¹⁰For 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. ¹¹Finally, brethren, rejoice, be made complete, be comforted, be like-minded, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.

Wrapping up his two letters of communication with the Corinthians, Paul gently but firmly writes with the authority of an apostle. In both letters he begins with this identity (1 Cor. 1:1, 2 Cor. 2:2). Yet in both letters he includes in his final comments, “Greet one another with a holy kiss” (1 Cor. 16:20, 2 Cor. 13:12). He knows how and when to speak and write tersely and when to treat them affectionately. He really does love them.

He uses his letters for “severity” so that when he would be physically present with them he would not need to use severity. Paul similarly instructed Titus concerning “rebellious men, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, who must be silenced…” to “reprove them severely so that they may be sound in the faith…” (Titus 1:10–11, 13). Such admonishment always has the goal of “building up and not tearing down.” Paul chooses his methods as needed.

Despite all his pronouncement of being weak, and his self-abasement to drive home his points, he never loses sight of the authority given him by the Lord. Such confidence allows him to be humble in every way. However, that humbleness does not prevent him from speaking or writing strongly and with great confidence in his role in doing so.

So he can sum up all that he wants his letter to accomplish in the succinct statement, “Finally, brethren, rejoice, be made complete, be comforted, be like-minded, live in peace.” When surveying back over these two letters, we can see clearly that these things are needed, for the Corinthians were a divided people, with their various cliques, personality cults, competitions, arrogance, independent-mindedness, and just plain carnality. Such behaviors wreak havoc in the fellowship of a local church. The Corinthians stand as a stark example of complete breakdown in the body life of Christian fellowship.

Paul does not give up hope for them, and this fueled his passion in writing to them. He believes they can become the epitome of a church that learns how to right itself, and to renew once again the peace and love of God in their midst. That is the reality of the Christian life when God’s people are submissive to His Spirit’s teaching through His word.

Lord, I want the teaching of these letters to resonate in my life, so that I and my brothers and sisters in Christ might fully experience the love and peace of God.