Introspection and Self-Testing in 2 Cor 13:5 - Neil Andersonpdf
Introspection and Self-Testing in 2 Cor 13:5 - Neil Andersonpdf
Page 1 of 110
Dave Kalmbach shared this file. Want to do more with it?
  1. 1“Introspection and Self-Testing in 2 Cor 13:5” By Neil Anderson GES National Conference – Mar. 5, 2008 Fort Worth, TX The postmodern generation is perhaps the most self-reflecting generation. They excel in the consistent practice of self-reflection. Where they often err is rightly identifying what to inspect. Such is the case with the younger generations of Christians. They desire and practice introspection and self-testing, but rarely is that exercise carried out from a biblical framework. Hence, a biblical text like 2 Cor 13:5 is, quite naturally, a portion of Scripture that is especially appealing to a younger generation of persons. 2 Cor 13:5 reads: “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.” A chapel speaker at my wife’s junior high school once taught on this very portion of Scripture. And he counseled my then pre-teen wife and the hundreds of students alongside her to pay heed to Paul’s commands. “Examine yourselves,” he said, “and look within yourselves to see if you truly are a Christian.” He went on to suggest that, upon proper self-reflection, a good portion of those students who thought they were Christians would soon become enlightened to the fact that they were not. My wife’s young faith, which up until that point had been rightly grounded in the doctrines of the assurance of salvation and the eternal security of the believer, was crushed by the words of this speaker. For the next decade of her young Christian life, she frequently practiced what we might call a justification self-test, whereby she introspected and considered whether her life of faithfulness, good works and obedience to God afforded her the privilege of being called a child of God. Not one week would pass without her fearing that she might not be saved.
  2. 2 Sadly, a decade of my wife’s Christian life was hampered by a speaker who was not carefully handling the word of truth. Upon closer inspection, the self-inspection advocated by the Apostle Paul in 2 Cor 13:5 has nothing to do with justification. Our purpose in examining 2 Cor 13:5 is to ascertain the nature of the self-examination advocated in 2 Cor 13:5? Is this self-test intended to determine whether or not a person is justified? Or is this self-test unto some other purpose? We will examine contextual and linguistic biblical evidence before arriving at our conclusion. Contextual considerations for 2 Cor 13:5 But before we begin this process, let us answer the question: Who is being subjected to self-examination in 2 Cor 13:5? “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.” Quite obviously, the answer is that the people of Corinth, the recipients of Paul’s letter, are being commanded to self-examine. The Corinthians, or at least a portion of them, are being commanded by Paul to examine themselves. However, it is critical to recognize that the imperative we read in 2 Cor 13:5 is given in reaction to what Paul has already been subjected to. I say again, the imperative we read in 2 Cor 13:5 is given in reaction to what Paul has already been subjected to. What is happening in 2 Corinthians? The onset of the book gives us great insight into one of Paul’s greatest purposes in writing 2 Corinthians: 2 Corinthians 1:12-14 12 For our boasting is this: the testimony of our conscience that we conducted ourselves in the world in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom but by the grace of God, and more abundantly toward you. 13 For we are not writing any other things to you than what you read or understand. Now I trust you will understand, even to the end 14 (as also you have understood us in part), that we are your boast as you also are ours, in the day of the Lord Jesus.
  3. 3In v.12, Paul appears to be defending both he and his colleagues conduct and integrity. In v.13, he goes on to suggest that they are to understand his writings plainly – that there is no hidden agenda or double-talk. And in v.14 Paul indicates that he is hopeful the Corinthians will recognize that they can be confident in Paul’s ministry and integrity, just as also he can be confident in their own maturing in Christ. Why does Paul begin his letter with such comments? Because some in the church at Corinth are questioning the legitimacy of Paul’s apostolic authority. They are inspecting the Apostle Paul, and upon close examination, they are finding him lacking. A good portion of the criticisms against Paul can be found in 2 Cor 10-12. Some of the accusations included: 2 Corinthians Corinthian criticism of the Apostle Paul (direct or implied) 10:2 walked according to the flesh 10:10 weak person and contemptible speech (double-talk? cf. 10:11) 10:14 overextended authority 11:5; 12:11 inferior to other apostles 11:6 lacking knowledge 12:13 treated the Corinthian church as inferior to other churches 12:14 greedily desired the Corinthians money In all of this, some at Corinth were resolute in their conviction that Paul was not fit to lead, teach, judge or carry out the authority of an apostle of Jesus Christ. Yet note carefully, in none of these accusations against Paul do we find the Corinthians questioning the legitimacy of Paul’s justification. Nowhere in 1 or 2 Corinthians, do we find any accusations that Paul is not, in fact, a believer in Jesus Christ. They only question his faithfulness. They only question his obedience to Christ. They only question the extent of his authority over them. In response to the accusations against him, Paul spends a sizeable portion of chapters 11 and 12 of 2 Corinthians in examining himself and considering the merits of the criticisms. Note carefully, Paul himself is the one who is introspecting and self-examining in 2 Cor 11-12. And upon close inspection, he finds himself above reproach.
  4. 4 Paul’s final moment of self-reflection comes in the verses that precede our main text today. It concerns the accusation of weakness. It is likely that some at Corinth despised Paul’s frequent teaching on the subject of weakness. Corinth was a city of wealth and power, and her citizens were not particularly disposed to accepting Paul’s rhetoric on embracing weakness and conducting oneself with humility (cf. 1 Cor 1:27; 9:22; 12:22; 2 Cor 10:10; 12:9-10, et al). They appreciated men and teachers would were not bashful when it came to wielding their power and authority. Having reflected on the charge of weakness against him, Paul in 2 Cor 13:2ff responds with firm apostolic acquiescence: 2 Corinthians 13:2-4 2 I have told you before, and foretell as if I were present the second time, and now being absent I write to those who have sinned before, and to all the rest, that if I come again I will not spare -- 3 since you seek a proof of Christ speaking in me, who is not weak toward you, but mighty in you. 4 For though He was crucified in weakness, yet He lives by the power of God. For we also are weak in Him, but we shall live with Him by the power of God toward you. Permit a modern recapitulation of Paul’s words in 2 Cor 13:2-4. It is as if Paul is saying: You accuse me of weakness? You accuse me of being feeble in presence and showing too much grace and timidity in my speech and actions? You assume the chief apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ should be a man of strength, power and command authority by his words and deeds? So be it. I will acquiesce to your allegations. The next time I come, I will not spare anyone who is deserving of discipline or judgment. I will not spare anyone who is in sin. I will not spare anyone who is walking a path that is contrary to the Scriptures. I will come to you with the authority of Jesus Christ, by the power of Almighty God. You asked for this. I will give you this. Prepare yourselves accordingly! This particular defense that precedes our main text today is of great significance as we attempt to interpret 2 Cor 13:5. Paul is saying one thing very clearly: “The next time I come, I will not spare sinners of discipline and judgment. Prepare yourselves accordingly!” In light of this preceding context, it is only natural that we should find 2 Cor 13:5 following what Paul has just stated in vv.2-4.
  5. 52 Corinthians 13:5 5 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. Prepare yourselves. Get ready. Clean house. Why? Paul is coming with the authority of Jesus Christ, by the power of Almighty God, and he will not spare those who are found lacking. He will discipline, he will judge and he will refine the Corinthian church and its members. 2 Cor 13:5 should be understood as Paul’s warning to the Corinthians to clean house before he get there. It serves as an opportunity for the Corinthians to examine and rectify their own dirty laundry before Paul arrives on the scene. It is, you might say, the calm before the storm. Linguistic considerations for 2 Cor 13:5 Prior to 2 Cor 13:5, it was Paul who was being critiqued by the Corinthians. It was Paul’s apostolic authority – his qualifications for being a spokesman of Jesus Christ – that had been called into question. But now Paul turns the table. The term “yourselves” is in the emphatic position in Greek (Eautou.j peira,zete). Now it was their turn to introspect. “Examine yourselves,” Paul commands, “as to whether you are in the faith.” But what of the phrase, “in the faith” (evn th/| pi,stei)? It is here that many readers of 2 Corinthians mindlessly conclude that Paul is questioning the legitimacy of the Corinthians justification in Christ. It is here that they understand Paul to be saying: “Examine yourselves as to whether you are a Christian.” Unfortunately, this is a most unwarranted interpretation. All of the available linguistic evidence suggests that Paul is not questioning the existence of their faith, but rather that he is asking them to consider whether Christ is dynamically and vibrantly at work in their words and deeds. Consider how “in the faith” is used elsewhere in Scripture: 1.The only other use of this phrase in Paul’s letters to Corinth refers to standing fast “in the faith” (1 Cor 16:13).
  6. 62.Only two other Scriptures quote this phrase exactly (1 Chron 9:311; Titus 1:13), neither of which refer to becoming a Christian. 3.All nine remaining Scriptures that merely drop the preposition (in) or the article (the) before the term “faith” never once are used to refer to a person’s positional justification in Christ. (cf. Acts 14:22; 16:5; Rom. 14:1; Col. 1:21-23; 2:7; 1 Tim. 1:2; 3:13; Titus 3:15; 1 Pet. 5:9) To be clear, the Bible never uses the phrase “in the faith” to mean “to be a Christian.” Paul is not calling into question the Corinthians’ eternal salvation with Christ. Instead, Paul is holding their lives up to the same level of scrutiny that they have held his. He is urging them to test their integrity, their conduct and their commitment to Christ, as Paul has already done his and been found faithful (cf. 1 Cor 13:6). The Corinthians never tested Paul’s justification, and neither is Paul testing theirs. Jody Dillow comments, “being ‘in the faith’ refers to consistency in the Christian life, not possession of it.”2 Hodges concurs, “To be ‘in the faith’... is to be operating and acting within the parameters of our Christian convictions and beliefs... [i]t meant living in a dynamic, faith-oriented connection with Jesus Christ....”3 A second time Paul commands them, “test yourselves” (e`autou.j dokima,zete). We should understand this command synonymously with the preceding imperative to “Examine yourselves.” But the verb in this command gives us greater insight into Paul’s mind. The verb Paul uses here for “test” is dokimazo. This verb is used five instances elsewhere in Paul’s letters to Corinth (cf. 1 Cor. 3:13; 11:28; 16:3; 2 Cor. 8:8; 8:22). Never once is it used in reference to testing one’s justification. Some scholars, however, have impregnated certain instances of Paul’s use of dokimazowith a view to justification. Among them, John MacArthur contends: 1 The literal reading of 1 Chron 9:31 in the LXX would be that “Mattithiah of the Levites... was in the faith over the sacrifices of meat-offering of the pan belonging to the high priest.” 2 Joseph C. Dillow, The Reign of the Servant Kings (Miami Springs, FL: Schoettle Publishing, 1992), 300. 3 Zane Hodges, Absolutely Free!: A Biblical Reply to Lordship Salvation (Dallas: Redencion Viva, 1989), 201.
  7. 7“We are commanded to examine ourselves regularly--at least as often as we participate in the Lord's Supper (1 Cor. 11:28). Paul also issued this challenge to the church at Corinth: ‘Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you--unless indeed you fail the test?’ (2 Cor. 13:5). Clearly Paul was dealing here with the matter of assurance. The Corinthians were to test themselves to see if they were ‘in the faith.’”4To be clear, MacArthur is advocating: 1.The objective of the self-examination is to assess one’s assurance of salvation. 2.The self-examination of 1 Cor 11:28 is equivalent to the self-examination of 2 Cor 13:5. As mentioned earlier, much of Christendom mindlessly embraces point one with respect to 2 Cor 13:5. But MacArthur pushes the envelope considerably. He goes on to claim that the introspection advocated by Paul in 2 Cor 13:5 is the same kind of introspection he commands in 1 Cor 11:28. That is to say, every time a person participates in the Lord’s Supper, they must repeatedly reconsider their own assurance of salvation. Presumably, for MacArthur, those persons who find themselves with a sizeable sense of assurance should participate in that particular instance of the ordinance, while those who might be lacking in assurance are better off bypassing the elements as they are passed. And the cycle continues with each and every instance of the Lord’s Supper. Seeing as how the intent of the Lord’s Supper is to remember Christ’s death and Christ’ssacrifice, does MacArthur’s position on Paul’s use of dokimazo in 1 Cor 11:28 not exude a disproportionately self-centered kind of participation in the Lord’s Supper? It would seem so! 2 Cor 13:5 continues, “do you not know yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you?” Here again, many well-meaning believers contend that the phrase “Jesus Christ is in you” (VIhsou/j Cristo.j evn u`mi/n) can only be understood to mean that that person is born again. But just as we identified “Examine yourselves” to be synonymous to “test yourselves” at the beginning of v.5, 4 John MacArthur, The Gospel According to the Apostles (Dallas: Word Publishing Group, 1993), 162.
  8. 8so also it’s quite appropriate to make “in the faith” synonymous with “Jesus Christ is in you” at the end of v.5. Paul uses this same phrase, “Christ in you,” in Galatians 4:19 in the sense of being complete or mature in Christ: “My little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you.” Moreover, Paul pens a striking comment about Jesus Christ being “in” a person in v.3 of our immediate context. Citing the accusation against him, Paul writes: 2 Corinthians 13:2-3 2 I have told you before, and foretell as if I were present the second time, and now being absent I write to those who have sinned before, and to all the rest, that if I come again I will not spare -- 3 since you seek a proof of Christ speaking in me, who is not weak toward you, but mighty in you. Just as Corinth questioned whether Paul possessed the power and authority of Jesus Christ as he preached, so also Paul is asking the Corinthians to question whether or not they have a legitimate claim to being esteemed as leaders and teachers within the church at Corinth. Zane Hodges concludes: “...the statement ‘Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?’ has no more to do with the question of salvation than do the words ‘in the faith.’ What Paul has described of his own experience shows that he is thinking of Jesus Christ being in himself, or in the Corinthians, in a dynamic, active and vital sense.”5 The final phrase in our brief linguistic analysis of 2 Cor 13:5 reads, “if (unless) you are disqualified” (evsti,n eiv mh, ti avdo,kimoi, evste). The term “disqualified,” adokimoi, is the adjectival antithesis to Paul’s use of dokimazo just moments earlier – “test yourselves.” And like dokimazo before it, adokimoi is never used in reference to the disqualification of a believer’s justification. Paul’s use of the term in 1 Cor 9:24-27 especially rules out such a misapplication of the term: 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 24 Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. 25 And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable 5 Zane Hodges, The Gospel Under Siege (Dallas: Redencion Viva, 1981; reprint, 1992), 112.
  9. 9crown, but we for an imperishable crown. 26 Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. 27 But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified. Justification is hardly the topic at hand in 1 Cor 9:24-27. The context is clear. There is reward for faithfulness. There is reward for discipline. There is reward for being obediently subjective to Christ. And Paul desires that reward. And so he “disciplines his body and brings it into subjection, lest, when he has preached to others, he himself should not be disqualified.” In like manner, Paul admonishes the same Corinthian church to avoid the stigma of disqualification before the judgment seat of Christ. Wilkin concurs: “Paul said in 1 Cor 9:27 that he feared that after he had preached to others he himself might be disqualified (adokimos). Clearly he did not fear hell. What he did fear was being disapproved for the prize of ruling with Christ (1 Cor 9:24-25; cf. 2 Tim 2:12). Likewise, the Corinthians were in danger of being disapproved for that prize.”6 Why might Paul discipline them on his return? How might they lose eternal rewards? Such things awaited the Corinthian Christians who, by their false accusations against Paul, had unduly undermined the authority and integrity of the Apostle Paul. It is in light of these impending consequences that Paul commands: “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.” Paul’s reactionary command in 2 Cor 13:5 was not offered with malicious intent. Paul desired the Christians at Corinth to, upon self-examination, be approved in Christ. Such is made clear in the comments that follow our main text: 2 Corinthians 13:7-11 (selections) 7 Now I pray to God that you do no evil... but that you should do what is honorable, ... 9 For we are glad when we are weak and you are strong. And this also we pray, that you may be made complete.... 11 Finally, brethren, 6 Bob Wilkin, We Believe in: Sanctification, Part 4: Man’s Role in Present Sanctification, Journal of the Grace Evangelical Society, Autumn 1994 -- Volume 7:13, accessed: http://www.faithalone.org/journal/1994ii/Wilkin.html.
  10. 10farewell. Become complete. Be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. It is also noteworthy to mention that if Paul’s command in 2 Cor 13:5 was intended to suggest the Corinthians might not be justified, is it not terribly odd that Paul goes to on to admonish this same group to avoid evil and do good works? Would it not be reprehensible for the chief apostle to significantly call into question the faith of his readership and then proceed to give them exhortations that could not possibly remedy their unregenerate state? I would hope so! Conclusion What is the nature of the self-examination advocated in 2 Cor 13:5? Paul penned 2 Cor 13:5 as a reactionary command to many at Corinth who were unduly questioning the apostle’s integrity, authority and use of apostolic power. Upon his own self-inspection, and upon finding himself above reproach, Paul admonished his accusers to participate in the same exercise. They were to ask themselves: Am I fit to lead, teach, judge or carry out authority in the church of Jesus Christ? Paul did not advocate that such introspection and self-testing be exercised for the purpose of assessing one’s justification, but rather, one’s progression in Christian growth and maturity. What of us today? Should we introspect and administer self-testing kinds of exercises? The Scripture seems to support such practice: Psalm 139:23-24 23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; 24 And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting. Lamentations 3:40-42 40 Let us search out and examine our ways, And turn back to the LORD; 41 Let us lift our hearts and hands To God in heaven. 42 We have transgressed and rebelled... Haggai 1:5-7 5 Now therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts: "Consider your ways! 6"You have sown much, and bring in little; You eat, but do not have enough; You drink, but you are not filled with drink; You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; And he who
  11. 11earns wages, Earns wages to put into a bag with holes." 7 Thus says the LORD of hosts: "Consider your ways! Galatians 6:3-4 3 For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4 But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. The postmodern generation of Christians is particularly disposed to introspection and self-testing. It is incumbent upon us to carefully guide them in the content of their self-reflection. May we help them avoid the spiritual damage that befell my wife for a decade of her Christian life. May we encourage them to rightly know and understand the doctrines of the assurance of salvation and the eternal security of the believer. May we accurately teach them about the biblical nature of self-examination. And may we all consider our ways in light of a holy and righteous God who dearly desires to call His children approved!
We use cookies to provide, improve, protect and promote our services. Visit our Privacy Policy and Privacy Policy FAQs to learn more. You can manage your personal preferences, including your ‘Do not sell or share my personal data to third parties’ setting using the “Customize cookies” button below.