Test yourselves - Examine yourselves

2 Corinthians 13 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Examine Yourselves

This is the third time I am coming to you. Every fact is to be confirmed by the testimony of two or three witnesses. ² I have previously said when present the second time, and though now absent I say in advance to those who have sinned in the past and to all the rest as well, that if I come again I will not spare anyone, ³ since you are seeking for proof of the Christ who speaks in me, and who is not weak toward you, but mighty in you. ⁴ For indeed He was crucified because of weakness, yet He lives because of the power of God. For we also are weak in Him, yet we will live with Him because of the power of God directed toward you.

⁵ Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test? ⁶ But I trust that you will realize that we ourselves do not fail the test. ⁷ Now we pray to God that you do no wrong; not that we ourselves may appear approved, but that you may do what is right, even though we may appear unapproved. ⁸ For we can do nothing against the truth, but only for the truth. ⁹ For we rejoice when we ourselves are weak but you are strong; this we also pray for, that you be made complete. ¹⁰ For this reason I am writing these things while absent, so that when present I need not use severity, in accordance with the authority which the Lord gave me for building up and not for tearing down.

¹¹ Finally, brethren, rejoice, be made complete, be comforted, be like-minded, 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 fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.

In today’s text, in Paul’s letter to the church at Corinth, he says:    Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test?        Obviously then Paul is saying that being “in the faith” requires more than being a member of the church. Paul encourages the believers to test and examine themselves. The psalmist asked to be tested and examined as well.  In Psalm 26:1-7, he says:    Vindicate me, O Lord, for I have walked in my integrity, And I have trusted in the Lord without wavering.  Examine me, O Lord, and try me; Test my mind and my heart.
For Your lovingkindness is before my eyes, And I have walked in Your truth. I do not sit with deceitful men, Nor will I go with pretenders. I hate the assembly of evildoers, And I will not sit with the wicked. I shall wash my hands in innocence, And I will go about Your altar, O Lord,
That I may proclaim with the voice of thanksgiving And declare all Your wonders.     Again in Psalm 139:23-24:      Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way.

The psalmist asks God to test and examine, his heart, his mind and his actions. He ends saying: That I may proclaim with the voice of thanksgiving And declare all Your wonders;     lead me in the everlasting way.  In the psalmists request for God to test and examine him, he is completely yielded and submitted to God. Paul encourages believers to test and examine themselves. In truth though, if we are yielded to and submitted to God, it is still He who will examine us. We have the Holy Spirit of God living in us. Jesus says:     I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever;  that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you…But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you. (John 14:15-17,26) The Amplified version explains more fully the role of the Holy Spirit in verse 26:   But the Helper (Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor—Counselor, Strengthener, Standby), the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name [in My place, to represent Me and act on My behalf], He will teach you all things. And He will help you remember everything that I have told you.   Paul says: do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?

If Christ is in us, then we too, like the psalmist should be willing that our hearts, our minds and our actions be examined. All that we do, all that we say and all that we think and believe should be “in faith.”   Paul says: we also pray for, that you be made complete… Finally, brethren, rejoice, be made complete.    What is the test or the evidence of this being complete, that Paul says we, the church should be?  In today’s text he says: I am writing these things while absent, so that when present I need not use severity, in accordance with the authority which the Lord gave me for building up and not for tearing down… be comforted, be like-minded, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.       To be complete then, we must not only be yielded and submitted to God; the Holy Spirit, to be taught and guided by Him, but we must also be at peace with and in unity with other believers. In John 13:34-35 Jesus says: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”    In many cases the world, “all men,” do not recognize the disciples of Jesus, His followers, His church, because there is so little love and unity among believers. The world sees all the things which we allow to separate and divide us, our many denominations, our many doctrines, worship styles, music preferences and on and on. We try to tell the world about a God and a Savior who loves them, when we ourselves do not even love one another.  

Paul also says to the church:  Now we pray to God that you do no wrong; not that we ourselves may appear approved, but that you may do what is right.      Love is foundational to all we do, say and believe. But it is also important, if we are “in the faith,” that we do what is right. The psalmist says:   I have walked in my integrity, And I have trusted in the Lord without wavering…   I have walked in Your truth. I do not sit with deceitful men, Nor will I go with pretenders. I hate the assembly of evildoers, And I will not sit with the wicked. I shall wash my hands in innocence, And I will go about Your altar, O Lord…           Jesus says: “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” (John 14:15)        God’s word says: Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves!

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