1This is the third time I am coming to you. In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established.
2I told you before, and foretell you, as if I were present, the second time; and being absent now I write to them which heretofore have sinned, and to all other, that, if I come again, I will not spare:
3Since ye seek a proof of Christ speaking in me, which to you-ward is not weak, but is mighty in you.
4For though he was crucified through weakness, yet he liveth by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but we shall live with him by the power of God toward you.
5Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?
6But I trust that ye shall know that we are not reprobates.
7Now I pray to God that ye do no evil; not that we should appear approved, but that ye should do that which is honest, though we be as reprobates.
8For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth.
9For we are glad, when we are weak, and ye are strong: and this also we wish, even your perfection.
10Therefore I write these things being absent, lest being present I should use sharpness, according to the power which the Lord hath given me to edification, and not to destruction.
11Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you.
12Greet one another with an holy kiss.
13All the saints salute you.
14The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.
Understand This
2 Corinthians 13, explained
What 2 Corinthians 13 is saying
Paul announces his impending third visit to Corinth with a warning: he will not spare offenders this time, demanding proof that Christ speaks through him. He inverts the demand: rather than testing Paul, the Corinthians should examine themselves to see if they are in the faith. The closing benediction—'The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all'—is the most explicitly trinitarian formula in Paul's writings.
The background behind it
The threatened severity of the third visit contrasts with Paul's acknowledged weakness on the second visit. The call for self-examination may reflect early Christian liturgical practice associated with eucharistic preparation (cf. 1 Cor 11:28). The trinitarian benediction became foundational for later Christian liturgy and theology.
Themes running underneath
Christ's power-in-weakness is not merely Paul's experience but a christological reality: Christ was crucified in weakness but lives by God's power. Believers share this same pattern. The self-examination call shifts the burden of proof from apostle to community. The trinitarian benediction encapsulates the relational nature of God and the community's participation in divine life.
Why it still matters
The practice of self-examination is perpetually relevant: before judging others' credentials, believers must test their own faith. The trinitarian blessing reminds every community that its life is grounded in the God who is inherently relational.
Scripture text: King James Version — public domain.