As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the Lord is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him. Psalm 18:30 NKJV.

This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. 1 John 1:5 NKJV.

Our chapter, 2 Corinthians 13, is the final chapter of this letter to Corinth. It’s hard to read words that are corrective because for so many of us correction has been used as a way to control and bend us to someone’s idea of what is good. It has been used to shame, to subjugate, to rule over without mercy. But one of the things Paul tells us in this chapter is to examine ourselves. And that’s a good starting point for correction meant for me for my good. This is the third time I am coming to you. Every fact is to be confirmed by the testimony of two or three witnesses. I have previously said when present the second time, and though now absent I say in advance to those who have sinned in the past and to all the rest as well, that if I come again I will not spare anyone, since you are seeking for proof of the Christ who speaks in me, and who is not weak toward you, but mighty in you. For indeed He was crucified because of weakness, yet He lives because of the power of God. For we also are weak in Him, yet we will live with Him because of the power of God directed toward you. Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you – unless indeed you fail the test? But I trust that you will realize that we ourselves do not fail the test. Now we pray to God that you do no wrong; not that we ourselves may appear approved, but that you may do what is right, even though we may appear unapproved. For we can do nothing against the truth, but only for the truth. For we rejoice when we ourselves are weak but you are strong; this we also pray for, that you be made complete. For this reason I am writing these things while absent, so that when present I need not use severity, in accordance with the authority which the Lord gave me for building up and not for tearing down. Finally, brethren, rejoice, be made complete, be comforted, be like-minded, 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.

Paul was dealing with actions that were harming the church in Corinth and that needed to be addressed so that when present I need not use severity, in accordance with the authority the Lord gave me for building up…and not for tearing down. And when we examine ourselves what do we find? Any group of people coming together, whether families, churches, companies, nations – will inevitably experience friction and problems. We are not all on the same page ever. I think that’s why Paul gave the last sentence so needed by all of us…The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all. Why? Because His way is perfect…the word of the Lord is proven…He is a shield to all who trust in Him. Those aren’t just words. They mean something. They mean we can trust Him. He will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces; He will remove the disgrace of His people from all the earth. The Lord has spoken. Isaiah 25:8. Which way do we go when we get confused by all the turmoil in this world and in ourselves? We go to Him. God is light…and in Him is no darkness at all. There is such a difference between the darkness of this world and the truth of Creator God. For we can do nothing against the truth…but only for the truth. It’s easy to look at this world and see the failure of not God’s truth. And in examining ourselves we can grow discouraged and see only failure. I think the failed test Paul is talking about in examining ourselves is in not seeing how much we are loved by Creator God…Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith…examine yourselves…do you not recognize this about yourselves…that Jesus Christ is in you…unless indeed you fail the test? Why do you think He came? We have so much to understand. Ask for His help. He’s here. Always. He will not bend us forcefully to His good will for us. But when all else fails and we come to Him in deep need and ask, He is our help. And then, when with His help, we examine ourselves – we begin to see all the times in our lives He has been right there helping and guiding us that we were blind to seeing. In reading over this a final time, I saw these words in a new light…Every fact is to be confirmed by the testimony of two or three witnesses…and this our most important witnesses of all…The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit.