2 Corinthians 13:14

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.

This great trinitarian doxology is one of the most widely used on earth, the beauty and effectiveness of it being known to millions in all nations. The New Testament nowhere mentions by name the doctrine of the Trinity; and there are doubtless aspects of that doctrine which are not fully scriptural; but the fact of there being three persons in the Godhead unmistakably shines in passages like this and Matthew 28:18-20. For further thoughts on this subject, see my Commentary on Matthew, pp. 33,34, 525.

Commentators are agreed that there is nothing formal or stylized about this doxology; otherwise, the Father would have been mentioned first. As Clines said, "What makes it so impressive is the spontaneous, unconscious formulation of it."[37]

The fact that, only a short generation after the crucifixion of Christ, his name should have been adoringly linked with that of Almighty God and the blessed Holy Spirit in a prayer is an allegation of his deity. Thus, as Broomall said, "This epistle opens (2 Corinthians 1:2) and ends with an affirmation of the deity of Christ."[38]

Grace of Christ ... love of God ... communion of the Holy Spirit ... As Tasker said, "As the first of the three genitives here is subjective, it is probable that the other two should be construed in the same way."[39] It is therefore the grace Christ showed to people, dying for their salvation (not the grace of men toward Christ), and the love of God toward man in the sending of his only begotten Son, and the communion with mankind on the part of the Holy Spirit. in the sacred writings of holy scripture, and not personal indwelling in Christian hearts as the earnest of human redemption. Just as the grace of Christ and God's love are their actions, the communion of the Holy Spirit is the Spirit's action (a thing not true of the earnest at all, for the earnest is sent by the Father, as in Galatians 4:6); and the epic achievement of the Holy Spirit for all people is seen in the inspired messages of holy writ.

This priceless doxology prayerfully closes the Second Epistle to the Corinthians; and, after all that has been said, of censure and warning, the lowest sinner in the congregation is made a beneficiary of this apostolic benediction, no less than all the rest. "It is upon all, the slanderers, the gainsayers, the seekers after worldly wisdom, the hearkeners to false doctrine, as well as upon the faithful and obedient."[40] Surely here is the overflowing of a heart full of true love for the tried and tempted, for weak and sinful Christians. Nothing ever written before or since this Spirit-breathed epistle to Corinth ever succeeded in reaching and sustaining such a high level of personal impact, not only upon a troubled church of nineteen hundred years ago, but upon every soul that has the grace to receive it.

[37] David J. A. Clines, op. cit., op. 443.

[38] Wick Broomall, op. cit., p. 689.

[39] R. V. G. Tasker, op. cit., p. 191.

[40] John Wesley, op. cit., in loco.