# 2 Corinthians 13.14 **Book:** [2 Corinthians](/codex/2-corinthians/) · NASB95 ## Verse > The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all. (2 Corinthians 13:14, NASB95) ## Immediate context (±2 verses) **NASB95** ([NASB95](/codex/nasb95/)) > 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."** (2 Corinthians 13:12-14, NASB95) (Note: in many English versions this verse is numbered 13:13, the chapter has either 13 or 14 verses depending on edition. The NASB95 numbers it as v. 14.) ## Setting - **Speaker:** Paul the Apostle. - **Audience:** the Corinthian church, through which Paul has navigated extensive crisis (the "tearful letter" / 2 Corinthians as restoration correspondence after a serious dispute). - **Location:** Paul writing from Macedonia (likely Philippi or Thessalonica), c. AD 55-56. - **Time period:** AD 55-56, between Paul's "painful visit" and his planned third visit (announced earlier in this letter, 2 Corinthians 12:14, 13:1). ## Theological reading The verse is **the most explicit Trinitarian benediction in the NT**, naming Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in coordinated benediction without hierarchical subordination. Three claims: 1. **Threefold divine source.** Three persons named, *kyrios Iēsous Christos* (Lord Jesus Christ), *theos* (God / Father), *pneuma hagion* (Holy Spirit), as co-equal sources of three benefits. 2. **Coordinate structure.** The grammatical structure is *parallel*: each person + a definite-article-headed gift, joined by *kai* (and). No subordination markers. 3. **Trinitarian content.** The three benefits, *charis* (grace), *agapē* (love), *koinōnia* (fellowship), are not arbitrarily distributed. Each fits the person attributed: - *Charis*, "the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ", grace is supremely manifest in Christ's incarnation and atoning work - *Agapē*, "the love of God", the Father's love sent the Son (John 3:16; Romans 5:8; 1 John 4:9-10) - *Koinōnia*, "the fellowship of the Holy Spirit", the Spirit produces communion / fellowship within the church (Philippians 2:1; 1 Corinthians 12:13) ## The Trinitarian benediction, the doctrinal weight The verse is one of the **NT Trinitarian touchstones**, alongside [Matthew 28.19](/codex/matthew-28-19/) (Trinitarian baptismal formula) and 1 Peter 1:2 ("the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ"). Theologically: 1. **Pre-Nicene Trinitarian shape.** The benediction predates by three centuries the Nicene formulation. Yet it already exhibits the structural pattern that will become Trinitarian dogma: three persons, distinct yet coordinate, named as the source of divine gifts to the church. 2. **Anti-modalism.** The three persons are *distinct*, distinct enough to receive distinct names and distinct gifts. Modalism (sabellianism), the heresy that Father, Son, and Spirit are merely three *modes* of one person, cannot explain why Paul would name three distinct sources. The Spirit and the Son are not just *aspects* of the Father; they are *persons* who give distinct gifts. 3. **Anti-Arianism / anti-Watchtower.** The three persons are *coordinate*. There is no marker of hierarchy or ontological subordination. The Father is not "more divine" than the Son; the Spirit is not a "creature." All three are sources of divine benediction in parallel. 4. **The pattern of Pauline benediction.** Paul's letters often end with single-person benedictions ("Grace be with you", Galatians 6:18; Ephesians 6:24), but this is the most expansive. The choice to name all three persons here, in a benediction (the most weighty closing-formula element), shows Paul's settled understanding of the divine reality at work in the church. ## Christ named first, "the Lord Jesus Christ" Notably, **Christ is named first** in the benediction. This is not theological subordination of the Father but a Pauline pattern: Paul typically names Christ first in benedictions because he is announcing the gospel (which begins with Christ's grace) rather than delivering systematic theology. The order in benedictions varies (1 Peter 1:2 has Father → Spirit → Son; Matthew 28:19 has Father → Son → Spirit), confirming that order does not signal ontological priority. The specific naming, *kyrios Iēsous Christos*, combines the divine title (*kyrios* = LXX rendering of *YHWH*), the personal name (*Iēsous*), and the messianic title (*Christos*). This three-fold designation (Lord-Jesus-Christ) is the Pauline confessional core (Philippians 2:11; Romans 10:9) and itself signals high Christology. ## *Charis*, *agapē*, *koinōnia*, the three divine benefits Each gift has its own theological weight: **1. *Charis tou Kyriou Iēsou Christou*, "the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.** *Charis* in the Pauline lexicon = unmerited divine favor, especially as embodied in Christ's atoning work (Romans 3:24; Ephesians 2:8-9). The grace that flows specifically from Christ's incarnation, life, death, resurrection, and ascension. Paul's signature theological term. **2. *Hē agapē tou Theou*, "the love of God.** The originating divine affection. *Agapē*, covenantal, sacrificial, sovereign love. Romans 5:8, God's love demonstrated in that *while we were sinners, Christ died for us*. The love is *the Father's*; it sent the Son. The grace and love are not redundant, grace is what God does *for the undeserving*; love is what God *is* in Himself toward His people. Grace is the act; love is the disposition. **3. *Hē koinōnia tou Hagiou Pneumatos*, "the fellowship of the Holy Spirit.** *Koinōnia*, communion, fellowship, partnership, sharing-in-common. The Spirit's distinctive work is producing *koinōnia*, both vertical (between the believer and God) and horizontal (between believers in the body of Christ). 1 Corinthians 12:13, "by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body." Philippians 2:1, "fellowship of the Spirit." Ephesians 4:3, "the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." The benediction's gifts therefore comprise the whole gospel-economy: Christ's grace gives access; God's love is the source; the Spirit's fellowship is the lived experience. ## Liturgical use, the pastoral inheritance The verse is one of the **most-used liturgical benedictions in Christian worship history**. It appears as the closing benediction in Anglican (Book of Common Prayer), Lutheran, Reformed, Methodist, and Roman Catholic liturgies. Its concise Trinitarian structure made it the natural choice for closing-of-service blessing. The Anglican tradition uses it to close Morning Prayer; many Protestant pastors use it to close their sermon / service; it has shaped the rhythm of Christian assembly worship for centuries. ## Patristic / scholarly note The patristic Trinitarian controversies (Arianism, Sabellianism, Eunomianism) extensively engaged 2 Corinthians 13:14 alongside Matthew 28:19 as evidence for the threefold-coordinate-divine-name pattern. Athanasius (*Letters to Serapion on the Holy Spirit* I.30, c. AD 358-360) cites the verse to argue the Spirit's full divinity, the Spirit is named in coordination with Father and Son in benediction; therefore the Spirit shares their divine nature. Basil of Caesarea (*On the Holy Spirit*, c. AD 375) develops the same argument extensively. Gregory of Nazianzus (*Theological Orations* 31, c. AD 380), same. The Cappadocian Trinitarian formula, *mia ousia, treis hypostaseis* (one essence, three persons), is in part a refinement of the structure Paul uses here. Modern conservative scholarship: Murray Harris (*2 Corinthians* NIGTC, 2005); Paul Barnett (*2 Corinthians* NICNT, 1997); David Garland (*2 Corinthians* NAC, 1999); Ralph Martin (*2 Corinthians* WBC, 2014); Bruce Ware (*Father, Son, and Holy Spirit*, 2005). ## Apologetic significance The verse anchors: 1. **The doctrine of the Trinity** as biblically grounded, not a fourth-century invention but a Pauline first-century confession. 2. **Anti-Watchtower / anti-Unitarian Christology**, the Son and Spirit are co-equal sources of divine benediction. 3. **Anti-modalism**, three distinct persons, three distinct gifts, three distinct relations. 4. **The pastoral integration of doctrine and practice**, the Trinity is not an abstract theological puzzle but the source of every gospel benefit experienced by the church. ## Key words - [G5485 - charis](/codex/g5485-charis/), *charis* (grace), the gift of Christ - [G0026 - agape](/codex/g0026-agape/), *agapē* (love), the gift of the Father - G2842 - koinonia, *koinōnia* (fellowship), the gift of the Spirit - [G4151 - pneuma](/codex/g4151-pneuma/), *pneuma hagion* (Holy Spirit) ## Connection to other passages - [Matthew 28.19](/codex/matthew-28-19/), Trinitarian baptismal formula - 1 Peter 1:2, *prognōsis Patros, hagiasmos Pneumatos, hupakoē Iēsou Christou*, Trinitarian sequence - Ephesians 4:4-6, "one Spirit… one Lord… one God and Father" - 1 Corinthians 12:4-6, "varieties of gifts… same Spirit; varieties of ministries… same Lord; varieties of effects… same God" - John 14:16-17, 26; 15:26; 16:7-15, Johannine Paraclete-Trinitarian texts - [Colossians 2.9](/codex/colossians-2-9/), *theotēs* and the cosmic Christology - Romans 8:9-11, Spirit / Christ / God interchangeable indwelling ## Quoted in **Arguments and defeaters:** - [Manuscript Variants Bible Corruption Objection Defeater](/codex/manuscript-variants-bible-corruption-objection-defeater/) - [Muhammad as Paraclete Refutation](/codex/muhammad-as-paraclete-refutation/) - [Trinity Coherence Defense (Latin-Thomist)](/codex/trinity-coherence-defense-latin-thomist/) - [Trinity Invented at Nicaea Objection Defeater](/codex/trinity-invented-at-nicaea-objection-defeater/) - [Unitarian Oneness Binitarian Objection Defeater](/codex/unitarian-oneness-binitarian-objection-defeater/) **Concepts:** - [Christianity](/codex/christianity/) - [Divine Gender Polarity and Feminine Imagery](/codex/divine-gender-polarity-and-feminine-imagery/) - [Doctrine](/codex/doctrine/) - [Islamic Dilemma](/codex/islamic-dilemma/) - [Trinity](/codex/trinity/) - [Trinity Common Objections](/codex/trinity-common-objections/) - [Trinity vs Oneness vs Modalism vs Arianism](/codex/trinity-vs-oneness-vs-modalism-vs-arianism/) **Lexicon:** - [G3962 - pater](/codex/g3962-pater/) --- _Scripture quotations taken from the **New American Standard Bible®** (NASB), Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by **The Lockman Foundation**. Used by permission. All rights reserved. [www.lockman.org](https://www.lockman.org)_