1 Corinthians 16:23,24

“The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you! 24. My love is with you all in Christ Jesus.”

Paul appeals to that invisible power of grace which alone can render effectual the prayers contained in the ἀσπασμός of 1 Corinthians 16:21. We must evidently understand in 1 Corinthians 16:23 ἤτω or ἔστω, may it be, and in 1 Corinthians 16:24 ἐστί, is.

In no other Epistle does the apostle, after desiring the grace of the Lord for the Church, again bring in his own person. But with him there is no stereotyped form. The form is always the immediate creation of the feeling or thought. He had addressed the Christians of Corinth in rebukes and warnings of such severity that he feels the need of assuring them once more, at the close, of his love, and his love for them all. Whatever they may have been toward him, he remains their apostle, not the apostle of some only, as of those who say: “I am of Paul,” but of all.

The last word: in Christ Jesus, reminds them once more who He is whose love has enkindled his toward them, and ought constantly to revive theirs.