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Examine your own selves, whether you are in the faith. Test your own selves. Or don’t you know about your own selves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified. But I hope that you will know that we aren’t disqualified.
Now I pray to God that you do no evil; not that we may appear approved, but that you may do that which is honorable, though we are as reprobate.
2 Corinthians 13:5-7 sits inside this longer paragraph.
This is the third time I am coming to you. “At the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established.” I have said beforehand, and I do say beforehand, as when I was present the second time, so now, being absent, I write to those who have sinned before now, and to all the rest, that, if I come again, I will not spare; seeing that you seek a proof of Christ who speaks in me; who toward you is not weak, but is powerful in you. For he was crucified through weakness, yet he lives through the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but we will live with him through the power of God toward you. Examine your own selves, whether you are in the faith. Test your own selves. Or don’t you know about your own selves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified. But I hope that you will know that we aren’t disqualified.
Now I pray to God that you do no evil; not that we may appear approved, but that you may do that which is honorable, though we are as reprobate. For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth. For we rejoice when we are weak and you are strong. We also pray for this: your becoming perfect. For this cause I write these things while absent, that I may not deal sharply when present, according to the authority which the Lord gave me for building up, and not for tearing down.
Examine your own selves, whether you are in the faith. Test your own selves. Or don’t you know about your own selves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified.
But I hope that you will know that we aren’t disqualified.
Now I pray to God that you do no evil; not that we may appear approved, but that you may do that which is honorable, though we are as reprobate.
Prove youre selves whether ye are in the fayth or not. Examen youre owne selves: knowe ye not youre awne selves how that Iesus Christ is in you excepte ye be castawayes?
I trust that ye shall knowe that we are not castawayes.
I desyre before God that ye do none evyll not that we shuld seme comendable: but that ye shuld do that which is honest: and let vs be counted as leawde persones.
Proue your selues whether ye are in the faith: examine your selues: knowe yee not your owne selues, howe that Iesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?
But I trust that ye shall knowe that wee are not reprobates.
Nowe I pray vnto God that yee doe none euill, not that we should seeme approued, but that ye should doe that which is honest: though we be as reprobates.
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv5–7 5. Try yourselves. He confirms, what he had stated…
5. Try yourselves. He confirms, what he had stated previously — that Christ’s power showed itself openly in his ministry. For he makes them the judges of this matter, provided they descend, as it were, into themselves, and acknowledge what they had received from him. In the first place, as there is but one Christ, it must be of necessity, that the same Christ must dwell alike in minister and people. Now, dwelling in the people, how will he deny himself in the minister. Farther, he had shown his power in Paul’s preaching, in such a manner that it could be no longer doubtful or obscure to the Corinthians, if they were not altogether stupid. For, whence had they faith? whence had they Christ? whence, in fine, had they every thing? It is with good reason, therefore, that they are called to look into themselves, that they may discover there, what they despise as a thing unknown. Then only has a minister a true and well grounded assurance for the approbation of his doctrine, when he can appeal to the consciences of those whom he has taught, that, if they have any thing of Christ, and of sincere piety, they may be constrained to acknowledge his fidelity. We are now in possession of Paul’s object.
This passage, however, is deserving of particular observation on two accounts. For, in the first place, it shows the relation, which subsists between the faith of the people, and the preaching of the minister — that the one is the mother, that produces and brings forth, and the other is the daughter, that ought not to forget her origin. In the second place, it serves to prove the assurance of faith, as to which the Sorbonnic sophists have made us stagger, nay more, have altogether rooted out from the minds of men. They charge with rashness all that are persuaded that they are the members of Christ, and have Him remaining in them, for they bid us be satisfied with a “moral conjecture,” as they call it — that is, with a mere opinion so that our consciences remain constantly in suspense, and in a state of perplexity. But what does Paul say here? He declares, that all are reprobates, who doubt whether they profess Christ and are a part of His body. Let us, therefore, reckon that alone to be right faith, which leads us to repose in safety in the favor of God, with no wavering opinion, but with a firm and steadfast assurance.
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Unless by any means you are reprobates. He gives them in a manner their choice, whether they would rather be reprobates, than give due testimony to his ministry; for he leaves them no alternative, but either to show respect to his Apostleship, or to allow that they are reprobates. For, unquestionably, their faith had been founded upon his doctrine, and they had no other Christ, than they had received from him, and no other gospel than what they had embraced, as delivered to them by him, so that it were vain for them to attempt to separate any part of their salvation from his praise.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv5–7 He confirmeth that which he spake of the virtue…
He confirmeth that which he spake of the virtue of God appearing in his ministry, and he gathereth by the mutual relation between the people’s faith and the minister’s preaching, that they must either reverence his Apostleship, upon whose doctrine their faith is grounded, or they must condemn themselves of infidelity, and must confess themselves not to be of Christ’s body.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv5–7 5 Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith;…
5 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?
Ver. 5. Examine yourselves] The final trial of our eternal estate doth immediately and solely appertain to the court of heaven. Indeed the disquisitive part belongs to us, the decisive to God.
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Prove your own selves] Redouble your diligence in this most needful but much neglected duty of self-examination; an error here is easy and dangerous; hence the precept is doubled; so Zep 2:1. Excutite vos, iterumque excutite, as Tremellius renders it, Fan yourselves, yea, fan yourselves. He doubleth his phrase, as it were his files. Men are as loth to review their actions, and read the blurred writing of their hearts, as school boys are to parse their lessons and false Latins they have made; the eyes also of their minds are as ill set as those of their bodies, so that they see nothing inwards, though these windows of the soul should be like the windows of Solomon’s temple, broad inward, 1Ki 6:4: and men should try themselves thoroughly, for God will; as, though scholars will not scan their verses, their master will. "Let every man therefore prove his own work," Gal 6:4; so shall he save God a labour, and put the devil out of office. Whereas, sparing a little pains at first doubleth it in the end, as he that will not cast up his books, his books will cast up him at length.
Know ye not your own selves?] Nosce teipsum, Know thyself, say the heathens, came down from heaven; sure it is none can ascend to heaven unless he know himself.
Except ye be reprobates?] Gr. counterfeits, adulterine. Every soul is either the spouse of Christ, or the devil’s strumpet.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv5–7 Examine yourselves: it is most commonly seen, that those…
Examine yourselves: it is most commonly seen, that those who are most busy to desire or inquire after a proof of Christ in others, are tardiest in making an inquiry after Christ’s being in themselves. The apostle therefore calleth the censorious part of this church, who desired a proof of Christ in him, to examine themselves.
Whether ye be in the faith; whether they had any true faith; such as works by love, and purifies the heart. For he knew that they were baptized, and Christians in outward profession; nor is he blaming them for any apostacy from the doctrine of faith, only for an ill life, which evidenceth their faith not to be the faith of God’s elect, a faith of the operation of God, & c.
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Prove your own selves: he doubleth the exhortation upon them, possibly for this end, to let them know, that if they found themselves in the faith, they could not reasonably doubt whether he himself was in the faith, or not, whom God had made the instrument to convert them.
Know ye not your own selves: he commends to them the knowledge of themselves, as being a far more desirable piece of knowledge than the knowledge of other men; as to what they are, or what their state is towards God.
How that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates? In the inquiry after this, he bids them to inquire, whether Christ was in them, yea or no? The name of Christ was named upon them in their baptism, Christ had been preached to them; this the apostle knew; but all this might be, and yet Christ not dwell in their hearts by faith. This is the great point the apostle directs them to examine and prove themselves about, whether Christ was in them by a lively faith? Apprehended and applied as their Saviour, ruling and governing them as their Lord and King? He lets them know the importance of this inquiry, telling them that Jesus Christ must be in them, if they were not reprobates. But (some might say) how could the apostle conclude this? Though at present Christ was not in them, and they as yet were no more than formal professors, yet might not God open their eyes, and work in them afterwards a more full and effectual change?
Answer.
1. The apostle might be allowed to know more than ordinary ministers can know. He had before said: If our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost.
2. When the gospel and the means of grace have been for some considerable time in a place, it is much to be feared, that those who have not in that time felt the saving power and effect of it upon their hearts, never shall. It is ordinarily observed, that where God blesseth the ministry of any to convert souls, their greatest harvest is in the first years of their ministry.
3. Some think, that the word αδοκιμοι should not be translated reprobates, but rather, not approved by God. If Christ be not in the soul by faith, it cannot be approved of God, because without faith it is impossible to please God. But we generally translate the word by reprobate, rejected, castaway, 1Co 9:27; 2Ti 3:8; Tit 1:16; Heb 6:8. It seemeth to signify persons given over by God to a stupidity of mind, &c. So as the apostle here useth a very close argument, to put them upon a search into their own hearts and states, to see if they could find Christ dwelling in them; for otherwise, (considering their long profession, and the revelation of Christ to them), it would be a ground of fear, that they were such as God had cast off for ever. However, as to their present state, they had no ground to conclude better, whatever mercy God might afterwards show them. Men’s sitting and continuing long under the means of grace, and an outward profession, without a saving knowledge of Christ, and true savour of the truth, and a reformation of their lives according to the rules and directions of the gospel, is not indeed an infallible sign that he who formed them will never show them any favour; but it is a very great presumption that it will be so with such. Which should therefore strongly engage them to be very often and very seriously proving themselves, as to this thing, whether they be in Christ, and whether they have a true, saving faith?
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
William Burkitt 1703 · Public Domain On vv5–7 Here the apostle advises the Corinthians, instead of inquiring…
Here the apostle advises the Corinthians, instead of inquiring after the proof of Christ in him, to examine whether they were in Christ themselves; intimating to us, that such are usually most backward to examine the state of their own souls, who are forward to enquire into the spiritual state and condition of others. "You seek a proof of Christ in me, says the apostle: Oh, rather prove and examine yourselves."
Where note, 1. A duty expressed; Examine yourselves; prove yourselves: The word is a metaphor taken from goldsmiths, who with great exactness try their gold; the truth of it by the touchstone, the weight of it by the scale, and the purity of it by the fire. And the repetition of the command, Examine yourselves; prove yourselves; implies the great backwardness that is in men’s natures to perform this duty, the great necessity of the duty, and the great diligence and frequency to be used in performing of the duty.
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Learn hence, That self-examination is an excellent, a necessary and important duty, belonging to every one in the church, and requires great diligence and faithfulness in the performing of it. ’Tis necessary, in regard of our comforts, and also in regard of our graces; for there are counterfeit graces, as well as real; and common graces, as well as saving; and ’tis a duty that requires diligence and frequency, because the work is difficult, because the heart is backward, because we are apt to be deceived, and willing to be deceived; because many have miscarried without is, and many perish by a negligent performance of it: Therefore examine yourselves; prove yourselves.
Note, 2. The subject-matter of our examination, whether ye be in the faith; that is, whether ye be converted to the Christian faith, whether the faith of Christ be in you, whether the pinciple of faith be in your consciences, whether the practice of faith be in your lives, whether your faith be the parent and principle of obedience, working love, and working by love.
Note, 3. The enforcement or motive to this duty, Except ye be reprobates; that is, counterfeit, adulterate, unsound, and insincere Christians, unaccepted of God, and not owned by him. As reprobate silver has no worth or fitness in it for trading, so such Christians as, upon examination are not found to have the grace of faith in them, more precious than gold, are unapproved of God, and rejected by him.
Note, 4. When the apostle expostulates with them, and says, Know ye not your ownselves? it implies both the folly and unreasonableness of the neglect of the duty, and also the possibility and easiness of knowing whether Christ be in us, or not, upon a due and diligent inquiry, whether we have experienced the quickening and transforming power of Christ in our hearts and lives.
Finally, So great is the benefit, and so sweet the comfort, which flows to us by examinations and self-acquaintance, that it will abundantly recompence our care and diligence, in the frequent and faithful discharge of it.
William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On v7 Here we have,
Here we have,
I. The apostle's prayer to God on the behalf of the Corinthians, that they might do no evil, Co2 13:7. This is the most desirable thing we can ask of God, both for ourselves and for our friends, to be kept from sin, that we and they may do no evil; and it is most needful that we often pray to God for his grace to keep us, because without this we cannot keep ourselves. We are more concerned to pray that we may not do evil than that we may not suffer evil.
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II. The reasons why the apostle put up this prayer to God on behalf of the Corinthians, which reasons have a special reference to their case, and the subject-matter about which he was writing to them. Observe, he tells them, 1. It was not so much for his own personal reputation as for the honour of religion: "Not that we should appear approved, but that you should do that which is honest, or decent, and for the credit of religion, though we should be reproached and vilified, and accounted as reprobates," Co2 13:7. Note, (1.) The great desire of faithful ministers of the gospel is that the gospel they preach may be honoured, however their persons may be vilified. (2.) The best way to adorn our holy religion is to do that which is honest, and of good report, to walk as becomes the gospel of Christ. 2. Another reason was this: that they might be free from all blame and censure when he should come to them. This is intimated in Co2 13:8, We can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth. If therefore they did not do evil, nor act contrary to their profession of the gospel, the apostle had no power nor authority to punish them. He had said before (Co2 10:8) and says here (Co2 13:10) that the power which the Lord had given him was to edification, not to destruction; so that, although the apostle had great powers committed to him for the credit and advancement of the gospel, yet he could not do anything to the disparagement of the truth, nor the discouragement of those who obeyed it. He could not, that is, he would not, he dared not, he had no commission to act against the truth; and it is remarkable how the apostle did rejoice in this blessed impotency: "We are glad," says he (Co2 13:9), "when we are weak and you are strong; that is, that we have no power to censure those who are strong in faith and fruitful in good works." Some understand this passage thus: "Though we are weak through persecutions and contempt, we bear it patiently, and also joyfully, while we see that you are strong, that you are prosperous in holiness, and persevering in well-doing." For, 3. He desired their perfection (Co2 13:9); that is, that they might be sincere, and aim at perfection (sincerity is our gospel-perfection), or else he wished there might be a thorough reformation among them. He not only desired that they might be kept from sin, but also that they might grow in grace, and increase in holiness, and that all that was amiss among them might be rectified and reformed. This was the great end of his writing this epistle, and that freedom he used with them by writing these things (those friendly admonitions and warnings), being absent, that so, being present, he should not use sharpness (Co2 13:10), that is, not proceed to the utmost extremity in the exercise of the power which the Lord had given him as an apostle, to revenge all disobedience, Co2 10:6.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv5–7 Examine yourselves whether ye be in the faith,.... These…
Examine yourselves whether ye be in the faith,.... These words are to be considered in connection with Co2 13:3 for seeing they sought and demanded a proof the voice and power of Christ in the apostle, he directs them to self examination, to look within themselves, to try, prove, and recognise their own souls; where if things were right, they would find a proof of Christ's speaking in him, to them: he advises them to examine the state of their own souls, and see whether they were in the faith; either in the doctrine of faith, having a spiritual and experimental knowledge of it, true love and affection for it, an hearty belief of it, having felt the power of it upon their souls, and abode in it; whether, as the Syriac version reads it, , "ye stand in the faith", firm and stable; or in the grace of faith, either of miracles, or that which is connected with salvation; and which if they were in it, and had it, is attended with good works; operates by love to Christ and to his people; by which souls go out of themselves to Christ, live upon him, receive from him, and give him all the glory of salvation: and if this was their case, he desires to know how they came by their faith; and suggests, that their light in the doctrine of the Gospel, and their faith in Christ Jesus, as well as the miraculous gifts many of them were possessed of, were through his ministry as the means; and this was a full proof of Christ's speaking in him:
prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you; by which he means, that if they took a survey of things in their own souls, it would appear that Christ was in them; not as he is in all the world, filling heaven and earth with his presence; or as he is in every rational creature, as the Creator and author of the light of nature; but in a special and spiritual manner, by his Spirit and grace; the Father reveals him in his people, as the foundation of their hope of glory; he himself enters and takes possession of their hearts in conversion, communicates his grace, and manifests himself, and is formed there by his Spirit; his graces are implanted, his image is stamped, his Spirit is put within them, and he himself dwells by faith: and this upon inquiry would be found to be the case of the Corinthians,
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except, says the apostle,
ye are reprobates; meaning not that they were so, as such may stand opposed to the elect of God; for persons may as yet neither be in the faith, nor Christ in them, and yet both be hereafter, and so not be left of God, or consigned to destruction; but that if they were not in the doctrine of, faith, then they were reprobate concerning it, or void of judgment in it; and if they had not the grace of faith, and Christ was not in them, then they were not genuine, but nominal professors, like "reprobate silver", counterfeit coin; which when detected, would be "disapproved", not only by God, but man, as this word also signifies, and so stands opposed to them that are "approved", Co2 13:7 or if they did not make such an examination, probation, and recognition of themselves, they would be without probation: or as the Arabic version, without experiment. The apostle hereby brings them into this dilemma, either that if upon examination they were found to be in the faith, and Christ in them, which blessings they enjoyed through his ministry, then they did not want a proof of Christ speaking in him; but if these things did not appear in them, then they were persons of no judgment in spiritual things, were not real Christians, but insignificant and useless persons.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv5–7 Prove yourselves - Whether ye are such as can,…
Prove yourselves - Whether ye are such as can, or such as cannot, bear the test - This is the proper meaning of the word which we translate, reprobates. Know ye not yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you - All Christian believers know this, by the witness and by the fruit of his Spirit. Some translate the words, Jesus Christ is among you; that is, in the church of Corinth; and understand them of the miraculous gifts and the power of Christ which attended the censures of the apostle.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv5–7 Verse 5. Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the…
Verse 5. Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith] εαυτουςπειραζετε. Try yourselves; pierce your hearts; bore yourselves throughout; try yourselves by what I have written, and see whether ye retain the true faith of the Gospel.
Prove your own selves.] εαυτουςδοκιμαζετε. Put yourselves to the test, as you would try gold or silver suspected of adulteration. No more take that for Gospel which is not so, than you would take adulterated money for sterling coin. This is a metaphor taken from testing or assaying adulterated metals.
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Know ye not your own selves] Are ye not full of wisdom and understanding? And is it not as easy to find out a spurious faith as it is to detect a base coin? There is an assay and touchstone for both. If base metal be mixed with the pure you can readily detect it; and as easily may you know that you are in the faith as you can know that base metal is mixed with the pure. Does Jesus Christ dwell in you? You have his Spirit, his power, his mind, if ye be Christians; and the Spirit of Christ bears witness with your spirit that ye are the children of God. And this is the case except ye be reprobates; αδοκιμοι, base counterfeit coin; mongrel Christians. This metaphor holds excellently here. They had a Judaizing Christian among them; such, presumptively, was the false apostle: they had received his Judaico-Christian doctrine, and were what the prophet said of some of the Israelites in his time. Reprobate silver, adulterated coin, shall men call them, Jer 6:30. And thus, when they were brought to the test, they were found reprobate; that is, adulterated with this mixture of bad doctrine. There is no other kind of reprobation mentioned here than that which refers to the trial and rejection of adulterated coin; and, by way of metaphor, to the detection of false Christianity. This reprobation came of the people themselves: they, not God, adulterated the pure metal. Man pollutes himself; then God reprobates the polluted.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv5, 7 2Co 13:5-6. Examine yourselves, &c. — You examine and…
2Co 13:5-6. Examine yourselves, &c. — You examine and try me, but let me admonish you to turn the search into your own hearts, that ye may know, with certainty, whether ye be in the faith — Whether ye possess true and saving faith in Christ and his gospel, and are therefore true Christians. For if, on a strict inquiry, you find that you are, you will therein find a proof of my being a true apostle, as it is by means of my ministry that you are become such. Prove your own selves — Whether ye be such as can, or such as cannot, bear the test, as the word δοκιμαζετε implies. Know ye not your own selves — By your own sense and feeling; that Jesus Christ is in you — By the enlightening, quickening, and sanctifying influences of the Spirit of truth and grace; is in you the hope of glory, Col 1:27; dwelleth in your hearts by faith, Eph 3:17; so that you are vitally united to him, have in you the mind that was in him, and walk as he walked. All true Christian believers know this by the witness and fruits of Christ’s Spirit, see Joh 14:20; Rom 8:9-16. Some translate the words, Jesus Christ is among you; that is, in the church of Corinth; and understand them of the miraculous gifts, and the power of Christ which attended the censures of the apostle. Except ye be reprobates — Αδοκιμοι, persons disapproved, or mere nominal Christians; and such as, whatever your gifts may be, will be finally rejected, as reprobate silver, that will not stand the touchstone. The reader will easily observe that this word, here rendered reprobates, and which, as has been observed, properly means persons disapproved, has no relation here, or anywhere else in Scripture, to any decree of God absolutely and unconditionally excluding a part of mankind from a capacity of salvation; but only denotes those who, through the rejection or abuse of divine grace, continue to render themselves unfit to be approved of God as his people, either now or at the day of judgment. “Thus they who, when they knew God, did not glorify him as God, but changed his truth into a lie, and worshipped the creature more than the Creator, are said (Rom 1:21-28) to be given up by God, εις νουν αδοκιμον, to a reprobate mind, which prompted them to do those things which God could not approve of, but abhor; and they who resisted the truth, through the corruption of their minds, are styled αδοκιμοι περι την πιστιν, that is, reprobates concerning the faith, 2Ti 3:8; that is, men whose faith cannot be owned or approved of by God. They also are in Scripture, as to their manners, styled reprobates, whose minds and consciences are defiled; so that though in words they profess to know God, yet in works they deny him, being abominable, disobedient, and to every good work αδοκιμοι, reprobates, that is, void, not of judgment only to discern, but of affection to approve of it, Tit 1:16. Thus that earth is styled αδοκιμος, reprobate, or rejected, which, after all the showers which fall upon it, brings forth only thorns and briers, Heb 6:8; and that silver, αργυριον αδοκιμον, reprobate silver, which, being falsely stamped or coined, will not be received, but rejected, Pro 25:4; Isa 1:22. And in this sense St. Paul saith, he kept under his body, lest while he preached to others, he himself should be αδοκιμος, disowned and rejected by God, 1Co 9:27.” — Whitby. But I trust, &c. — But whatever be the case of any of you, I hope ye shall soon know that we are not reprobates — Are not disapproved of God, have not lost our evidence of the divine presence and favour.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv5–7 Examine yourselves - see the note on 1Co 11:28.…
Examine yourselves - see the note on 1Co 11:28. The particular reason why Paul calls on them to examine themselves was, that there was occasion to fear that many of them had been deceived. Such had been the irregularities and disorders in the church at Corinth; so ignorant had many of them shown themselves of the nature of the Christian religion, that it was important, in the highest degree, for them to institute a strict and impartial examination to ascertain whether they had not been altogether deceived. This examination, however, is never unimportant or useless for Christians; and an exhortation to do it is always in place. So important are the interests at stake, and so liable are the best to deceive themselves, that all Christians should be often induced to examine the foundation of their hope of eternal salvation.
Whether ye be in the faith - Whether you are true Christians. Whether you have any true faith in the gospel. Faith in Jesus Christ, and in the promises of God through him, is one of the distinguishing characteristics of a true Christian; and to ascertain whether we have any true faith, therefore, is to ascertain whether we are sincere Christians. For some reasons for such an examination, and some remarks on the mode of doing it; see the note on 1Co 11:28.
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Prove your own selves - The word used here (δοκιμάζετε dokimazete) is stronger than that before used, and rendered “examine” (πειράζετε peirazete). This word, prove, refers to assaying or trying metals by the powerful action of heat; and the idea here is, that they should make the most thorough trial of their religion, to see whether it would stand the test; see the note on 1Co 3:13. The proof of their piety was to be arrived at by a faithful examination of their own hearts and lives; by a diligent comparison of their views and feelings with the word of God; and especially by making trial of it in life. The best way to prove our piety is to subject it to actual trial in the various duties and responsibilites of life. A man who wishes to prove an axe to see whether it is good or not, does not sit down and look at it, or read all the treatises which he can find on axe-making, and on the properties of iron and steel, valuable as such information would be; but he shoulders his axe and goes into the woods, and puts it to the trial there.
If it cuts well; if it does not break; if it is not soon made dull, he understands the quality of his axe better than he could in any other way. So if a man wishes to know what his religion is worth, let him try it in the places where religion is of any value. Let him go into the world with it. Let him go and try to do good; to endure affliction in a proper manner; to combat the errors and follies of life; to admonish sinners of the error of their ways; and to urge forward the great work of the conversion of the world, and he will soon see there what his religion is worth - as easily as a man can test the qualities of an axe. Let him not merely sit down and think, and compare himself with the Bible and look at his own heart - valuable as this may be in many respects - but let him treat his religion as he would anything else - let him subject it to actual experiment. That religion which will enable a man to imitate the example of Paul or Howard, or the great Master himself, in doing good, is genuine.
That religion which will enable a man to endure persecution for the name of Jesus; to bear calamity without complaining; to submit to a long series of disappointments and distresses for Christ’s sake, is genuine. That religion which will prompt a man unceasingly to a life of prayer and self-denial; which will make him ever conscientious, industrious, and honest; which will enable him to warn sinners of the errors of their ways, and which will dispose him to seek the friendship of Christians, and the salvation of the world, is pure and genuine. That will answer the purpose. It is like the good axe with which a man can chop all day long, in which there is no flaw, and which does not get dull, and which answers all the purposes of an axe. Any other religion than this is worthless.
Know ye not your own selves - That is, “Do you not know yourselves?” This does not mean, as some may suppose, that they might know of themselves, without the aid of others, what their character was; or that they might themselves ascertain it; but it means that they might know themselves, that is, their character, principles, conduct. This proves that Christians may know their true character. If they are Christians, they may know it with as undoubted certainty as they may know their character on any other subject. Why should not a man be as able to determine whether he loves God as whether he loves a child, a parent, or a friend? What greater difficulty need there be in understanding the character on the subject of religion than on any other subject; and why should there be anymore reason for doubt on this than on any other point of character? And yet it is remarkable, that while a child has no doubt that he loves a parent, or a husband a wife, or a friend a friend, almost all Christians are in very great doubt about their attachment to the Redeemer and to the great principles of religion.
Such was not the case with the apostles and early Christians. “I know,” says Paul,” whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed to him,” etc.; 2Ti 1:12. “We know.’ says John, speaking in the name of the body of Christians, “that we have passed from death unto life;” 1Jo 3:14. “We know that we are of the truth;” 1Jo 3:19. “We know that he abideth in us;” 1Jo 3:24. “We know that we dwell in him;” 1Jo 4:13; see also Joh 5:2, Joh 5:19-20. So Job said, “I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand in the latter day upon the earth,” etc.; Job 19:25. Such is the current language of scripture. Where, in the Bible, do the sacred speakers and writers express doubts about their attachment to God and the Redeemer? Where is such language to be found as we hear from almost all professing Christians, expressing entire uncertainty about their condition; absolute doubt whether they love God or hate him; whether they are going to heaven or hell; whether they are influenced by good motives or bad; and even making it a matter of merit to be in such doubt, and thinking it wrong not to doubt?
What would be thought of a husband that should make it a matter of merit to doubt whether he loved his wife; or of a child that should think it wrong not to doubt whether he loved his father or mother? Such attachments ought to be doubted - but they do not occur in the common relations of life. On the subject of religion, people often act as they do on no other subject; and if it is right for one to be satisfied of the sincerity of his attachments to his best earthly friends, and to speak of such attachment without wavering or misgiving, it cannot be wrong to be satisfied with regard to our attachment to God, and to speak of that attachment, as the apostles did, in language of undoubted confidence.
How that Jesus Christ is in you - To be in Christ, or for Christ to be in us, is a common mode in the Scriptures of expressing the idea that we are Christians. It is language derived from the close union which subsists between the Redeemer and his people: see the phrase explained in the note on Rom 8:10.
Except ye be reprobates - see the note on Rom 1:28. The word rendered “reprobates” (ἀδόκιμοι adokimoi) means properly not approved, rejected: that which will not stand the trial. It is properly applicable to metals, as denoting that they will not bear the tests to which they are subjected, but are found to be base or adulterated. The sense here is, that they might know that they were Christians, unless their religion was base, false, adulterated; or such as would not bear the test. There is no allusion here to the sense which is sometimes given to the word “reprobate,” of being cast off or abandoned by God, or doomed by him to eternal ruin in accordance with an eternal purpose. Whatever may be the truth on that subject, nothing is taught in regard to it here. The simple idea is, that they might know that they were Christians, unless their religion was such as would not stand the test, or was worthless.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv5–7 Try your ownselves if you be in the faith.[1]…
Try your ownselves if you be in the faith.[1] He does not mean if they have a right Christian faith or belief, but either whether they had a saving Christian faith working in them by charity, or as St. John Chrysostom says, a faith that shewed itself by the gift of miracles, as at time commonly given to the first Christians. --- Unless perhaps you are disapproved,[2] rejected, and justly deprived of this gift, which was a proof that they were Christians, and had received the Spirit of Christ. I judged it better to translate here disapproved, that reprobates, which in other places is often taken as opposed to the predestinate and the elect, whereas there it signifies those who were rejected, and deprived of the gifts of the spirit, particularly of that of miracles, and of those spiritual gifts granted to the first Christians, and which were a proof that they had received the grace: and the 7th verse, not that we may appear approved, but that....we may be as reprobates. That is, we wish that we may have no occasion to shew the power and the gifts of the spirit, and that of miracles, but as if we were rejected, disapproved, reproved, and deprived of such proofs. (Witham)
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[BIBLIOGRAPHY]
Si estis in fide, Greek: ei este en te pistei. St. John Chrysostom, Greek: om. kth., p. 701, Greek: emoi dokei entautha legein ten ton semeion. Also in Ver. 5., Nisi forte reprobi estis, Greek: adokimoi, improbati, or non probati. The Protestant, as well as the Rhem., hath reprobates; but Dr. Wells, in his amendments, has put destitute of proofs, which here is the true sense.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv5–7 Examine--Greek, "Try (make trial of) yourselves."
Examine--Greek, "Try (make trial of) yourselves."
prove your own selves--This should be your first aim, rather than "seeking a proof of Christ speaking in me" (Co2 13:3).
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your own selves--I need not speak much in proof of Christ being in me, your minister (Co2 13:3), for if ye try your own selves ye will see that Christ is also in you [CHRYSOSTOM], (Rom 8:10). Finding Christ dwelling in yourselves by faith, ye may well believe that He speaks in me, by whose ministry ye have received this faith [ESTIUS]. To doubt it would be the sin of Israel, who, after so many miracles and experimental proofs of God's presence, still cried (Exo 17:7), "Is the Lord among us or not?" (Compare Mar 8:11).
except ye be reprobates--The Greek softens the expression, "somewhat reprobates," that is, not abiding the "proof" (alluding to the same word in the context); failing when tested. Image from metals (Jer 6:30; Dan 5:27; Rom 1:28).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv5–7 5. Examine… prove your own selves—As above stated the…
5. Examine… prove your own selves—As above stated the prove here refers back to the proof of 2Co_13:3. They should prove or probe, or put to prob-ation, their own genuineness to decide that they were not re-prob-ates. Reprobates are those that cannot bear the probe, proof, or test, but are thereby condemned. The word must be entirely cleared of the Calvinistic doctrine of “reprobation,” according to which God is made eternally to decree that some men shall be wicked, and then damned for the wickedness he has decreed. It simply means men who profess to be Christians, or other good things, but who, when tested, are dis-proved to be such.
Whether… in the faith—Look into your own consciousness, and scrutinize whether you are in possession of the faith which justifies, which unites to Christ, and which finally saves.
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Your own selves—Not so much somebody else as your own selves. And leave not the proving to be done by somebody else, but perform it yourselves, and for yourselves.
Know ye not—Very emphatic, as putting a point of infinite importance to be realized.
Christ is in you—By his Spirit animating and actuating you; and by the witness of his Spirit testifying to and assuring you. Hereby you have a sure test.
Except ye be reprobates—Either an animating, witnessing Christ is in you, or ye are test-condemned, proved by the experiment to be spurious, reprobates.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv5–7 5. Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith;…
5. Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves] The words rendered (1) examine and (2) prove have the sense (1) of testing (the word is often translated tempt) and (2) subjecting to a process the result of which is satisfactory. See for (2) 1Co_11:28. The words yourselves are in each case emphatic. The connection with what has gone before would seem to be as follows. The Apostle had been among the Corinthians in weakness (1Co_2:3; cf. ch. 2Co_10:1; 2Co_10:10). He had boasted of nothing but his infirmity (ch. 2Co_11:30, 2Co_12:5; 2Co_12:9). So that many of them had come to regard him with contempt. But the Gospel, he says, is a power. He appeals to the testimony of their own Christian experience on the point, as in ch. 2Co_4:2, 2Co_5:11, 2Co_6:4. ‘Is it not a power?’ he says. ‘Look at yourselves. Do you not feel it to be so in your own hearts? Does not Jesus Christ dwell in you, at least in all who are not finally cast off by Him, and does He not make manifest His power in the subjugation of the natural man within you? Could this have taken place unless the Gospel were a real power of God? And then to whom, humanly speaking, do you owe this power? Is it not to him of whom you are ready to believe that he is no true Apostle of Christ?’
whether ye be in the faith] i.e. whether “Christ be present and actively working within you, the certain result of all true faith.” Meyer. Cf. Joh_15:1-7; Joh_17:21-23; Rom_6:23 (in the Greek), 2Co_8:1; 2Co_8:10; Gal_2:20; Gal_4:19; Eph_3:16-19; Col_1:27; Col_3:1-4, &c.
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except ye be reprobates] Rather, unless indeed ye be rejected. The word translated reprobates (see note on ch. 2Co_2:9, and 2Co_13:3) signifies those who have been tried and found wanting. See also Rom_1:28; 1Co_9:27; 2Ti_3:8; Tit_1:16; and Heb_6:8, where the word again occurs.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv5–7 (5) Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith;…
(5) Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves.—The position of “yourselves” in the Greek (before the verb in both clauses) shows that that is the word on which stress is emphatically laid, and the thought grows out of what had been said in 2Co_13:3 : “You seek a test of my power. Apply a test to yourselves. Try yourselves whether you are living and moving in that faith in Christ which you profess” (the objective and subjective senses of faith melting into one without any formal distinction). “Subject yourselves to the scrutiny of your own conscience.” The latter word had been used in a like sense in 1Co_11:28. So far as we can distinguish between it and the Greek for “examine,” the one suggests the idea of a special test, the other a general scrutiny.
How that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?—On the last word see Notes on Rom_1:28; 1Co_9:27. Here its exact meaning is defined by the context as that of failing to pass the scrutiny to which he calls them: “Christ is in you” (the central thought of the Apostle’s teaching; Gal_1:16; Eph_2:22; Eph_3:17; Col_1:27), “unless the sentence, after an impartial scrutiny by yourselves, or by a judge gifted with spiritual discernment, is that there are no tokens of His presence.” The ideas which Calvinistic theology has attached to the word “reprobate” are, it need hardly be said, foreign to the true meaning of the word, both here and elsewhere.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv5–7 Prove year ownselves. In other words, "test your own…
Prove year ownselves. In other words, "test your own sincerity." Jesus Christ is in you. To this truth that the body of every Christian is a temple of the Holy Spirit of Christ St. Paul returns again and again. (Gal_2:20 Gal_4:19; Eph_3:17; Col_1:27) We find the same truth frequently in St. John (Joh_15:4, Joh_15:5; 1Jn_3:24, etc.) Except ye be reprobates. The Greek word adokimoi from the same root as the verb "to test means tried and found to be worthless. Reprobate silver shall men call them, because the Lord hath rejected them". (Jer_6:30) The word is found almost exclusively in St Paul (2Co_13:5, 2Co_13:6, 2Co_13:7; Rom_1:28; 1Co_9:27; 2Ti_3:8; Tit_1:16) The only other passage of the New Testament where it occurs is Heb_6:8; and the reader must not read Calvinistic horrors into an expression which gives no sanction to them.
Vers. 5-10.
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Self-examination recommended; supremacy of Divine truth.
Proof of his apostleship had been the demand of the disaffected portion of the Corinthians; "but prove your own selves is St. Paul"s exhortation. "Examine not me, but yourselves, whether you are truly in the faith; put yourselves to the proof concerning Christ"s presence with you which you seek in me" (Conybeare and Howson). No one can help seeing how natural this advice was to the apostle, and how suitable to these noisy and faultfinding Corinthians. On the one hand, St. Paul was a man whom casual observers could easily misunderstand. His temperament, his habit of introversion, his intense self-consciousness, exposed him to constant misconception. Again, he was a born leader of men. Such a leader as he could not escape a severe probation while acquiring the ascendency to which he was predestined. Leaders who adapt themselves unscrupulously to times and circumstances gain a quick mastery. Leaders that shape contingencies to their high purposes and bring men into sympathy with a lofty ideal in their own souls must have creative genius, and exert it under sharp and continual opposition. To this class of leaders the apostle belonged. Furthermore, his position was unique by reason of the fact that his apostleship necessarily placed him between the two great rival forces of the age, Judaism and Gentilism to show what the Law meant as a Divine institution; to show what Gentile civilization and culture meant as a long existing providence; to harmonize as far as might be the truths in each; in brief, to mediate between their claims as widely organized economies, and put them on common ground as it respected Christianity and its supreme authority, and do away with the distinction of Jew and Gentile as to the conditions of salvation; this was the most difficult task ever committed to a man. Owing to its intrinsic character, it brought him at every turn in contact with prejudices and passions which justified themselves in the one case by the miracles of Jehovah, in the other by the prescripts of government, and in both by the venerable sanction of ages. What wonder, then, that his career as a public man among public men was specialized quite as much by systematic and vindictive misrepresentation as by a success unequalled in the influence exerted over the thought and morals of the world! On the other hand, look at these young Christian communities, situated often wide apart and unable to strengthen each others" hands, planted in the midst of peoples hostile to their creeds and still more to their virtues, and dependent in most instances on the nurture of a single apostle; look at them in a state hardly more than inchoate, and can we be surprised that they were in some cases the subjects of intestine disturbance, nay, of violent commotion? "Not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble," were "called;" but the "weak things of the world," "base things, and things despised," were "chosen," for the most part, as the original materials of that edifice which was to show in its proportions, its symmetry, its permanence, the workmanship of the Hand unseen. The "called" and the "chosen" were eventually to vindicate the wisdom of the call and the choice. Let us not overlook, however, the disadvantages inseparable at the time from the crude elements that constituted the early Churches. Without dwelling on these at length, suffice it to say that they were imperilled by a corrupt Judaism on the one side, and a most corrupt paganism on the other, the agencies and influences of which sought them as a prey to their lust of avarice and ambition. Now, the Church at Corinth was notably in this state of exposure. Gallic, the Proconsul of Achaia, had protected St. Paul against the fury of the Jews, and the Greeks had used the occasion to wreak their vengeance on the Jews. Retaliation was the order of the times. Baffled by a Roman official, insulted and beaten by a mob of Greeks, the Jews were not likely to forget the apostle, and we can imagine with what zest they would enjoy the zeal of the Judaizing emissaries, and how they would diligently foment the efforts made for his disgrace in Corinth. To what extent this was carried by the Jews as a body we can only conjecture. Certain it is, however, that for several years Corinth was the seat of a most active and uncompromising warfare on St. Paul. Once more, and finally, he comes before us in the passage under notice in an attitude unmistakably stern and authoritative. Is Christ in you, be asks the Corinthians, or are ye reprobates? Prove yourselves, apply the test, find out whether or not you are in Jesus Christ and share his spirit, and if you cannot stand the test, know then that you are reprobates. He expresses the hope that they will not find him a reprobate (unapproved or spurious) if they put him to the test of exercising his authority. Yet he trusts that the test of his power will be avoided, and prays that they may "do no evil." If they should act as he prayed they might, then there would be no necessity for him to demonstrate his authority, and, in that happy event, he would appear "unapproved," i.e. not tested as to the display of his power. Welcome such unapproval! It would be in exact conformity to the spirit and end of his apostolic administration, which was in accordance with the truth of the gospel and designed to show forth that truth. What is the test of a great and wise ruler? The test is the uselessness of a punishing power (except in extreme cases and as an ultimate resort), because his subjects govern themselves. Such was the apostle"s argument. Nothing against the truth, all for the truth, Christ the Truth; this was the beautiful summation in which he rested. If this should apparently exhibit his weakness, what a glorious weakness it would be! Apostolic judgment made needless by self-government; what could be a grander testimony to the truth and excellence of his work among them? Then, verily, they would be strong. "Perfection" in the order and unity of the Church, "perfection" of individual character, was the object of his prayer, and hence this Epistle. Whoever teaches Christianity as God"s truth cannot fail to teach much else besides. These verses are maxims of infinite wisdom. What man in authority, what statesman in the affairs of a nation, what father at the head of a family, what office holder in the Church, if he would bear his faculties so meekly and be thus "clear in his great office," would not be a providence of instruction and helpfulness in the world Decay of reverence for law begins in decay of reverence for men who administer the law. Unhappily enough, this decline in reverence for law is one of the growing perils of the age. It is peculiar to no form of government. It is spreading everywhere as an atmospheric evil, and threatening like an epidemic to travel roared the globe. Power to build up, not to destroy; this is St. Paul"s idea of power divinely bestowed. And accordingly we see what a blessed discipline it was to him personally and officially; and having accomplished this result in his own soul, it is not remarkable that it achieved its ends in this distracted and corrupted Church at Corinth. L.
Prove yourselves.
The apostle, before closing his Epistle, turned round upon his detractors. They had been questioning his authority and disparaging his claims, and he had been defending himself and asserting his apostolic rights. But was this as it should be? How was it with themselves? They were very anxious to test him, to compel him to verify his claims. Why should not they be asked whether their own position was assured, whether their own professions were justifiable? Let them examine, test, and prove themselves! The exhortation is one by which all professing Christians may profit.
I THE IMPORTANCE OF SELF-PROOF. This appears from the unquestionable fact that men generally are disposed to take too favourable a view of themselves, their own character, their own services, their own importance to the Church or the world. Illusion often becomes delusion. That which is nearest at hand, and which might be supposed, because most accessible, to he best known, is often judged with the least fairness and justice. Yet if we form a false estimate of ourselves, how disastrous the consequences may be!
II THE METHOD AND SPIRIT OF SELF-PROOF.
1. There should be perfect candour.
2. The examination should be carried on as under the eye of the omniscientand all-searching God.
3. The standard by which we judge ourselves should be the high andinfallible standard of God"s own Word.
4. There should be no attempt to exalt self by depreciating others.
III THE CONSEQUENCES OF SELF-PROOF.
1. The process may reveal what is altogether unsatisfactory and lamentable.He who tests himself thoroughly may come to the conclusion that his life is all wrong from the very foundation. If this is so, it is well that it should be known, that a new basis for the moral life may be laid in the truth and righteousness of God himself.
2. The process may yield results partly gratifying and partly regrettable. Ifso, while there will be reason for gratitude and encouragement, there will be a call to repentance, reformation, and improvement. For a man to know his faults and errors is the first step towards what is better and nobler. T.
Self-testing.
I MANY ARE FOND OF TESTING OTHERS WHEN IT IS MORE NEEDFUL FOR THEM TO TEST THEMSELVES. "Beginning at Jerusalem" is beginning at the right place. "Know thyself" was a very wise exhortation. To ascertain the shortcomings of others is more pleasant, but not so profitable, as to ascertain our own. The matter of first importance to us is, not whether our neighbour"s scales are true, but whether ours are. Men are singularly unselfish in some directions in the directions of giving advice and passing condemnatory judgments.
II THE TEST WHICH WE APPLY TO OTHERS WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO STAND OURSELVES. Paul was not what the Corinthians thought he ought to be, because they were not what they ought to have been. A blind man is a poor judge of colours. The beam must be taken out of our eyes before we shall be able to see clearly. An unclean man denouncing uncleanness is no very edifying spectacle. If we warn men against getting into the mire, they will expect us to come out of it. If we would be leaders, we must lead. "Come" is much more potent than "go.
III THERE IS ONE POINT UPON WHICH WE SHOULD BE MOST DESIROUS OF TESTING OURSELVES. This is whether we are "in the faith." Men test themselves frequently, but generally upon points of secondary importance. This is the question of questions.
1. Do we truly repent of sin? Do we grieve over evil as that which has been done against God? Do we hate it, loathe it, desire to be freed from it?
2. Have we a living faith in the Lord Jesus Christ? Do we gratefully receive him as our Redeemer, and believe that his blood cleanses us from all sin? Have we come to God by Christ and obtained his forgiveness?
3. Is the vitality of our faith demonstrated by the fruits of holy living? If our faith is not accompanied by works, it is no faith we are "reprobates" still, and hypocritical reprobates into the bargain. If we are "in the faith," we shall be subject to God, striving daily to do his will, living and labouring to please him and to extend his glory in the earth. We may still be very imperfect, but, having been "born again," we shall walk in "newness of life.
IV HOW WE MAY TEST OURSELVES UPON THIS VITAL POINT.
1. By prayerful self-examination. Prayer must come into this examination of ourselves because God must come. We need Divine help to aid us in knowing ourselves.
2. By comparing head, heart, and life with Gods Word. In the Scriptures we have declared what those "in the faith" believe, feel, do.
3. By pressing home the question Is Christ in me? "If any man hath not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his". (Rom_8:9) We are in the faith if the Lord of the faith is in us.
How earnestly should we examine ourselves! How restless should we be until we enter into the rest which comes from knowing that we are truly in the faith! H.
HOMILIES BY D. FRASER
Ver. 5.
Self-examination.
I POINTS ON WHICH SELF-EXAMINATION IS REQUIRED. They relate to your connection with Jesus Christ whether he is in you and you are in the faith. It is assumed that the word of faith has been preached; then follows the question How does this Word affect or influence you? It is easy to hear it and give it a formal assent but this is not enough. Are you really in the faith? Does the truth compass you about and impress itself on all your views, motives, and principles of action? If so, Christ is certainly in you. He dwells in your heart by faith, and by his Spirit vitalizes and purifies your spirit.
II THE KIND OF EVIDENCE NEEDED. The thing is not to be assumed, but proved. There is a mode of proof which onlookers may read and estimate. It is that which appears in your temper, demeanour, and actions. If men see good fruit in you, they infer that you are a good tree. But self-scrutiny must go into the matter more deeply; Onlookers see actions, but not the motives from which they spring. Some of your words and deeds they know, but not all of them, and not your actuating dispositions. Examine yourselves by the double test of the inward and the outward life. Review your motives and secret desires, as well as the current of your tempers and the tenor of your lives.
III THE DIFFICULTY OF CONDUCTING THIS EXAMINATION.
1. In the nature of the case. Genuine self-knowledge is perhaps a rare attainment. The moment we go beneath the surface and try to probe the hidden things of the heart, we find ourselves among intricacies hard to unravel a review of motives, the detection of half motives, and the analysis of transient thoughts and feelings as respects their moral complexion and significance. We are in a labyrinth of plans, wishes, imaginations, passions, caprices, and principles. One motive lurks behind another, one current of desire flows beneath another. And feeling, when subjected to analysis, ceases to be feeling, and it is only the recollection or the shadow of it which you can examine.
2. Through the delusions of self-esteem. Men shrink from a severe self-examination, lest the result should be mortifying, if not alarming. And even so far as they go, they are influenced by a desire to think hopefully of their own state, and to apply to themselves easy and partial tests. Like a teacher who is partial to a particular scholar and asks him only those questions which he is sure to answer, or an unjust judge who gives ear only to the side that he favours, every man is apt in self-examination to be biased in his own favour and to dwell on his best points as though they formed the whole staple of his character.
3. From exaggerated self-distrust. Some minds are morbidly sensitive, and do not so much examine as torment themselves. They cannot own what Christ has done for them, through fear of presumption. And their self-judgment is hindered by over caution and a dejection mistaken for humility.
IV THE WAY TO REACH THE TRUTH ABOUT YOURSELVES. The Lord must be asked to preside over and direct the examination. It is he who looks upon the heart, and so it is he who can give you an insight into your real selves. Begin with the prayer in Psa_139:23, Psa_139:24. The Spirit of the Lord then shows you what you are by means of the lamp of the Word. And with such guidance you ought to know whether you are the Lord"s or no. But you must yourselves watch as well as read and pray. It is a good rule to note the significance of little things, in which the mind is less on its guard and so more freely reveals its bent. A physician watches slight symptoms in order to detect and cure disease. A judge takes note of small incidents in a case, and shows the jury how, on the combination of these, the verdict of guilt or innocence must turn. So also should he act who would diagnose or judge himself; though, on the other hand, one must not lay all the stress on minor points, but should rest the main conclusion on broad and comprehensive grounds.
V THE CONDITION OF THOSE WHO CANNOT BEAR THE TRIAL, "Disapproved." There is no verdict of "not proven." Those who name the Name of Christ are approved or disapproved. Leave not your relation to Jesus Christ in doubt. Repair to him who can solve your doubt and give you the good part that shall not be taken away. F.
Self-examination.
"Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves." This is without question a necessary and practically important Christian duty. But the forms it takes and the estimates of its value differ according to the tones and peculiarities of Christian life and feeling in each age. When prominence is given to doctrine, and conflicts rage round precisions in the expression of opinion, self-examination is neglected, and, as a rebound, is unduly cultivated by the pietistic few. When feeling rather than truth is cultivated, and religion is conceived as a mood.of mind rather than as a body of doctrines, self-examination is set forth prominently as one of the essentials of Christian living. It must also be added that self-examination has always been urged by the priesthood as an agent in preserving for such priesthood the control of men"s thoughts, opinions, conduct, and life. Recognizing its importance, but carefully avoiding exaggerations in reference to it, we notice
I WHAT IT MAY PROPERLY CONCERN.
1. Conduct. This may include
1. our mode of performing our ordinary life duties;
2. the character of our relationship with others;
3. the wise use of our opportunities of usefulness;
4. the helpful occupation of our leisure hours;
5. and the worthy meeting of our life responsibilities.
2. Opinion. St. Paul here enjoins a proving or testing of opinion, so that a man may know whether he is "holding fast the profession of his faith without wavering;" "holding fast the form of sound words.
3. Feeling. So far as this is related to the motive of conduct, and gives inspiration and character to the expressions of Christian life. Self-examination of feeling with a view to confidence of our state and satisfaction in our progress and attainment is always perilous and often ruinous. Watching frames and feelings is the most enervating thing a Christian can do. It never can culture humility; it often, in a very subtle way, nourishes spiritual pride and severs the soul from the simplicity of its dependence on Christ. It brings a false satisfaction in feeling right, or a needless distress in feeling wrong. It clouds the Christian life with hindering and weakening depressions, or it brings an extravagant joy which is really joy in self, not joy in God.
II WHEN SHOULD IT BE UNDERTAKEN? Only occasionally, and under special pressure, such as comes with times of conscious weakness and failure; or times when error is being freely taught; or times when the Christian morality is imperilled; or times when the changes of life are bringing to us fresh responsibilities. St. Paul commends the duty in a special form in relation to the Communion of the Lord"s Supper. And many Christian people have found special times of self-examination useful at the New Year, at birthdays, etc. Where there is a natural tendency to morbid introspection the seasons should be very infrequent. Where the active side of Christian life is overdeveloped, the times for self-examination may safely be multiplied.
III IN WHAT SPIRIT SHOULD IT BE CONDUCTED? There should be
(1) great seriousness;
(2) earnest prayer for a spirit of sincerity and faithfulness;
(3) careful avoidance of any desire to test themselves by any human standards;
(4) anxiously cherished dependence on the leadings and teachings of God the Holy Ghost; and
(5) firm resolve to turn the conclusions of our self-examination into principles and directions for the guidance and the improvement of our practical life of godliness. Compare the psalmist, who prays, "Search me, O God," before attempting to search himself.
IV HOW MAY THE POSSIBLE EVILS OF IT BE COUNTERACTED?
1. By making Holy Scripture the standard according to which we testourselves.
2. By making conduct rather than feeling the subject of our review.
3. By turning the results of the examination into prayer for more grace.
4. By persisting in seeing the things that we may have to rejoice in, as wellas those which we may have to groan over.
5. And by regarding the Lord Jesus Christ and none but he as ourModel of the interior, as well as of the exterior, Christian life. R.T.
Who are the reprobates?
Essentially such as have not Christ in them. Those whose experience and conduct are not sufficient to prove the indwelling presence and sanctifying power of the living Christ. The word "reprobate" signifies those who have been tried and found wanting. Illustrations of the use of the term may be found in Rom_1:28; 1Co_9:27; 2Ti_3:8; Tit_1:16; Heb_6:8. The subject may be effectively introduced by a description of the scene in Belshazzar"s palace, with the mystic handwriting on the wall. Then it may be shown how the term may gain its application to
I INDIVIDUAL CHRISTIANS. Some such St. Paul refers to by name, as Alexander, Hermogenes, Demas, etc. Compare Peter"s finding Simon the Sorcerer wanting. Individuals may be reprobate
(1) intellectually, by accepting false and dishonouring doctrine;
(2) morally, by yielding to temptations of self-indulgence, vice, or crime.
II CHURCHES. This may be illustrated by the searching addresses sent by the glorified Christ to some of the seven Churches of Asia. The principles of the search may be effectively applied to modern Churches.
III PASTORS. These fail from the pastoral ideal generally after they have failed from the private Christian ideal. Shepherds are reprobates when they neglect their duty to their flock; when they feed themselves and not the flock; when they see the wolf coming, and flee; and when they fail duly to honour the chief Shepherd before the flock, Illustration may be taken from the experiences of the City of Mansoul as figured by John Bunyan, in his "Holy War." Reprobates, such as are here dealt with, are recoverable by penitence, humiliation, and heart-return to Christ. R.T.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv5, 7 Examine yourselves whether ye be in the faith ……
2Co_13:5
Examine yourselves whether ye be in the faith … Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?
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The professing Christian tried
All are not Israel who are of Israel. All who are professing Christians are not real believers. Tares and wheat grow together. This state of matters is of very ancient date. When Adam and his family constituted the Church, there was in her a wicked Cain. When the Church floated in Noahs ark, there was at least within her pale an impious Ham. An Ishmael was in Abrahams family--a profane Esau in the family of Isaac.
I. Regarding the duty of self-examination, we observe--
1. That it is a commanded duty. It is not imposed by human authority. Now, the duty of self-examination is plainly implied in several commands in Scripture. It may be inferred from the injunction to confess Christ before men; for how could one rightly confess Christ before he had ascertained that he belonged to Him? It is implied in the command to rejoice evermore; for how could one rejoice before he knew that there was reason for his joy?
2. A knowledge of our state is attainable. It will hardly be doubted that an impenitent sinner may discover his state of condemnation and wrath. This is what is meant by conviction of sin and misery. And it may be proved, from several instances in Scripture, that an assured confidence of our being in a state of grace may likewise be gained. Jacob could say with the utmost confidence that the Lord God had appeared to him at Luz and blessed him. David could say, The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer, my God, my strength.
3. The persuasion that one is a real Christian would assist greatly in the performance of duty. Why is it that professing Christians are so dull in the performance of duty? It arises to a great extent from the uncertainty which hangs over their state. The persuasion of the love of God would make their souls, like the chariot of Aminadab, to run swiftly and smoothly in the way of new obedience.
4. Self examination is necessary, from the danger of self-deception. If there was no hazard of mistaking the way to heaven, there would be no need to inquire whether we were walking therein.
5. It is necessary for the believers real comfort. In no case is a state of doubt a happy condition. Though the matter should be comparatively trivial, yet if the mind is doubtful regarding it, there will be little inward peace.
6. We must sooner or later undergo a trial. It is evident, from what we have already said, that self-examination is an indispensable duty. We were--
II. To consider some evidences of being in the faith--that is, of being real Christians.
1. Those who are in the faith run not to the same excess of riot with others. If persons are habitually indulging in known sin, they give evidence that they belong not to Christ. It matters not what zeal such persons may possess. Jehu could say, Come here, and see my zeal for the Lord. Nor does it alter the case that they have performed deeds of benevolence and of outward religion. Achish protected a persecuted David. Another class consists of those who persevere in known sin more secretly. They restrain themselves before men; but in their retirements they transgress with avidity.
2. Those who are in the faith are a people zealous of good works.
3. We remark again, that those in the faith have peculiar views of sin.
4. Those who are in the faith have peculiar views of the Redeemer. Others see no beauty in Him.
5. Those who are in the faith, differ from others in the views which they take of themselves.
A little consideration will satisfy us that the generality of men are high-minded. It belongs to you to make conscience of the work of looking into your hearts.
1. And you ought to engage in the duty often. It is not enough that you examine yourselves before such solemn occasions as the Lords Supper. It ought, like secret prayer, to be performed daily.
2. Further, let not your examinations be superficial. Keep searching your hearts until you arrive at a conclusion regarding your state. Endeavour to probe your heart to the very bottom.
3. Beware of being discouraged from the duty. Let not the fear of exposing yourselves before your own eyes, deter you from it.
4. Above all, put the case into Gods own hand. Search and try us, O God, and see if there be any wicked way in us, and lead us in the way everlasting. (A. Ross, M. A.)
Self-examination
I. The duty of self-examination based upon self-ownership and self-competence.
1. Self-ownership. Your own selves. Christ paid profound deference to the individual man. What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul? His own soul, which he can never abdicate, nor alienate. No power, no process, can cut off the entail of your own personality; but what an awful moment is that when a man like the prodigal comes to himself, and sees for the first time the being that must be his own for evermore. This is the crisis which we call conversion.
2. Out of this arises self-trusteeship. No executor, ecclesiastical or other, can take that off your own hands. It is said of a duke when he went over to the Roman Church, the Roman Catholics undertook that if his soul was lost they would bear his damnation for him, and he could never find any other sect that would undertake that. Thou fool! thy soul shall be required of thee. We cannot relieve you of the responsibility.
3. Self-competence. Know ye not your own selves? Every mans interior nature is a terra incognita to everybody else. No man knows the spirit of a man, etc. But it does not rest there only. Paul is speaking to people who have heard the gospel, and so Christ says to those who had the Old Testament, Judge ye not that which is right. Self-searching and Scripture-searching must be carried on contemporaneously. Then you have the Holy Spirit to enlighten you. They shall be all taught of God. It is this which constitutes your self-competence, running parallel with your self-ownership. Gods ministry is not intended to rescue Gods people from the labour and exercise of thought upon the subject of their religion. We are to think to set you a-thinking.
II. The process of self-examination. Examine yourselves; then prove yourselves. The word prove in Scripture means both to prove and to approve. If we would judge ourselves we should not be condemned in the world.
1. This process of self-examination is based upon the selfsame principles on which all examinations arc held. First examine and then prove, as the man of science does, and then draws his generalisation; as the judge, who collects the evidence and then gives his charge to the jury; as the medical man, who finds out the symptoms and examines until he obtains a diagnosis of his case, and then gives the prescription of the treatment; as the examiner, who puts his questions and then decides upon the classification of the examined. We must get all the facts together as clearly as we can, and then determine our classification in the sight of God.
2. A man examines himself when he studies his own past history, when he lays bare the habits of his life, when he asks himself what difficulties and temptations lie across his path, and considers with what aids and weapons he can best meet them, and when he calls up before him the last strong fainting agony, and asks with what strength he is provided for that terrible moment; when he sends out his thought to that interminable duration that goes beyond the grave, and asks how he is provided to meet the exigencies of the eternal world; then, and then only, does he examine himself.
III. To what this self-examination is directed: Whether ye be in the faith. Faith is the moral element, the spiritual atmosphere in and by which we have our being. When we say a man is in a rage, or in love, or in drink, we mean that rage, love, or drink has got possession of him. And so with a man in the faith. It means that his views are coloured by, and that all his affections and habits are under the mastery of, faith. Now, a man may entertain strong affection or resentment, and yet not be in a rage or in love; and so a man may have the faith in himself and yet not be in the faith; may have no doubt as to the historical verity which constitutes the faith, and yet not be in it. How sad it is that with all this preaching, and singing, and school-teaching, the faith has so little influence over us. That is what we must examine ourselves about.
2. There are two classes in the present day.
(1) One says the question is whether you be in the right; For creeds and forms let graceless zealots fight, etc. This is neither the beginning nor the end of the matter at all, unless the beginning be to be right at first. Everybody knows that the moral quality of an action depends upon the motive of that action. More than that; a mans motives grow out of his heart. A good heart cannot produce bad motives. A bad heart cannot produce good motives. Now the moral and spiritual quality of the heart depends upon and is derived from the object upon which a mans heart is set. If a mans highest object in life is self, then selfishness is the ruling motive of his actions. And if a mans heart is set on Christ, he lives a Christly life, and will be thus judged at last. Are you then in the faith?
(2) Nor will it do to say if a man is in the Church he must be all right. No doubt if you are in the faith you will do what Paul did, essay to join yourselves to the disciples. You will do it by a necessity of your own nature.
IV. What is the test of being in the faith?
1. Is Christ in you? That will determine that matter. Is He now--
(1) In your thoughts? Does Christ dominate the whole field of your life as some grand cathedral rises above the spires of a city, or as some mighty mountain range visible from every part of a continent?
(2) In you, the chief of your affections? Have you thrown open the state apartments of your heart to Him, and does He reign there? When Christ enters the heart He does not come incognito. When the doors are lifted up that the King of Glory may come in, the soul knows it.
2. But what is the terrible alternative? Except ye be reprobate--rejected and cast away. The idea of judgment is kept up all the way through. This is the subject of examination. Examination arises respecting the last decisive test. If when you come before the bar of God, and the secrets of your hearts are judged according to the gospel, Christ is not in you, you must be a wandering wreck for ever--cast into outer darkness, where is weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth. (B. Gregory, D. D.)
Self-examination
It is readily admitted that self-knowledge is about the most necessary of all knowledge. From of old it has been accounted a precept of the highest wisdom, Know thyself. Might we not, then, wonder that attention should be so much averted from this concern? Can it be that men do not think it worth while? Or is it from fear lest the state of the case should be less satisfactory than is assumed? If so, here is a strange spectacle. A soul afraid of itself. It is easily apprehended how a human spirit might be afraid of another spirit in a human body, or of a disembodied spirit, evincing its presence by voice or appearance; or of a spirit of mightier order. But think of a human soul in dread of itself. A man uneasy in a local situation, or in the presence of other men, may think of escape; but in his own soul! there he is, and is to be perpetually. But now think of the pernicious operation of such fear. To fear that there may be, or is, something incompatible with safety, and therefore decline ascertaining it! Not to be willing to see how near is the precipice! In short, to abandon ourselves to be all that we fear--rather than encounter the self-manifestation and the discipline necessary for a happy change.
I. The necessity of self-examination. Every one actually stands placed against a standard unseen, but real--that by which God judges--the eternal law--the rule of Christian character. Think of all our assembly thus placed! If the fact could be an object of sight, whatever inquisitiveness each might feel respecting the rest, surely his own marked state would be the chief object of his eager attention. Well, but should it be less so when he considers and knows it is so discriminated in the sight of God? Is there anything in the world so important for him to know?
II. The objects of self-examination. We might ask a man, What are you most concerned to know of yourself? Something in which you hope for a gratification of your pride? Your merits as contrasted with those of other men? Instead of this, we would advise--examine in that as to which you most feel you need to know when you approach the throne of God. Examination should be directed towards the points made by the apostle.
1. Whether ye be in the faith. Whether you are decidedly more than a cold assenting believer in the Christian doctrines. That a man may be, and yet at the same time be in a spirit opposite to all these heavenly truths. But--in the faith so as to be powerfully withdrawn from the spirit and dominion of the world? So as to have a habitual prevailing order of views, feelings, etc., animated by it? So as to be in a zealous league with its faithful adherents?
2. That Jesus Christ is in you. Is He in the thoughts as a commanding object of contemplation? Is He in the affections--the object of love, and of awful reverence? Is He in the conscience, as an authority? Is He in the soul, in the sense that somewhat of His likeness is impressed upon it; an indwelling presence, without which it were lifeless and hopeless? In all such important points, let men beware of assuming, without the process of proving.
III. The correct and salutary performance of this duty.
1. Two things are necessary.
(1) A distinct, strong, steady apprehension of the pure standard fixed by the Divine authority.
(2) A habit of reflection. There can be no effective self-examination without a resolute and often repeated effort to retire inward, and stay awhile, and pointedly inspect what is there.
2. Self-examination--
(1) Should not expend its chief exercise on the mere external conduct; for if that alone were to be taken account of, a well-regulated formalist or Pharisee, nay possibly a hypocrite, might go off with considerable self-complacency.
(2) Should be exercised on a principle of independence of the estimates of others. It is true, that good use may be made of these, but they may have a wrong effect.
(a) If they are partial and favourable, to a highly flattering degree, will not the man be mightily inclined to take this for just?
(b) Suppose the contrary case, then an excitement of all the defensive feelings! All these censures are from ignorance, perverseness, or perhaps even from jealousy. There is, therefore, a necessity for cool, deliberate independence of judgment. And this will be promoted by a solemn sense of standing before the judgment of God--the grand requisite in all selfexamination.
(3) Should avail itself of the circumstances and seasons which may aid self-revelation.
(4) Slight symptoms should not be disregarded. In medical science, what seem slight symptoms are sometimes regarded as of great significance; the skilful judge is struck by their recurrence as indications of something serious, and as deciding what it is.
(5) Should take a comprehensive account. For, if a man contents himself with selecting only some particular points, his self-partiality will almost be certain to choose those which seem the most favourable; and he may be betrayed to make these the interpreters or substitutes of all the rest.
(6) Must beware of making some mere doctrinal point the great test and assurance, in self-defence under the absence of immediate experimental and practical evidence.
(7) Should be strongly enforced, by doubt and uncertainty. (J. Foster.)
Self-examination
I. Self-examination being so important an exercise, permit me to direct your attention towards it in regard to the general manner in which it ought to be conducted.
1. Seriousness is the first requisite of self-examination.
2. For similar reasons self-inspection must be frequent. An account with conscience, like worldly accounts, unless often looked into, is apt to run into confusion. Besides this daily reminiscence, the more solemn return of the Sabbath, in which all classes of men may find some leisure for their spiritual concerns, may well be employed, in part, in the useful business of self-inspection.
3. Self-examination, thus solemn and frequent, ought moreover to be conducted with candour. The introverted eye must search the remotest recesses, and penetrate with keen glance the darkest foldings of the soul. Men are but too apt to satisfy themselves on false grounds with respect to the security of their condition. Deal with thyself plainly, impartially, strictly. Scrutinise the foundation of thy confidence towards God.
4. But all this seriousness, frequency, and candour will be of little avail if unaccompanied by earnest prayer unto Him who is the presiding judge, and the all-seeing witness, in the secret court of self-inspection. Unless there be a deep sense of His presence, His purity, His infallibility.
II. Seek a more particular qualification for the work of self-inspection, by furnishing ourselves with those inquiries of which its Substance ought to consist. Self-examination respects the past, the present, and the future.
1. As it respects the past, it is requisite that Christians carry back their investigation to the earliest period of their lives; and mark in what instances they have failed of their duty to God, their neighbour, and themselves. Take note of all your minuter but habitual and ingrained faults. Do we own, on the whole retrospect, that we are inexcusable before God, and have only to throw ourselves upon His mercy, through Christ, for spiritual health and for salvation?
2. From these reflections the Christian will be led forward to inquire into the tenor of his present conduct. How stand now his affections towards God? Do they centre all in God, as the supreme object of love? Does he think of Christ as his only stay--of the Holy Spirit as his essential guide? His other motives--are they those of the gospel? How have these principles, if genuine, operated in detail? Has their efficacy been manifested by any substantial improvement in holiness? Is anything perverse in his disposition corrected?
3. Anticipation of the future is now the last link in the chain of self-examination, and is as intimately connected with attention to the present as that is with reflection on the past. A mighty conqueror of old sat down and wept because he found no more of territory to subdue; but this can never happen in the Christian warfare. The Canaanites are still in the fastnesses of the land; and even in the repose of conquest there remaineth much country to be gained. How have they made up their minds to encounter temptations yet to come? Are they not inclined to anticipate apologies for future remissness?
4. In conclusion, may we not observe, that the happiest effects can be prognosticated from self-.examination thus wisely conducted? (J. Grant, M. A.)
Self-examination
The Corinthians were the critics of the apostles age. They criticised Pauls style. His letters are weighty, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible. Nay, not content with that, they denied his apostleship. So he wrote two letters to them in which, having wrested the sword of their criticism out of their hands, he pointed it at their own breasts, saying, Examine yourselves. You have disputed my doctrine; examine whether ye be in the faith. You have made me prove my apostleship; prove your own selves. The fault of the Corinthians is the fault of the present age. Let not any one of you say How did you like the preacher? What did you think of the sermon this morning? Do you come here to judge Gods servants? Ye should say, Let me take unto myself that which I have heard, and I come up here to be judged of Gods Word, and not to judge Gods Word. I shall--
I. Expound my text.
1. Examine, that is--
(1) A scholastic idea. A boy has been to school a certain time, and his master questions him, to see whether he has made any progress. Christian, catechise your heart to see whether it has been growing in grace.
(2) A military idea. Just as the captain on review-day is not content with surveying the men from a distance, but looks at all their accoutrements, so do you examine yourselves with the most scrupulous care.
(3) A legal idea. You have seen the witness in the box, when the lawyer has been cross-examining him. Question your heart backward and forward, this way and that.
(4) A travellers idea. In the original it is Go right through yourselves. Stand not only on the mountains of your public character, but go into the deep valleys of your private life. Be not content to sail on the broad river of your outward actions, but go follow back the narrow rill till you discover your secret motive.
2. Prove your own selves. That means more than self-examination. A man is about to buy a horse; he thinks that possibly he may find out some flaw, and therefore he examines it; but after he has examined it, he says, Let me have it for a week, that I may prove the animal before I invest in him. A ship, both before and when launched, is carefully looked at; and yet before she is allowed to go to sea, she takes a trial trip; and then when proved she goes out on her long voyages. Now, many a mans religion will stand examination that will not stand proof. It is like some cotton prints that are warranted fast colours, and so they seem when you look at them, but they are not washable when you get them home. It is good enough to look at, and it has got the warranted stamped upon it; but when it comes out into actual daily life, the colours soon begin to run, and the man discovers that the thing was not what he took it to be.
3. Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith. Oh! says one, You may examine me; I am an orthodox Christian. But the question now is not whether you believe the truth--but whether you are in the truth! Take an illustration. There is the ark; and a number of men around it. Ah! says one, I believe that ark will swim. Yes, says another, it is strong from stem to stern. Ay, but when the flood came, it was not believing the ark as a matter of fact--it was being in the ark that saved men.
4. Know ye not your own selves? If you do not you have neglected your proper study. What avails all else that you do know if you know not yourself? You have been roaming abroad, while the richest treasure was lying at home. And especially know ye not this fact, that Jesus Christ must be in your heart, formed and living there, or else ye are reprobates? Now, what is it to have Jesus Christ in you? The true Christian carries the cross in his heart. Christ in the heart means Christ believed in, beloved, trusted, espoused, Christ as our daily food, and ourselves as the temple and palace wherein He daily walks.
II. Enforce the text. Examine yourselves, because--
1. It is a matter of the very highest importance. Tradesmen may take coppers over the counter without much examination; but when it comes to gold, they will ring it well; and if it comes to a fivepound note, there is still more careful scrutiny. Ah! but if ye be deceived in the matter of your own souls, ye are deceived indeed. Look well to the title-deeds of your estate, to your life policies, to all your business; but, remember, all the gold and silver you have are but as the rack and scum of the furnace, compared with the matter now in hand. It is your soul. Will you risk that?
2. If ye make a mistake ye can never rectify it, except in this world. A bankrupt may have lost a fortune once, and yet may make another; but make spiritual bankruptcy in this life, and you will never have an opportunity to trade again for heaven. A great general may lose one battle, and yet win the campaign; but get defeated in the battle of this life, and you are defeated for ever.
3. Many have been mistaken, may not you be? Methinks I see the rocks of presumption on which many souls have been lost, and the siren song of self-confidence entices you on to those rocks. Stay, mariner, stay! Let yon bleached bones keep thee back. Do not tell me that you are an old Church member; for a man may be a professor of religion forty years, and yet there may come a trial-day when his religion shall snap after all.
4. God will examine you.
5. If you are in doubt now, the speediest way to get rid of your doubts and fears is by self-examination. Look at that captain. He says to the sailors, You must sail very carefully, and be upon your watch, for I do not exactly know my latitude and longitude, and there may be rocks very close ahead. He goes down into the cabin, he searches the chart, he takes an inspection of the heavens, and then says, Hoist every sail, and go along as merrily as you please; I have discovered where we are; the water is deep, and there is a wide sea room. And how happy will it be with you if, after having searched yourself, you can say, I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him. And what if it should have a bad result? Better that you should find it out now than find it out too late.
III. Try and help you to carry the text into practice.
1. Begin with your public life. Are you dishonest? Can you swear? Are you given to drunkenness? etc. Make short work with yourself; there will be no need to go into any further tests. He that doeth these things hath no inheritance in the kingdom of God. And yet, Christian, despite thy many sins, canst thou say, By the grace of God I am what I am; but I seek to live a righteous, godly, and sober life, in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation. Remember, by thy works thou shalt be judged at last. Thy works cannot save thee, but they can prove that thou art saved; or if they be evil works, they can prove that thou art not saved at all.
2. How about your private life? Do you live without prayer, without searching the Scriptures? If so, I make short work of the matter; you are in the gall of bitterness, and in the bonds of iniquity. But if thou art right at heart, thou wilt be able to say, I could not live without prayer; I do love Gods Word; I love His people; I love His house. A good sign, Christian, a good sign for thee; if thou canst go through this test, thou mayest hope that all is well. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Self-examination
I. What it is about ourselves which we have to examine.
1. Our principles. Let us ascertain whether they are according to the word of truth, or whether they arc the mere inventions of men, if they be not indeed the conjectures of our own unthinking minds.
2. Our feelings. Is the love of God and Christ indeed in us? This affection is the root of all others.
3. Our practice (Gal_6:4).
II. By what rules we are to conduct this very important investigation. There is no other standard than the Word of God; and this work of self-examination has perhaps been more marred by the overlooking of this circumstance than by anything else. The Word of God gives us the fruits of the Spirit, it gives us the works of the flesh. Take each list and see which contains the lineaments of your character. It presents to us various precepts which we are called upon to obey. Examine if they are the outlines of your everyday doings. But how is the examination to he conducted upon this high standard?
1. Deliberately.
2. Frequently, for we are constantly changing.
3. With a view to improvement. The man who examines himself merely to know that he is safe is a selfish man. When he goes further, and endeavours to know what as a saved being he is to do, he is pursuing a course which, while it will discover to him his defects, will at the same time point out the means of his further progress.
4. In reference to the world at large. How far are we setting before the world, by our example, the Christianity by which we think we are ourselves saved?
5. In reference to all the situations in which the providence of God may place us.
6. In reference to all the principles that we discuss. There is no principle deserving discussion if you do not think it worth your while afterwards to inquire how far you have made it useful. (J. Burnet.)
Self-examination
This verse has been made to sanction a doctrine of morbid self-scrutiny utterly at variance with the healthiness and reasonableness of the New Testament. Narcissus, becoming enamoured of his own beautiful image reflected in the silvery fountain, was changed into a flower; but what toadstool kind of transformation is likely to follow persistent brooding over the vision of sin disclosed in the turbid depths of our own heart? It will pay us much better to look up at a fairer vision. Self-vivisection is one of the worst forms of that illegal science. Still, self-acquaintance is a duty--a duty to be performed in a wise spirit, and we ought from time to time to assure ourselves of our heart, our character, our walk.
1. Examine yourselves: not your neighbours. The Corinthians had been busy in their criticisms on the apostle; he asks them for a while to turn the keen investigation upon themselves. One of the Puritans says: The windows of the soul should be like the windows of Solomons temple,broad inward. We are to watch ourselves, to judge ourselves, to condemn ourselves, far more severely than we do the Church or the world.
2. Examine yourselves: do not confuse yourself with others. Prove your own selves. The other day I saw two lads weighing themselves on a weighing-machine; they put the penny in the slot, and together got upon the scale. They thought to defraud the proprietor of the machine by their cleverness, two occupying the scale intended for one. But the result must have been very unsatisfactory to the astute youths. They knew their aggregate weight, but neither of them knew his personal weight. As I watched the lads, it struck me that in making our moral estimates we sometimes fall into a similar fallacy. We do not detach ourselves and seek to ascertain our personal merit; we ingeniously confuse ourselves with others. We are sons and daughters of parents who have passed into the skies. We do not isolate ourselves and prove our own selves. We shall at last be weighed in the balances one by one, and we had better weigh ourselves that way now.
3. Examine yourselves: know your real selves, not your seeming selves. We sometimes fancy that we know ourselves, when, in fact, we know only our seeming self. The Chinese are said to be fondest of the dress which most effectually conceals their true figure; and by a variety of sophistries we hide our real selves from ourselves. If we strictly examine our virtues, they may turn out no virtues at all. Zeal keenly tested proves to be temper; charity reveals itself as vaingloriousness; economy is disguised covetousness; courage is presumption; honesty is expediency with a fine name; conscientiousness is only the subtle working of self-will; contentment is really sloth; and amiability an easy-going disposition that lets things slide. We must not be content to note the surface.
4. Examine yourselves: your present selves, not your old selves. It is rather a common thing to judge ourselves by what we knew and felt and did in past years. A disastrous change has taken place, and taken place so gradually that we have failed to note it. Are we converted men and women now? Is the Divine fire burning still? Are our prayers availing to-day? Are our last works more than the first? These are the questions.
5. The grand test in self-examination is this: Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates? One of the great perversions of the duty of self-examination is that we make it more a quest for the evil that is in us than a quest for the good. The miner does not look for the dust and dirt of the mine; he watches for the streak of gold. And we must not search our heart for the beast and the devil, but for the manifestations of the indwelling Christ. (W. L. Watkinson.)
Self-examination
I. Self-examination is a necessary duty belonging to every one in the Church, and requires much diligence in the performing of it.
1. It is a necessary duty, in regard of our comfort. What comfort in Christ, in His meritorious passion, in His triumphant resurrection and ascension, in His prevalent intercession, unless we know that by faith we are united to Him? It is necessary
(1) Because there are common graces. There is an acceptation of the law for an outward practice, without an affection to the lawgiver, or an esteem of the spirituality of the law itself.
(2) Because there are counterfeit graces. There is much false coin in the world. Good things may be imitated, when they are not rooted. The apostle speaks of a dead faith (Jam_2:26). There is a repentance unto life (Act_11:18) which supposeth a dead repentance.
(3) Because every man is in a state of grace or nature. There is a state of grace (Rom_5:1); a state of wrath (Eph_2:3). It is necessary, therefore, to inquire whose we are.
2. It is a duty that requires diligence and care. That which is of infinite consequence in the state of your souls ought not to be built upon sandy and slight foundations. It is called communing with a mans own heart (Psa_4:4). Not a slight glance and away: sweeping and looking with a candle (Luk_15:8), wherewith every cranny and chink is pried into.
(1) Diligence is requisite, because the work is difficult. It is no easy matter to be acquainted with ourselves. The judgment of man is corrupted, and misrepresents things. Where grace is small, and corruptions many, it must be hard to discern it, as it is for an eye to discern a small needle, especially if in the dust and rubbish. The roots of sin also lie deep, not easily to be found without good directions.
(2) Diligence is requisite, because man is naturally unwilling to this duty. Men are more willing to have their minds rove through all the parts of nature, than to busy themselves in self-reflection; would read any book or relation rather than the history of their own heart. We are nearest to ourselves physically, and furthest from our own selves morally. Men whose titles are cracked and unsure, are loth to have them tried before the Judge and come under the siftings of conscience. Ever since the fall we run counter to God. Satan is no mean instrument in this; he is said to blind the world that they might not know their state. This unwillingness ariseth--
(a) From carnal self-love. It is natural to man to think well of himself, and suffer his affections to bridle his judgment. Every man is his own flatterer, and so conceals himself from himself. Very few that are uncomely in body, or deformed in mind, but think themselves as handsome and honest as others. Every blackamore fancies himself to have a comely colour. And this self-love keeps men off from this work, for fear they should behold their own guilt, and their souls be stung with anguish.
(b) From presumption and security.
(3) Diligence is requisite, because man is hardly induced to continue in this work. That self-love which makes them unwilling to enter upon it, renders them unfit to make any progress in it. When we do begin it, how quickly do we faint in it! How soon are our first glances upon ourselves turned to a fixedness upon some slighter object!
(4) Diligence is requisite, because we are naturally apt to be deceived, and to delude ourselves. How many extend their hopes as far as their wishes, and these as far as a fond fancy and imagination!
(5) Diligence is necessary, because, to be deceived in this is the most stinging consideration. To drop into hell, when a man takes it for granted that he is in heaven, to dream of a crown on the head, when the fetters are upon the feet, will double the anguish.
(6) Diligence is necessary, because many have miscarried for want of it.
II. The use.
1. If this be our duty to examine ourselves, then the knowledge of our state is possible. If we are to examine ourselves, we may then know ourselves. Reflection and knowledge of self is a prerogative of a rational nature. We know that we have souls by the operations of them. We may know that we have grace by the effects of it. Grace chiefly lies in the will, and it discovers itself in actions. There can be no sufficient reason given why the understanding should not as well know the acts of the soul and will, as the acts of the sense, and the motions of the body. We know our particular passions and the exercises of them. There is no man that fears a danger or loves an amiable object but he knows his own acts about them, as well as the object of those acts. If a man have faith and love, why should he not be as able to know the acts of faith and love as to know the acts of his particular affections?
2. How foolish is the neglect of this duty!
III. Use of exhortation. It is our highest advantage to know what should become of our souls in eternity. I shall, lastly, give you some directions about this duty of self-examination.
1. Acquaint yourselves with those marks that are proper only to a true Christian. Overlook all those that are common with the hypocrite, such as outward profession, constant attendances, some affections in duties. Let us not judge ourselves by outward acts: a player is not a prince because he acts the part of a prince. But we must judge ourselves by what we are in our retirements, in our hearts. He only is a good man, and doth good, that doth it from a principle of goodness within, and not from fear of laws, or to gain a good opinion in the world. Grace is of that nature that it cannot possibly have any by-end. As it is the immediate birth of God, so it doth immediately respect God in its actings. Let us examine first the truth of grace, and afterwards the height of grace. A little of the coarsest gold is more valuable than much of the finest brass. See how the habitual frame and inclination of the heart stands. One sound and undeniable mark is better than a thousand disputable ones.
2. Let us make the Word of God only our rule in trials. This is the only impartial friend we can stick to, and therefore it ought to be made our main counsellor. It is safe for us to take that rule which God Himself will take.
3. Take not the first dictates of conscience. He that trusts his own heart is a fool (Pro_28:26), i.e., without a diligent inquisition it is not wisdom to do so; but he that walks wisely shall be delivered: he that makes a strict inquiry into it shall be delivered from its snares and his own fears. It is a searching, examining, proving our hearts that is required, not taking them at the first word. There may be gold at the top and dross at the bottom.
4. In all implore the assistance of the Spirit of God. Natural conscience is not enough in this case, there must be the influence of the Spirit. It is Gods Interpreter that can only show unto a man his righteousness (Job_33:23). The sun must give light before the glass can reflect the beams.
5. Let us take heed that while we examine our graces and find them, our hearts be not carried out to a resting upon them. We may draw some comfort from them, but must check the least inclination of founding our justification upon them. Graces are signs, not causes of justification.
6. In case we find ourselves not in such a condition as we desire, let us exercise direct acts of faith. (Bishop Hacket.)
Self-examination
Observe--
I. What is premised in the text. We are exhorted to examine ourselves. We may err in supposing--
1. Educational influence as synonymous with the faith.
2. In confounding a regard for, and an attendance on, religious services with being in the faith.
3. In mistaking inward emotions with being in the faith.
II. To what the text distinctly refers. Being in the faith, evidently, having the true faith of a disciple of Christ. Now if we are in the faith, then manifestly--
1. The faith of the gospel will be in us.
2. The experience of faith will be in us.
3. The signs of faith will be upon us.
III. The course the text enjoins. Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith. And--
1. Do this with earnestness of spirit.
2. Do this with the Word of God as your rule.
3. Do it in the spirit of prayer.
4. Do it from time to time.
IV. Some motives by which this course may be enjoined. We should regard it--
1. As a duty. We should regard it in reference--
2. To our comfort. It is for the comfort of the traveller to know he is in the right way; for the mariner to know his course of sailing is correct; for the heir to be sure that his title is unquestionably valid.
3. It is connected with our safety. (J. Burns, D. D.)
On being in the faith
To be in the faith therefore implies--
1. That we make an open confession of Christ, as the founder of the Christian religion, by union with His professed followers (Mat_10:32-33).
2. A sincere and hearty belief in the Lord Jesus Christ. The Corinthians, before they embraced Christianity, were idolaters. Paul wished them to examine and see if they had really renounced all dependence upon their idols, and were putting their trust in the living and true God alone, and in Jesus Christ whom He had sent. It is possible, too, to embrace Christianity from interested motives. Any new system will attract some admirers. The apostle, therefore, was afraid lest their faith should be insincere or superficial, and hence wished them to examine carefully into their motives and character.
3. The phrase in the faith means an actual participation in the blessings of Christianity.
(1) If Christ is in you, you are conscious of communion with Him.
(2) As your Lord and Master you admit Him, for instance, as the Lord of your faith, your Teacher, leaning not to your own understanding, but meekly sitting at His feet and saying, Lord, what I know not, teach Thou me.
(3) If you are in the faith, Christ is in you as your Sanctifier.
(4) As a Comforter. (C. Williams.)
Know ye not your own selves.--
Self-knowledge
The question, Know ye not, etc., is exceedingly impressive as addressed to the Corinthians. They prided themselves in the Greek philosophy, whose wisest precept was, Know thyself. Put to them, therefore, the question expressed--
1. Astonishment, in view of their real self-ignorance.
2. Irony, in view of their pretended self-knowledge. We do not know our own selves.
I. Physically. If men thoroughly understood the body and perfectly obeyed the laws of physical life, probably most would attain to the full threescore years and ten. How strange, nay, how sinful, is this ignorance! True, we excuse it by our reliance on medical science. And the excuse would be good if we employed physicians to keep us in health, rather than to aid us in sickness.
II. Intellectually. Many men practically ignore their intellectual faculties. Their only self-culture consists in taking care of the body. Some men never think at all. And even among those who recognise their intellectual nature, how strangely is it treated! Every man has his special intellectual gift, which often he does not discover till too late to develop and employ to profit.
III. Morally.
1. Self-knowledge here promotes comfort. Of the passions and emotions which belong to our moral nature, some are painful and some pleasurable, and our happiness depends upon quickening the play of the latter and diminishing the power of the former. The soul of man is a dwelling of many apartments. In it love may be supposed to have a fair banqueting hall--anger a dark cell; faith and hope to have glorified chambers looking heavenward, and the lower passions dungeons of gloom. And possessed of such a house, how foolish to practically ignore those loftier and lovelier pavilions of gladness--deliberately choosing to abide in the dungeons of envy, anger, impurity, rather than to sit at loves great banquet, or to recline in the pavilion where benevolence makes sweet music, or to ascend to the bright chamber of faith and hope, and look forth upon heaven from their open casements.
2. Our character depends upon it. It is marvellous how little most men know morally of themselves! And this, not because they cannot, but because they will not. They do not look carefully after those favourite or easily-besetting sins which colour, yea, constitute character. Reading himself wrongly, a man manages himself wrongly. Every man, possessed of a moral nature, whose development must be into immense growths either of good or evil, should understand it thoroughly, that the flowers and fruits of its culture may be good and glorious.
IV. Spiritually.
1. There are persons who think themselves Christian, but are not. Such self-deception is altogether unnecessary. Surely if there be anything made plain in the Bible, it is the evidence of true Christian character. A true Christian--
(1) Loves God. Believes in Christ--not merely with a speculative faith but with a loving trust as his Saviour.
(3) Sincerely repents of sin.
(4) Loves the duties of religion.
(5) Loves his brethren. And he knows that he hath passed from death unto life because he does so. Now these are the obvious evidences of regeneration. How strange, then, is it that men should be self-deceived!
2. There are some not thinking themselves Christians, who are yet real children of God. Sometimes this self-distrust arises from--
(1) A temperament constitutionally gloomy. The man who looks habitually on the dark side of everything, of course looks on the dark side of his religious character.
(2) Bodily infirmity. What the man wants to make him a hopeful and joyous Christian is bodily regimen and exercise, and not theological casuistry.
(3) An over-estimate of the particular manner or circumstances of conversion. They can indeed perceive a radical change in their own feelings and conduct; but the manner and manifestation of the change does not satisfy their conscience. As if it mattered how a blind mans eyes were opened! or with what instrumentality the drowning man was saved!
(4) Assuming false tests and standards of Christian character. They entertain extravagant notions of the effects even of regeneration. They have read the biographies of distinguished Christians, wherein it seems as if life were uninterrupted in its wrapt communion with God, but wherein there is no mention of faults and failings. And thus the humble man, finding his own experience so different, turns away in despair. Conclusion: The text appeals--
1. To the self-deceived. To be in the Church without piety is of all conditions the most dreadful. Not because false professors are more sinful than other men--though even this may be true, but because there is less hope of their conviction and conversion. Let us, then, be willing to know the very worst of our character and condition!
2. To the self-distrustful. Your trust for salvation is not in what you are, but what Christ is. If, with a penitent, and believing, and loving heart, you cast yourselves upon the Redeemer, then you know you are Christians! For He says you shall in no wise be cast out, and shall never perish! And thus, knowing your own selves, your place should be in Christs visible Church.
3. To the openly impenitent. In one sense, indeed, these men do know their own selves. They know that they are unconverted. They stand boldly in the ranks of rebellion against Jehovah. But Know ye not your own selves? that you are not beasts that perish, but immortal creatures! Two eternal worlds watch you and strive for you. Come to Christ Jesus for life.
4. To the Church. The text intimates that between the professing people of God and the world there is so little visible difference, that it is difficult to distinguish them. Surely, then, it is time for us to rise into higher frames and spheres of religious life! (C. Wadsworth, D. D.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain On vv5–7 5–9. Examine yourselves. Let there be self-examination. See whether…
5–9. Examine yourselves. Let there be self-examination. See whether you are in Christ. Know ye not, etc. Christ must dwell in them unless they are reprobate. If Christ is in them it will be seen in the power of a Christian life.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
J. W. McGarvey 1914 · Public Domain On vv5–7 Try your own selves, whether ye are in the…
Try your own selves, whether ye are in the faith; prove your own selves. Or know ye not as to your own selves, that Jesus Christ is in you? unless indeed ye be reprobate .
J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v5 Paul appeals to his readers to stand approved of…
Paul appeals to his readers to stand approved of Christ:
v. 5. 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?
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v. 6. But I trust that ye shall know that we are not reprobates.
v. 7. Now I pray to God that ye do no evil; not that we should appear approved, but that ye should do that which is honest, though we be as reprobates.
v. 8. For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth.
v. 9. For we are glad when we are weak and ye are strong; and this also we wish, even your perfection.
v. 10. Therefore I write these things being absent, lest, being present, I should use sharpness, according to the power which the Lord hath given me to edification, and not to destruction.
In opposition to the thought presented in v. 3, according to which the Corinthians desired a proof of Christ in him, the apostle here brings the demand that they should direct their examination to their own selves. Instead of paying attention to insinuations and suspicions concerning him: Yourselves put to the test; begin your examination at home before criticizing others. And he advises them to devote their attention especially to that one point whether they are in the faith; to that end they should examine themselves. For from all appearances one was almost tempted to conclude that their faith was a mere figment of their imagination, a condition which was, in turn, due to their deliberately deceiving themselves. That was turning the tables with a vengeance, but this was necessary, for desperate situations require desperate measures. And he follows up this thrust with another, equally strong: Or do you not know for your own selves that Christ Jesus is in you, unless, indeed, you are unapproved? If they actually are believers, then they must have experienced the power of Christ in their hearts, and this consciousness of the power of Christ’s grace is the best proof for Paul’s divine mission. But, of course, if they will not stand the test here suggested, then they are unapproved, reprobate. The apostle’s words are searching, yet incidentally appealing; he is not trying to terrorize their consciences nor to fill their hearts with doubt and despair, his purpose being rather to confirm the weak and wavering in their faith, to enkindle the dying ember of their belief to a glowing flame.
For his own person Paul confidently asserts: I hope that you shall know we are not unapproved. He is ready cheerfully to submit to any test of his faith as well as of his apostolic authority. Those among them that had Jesus Christ in their hearts would not hesitate a moment about recognizing His voice and power in the apostle, through whose preaching they had come to the knowledge of the truth. If they were not reprobate, they would know without further argument that he was not reprobate, but that he had the full authority of Christ, also to punish all disobedience.
But that Paul would rather be spared such a proof of his power he states in the form of a prayer: But we pray to God that you do no evil, not in order that we might appear approved, but that you may do the right, the honorable thing, even though we appear unapproved. He wants them to be guilty of nothing that is morally bad, of nothing that would not stand the searching eye of God. But his motive in making this wish is not that his ministry should stand forth in the glory of its success, that he profit by the contrast offered by their reprobate state, but that they might in all things do that which is right and good, even though he in that case would be unapproved, having no opportunity to show the extent of his authority. Their edification, their salvation was the aim of his ministry.
Two reasons he gives for the unselfishness of his prayer for them. He says in the first place: For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth. He cannot and will not exhibit any apostolic authority if the facts in the case show that the Corinthians have shown proper repentance. He must at all times stand for the truth; he must absolve and comfort those that showed obedience to the Gospel. It is a principle which finds its application at all times that the servants, the ministers, of Christ must stand for the truth and suffer all, even death, rather than permit falsehood to reign. In the second place, Paul is so entirely disinterested in his prayer, because their moral growth is a real joy to him: For we rejoice when we are weak and you are strong; and this we pray for, your complete restoration, your perfection. He would be glad in not being compelled to use his authority, to appear weak, in this case; it would please him highly if they would show the proper strength in repenting; that is what he desired and prayed for, their restoration to that condition which was required by the will of God, that they would accept his admonitions, put aside all enmity and evil, and prove themselves true children of their heavenly Father.
That was the real object of his letter, as he says in conclusion: For this reason I write these things while I am absent, lest, when present, I must deal severely according to the authority which the Lord gave me for building up and not for destroying. It was not at all a pleasure for him to deal roughly, rigorously, with them, as he would be forced to do in case they refused to heed the instructions of this letter. Far rather would he see them accept his admonitions now, before his arrival, and regulate their congregational affairs properly. For then only would the object of his ministry, the aim of his authority, be properly realized, since their edification, their spiritual confirmation and growth, and not their spiritual harm, was the reason why he labored so assiduously. This object of church discipline should be kept in mind at all times, lest we become guilty of legalistic practices.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv5, 7 Do you not realize this about yourselves that Jesus…
Do you not realize this about yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you?
Paul asks a question to emphasize his point. AT: "You should know that Jesus Christ is in you!" or "Jesus Christ is in you. You should know this already!" (See: Rhetorical Question)
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in you
Possible meanings are 1) living inside each individual or 2) "among you," part of and the most important member of the group.
translationWords
faith
test
Jesus
confidence
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv5, 7 13:5-6 The issue is clear cut: If they cannot…
13:5-6 The issue is clear cut: If they cannot recognize that Jesus Christ is living among them, they are the ones who have failed the test of genuine faith (literally are disproved). There is a play on words here: They were looking for “proof” of Paul’s apostolic authority, but Paul urges them, Test yourselves (or Prove yourselves). The lack of Christ’s presence would disprove their authenticity as Christians. But Paul himself has demonstrated that he has not failed the test of apostolic authority (literally not been disproved).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.