2 Corinthians 13:1-2
13 This is the third time I am coming to you. In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established.
2 I told you before, and foretell you, as if I were present, the second time; and being absent now I write to them which heretofore have sinned, and to all other, that, if I come again, I will not spare:
When coming to visit the believers in Corinth, Paul will be coming as something of a spiritual judge. He is planning to hold accountable all who are living in ongoing sin. His purpose is to expose and confront them for their rebellion against Christ. He wrote ominously that he would not spare them (2 Corinthians 13:1–2).
Though not always in the best ways, the Corinthians have been looking for proof that Christ genuinely speaks through Paul as His apostle. Ominously, Paul says they will get proof when they see how powerfully Christ acts to discipline their sinfulness. Even if they think Paul is weak in person, they should not think Christ will be weak when judging their lack of repentance for sin. They will see that Christ is, indeed, powerful.
Paul is not threatening them, nor promising any particular result. He just instructs them to examine themselves, instead. Are they truly in the faith? Not only does biblical faith involve cautious skepticism (Acts 17:11; 1 John 4:1), it also means being honest and careful about looking into our own lives (1 Corinthians 13:10; Hebrews 4:13). That's not an invitation to doubt (Ephesians 3:14–19), but to honesty (Galatians 6:4–5).
Given that this letter was meant for a broad audience—though directed to a particular church—part of the meaning here is a question of salvation. To examine one's self, spiritually, includes an honest look at whether one is truly a believer in Jesus. Along with that, it calls Christians to examine the details and results of their faith, to see if it's according to the truth. It would involve scrutinizing one's own conduct to see how—or if—they follow through on the will of God for their lives.
In short, Paul is asking them to see if Christ is truly in them. Do they still believe what they believed when Paul first introduced them to Jesus? Or will they find that their trust has been in someone or something else?
Paul assumes the answer will be positive. In part, he likely means that understanding Christ's presence within them will motivate the Corinthians to shun sin. It also implies their honest answer—that Christ is in them—will show that Christ is also in Paul and speaking through him (2 Corinthians 13:6). This is true because Paul is the one who introduced them to Christ in the first place. They cannot reject Paul as a false apostle unless they also reject Christ as false in themselves, as well.
In 2 Corinthians 13:5, the apostle Paul asks the Corinthian believers a question: “Or do you not realize about yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you?”
In writing Jesus Christ is in you, Paul wasn’t speaking poetically or metaphorically. He meant that Jesus Christ was literally dwelling within them. Many other verses in the Bible confirm the fact that the Lord Jesus actually lives in His believers.
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