These verses may seem a little strange, considering the rebuking tone of most of this letter. He now prays that the Corinthians will not do anything wrong. Some might say, they have a track record of sin, so surely they will continue in that habit. But Paul is confident in the Lord's ability to change their hearts following his rebuke.
The Apostle Paul had a big heart of love for the believers in Corinth. Even though they had slandered him, disobeyed the teaching he gave them, persisted in tolerating sin, and had allowed false teachers to spread their poison in the church, Paul had not given up on them. Any news of spiritual progress delighted him. He kept on praying for them because he was confident in God's ability to restore His people from their entrapment by sin, to being holy once again.
This letter was the most personal of Paul's epistles. In it he revealed his own heart and exposed the wrong attitudes of the believers in Corinth. Its purpose was to bring the church to repentance, and restore relationships between each other, with him as their apostle, and with the Lord. Although his visits and letters brought godly sorrow (2 Corinthians 7:10-11), he did not want the church to stay under the shroud of rebuke but to rejoice.
Kissing, as a greeting, was and is common in the Middle East; it was no more Christian than pagan. It was part of family meetings, business meetings, social meetings – so why does Paul tell them to greet each other with a holy kiss?
This verse has often been used as a benediction (a 'good word') at the end of church services. It is both a prayer to God to pour His goodness onto the church in Corinth, and also an alert to the church to be ready to receive God's blessing. It is a doxology (a statement of praise to God) which comes out of an understanding of the character and actions of the Trinitarian God. You may have said it many times, but what does it mean?
