2 Cor 13:14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
[Part 2 of 2] In 2 Corinthians 13:14 the Apostle Paul also gives a pattern of blessing. In the blessing of the Apostle Paul, the Triune God comes to people for their enjoyment. This enjoyment is the love of God as the grace of Christ by the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. Love, grace, and fellowship are not three separate things; they are three aspects or stages of one thing. They are the three stages of God for our enjoyment. Love is within, grace is love expressed, and fellowship is the transmission of grace into us. Love is within God Himself. When this love is expressed, it is grace, and grace is transmitted in the fellowship. I may love a certain brother, but this love is within me. How can it be expressed? I may express it by giving him a Bible. The Bible represents grace as the expression of the love I have within me for this brother. In order to communicate this grace to him, I must actually hand the Bible to him. This is fellowship. In the Old Testament the basic thought with respect to blessing is that of bringing people into God's presence. But in the New Testament the Apostle, coming with God, not only brought people into the presence of God; he also brought God into them. The New Testament blessing is much higher and deeper. On the one hand, to bless others is to bring them into the presence of God; on the other hand, it is to bring God into them as love, grace, and fellowship.
Bible verses are taken from the Recovery Version of the Bible and Words of Ministry from Witness Lee, Life-study of Genesis, 1987, pp. 1219-1220. Both are published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA. Please visit us at www.emanna.com. Send comments to: [email protected].
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