7 Now I pray to God that you do no evil; not that we may appear approved, but that you may do what is right (even though we may appear to have failed).[e] 8 For we cannot do anything against the Truth, but only for the Truth. 9 Now we are glad when we are weak and you are strong. And we also pray for this, your perfecting. 10 This is why I write these things while absent, so that when present I may not have to deal harshly, according to the authority that the Lord gave me, for building up and not for tearing down.
11 Finally, brothers, rejoice; restore each other; encourage one another; be of one mind; live in peace; and the God of the love and the peace will be with you.
12 Greet one another with a holy kiss.
13 All the saints greet you.
14 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.[f]
- a See Deuteronomy 19:15. It almost seems that Paul is comparing his visits to witnesses.
- b Perhaps 3% of the Greek manuscripts omit “in writing”, to be followed by NIV, NASB, LB, TEV, etc.
- c Being weak in God's presence is one thing; being weak in our work for Him is quite another. I take Paul to be saying that being weak in God's presence triggers the outflow of His power in our work.
- d Sin does have a way of undermining confidence. A Christian who keeps on sinning tends to become less and less sure of his salvation.
- e I don't understand this.
- f Here we have a clear reference to the Trinity.