2 Corinthians 13:1 This will be the third time I am coming to you. “By the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall be established.” [Deuteronomy 19:15]
This will be the third time I am coming to you. Paul came first in person and then by the contents of his first letter to them-- 1 Corinthians... and now he intended to come again to administer justice, as this letter sets forth.
“By the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall be established.” In Numbers 35, Yahweh describes to Moses the usage of cities of refuge. In the civil law of Israel, when someone was killed "the nearest relation of the deceased, under the title of 'avenger of blood', (or 'the redeemer of blood’,)... might pursue, and execute vengeance. A distinction is made, not between sudden anger and malice aforethought, both which are the crime of murder; but between intentionally striking a man with any weapon likely to cause death, and an unintentional blow. In the latter case alone, the city of refuge afforded protection. Murder in all its forms, and under all disguises, pollutes a land... There were six cities of refuge; one or other might be reached in less than a day's journey from any part of the land. To these, man-slayers might flee for refuge, and be safe, till they had a fair trial. If acquitted from the charge, they were protected from the avenger of blood…” (Matthew Henry) BUT "Whoever kills a person, the murderer shall be put to death on the testimony of witnesses; but one witness is not sufficient testimony against a person for the death penalty." (Num 35:30)
"Whoso killeth any person,... Willingly, and through enmity and malice: the MURDERER shall be put to death ‘BY THE MOUTH OF TWO WITNESSES; which is repeated partly to show, that this law concerning the cities of refuge was not designed to screen a murderer, who was guilty through malice prepense; and partly for the sake of what is added to it, that two witnesses are required in such a case, where a man's life is at stake, to prove the fact against him; which shows how careful the Lord is, and men should be, of the lives of his creatures, that no man suffer wrongfully; which is repeated again and again, that it might be observed, see Deuteronomy 17:6 but one witness shall not testify against any person, to cause him to die; which looks as if in other cases, in pecuniary matters, and the like, where life is not concerned, one witness may be sufficient; though it is always best and safest to have more if they can be had, that at the mouth of two or three witnesses everything may be established, Deuteronomy 19:15.” (Gill's Exposition)
The scope is widened to the WORSHIP OF IDOLS:
Yahweh told Moses: “If there is found among you, within any of your gates which Yahweh your God gives you, a man or a woman who has been wicked in the sight of Yahweh your God, in transgressing His covenant, who has gone and served other gods and worshiped them, either the sun or moon or any of the host of heaven, which I have not commanded, and it is told you, and you hear of it, then you shall inquire diligently. And if it is indeed true and certain that such an abomination has been committed in Israel, then you shall bring out to your gates that man or woman who has committed that wicked thing, and shall stone to death that man or woman with stones. Whoever is deserving of death shall be put to death on the TESTIMONY OF TWO OR THREE WITNESSES; he shall not be put to death on the testimony of one witness. The hands of the witnesses shall be the first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people. So you shall put away the evil from among you.” (Deut 17:2-7)
And then Moses broadens it to all sin, telling the children Israel,
"Yahweh your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear, according to all you desired of Yahweh your God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, ‘Let me not hear again the voice of Yahweh my God, nor let me see this great fire anymore, lest I die.’ And Yahweh said to me: ‘What they have spoken is good. I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brethren, and will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command Him. And it shall be that whoever will not hear My words, which He speaks in My name, I will require it of him. But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in My name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.’ And if you say in your heart, ‘How shall we know the word which Yahweh has not spoken?’— when a prophet speaks in the name of Yahweh, if the thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the thing which Yahweh has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him... One witness shall not rise against a man concerning any iniquity or ANY SIN that he commits; by the MOUTH OF TWO OR THREE WITNESSES the matter shall be established.” (Deut 18:16-22; 19:15)
"No one should be condemned or punished where there was not at least two or three witnesses to prove the offence. But where there were, discipline would be administered according to the nature of the crime.” (Barnes' Notes on the Bible)
2 I have told you before, and foretell as if I were present the second time, and now being absent to those who have sinned before, and to all the rest, that if I come again I will not spare— 3 since you seek a proof of Christ speaking in me, who is not weak toward you, but mighty in you. 4 For though He was crucified in weakness, yet He lives by the power of God. For we also are weak in Him, but we shall live with Him by the power of God toward you.
Jesus was that Prophet, like unto Moses. “By the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall be established.” [Deuteronomy 19:15] “There seems no adequate reason for not taking these words in their simple and natural meaning. The rule, quoted from Numbers 35:30, Deuteronomy 17:6; Deuteronomy 19:15, was of the nature of an axiom of Jewish, one might almost say of natural, law. And it had received a fresh prominence from our Lord’s reproduction of it in giving directions as for the discipline of the society which He came to found. (See Note on Matthew 18:16.) What more natural than that St. Paul should say, 'When I come, there will be no more surmises and vague suspicions, but every offence will be dealt with in a vigorous and full inquiry’?” (Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers)
The Jewish law required at least two witnesses to execute judgment on a matter, and a strong hand was against those found to be false witnesses. Paul was coming to Corinth again and, if mutiny persisted, he would take action. Any evil workers or wrong doer would be punished. "Quoted from De 19:15, Septuagint. 'I will judge not without examination, nor will I abstain from punishing upon due evidence' [Conybeare and Howson]. I will no longer be among you 'in all patience' towards offenders (2Co 12:12). The apostle in this case, where ordinary testimony was to be had, does not look for an immediate revelation, nor does he order the culprits to be cast out of the church before his arrival…” (Jamieson-Fausset-Brown)
"The discipline would demonstrate the existence of Christ in him (2 Corinthians 13:3). He could have given this proof sooner, but he acted in this respect like Christ, and was content to appear ‘weak' amongst them, in order that his power might be more conspicuously displayed (2 Corinthians 13:3-4).” (The Biblical Illustrator)
The discipline would not be the execution of death as in the days of old, which things happened for our example to testify of the penalty for sin to be executed at the Second Coming, but rather the sentence in Jesus’ day (tabernacling in the flesh amongst us) testified of the means whereby the church would attempt to save the evil doer from that eternal judgment. They would be put out of the church. Jesus, that Prophet like unto Moses, said: “Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that ‘by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.’ And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector. 'Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. 'Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.’" (Matthew 18:15-20)
5 Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified. 6 But I trust that you will know that we are not disqualified.
2 Corinthians 13:7 Now pray to God that you do no evil, not that we should appear approved, but that you should do what is honorable, though we may seem disqualified.
"And we pray to God that you will do nothing wrong. We are not concerned with our appearing successful, but with your doing what is right, even if we appear to be failures." (The Complete Jewish Bible)
8 For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth.
"For we can do nothing against the truth,.... The apostles had no power, nor could they, nor did they desire to exercise any against such who received the truth of the Gospel in the love of it; who continued in it, walked in it, and held it fast; who worshipped God in Spirit and in truth, and who walked uprightly, and as became the truth; for as the law is not made for such persons, but the reverse, so the authority the apostles had received from Christ was not to be exercised upon such:
but for the truth: for the sake of defending the truth against those that dropped, denied, and opposed it; and for the honour of it, by chastising, correcting, reproving, censuring, and punishing such, who either contradicted it, or caused it to be blasphemed and spoken evil of.” (Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible)
9 For we are glad when we are weak and you are strong. And this also we pray, that you may be made complete.
"For we are glad when we are weak ... - We rejoice in your welfare, and are willing to submit to self-denial and to infirmity if it may promote your spiritual strength. In the connection in which this stands it seems to mean, 'I am content to appear weak, provided you do no wrong; I am willing not to have occasion to exercise my power in punishing offenders, and had rather lie under the reproach of being actually weak, than to have occasion to exercise my power by punishing you for wrongdoing; and provided you are strong in the faith and in the hope of the gospel, I am very willing, nay, I rejoice that I am under this necessity of appearing weak.'
And this also we wish - I desire this in addition to your doing no evil…. you may be made complete… Here it evidently means that Paul wished their entire reformation - so that there should be no occasion for exercising discipline. Doddridge renders it, 'perfect good order.' Macknight, ‘restoration. 'For this restoration of good order Paul had diligently labored in these epistles; and this was an object near to his heart.” (Barnes’ Notes)
10 Therefore I write these things being absent, lest being present I should use sharpness, according to the authority which the Lord has given me for edification and not for destruction.
"The apostle here lets them know with how much tenderness he dealt with them; and whereas they might have charged him with sharpness in his letters, he assures them, that he therefore had so wrote, that he might prevent sharper dealings with them when he should come to them, by their hearkening to the admonitions of his letter; for otherwise, he tells them, that after he came he must deal more sharply with them in the execution of that power with which Christ had intrusted him. Yet he further tells them, that that power was for their good, not for their harm; for their edification, not for their destruction: which is the same with what he had said, 2 Corinthians 10:8, and in the verse immediately preceding.” (Matthew Poole)
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. 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 communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.