11 Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. 12 Greet one another with a holy kiss. 13 All the saints greet you. 14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. (II Corinthians 13)
Missing from the end of this second letter from Paul to the Corinthian church is his typical listing of names and greetings. Rather than doing that, he gives a grace greeting. He wants them to relate to one another with grace. Grace is to become the culture of a fellowship of believers, where everyone is trusting in Christ to do in and among them what we cannot seem to be able to do alone: get along with one another. Paul has talked about a lot of issues at the church, and exhorted them to forgive, comfort and learn to live with, one another in Christlike love. He wants them to experience the community of the Trinity: Christ giving the grace we need to deal with each other; the Father giving the power to love even when we are unlovely; the Holy Spirit binding us together in a fellowship of sharing that cannot be broken. This is what grace unleashed looks like in a body of believers. We cannot do it on our own. May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be the atmosphere in which we live.
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