11 Finally, brethren, farewell. Become complete. Be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.
Verses 11-14 comprise the greetings and benediction of 2 Corinthians. Verse 11 is a series of four commands. Paul brought his correspondence with the Corinthians to a close with these verses.
11 Finally, brethren, farewell [good-bye].
Paul now began to finish his writing of 2 Corinthians. The apostle expressed the conclusion of this epistle with “farewell.” He wished them well as brothers in Christ.
The following four commands were an appeal for unity. They were his aspirations for the church.
Become complete [restored].
The idea here was that the Corinthian church should mend its ways, make an adjustment to its problems with integrity. The idea was to put things in order in the church so that they would become a mature church. They had much to correct and construct in their church. Correction in the church was not an event but a process. Deep differences take time to resolve.
Be of good comfort,
The thought is “be exhorted.” The Greek word carries two meanings: comfort or encourage. The church needed to take Paul’s exhortation seriously. His counsel and correction would give them “comfort.”
be of one mind,
This phrase was a challenge to have a proper attitude toward one another based on shared values. This was not a challenge for a superficial truce but to have shared conformity with God’s revelation of Himself (Ro 15:4-6; Php 1:27; 2:2; 4:2). There was a need for the church to be united in unison with unbroken communion.
live in peace;
“Peace” conveys the idea of harmony (Ro 12:18; 1 Th 5:13). The Corinthians needed to live in unity with one another and forsake their divisions. There is no place for factions, slander, and jealousy in a church.
and the God of love and peace will be with you.
This phrase is a blessing from Paul. Since God is a God of love and peace, so should be the Corinthians.
PRINCIPLE:
Christians in communion add strength to the congregation.
APPLICATION:
The Corinthian church reacted positively to 2 Corinthians. We know this because Paul shaped the expansion of his ministry from Corinth on their positive resolution to their problems (2 Co 10:15-16). He wrote Romans from Corinth during his stay on the third visit (Ro 15:23).
Embers in a fire die quickly if separated. If close together, they jointly preserve the heat. Christians in communion add strength to the congregation. The fire of the ember that goes on its own will quickly lose its heat.
