---
title: 2 Corinthians 13:14
url: https://jw-apologetics.app/verses/2-corinthians-13-14/
markdown: https://jw-apologetics.app/verses/2-corinthians-13-14.md
type: verse
perspective: Protestant (historic Nicene) response to Jehovah's Witness teaching
reference: 2 Corinthians 13:14
testament: NT
section: Letters
index: https://jw-apologetics.app/llms.txt
---

# 2 Corinthians 13:14

## Text (Berean Standard Bible)

> The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.

## JW Usage

JWs read Paul's benediction as a simple closing wish — mentioning God, Jesus, and the holy spirit without implying co-equality or tri-personal unity. The NWT renders charis as "undeserved kindness" rather than "grace," and koinonia tou hagiou pneumatos as "sharing in the holy spirit" rather than "fellowship of the Holy Spirit" — converting the Spirit from the source of fellowship to the thing shared. The lowercase "holy spirit" reinforces the impersonal-force reading.

## Protestant Usage

Paul's benediction names three persons performing three distinct personal actions: "the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you." Grace is given by Jesus, love originates from the Father, and fellowship is produced by the Spirit — three personal agents, each contributing something distinct. This trinitarian pattern matches Matthew 28:19 (one name, three persons) and Isaiah 48:16, where the speaker identified as "the First and the Last" (Jehovah's title) says "Jehovah has sent me, and his Spirit" — revealing plurality within the one God. The NWT's triple substitution — "undeserved kindness" for grace, "sharing in" for fellowship of, and lowercase "spirit" — strips the passage of both its trinitarian structure and its grace- based soteriology in a single editorial move.

## NWT Issue

The NWT makes three doctrinally loaded changes: (1) charis ("grace") becomes "undeserved kindness," shifting the emphasis from divine generosity to human unworthiness; (2) koinonia tou hagiou pneumatos ("fellowship of the Holy Spirit") becomes "sharing in the holy spirit," converting the Spirit from the personal source of fellowship to an impersonal thing shared; (3) "holy spirit" remains lowercase. The combined effect strips the passage of its trinitarian structure and its grace theology. No major English translation agrees with all three renderings.

## Arguments Using This Verse

- [What Christians Actually Believe — The Trinity Defined](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/trinity-definition.md) — One God, three persons — not three gods, not one person [Deity of Christ]
- [One Hope, Not Two](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/one-hope.md) — Ephesians 4:4 -- The Sevenfold Unity [Salvation]
- [Yahweh Sent Yahweh](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/yahweh-sent-yahweh.md) — Isaiah 48:16 — Plurality Within the One God [Deity of Christ]
- ['The Trinity Is Pagan' — Genetic Fallacy And The Wrong Question](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/trinity-pagan-deflection.md) — Matthew 28:19 / 2 Corinthians 13:14 [Deity of Christ]
- [We Didn't Invent the Trinity — We Summarised What God Revealed](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/trinity-from-revelation-not-deduction.md) — A summary of three biblical revelations, not a philosophical speculation [Deity of Christ]