Test Yourself

by Hugh DeLong

"Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!" (II Corinthians 13:5 ESV).

We see in the two letters to the Corinthians that some of the disciples there were examining Paul, questioning his apostleship. So now he turns the tables on them. They need to test themselves as he has answered their challenges.

The word ‘examine’ (‘test’ in NASB) in this passage is from a Greek word which has the connotation of “examination for the purpose of fault finding or rejection. They are often used in connection with Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness…. It was used to “convey the attempt to trap Jesus (cf. Matt. 4:1; 16:1; 19:3; 22:18, 35; Mark 1:13; Luke 4:38; Heb. 2:18).” [Bob Utley’s commentary on II Corinthians].

Of course we know that Jesus will be the ultimate judge and will judge all of us (II Corinthians 5:10). Paul, having answered their challenges, knows he has not ‘failed the test’ – he knows he is “an apostle—not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead—” (Galatians 1:1).

He assures them that he is coming to see them again, and at that time there will be a public ‘test’ – and exposure of who is correct concerning Paul’s apostleship. All I know is that I would hate to be in the shoes of these challenging brethren at that time. “If anyone thinks that he is a prophet, or spiritual, he should acknowledge that the things I am writing to you are a command of the Lord” (I Corinthians 14:37).