Examine Yourself

“Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified. But I trust that you will know that we are not disqualified.”

2 Corinthians 13:5-6 (NKJV)

In 2 Corinthians 13, Paul is fatigued by constantly hearing about how divided the church of Corinth is, and how immoral they are acting among themselves and in the community.

Sounds like many churches in today’s world.

What exactly does Paul want the church in Corinth to do in order to address these issues? He wants them to self-examine. In fact, he urges self-scrutiny, which implies the performing of a self-audit spiritually.

The questions that I believe Paul would want the Corinthian believers to ask themselves are the same questions I want you to ask yourself:

• Where are you in your love for Jesus?
• Where are you in your commitment to God’s Word?
• Where are you in your surrender to living in God’s will?
• Where are you in being a witness for God in the world?
• Where are you in your faith?
• Can it hold up in the swirling temptation?
• Can Jesus be your easy choice when standing at the divergence of life in obedience to Him versus life that is antithetical to that aim?

Paul is asking them examine themselves to see if they are living according to the faith that they profess. It’s almost as if the apostle is saying, “Test yourself and see if Jesus is truly living in you.”

Paul assumes that they will pass the test, but he wants them to mature from the exercise of it. He knows they love Jesus. He knows they believe in Him. But Paul is hoping that self-examination will reveal to them the worth that ought to be attached to that belief.

So before Paul makes his journey to the Corinthians to address all of these things, he writes this letter to reveal that his prayers are proceeding it all. He’s praying that they would stop allowing their lives to be so easily distracted. He’s praying that they would affirm and then be affected by the salvation that they’ve been given by the grace of Jesus Christ.

That is my prayer for you as well. Examine yourself and allow the examination to move your heart and affect your lifestyle.