Farewell?
(fare thee well)
TEXT:
2 Corinthians 13:11 Finally, brethren, farewell1. Be perfect2, be of good comfort3, be of one mind4, live in peace5; and the God of love and peace shall be6 with you.
I. The Fare Well is Presented—A Command
1farewell— cairete (÷áéñåôå), be exceedingly joyful. Present, active imperative—denotes a command.
II. The Formula is Prescribed—A Course
A. Be Perfect
2be perfect— katartizesye (êáôáñôéæåóèå), to strengthen, perfect, complete—make one what one ought to be. Present, passive imperative—literally, “be matured”.
• By good (right) preaching
• By the right examples
• By the right motives
B. Be of Good Comfort
3be of good comfort— parakaleisye (ðáñáêáëåéóèå), to encourage and strengthen by consolation. Present, passive imperative—literally, “be encouraged and strengthened by consolation.”
• By a comforter
• As a comforter
• With The Comforter
C. Be of One Mind
4one mind— auto froneite (öñïíåéôå), the same mind.
• The same goals
• The same Book
• The same doctrines
D. Live in Peace
5 live in peace—eirhneuete (åéñçíåõåôå), literally cultivated peace
• In the House of God
• Before the eyes of men
• Unto the honor of God
III. The Future is Promised—A Conclusion
6shall be— estai (åóôáé), shall be. The tense is very important here. Future indicative—denotes a matter of fact. When used with the future tense, the action that will happen is so sure to occur that it is already considered to have occurred. (Example: “The sun will rise tomorrow.”) It literally assumes that the occurrence is as good as completed—it a complete surety.
Point!—God’s presence with us and power through us is determined by our relationships with each other and with Him.
