Paul tells them to Examine Themselves, not Him
2 Corinthians 13:1-6 This is the third time I am coming to you. In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established. I told you before, and foretell you, as if I were present, the second time; and being absent now I write to them which heretofore have sinned, and to all other, that, if I come again, I will not spare: Since ye seek a proof of Christ speaking in me, which to you-ward is not weak, but is mighty in you. For though he was crucified through weakness, yet he liveth 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. Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates? But I trust that ye shall know that we are not reprobates. KJV
Paul, after he has warned them thoroughly in the last Chapter that he will not spare those who are unwilling to repent of sin, but he will use the rod of correction as is his authority as Christ’s Apostle and their spiritual Father. He writes that this is the third time he is coming to them. Paul wants to make it clear that just as Christ Jesus our Lord humbled Himself by entering into a weak human body (for our sakes) and temporarily suspended the use of all His Divine Power, so has he (Paul) temporarily suspended his use of all of his Apostolic Authority given him from Christ to punish obstinate and willful unrepentant sinners in the Church who stubbornly are persistent in wrongdoing and resist the guidance and direction he (Paul) has given them through his first two letters. These first two letters could be what Paul declares to be “the mouth of two or three witnesses” (2 Corinthians 13:1 & Deuteronomy 19:15) as the testimony of the truth being declared to them and they being left with no excuses for their continual strife, envy, backbiting, and fornication.
Paul’s first two letters will stand and serve as a witness against them to the truth of the Word of God they are discounting, dismissing, and disregarding that they might continue in these unfruitful behaviors continually refusing to acknowledge God’s Truth declared to them by this Apostle, who was Christ’s instrument in bringing the Gospel to them. Because everything he wrote to them in his first letter was written for their admonition/firm rebuke to lead them ultimately into correction. Paul wanted to see or witness Christ Resurrection Life being manifested in each one of them, which would remove or clear up all the envy, strife, backbiting, immorality, and taking one another to the courts of unbelievers to settle their disputes. Paul was certain that it is only when we allow God the Holy Spirit to motivate our choices and decisions that we can and will show evidence of Christ “in us the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27).
Therefore, Paul tells them to examine, inspect, and test themselves to investigate thoroughly to see if they were truly made new (2 Corinthians 5:17) by our Lord Jesus Christ, instead of desiring that he proves himself to them. The closing temperament of these words testify that Paul’s patience is drawing to a close with those in the fellowship that persist in causing all of the turmoil he describes in (2 Corinthians 12:20-21). Paul’s direction for them to take a self-examination (each person individually, and the body collectively) was because there was no need at all for them to examine him for this reason he declared in this manner in the previous Chapter, “The signs of a true apostle were performed among you with all perseverance, by signs and wonders and miracles” (2 Corinthians 12:12). Paul wants them to recall in their own hearts and minds what God the Father through God the Son by the Power of God the Holy Spirit did “in them” when they first believed the Gospel and how they came behind no other Church in the gifts of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 1:7).
Many of the Corinthian believers appeared to forget what God did through His instrument Paul and therefore, it was imperative that they give heed or pay close attention to Paul’s words to them right now because Paul was worried and concerned that many of them may have believed “in vain” as he wrote to them in (2 Corinthians 6:1) and as he wrote to the Galatian Church in (Galatians 4:11) and finally to the Thessalonian Church in (1 Thessalonians 3:5). It is Christ’s patience that these impenitent Corinthian believers try and test by belittling or minimizing Paul’s authority over them. By questioning Paul’s authenticity (which compelled Paul to boast of himself in this letter) they were committing the same error that the children of Israel committed as Moses documented in (Exodus 17:1-7). Paul writes that upon your self-examinations, you will affirm Christ “in you” or you will affirm yourselves reprobates. The English word reprobate is from the Greek word adokimos which means someone that is rejected, unapproved, fruitless, a castaway, useless, and morally worthless.
The imagery Paul uses here is akin to what the Prophet Jeremiah declared when he spoke of the destruction that would come to Jerusalem at the end of Chapter 6 with these words, “O daughter of my people, put on sackcloth And roll in ashes; Mourn as for an only son, A lamentation most bitter. For suddenly the destroyer Will come upon us.‘I have made you an assayer and a tester among My people, That you may know and assay their way.’All of them are stubbornly rebellious, Going about as a talebearer. They are bronze and iron; They, all of them, are corrupt. The bellows blow fiercely, The lead is consumed by the fire; In vain the refining goes on, But the wicked are not separated. They call them rejected silver, Because the LORD has rejected them.” (Jeremiah 6:26-30). The seriousness of the matter or of their spiritual condition dictated the use of the word adokimos because Paul feared that according to the reports he had received that some of them would not stand in the truth or would be found failing when tested. Paul concludes this exhortation by declaring to them emphatically with these words “But I trust that ye shall know that we are not reprobates” (2 Corinthians 13:6). Paul uses two little English words “I trust” which is translated by the one Greek word elpizo which means to expect or regard as probable or likely; to confide. Paul was certain that after their own self-examinations that they would determine that he and everyone he sent to them are approved by our Lord Jesus Christ no matter whether they failed or passed the test.
My own Personal Note: Those of you who drink coffee regularly or periodically; Do you notice how easy and seemingly quickly your coffee goes from piping hot to lukewarm? It takes simply letting it sit still, so goes our walk “in the Spirit”, if we allow our spirit man or woman to sit still long enough, then we become lukewarm living continually by the dictates of our soul (mind, emotions, and human will) and this is what surely happened in Corinth and in the hearts and lives of many of us who truly love our Lord Jesus Christ.
“‘I trust that’ your own Christianity will be recognized by you (observe, ‘ye shall know,’ answers to ‘know your own selves,’ (2 Corinthians 13:5) as sufficient ‘proof’ that ye are not reprobates, but that ‘Christ speaks in me,’ without needing a proof from me more trying to yourselves. If ye doubt my apostleship, ye must doubt your own Christianity, for ye are the fruits of my apostleship.” JFB Commentary
“He was crucified through weakness - Through the impotence of human nature. We also are weak with Him - We appear weak and despicable by partaking of the same sufferings for His sake. But we shall live with Him - Being raised from the dead. By the power of God in you - By that divine energy which is now in every believer, (2 Corinthians 13:5).” John Wesley
“Such a testing of themselves will give them full knowledge that Paul is not reprobate (adokimos). The best way for vacillating Christians to stop it is to draw close to Christ.” Robertson’s Word Pictures
If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...
Sincerely in Christ,
Clifford D. Tate, Sr.
Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reade, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…
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