering that this church in Corinth was at best immature, Certainly trying, perhaps we might say exasperating even to the Apostle at times. This congregation had tested Paul's patience many, many times. Straight talk had been necessary. He'd done that. He'd been obliged to be diplomatic too, to choose his words with care. He had mixed tender appeals with forthright instruction. Paul had even taken the risk, you remember many chapters ago, of opening his heart and revealing his own vulnerability to them. And yet, in some ways, this congregation remained somewhat of a grievous disappointment to Paul up until this point. And yet, still, his final words of letter to them are kind ones. That ought to teach us much about patience and forbearance with brethren. how quickly we become impatient, how quickly our words become terse, how quickly our words become demanding. Again, the words of our generation, get with the program. I'm tired of this, I'm fed up of this, I have no more patience for this. Paul gives a very different picture here, doesn't he? Even having given His warnings, His final words here are kind ones. Notice His parting farewell addresses them as brothers, verse 11. He still considers them brothers here, even with all their faults and failings, even with the necessary action that needs to be taken, corrective action, He still calls them brothers. Notice then, he exhorts them to spiritual joy. Does not consider that to be something impossible for them. Joy in our salvation as believers, in our union and communion with the Lord, is one of the highest privileges and duties of the Christian. Such blessings as our union with Christ, therefore are not to be received with indifference. We ought to rejoice in them, and Paul calls them to that. at the end of his letter. One commentator puts it like this, he says, joy is the atmosphere of heaven. The more we have it here on earth, the more heavenly shall we be in character and disposition. End quote. How true of that, how true of us is that. the more we have of that true joy in our Lord, in what He's done for us, the more heavenly we shall be in character and disposition. Well, this is followed then by a number of brief exhortations. We're only going to briefly survey these. We could profitably spend time on each one, but I didn't want to overly extend this particular sermon series at this time. First, he says, aim for restoration. This has the idea of mend your ways. Again, focusing back on correction that needs to be implemented. He was a church which for much of its life had not been in good order. The time had come to leave that spiritual adolescence behind and strive for excellence. Secondly, he says, comfort one another. The idea here is that of being strengthened and encouraged. It's not just the platitude of there, there, there. It'll all be alright. It is much more focused and specific. Strengthened in the Lord, encouraged in God and His ways through His Word. Because Paul wants them to pay careful attention to all that is written to them. That's how they'll be strengthened and encouraged. Thirdly, agree with one another. Three words and yet with profound meaning. Agree with one another. especially pointed in view of the Corinthians' tendency to quickly degenerate into squabbling cliques. I'm of Paul. I'm of Cephas. I'm of Apollos. I'm the real spiritual ones. I'm of Christ, they said. It's an exhortation that churches need to heed today. We need to heed this. Agree with one another. what might be rightly called here by one commentator, the Corinthian catastrophe, can replicate itself so easily in so many different churches and different times and places. It does so, so swiftly. We're all thinking today about viruses and how quickly they spread. You can hardly read any news today without somebody commenting on those things. That's how this commentator was thinking about this issue of disagreement in Corinth. It's something that spread quickly. Something that can spread so quickly in any congregation. Squabbles, fallings out. Often with little justification for them, really, if a breath was taken. Now we want to say by brief comment and not a long exposition of this issue, but Paul was not here commending or advocating or commanding even, the suspense of what we call private judgment. He wasn't trying to enforce some unanimity of opinion on all things. That's how they would agree with one another, particularly in those secondary matters, in what one commentator calls the trifling matters. But he was saying something real here when he says, agree with one another. He was commending that oneness of mind in the essentials certainly, and then a willingness to forbear in the secondary matters. We don't have to necessarily agree in all the details of those things, but we do have to agree in the essentials of them, and often that is the context in how we deal with them. That we agree in our difference, we are still brethren. It's been hard sometimes in this past two years to work through some of those things. It will be again whilst we're yet this side of glory. But he says, agree with one another. Brethren, let me ask you by way of very practical application, do we believe this is achievable? Was Paul asking too much here, particularly of these immature Corinthians? If we believe the Word of God to be what it is, the infallible Word of God, that which we say very often after we read it publicly, this is the infallible Word of God, then it is not too much to ask of the Corinthian church or of us this evening. Agree with one another, Paul says. Fourthly, he encourages them, therefore, to live in peace. That falls naturally from agreeing with one another. If you don't do the third one, you certainly will not do the fourth one. We've had some experience of that, have we not? If we cannot agree with one another in that spirit of oneness, agreeing on the essentials, being able to forbear on the secondary matters with each other, then we certainly can't live in peace. How many times perhaps in these past two years or so have we gone home? Have we been at home? And we go to our beds and we lay our heads down and our minds in turmoil, hearts in turmoil over various matters. And the church, and the church is responding to various matters of the world and all of those things. Live in peace, he says. Live in peace. And a greater part of that certainly comes by agreeing with one another. We won't live in peace with the world, that's for sure. There is a natural antipathy between the things of God and the things of the world. He's made that clear in 1 Corinthians. But certainly in the church, we can live in peace because we have peace with God, first and foremost, vertically, and therefore, peace with one another in the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul here then makes a connection between the Corinthians obeying his excitations and the consequence of that. He says, and the God of love and peace will be with you. What's the connection here? Well, Paul makes a correlation between our obedience to these excitations and our enjoyment of the presence of God. Ever thought about it in that way? Do we often just think of our enjoyment of God's presence in some mystical way, some feeling, some warm fuzzy feeling that we have? Paul doesn't speak in that way, does he? He speaks of it as coming from our obedience to what God commands. What is Paul saying here? Well, if these Corinthians who read his epistle, whether it be those then or us now or anybody in between or afterwards, If the readers of the hearers of this Word work by God's grace at hearing and heeding what God commands, in that reflecting who God is as true image bearers, remade in the image of Christ, expressed particularly the context here is in our mutual relationships to one another in the body of Christ. And Paul says, we will enjoy the Lord, and increasingly so. Do this, and the God of love and peace will be with you. He then moves on to two more things. The need for affection amongst the brethren. between the members of the church lies behind Paul's recommendation here that they greet one another with a holy kiss, verse 12. Of course, this form of affectionate regard is cultural and contextual to that time and place. It's not a moral law applicable to all people, all places, all times. Some have taken this up in the church. and sought to practice it in 20th, 21st century Western culture. However hard we try, it always comes across a little bit quirky, because it is. That's not our cultural way of expressing that. Think more, perhaps, in our context of the embrace, the hug. Now, I have to tell you, as an Englishman who came to the United States, I had to be willing to accommodate. Englishmen don't typically hug, even in the church. You know, they extend a hand and that's about as warm as it might get for a very reserved Englishman. But I'm glad that my brethren here taught me to hug. My brethren in the fraternal that I go to taught me to hug. Brethren here taught me to hug. And that's how we express it. If you do the stiff, cold hand, and that's all you ever do, people, again, that's the other side. That's not really culturally contextual here. It feels a bit cold and distant, a bit formal. That's all we ever do. Sometimes, again, without going into great details, we can add to that. You can add the second hand to it and really have a warm handshake, and that's good. The point is that the detail of the expression is not what's critical here. It's what's communicated through it. And I think we all know what that is in our own culture and times and places. For them it was the holy kiss. If you want a kind of more modern Equivalent of that, think more continental Europe. Brother in there, France, Italy, for instance, much more used to the kiss on either cheek, even amongst men, and it's not considered odd. It's culturally contextual. appropriate for greetings, even in formal cases. You know, government officials, presidents, that sort of thing in France, would express themselves that way. So again, the details we have to interpret, but the specific in terms of the reason Paul gives it here, the demonstration of affection. And it all comes together, you see. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, Live in peace. You will then know the God of love and peace being with you. Then you express this as a natural outflow of this. You don't have to work it up. You don't have to come and say, now I need to warmly shake the brethren by the hand this morning. Or I have to remember to hug them. It's something you naturally do, right? If you're in good relationships with people in your family or wherever the context might be, nobody has to tell you to be affectionate to them, do they? Let's illustrate that from marriage. You know, if your spouse has to tell you to be affectionate too often, they're not going to be very happy with you. You know, they expect that. They have a right to expect that, as you have from them. Not in a demanding way, not in an overbearing way, but just as the natural consequence of that relationship. And so it is here. a demonstration of familial affection. Paul then goes on to say here that all the saints greet you, verse 13. It's interesting here that rather than giving specific greetings from named individuals as Paul does elsewhere in other letters, the apostle reminds the Corinthians here that they are part of a much wider whole by simply saying all the saints greet you. Perhaps he's still concerned that a church like theirs that was wracked by these various problems can again easily fall prey to the tendency of, yeah, they're fighting amongst themselves inwardly, but they are all turned inward against the rest of their brethren outside. And so he wants to remind them, you're all part of the one body of Christ here. So not only agree amongst yourselves within the local assembly, but see yourselves as part of the one body of Christ. And the saints everywhere greet you. He wants them to remember that they had a stake in all the people of God, and all the people of God have a stake in this congregation. That's how God has set up His church. One body. certainly made up of many members, certainly expressed in many different local congregations, but one body, all the saints greet you. One commentator reflecting on this says the whole cause of Christ was affected in some degree by the response of the Corinthians to this epistle. They could not simply say, you know what, whether we stand or fall, well, it's really just to do with the church in Corinth. It wasn't. Paul says there's consequence beyond that, because you are part of the one body of Christ. All the saints greet you. And then the letter closes with what we call the benediction, a very well-known set of words. We often use them in our liturgy at the end of the service. Verse 14, Paul says, let all who read this epistle, wherever they may be, whatever time in history, let them know and enjoy the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, His sovereign kindness to undeserving sinners. That's let them know the love of God, a love so great that He sent His Son into this world to save those who will believe in Him. And let them know also that never-ending fellowship of the Holy Spirit, whose chief ministry, of course, is to glorify the Son, the Lord Jesus. Well, then that brings us to the very last place, to concluding questions. So how did the church in Corinth respond then to Paul's letter? How did the members of that congregation, of that first century local church, respond to Paul? A great deal was at stake, as we said at the beginning. Paul wrote the letter because the church at Corinth was in danger. First of all, it was in danger of becoming irrelevant. become self-absorbed, inward looking. A church like that will soon find it has little impact on the world outside, the wider community. They will find they are having little impact with their great calling to spread the gospel. When all attention is focused on squabblings within, then compassion for a perishing world without often is absent. And then secondly, the church was in danger of even extinction. perilously close to just imploding here, breaking up into fragments, what one commentator calls, quote, little competing churchlets. They couldn't even keep as a local congregation, the church in Corinth. They were going to just, phew, into each little group who had their way of their doing things around their man who agreed with them. Danger then of becoming non-existent by that action. Little competing churchlets, the commentator says, characterized mainly by mutual suspicion. Doesn't mince his words, does he? But I think he's right. I don't think he's overstating it. I don't think he is appealing to hyperbole, an exaggeration just for effect. This is what the case was. So the question is, what happened to the Corinthians? Did they address the situation? Was it resolved? Well, we have to say we cannot say for certain because we're not told explicitly. But we do know some things, and that gives us some encouragement that the Lord, in His mercy and grace, used what we call 2 Corinthians for the good, for the up-building of this congregation. What do we know? Well, we know that when Paul eventually made his third visit to Corinth, he spent three months there. And during that time, he wrote the epistle that we are looking at in the morning service. The epistle to the Romans was written from Corinth and probably during this third visit. What's encouraging about that is there's no hint in that epistle to the Romans that Paul is still immersed in great problems and difficulties in the church in Corinth. Now that's not conclusive. But it's helpful to think about that. Often when that was the case, Paul mentions those things, even as he writes to others for their prayers and for their support. An encouragement as he's having to deal with it. He doesn't do that in the book of Romans, doesn't mention them at all. That's somewhat positive, an encouragement that the Lord had been merciful here. Now, does it mean everything was resolved immediately or in short order? No, not necessarily. Still an immature church, still had immature leaders, somewhat self-centered that had to be sanctified. But that at least is worth noting. It's also worth noting that at that stage, during that time, as we read in the book of Romans, we'll come to this eventually when we get to chapter 15, Paul was seriously considering a missionary journey to Spain, right at the other end of what we think of as the Western Mediterranean. Again, it seems unlikely that Paul would have felt free to undertake that venture if there'd still been great need of his ministry in Corinth. Again, we can't say for certain, but it would seem somewhat indicative that if he's considering that when he writes Romans from Corinth during that visit, that things had begun to at least turn the corner and progress in a more positive way. So how can we conclude this evening? Well, there's at least then a strong possibility, let's put it that way, that the church that first received this epistle took its message to heart, and I think we are warranted to believe that. And so as we close, what's the question to us? What's the concluding question? Our particulars are not the same. We pray it's certainly not to the same degree as the trouble that was in Corinth, and we're thankful to the Lord's mercy and grace that it's not. But how do we respond to the message of the apostle here through this letter? To the challenges that we face that are very similar, not identical, but similar in our day and age. How do we here at GRBC respond to that? Do we hear, do we heed Christ's spokesman? In the particulars, we could spend a whole series of a few more sermons at least for me to summarize again all the applications from all the weeks, from all the months, to say, remember this one, remember this one, remember this one. I'm not going to do that. I'll leave you to go back to your sermon notes or sermon audio is always there if you want to go back to a particular sermon or chapter to review that. But even as we've thought of those ones this evening, from this last part of 2 Corinthians chapter 13. And Paul says, aim for restoration where it's required. Comfort one another. Agree with one another. Live in peace. Know the God of love and peace being more and more increasingly present with you as you do those things. Be familiarly affectionate with one another. Demonstrate that appropriately. greet each other and greet the church beyond us. It's always great, just take a few moments before we close, when we have opportunity like we had last Wednesday evening, when we were talking with Kevin Wang over the technology, to send our greetings. He sends the church's greetings from Taipei to us. We do that when we have guest preachers come here. They bring their greetings. I always take our greetings wherever I may go, and I know others do as more informally as we visit in each other's churches. It's a good practice. It's a biblical practice. Let's do that. as we know that great benediction of the triune God, then let us respond in faith and obedience to the glory of God. Amen. Let's pray. Father in heaven, we are thankful for your Word. It is practical. It gives us many clear exhortations, instructions, commands. Lord, we know that in and of ourselves we cannot do them. We can only do so because your blessing rests upon us in what you have first done for us in your Son, the Lord Jesus, applied to us by your Spirit. And so we pray, O Lord, that we may hear and heed this word, that we might deal with those many practical issues that often arise in the local church. We thank you for the honesty of your word, that it doesn't seek to cover these things over, but it tells it as it was, as we would say, and tells us of the way in which to deal with it. for our great benefit, for the building up of the church, not for tearing down, and for the great glory of Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray, amen. We turn this last time, this Lord's Day, to our hymnals, to hymn number 268, Christ is Made the Sure Foundation. Please rise to sing, if you are able. Christ is made the sure foundation, Christ the head and heart. Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave To this temple where we call thee, come, O Lord, on horse to lay. With thy fond and loving kindness, give thy people a new life. And all else's benediction Shed within its blossom rain. with a blessing to retain, and we'll enter in the glory where the Lord will lead to reign. People of God, then receive the Lord's benediction. these great words of 2nd Corinthians 13 verse 14. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen. Go in the Lord's mercy and peace.