2 Corinthians 13:13

 All God’s people here send their greetings ~ 2 Corinthians 13:13

Paul sends his blessings to those in the Corinthian Church and offers them his support. At this point, Paul is in Macedonia, and from there he extends the wish of happiness to all, as well as the remembrance of his and those he is now with a blessing of  love and respect for the Corinthian Church. Paul has written extensively to this church, for as a church they have certainly had their problems. They had been seduced by the pagan culture around them, and then become hyper-spiritual which led them into a whole new set of problems. In these few final words Paul shows us what unity, mentorship, and what church life must be in the Christian church. Problems will occur in the life of a church, for we are all individuals which come from different backgrounds, but the question is, how do we manage our differences. Will we put Jesus first, will we see each other as created in the image of God? Will we work for unity in the Spirit, or will we fight to the bitter end to prove we are right. Paul worked through numerous situations where the scriptures were distorted, sexual immorality had to be addressed, where food was sacrificed to idols and how even the death and resurrection of Jesus was misunderstood. If you want to read about church problems, read Paul’s letters to the Corinthian church. Yet, as a leader, Paul loved the people of this church and prayed for them constantly. As he continued in his second letter to them, Paul’s passion for the gospel is proclaimed to the Corinthian Church. They hear about his suffering, his love for all his church plants, and the pain he has experienced in proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ. Paul perseveres in helping this church mature, to come into the fullness of Jesus Christ as disciples weaned from the milk of their youth. By his leadership they will reach that point. Through love, his ministry in the Corinthian Church blossoms. May all our churches be so blessed.

Pastor Julia