2 Coríntios 13
Charles Spurgeon · Citado em PreceptAustin
2 Coríntios 13
Spurgeon - Self-Examination or listen to the audio CLICK HERE FOR IN DEPTH COMMENTS ON THIS VERSE Related Passages: Psalm 26:1-2 (see commentary from Spurgeon) A Psalm of David. Vindicate me, O LORD, for I have walked in my integrity, And I have trusted in the LORD without wavering. 2 Examine me, O LORD, and try me; Test my mind and my heart. A VERY IMPORTANT SELF-EXAMINATION Test (peirazo in present imperative) yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine (dokimazo in present imperative) yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you--unless indeed you fail the test (adokimos)? - See link above for IN DEPTH discussion of this verse. Note the emphasis on yourselves! You've been testing me dear Corinthians, now test yourselves! Those who affirm the eternal security of the believer in Christ generally hold one of two popular interpretations of 2 Corinthians 13:5. (1) The Reformed view assumes that Paul was addressing the possibility that some in the Corinthian church were not genuine believers—even though they claimed to be—and that Paul challenged them to test whether they had ever truly been born again. Therefore today those who profess Christ as Savior should examine themselves to be sure they really are Christians. MacArthur represents this view. Doubts about one’s salvation are not wrong so long as they are not nursed and allowed to become an obsession. Scripture encourages self-examination. Doubts must be confronted and dealt with honestly and biblically. In 2 Corinthians 13:5, Paul wrote, “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?” That admonition is largely ignored—and often explained away—in the contemporary church. (John F. MacArthur Jr., The Gospel according to Jesus - Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1988, 190. Two other times in this book MacArthur refers to this verse to support the view that Christians should examine themselves to determine the validity of their conversion) Buswell also supports the Reformed view and applies this verse when the behavior of a professing believer does not evidence an obedient walk with Christ. But my point is that so long as a professing Christian is in the state of carnality, no pastor, no Christian friend, has the slightest ground for holding that this carnal person has ever been regenerated. We are not to judge in the sense of pronouncing eternal destiny. God’s judgments are inscrutable. Nevertheless, it is a pastor’s duty to counsel such a person. “You do not give evidence of being in a regenerate state. You must remember Paul’s warning, ‘Examine yourselves whether you are in the faith; prove yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? You are not reprobate, are you?’ (2Corinthians 13:5).” (James Oliver Buswell, A Systematic Theology of the Christian Religion, 2 vols. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1962), 2:147) (See related article by Sam Storms). (2) A second view of 2 Corinthians 13:5 is that Paul was not doubting the Corinthians’ salvation, but was calling them to examine the quality of their walk with Christ. In other words Paul was addressing their ongoing sanctification, not their once-for-all justification. Colin Kruse - The positioning of the reflexive pronouns (heautous, ‘yourselves’) shows that Paul is emphasizing that it is themselves that the Corinthians should be examining rather than him. He wants them to see whether they are holding to the faith, i.e. the gospel, and conforming their lives to it. Do you not realize that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test! In a previous letter Paul had stressed the importance of the presence of the Holy Spirit in the congregation and the individual believer, and the moral implications of this (1 Cor. 3:16; 6:19–20). In the present context, where the prospect of moral failure on the part of the Corinthians has stimulated Paul’s concern (cf. 12:21), the ethical imperative of the presence of Christ by the Spirit is implicitly invoked by Paul’s question. Do you not realize that Jesus Christ is in you? The Corinthians appear to have been quite confident that Christ was in them, so the purpose of Paul’s question is to reawaken them to the moral implications of that great fact. Swindoll - A more literal rendering might be: “You yourselves test … you yourselves prove … that Jesus Christ is in you.” The emphasis is on each one of us examining ourselves to see whether Jesus is, in reality, in us. Admittedly, this relates to our initial conversion and salvation, but it can also refer to Christ working in and through us in our daily walk with Him. This test doesn’t ask how faithful we are to church attendance, how well we say mealtime prayers, or how many Bible verses we have memorized. The essential exam determines whether we genuinely stand within the circle of faith with Jesus Christ. Please note that Paul isn’t urging the Corinthians to doubt their salvation, although this passage is often taken that way. Yes, Paul believed that false teachers among the Corinthians lacked true faith in Christ, so for them such a test would demonstrate their lack of salvation. But for the most part, he regarded the Corinthians as brothers and sisters in Christ. The whole context of 2 Corinthians 13 pertains to their willingness to respond positively to Paul’s correction—that is, spiritual growth or “sanctification.” They would demonstrate the authenticity of their relationship with Christ when they responded positively to Christ’s commands through Paul. When Paul encouraged the Corinthians to examine whether they were “in the faith,” it was his way of saying, “Show me that you are a believer. Live like it! Obey the words of Christ! Do those things that demonstrate without a doubt the sincerity of your faith!” Wilberforce - It pleased God to give me this morning an affecting sense of my own sinfulness, and a determination to live henceforth, by his grace, more to his glory. I was cold at first, yet moved afterwards by a sense of heavenly things, and determined to go to the important work of self-examination, and to set about a thorough change. Henceforth I purpose, by God’s grace, to employ my faculties and powers more to his glory; to live a godly, diligent, useful, self-denying life. I know my own weakness, and I trust to God alone for strength.
2 Coríntios 13:5
Spurgeon says… “Examine yourselves” Who does not understand that word? And yet, by a few suggestions you may know its meaning more perfectly. “Examine:” that is a scholastic idea. A boy has been to school a certain time, and his master puts him through his paces—questions him, to see whether he has made any progress,—whether he knows anything. Christian, catechize your heart; question it, to see whether it has been growing in grace; question it, to see if it knows anything of vital Godliness or not. Examine it: pass your heart through a stern examination as to what it does know and what it does not know, by the teaching of the Holy Spirit. Again: it is a military idea. “Examine yourselves,” or renew yourselves. Go through the rank and file of your actions, and examine all your motives. Just as the captain on review–day is not content with merely surveying the men from a distance, but must look at all their accouterments, so do you look well to yourselves; examine yourselves with the most scrupulous care. And once again, this is a legal idea. “Examine yourselves.” You have seen the witness in the box, when the lawyer has been examining him, or, as we have it, cross–examining him. Now, mark: never was there a rogue less trustworthy or more deceitful than your own heart, and as when you are cross–examining a dishonest person—one that has bye–ends to serve, you set traps for him to try and find him out in a lie, so do with your own heart. Question it backward and forward, this way and that way; for if there be a loophole for escape, if there be any presence for self–deception, rest assured your treacherous heart will be ready enough to avail itself of it. And yet once more: this is a traveler’s idea. I find in the original, it has this meaning: “Go right through yourselves.” As a traveler, if he has to write a book upon a country, is not content to go round its borders merely, but goes, as it were, from Dan to Beersheba, right through the country. He climbs the hill top, where he bathes his forehead in the sunshine: he goes down into the deep valleys, where he can only see the blue sky like a strip between the lofty summits of the mountains. He is not content to gaze upon the broad river unless he trace it to the spring whence it rises. He will not be satisfied with viewing the products of the surface of the earth, but he must discover the minerals that lie within its bowels. Now, do the same with your heart. “Examine yourselves.” Go right through yourselves from the beginning to the end. 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. Look not only at your performance, which is but the product of the soil, but dig into your heart and examine the vital principle. “Examine yourselves.” This is a very big word—a word that needs thinking over; and I am afraid there be very few, if any of us, who ever come up to the full weight of this solemn exhortation (Self-Examination) Jonathan Edwards, by many the greatest theologian in American history, interpreted 2 Corinthians 13:5 as follows All men should be much concerned to know whether they do not live in some way of sin. DAVID was much concerned to know this concerning himself. He searched himself. He examined his own heart and ways. But he did not trust to that. He was still afraid lest there might be some wicked way in him which had escaped his notice. Therefore he cries to God to search him. And his earnestness appears in the frequent repetition of the same request in different words: “Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my thoughts.” (Ps 139:23-24, Ed: See also Ps 26:2 = three "staccato like" commands in Hebrew begging for God to examine him!) He was very earnest to know whether there were not some evil way or other in him, in which he went on, and did not take notice of. We ought to be much concerned to know whether we do not live in a state of sin. All unregenerate men live in sin. We are born under the power and dominion of sin, are sold under sin. Every unconverted sinner is a devoted servant to sin and Satan. We should look upon it as of the greatest importance to us, to know in what state we are, whether we ever had any change made in our hearts from sin to holiness, or whether we be not still in the gall of bitterness and bond of iniquity; whether ever sin were truly mortified in us; whether we do not live in the sin of unbelief, and in the rejection of the Savior. This is what the apostle insists upon with the Corinthians. 2 Cor. 13:5, “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?” Those who entertain the opinion and hope of themselves, that they are godly, should take great care to see that their foundation be right. Those that are in doubt should not give themselves rest till the matter be resolved. (from The Necessity of Self-Examination) Comment - See similar article by Hannah More entitled "Self Examination" - there are a number of questions at the end of this article. While I think they are good, they are a bit "intense," and we must remember that we are under grace, not law. Thus these questions should be used as benchmarks, not whipping posts! Fleshly attempts (reliance on our natural strength of the fallen nature) to conform strictly to questions such as these can engender a spirit of legalism if we are not careful! So, yes, we should examine ourselves, but we should be cautious not to drift into legalism. The only way we can truly conform to these questions is by the enabling power of the Spirit of grace! Yes, we are responsible to work out our salvation in fear and trembling, but we can only do so by the energizing power of the Spirit Who gives us the desire and the power to live in a manner pleasing to the Father (Study Php 2:12+, Php 2:13+). So let us examine ourselves, but doing so keeping these caveats in mind, lest we fall into the subtle trap of legalism (and it can be very subtle beloved!) Clearly Edwards espoused not a morbid but a healthy self-examination of the integrity (or lack of integrity) of one's faith as deduced from the 76 questions listed below, questions that we would all do well to review from time to time. We go to doctors for annual physical examinations, for we are concerned for the longevity our bodies, but we sadly too often we are loathe to go to the Great Physician for an annual spiritual examination, to assess the state of our souls! This ought not to be the case! (See his questions below taken from "The Necessity of Self-Examination" available free online) David
2 Coríntios 13:5
Spurgeon applies Paul's text to our daily lives exhorting us… Now, ‘prove yourselves.’ Do not merely sit in your closet and look at yourselves alone, but go out into this busy world and see what kind of piety you have. Remember, many a man’s religion will stand examination that will not stand proof (Ed: You may need to read that statement again as I did). We may sit at home and look at our religion, and say, ‘Well, I think this will do!’ Can you not bear a little self-examination? How will you bear that God-examination? If the scales of earth tell you that you are lacking, what message will the scales of heaven give you? Some people, when I preach a stirring sermon, feel afraid to come again to hear me. Do searching sermons seem to go through you like a blast of the north wind, chilling you to the marrow and curdling your blood? Friend, if you are afraid of the pastor’s voice, how will you bear His voice who will speak in tones of thunder? Oh, what must it be to stand before that dreadful tribunal? Are you doubting now? What will you be then? Can you not bear a little self-examination now? If not, how will you bear that God-examination? If earthly scales tell you that you are wanting, what message will the scales of heaven give you? John
2 Coríntios 13:5
Spurgeon asks… HOW ARE YOU TO SEARCH YOURSELVES? I am to try and help you, though it must be very briefly. First, if you would examine yourselves, begin with your public life. Are you dishonest? Can you thieve? Can you swear? Are you given to drunkenness, uncleanness, blasphemy, taking God's name in vain, and violation of his holy day? 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." You are reprobate; the wrath of God abideth on you. Your state is fearful; you are accursed now, and except you repent you must be accursed for ever. 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, professor, 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. And here I must say, every one of us has good cause to tremble, for our outward acts are not what we would have them to be. Let us go to our houses, and fall upon our face, and cry again, "God be merciful to me a sinner;" and let us seek for more grace, that henceforth our lives may be more consistent, and more in accordance with the spirit of Christ. Again: another set of tests--private tests. How about your private life? Do you live without prayer, without searching the Scriptures? Do you live without thoughts of God? Can you live as an habitual stranger to the Most High, having no love to him, and no fear of him? 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 have to weep over my prayers, but still I should weep ten times more if I did not pray; I do love God's word, it is my meditation all the day; I love his people; I love his house; and I can say that my hands are often lifted upward towards him; and when my heart is busy with this world's affairs, it is often going up to his throne." A good sign, Christian, a good sign for thee; if thou canst go through this test, thou mayest hope that all is well. But go a little deeper. Hast thou ever wept over thy lost condition? Hast thou ever bemoaned thy lost estate before God? Say, hast thou ever tried to save thyself, and found it a failure? and hast thou been driven to rely simply, wholly, and entirely on Christ? If so, then thou hast passed the test well enough. And hast thou now faith in Christ--a faith that makes thee love him; a faith that enables thee to trust him in the darkest hour? Canst thou say of a truth that thou hast a secret affection towards the Most High--that thou lovest his Son, that thy desire is after his ways, that thou feelest the influence of the Divine Spirit, and seekest every day to experience the fellowship of the Holy Spirit more and more? And lastly, canst thou say that Jesus Christ is in thee? If not, thou art reprobate. Sharp though that word be, thou art a reprobate. But if Jesus Christ be in thy heart, though thy heart sometimes be so dark that thou canst scarcely tell he is there, yet thou art accepted in the beloved, and thou mayest "rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory." (Self-Examination - Sermon on 2Cor 13:5) Jeff Robinson alludes to 2Cor 13:5 in his discussion of Jonathan Edwards' Religious Affections in which Edwards sets out the signs of true versus counterfeit conversion noting that "While Edwards' treatise is an invaluable work for the pastor who is charged with shepherding the flock, it is likewise for every believer a wrenching enforcement of 2 Cor. 13:5, which demands complacent Christians to "examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith." Religious Affections is one of Edwards' most readable works. It is also one of his most dissecting, sobering, and convicting. Read Religious Affections (online) and prepare to be shaken from spiritual slumber. (Read his interesting 5 page article Religious Affections- Sorting the wheat from the Chaff) Examine (1381)(dokimazo from dokimos = tested, proved or approved, tried as metals by fire and thus purified from dechomai = to accept, receive) means to assay, to test, to prove, to put to the test, to make a trial of, to verify, to discern to approve. Dokimazo involves not only testing but determining the genuineness or value of an event or object. That which has been tested is demonstrated to be genuine and trustworthy. In the present usage, Paul is commanding his readers to put themselves to the test to determine the genuineness of their profession, the reality of their conversion. Bishop Trench adds that in classical Greek dokimazo "is the technical word for putting money to the dokime or proof, by aid of the dokimion or test (Plato, Timaeus, 65c;… ); that which endures this proof being dokimos, that which fails adokimos…The ore is not thrown into the fining pot—and this is the image which continually underlies the use of the word in the OT (Zech 13:9, Pr 8:10, 17:3, 27:21, Ps 65:10; Je 9:7… )—except in the expectation and belief that, whatever of dross may be found mingled with it, yet it is not all dross, but that some good metal, and better now than before, will come forth from the fiery trial (He 12:5-11, 2Macc 6:12-16). It is ever so with the proofs to which He who sits as a Refiner in His Church submits His own; His intention in these being ever, not indeed to find His saints pure gold (for that He knows they are not), but to make them such; to purge out their dross, never to make evident that they are all dross. As such, He is the Refiner of hearts ( "God… examines [dokimazo] our hearts" 1Th 2:4-note), Jer 9:20, Ps 16:4)." (See Trench's full discussion of dokimazo) The main use of dokimazo in the NT is by Paul and he uses it six times in the letters to the Corinthians… 1 Corinthians 3:13 each man's work will become evident; for the day will show it, because it is to be revealed with fire; and the fire itself will test the quality of each man's work. 1 Corinthians 11:28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 1 Corinthians 16:3 And when I arrive, whomever you may approve, I shall send them with letters to carry your gift to Jerusalem; 2 Corinthians 8:8 I am not speaking this as a command, but as proving through the earnestness of others the sincerity of your love also. 2 Corinthians 8:22 And we have sent with them our brother, whom we have often tested and found diligent in many things, but now even more diligent, because of his great confidence in you. Paul's last use of dokimazo in his writings to the Corinthians is in the present passage, in which he uses the present imperative which is a command calling his readers to give continual attention. David uses both verbs peirazo and dokimazo in his request of the Almighty, a request which perhaps gives us some insight into why David was referred to as a man after God's own heart (Acts 13:22)… (David's incredible plea to God) Examine (Lxx = dokimazo = present imperative) me, O LORD, and try (LXX = peirazo = present imperative) me; Test (LXX = puroo [word study] [heating precious metals red hot in order to refine them] = aorist imperative) my mind and my heart. (Ps 26:2-Spurgeon's full note) Editorial comment: Do we (I) dare pray this prayer? On the other hand, considering the gold that comes from the furnace of affliction, do we dare not? (cf 1Pe 1:5, 1Pe 1:7) Spurgeon's comment: The psalmist was so clear from the charge laid against him, that he submitted himself unconditionally to any form of examination which the Lord might see fit to employ. Examine me, O Lord. Look me through and through; make a minute survey; put me to the question, cross examine my evidence. And prove me. Put me again to trial; and see if I would follow such wicked designs as my enemies impute to me. Try my reins and my heart. Assay me as metals are assayed in the furnace, and do this to my most secret parts, where my affections hold their court; see, O God, whether or no I love murder, and treason, and deceit. All this is a very bold appeal, and made by a man like David, who feared the Lord exceedingly, it manifests a most solemn and complete conviction of innocence. The expressions here used should teach us the thoroughness of the divine judgment, and the necessity of being in all things profoundly sincere, lest we be found wanting at the last. Our enemies are severe with us with the severity of spite, and this a brave man endures without fear; but God's severity is that of unswerving right. Who shall stand against such a trial? The sweet singer says "Who can stand before his cold?" and we may well enquire, "Who can stand before the heat of his justice?" The psalmist uses three words, examine, prove, try. These words are designed to include all the modes in which the reality of anything is tested; and they imply together that he wished the most thorough investigation to be made; he did not shrink from any test. Albert Barnes. Examine -- prove -- try. As gold, by fire, is severed and parted from dross, so singleness of heart and true Christian simplicity is best seen and made most evident in troubles and afflictions. In prosperity every man will seem godly, but afflictions do draw out of the heart whatsoever is there, whether it be good or bad. Robert Cawdray. Warren Wiersbe Comments: Integrity means that your life is whole, that your heart is not divided (Ed: See on site resource: Integrity - A Few Thoughts). Jesus said, "No one can serve two masters" (Mt. 6:24-note). That's integrity. Duplicity means trying to serve two masters. Our Lord also said that nobody can look in two directions at the same time. If your eye is single, then your body is full of light. But if your eye is double, watch out. The darkness is coming in (Mt. 6:22,23-note). If you look at the darkness and the light simultaneously, the darkness crowds out the light. In Ps 25:21 (Spurgeon's note) David prayed: "Let integrity and uprightness preserve me, for I wait for You"; and in verse one of today's passage, "Vindicate me, O Lord, for I have walked in my integrity." When we do business with or are ministering to someone, we want that person to have integrity. When we have integrity, David tells us, we don't have to be afraid of sliding. "I have walked in my integrity. I have also trusted in the Lord; I shall not slip" (Ps 26:1-Spurgeon's note). He also says, "My foot stands in an even place" (Ps 26:12-Spurgeon's note)). The word even means "a level place." David says, "I'm on the level because I have integrity. I have nothing in my heart against the Lord. I am not disobeying Him." We also need not be afraid of testing. David writes, "Examine me, O Lord, and prove me; try my mind and my heart" (Ps 26:2). He says, in other words, "Lord, I can go through the furnace. I can go through the X ray. Go ahead and test me. I'm not afraid." When your life is whole before God and others, when you're practicing integrity, when you have a good conscience, you don't have to be afraid of the battle or the furnace or the X ray or the testing. God will see you through. When you walk with integrity, you walk on solid ground. Never try to serve two masters. Always keep your heart undivided before the Lord. (Back to the Bible) Spurgeon once said that… The man who does not like self-examination may be pretty certain that things need examining. In his devotional for August 23 John
2 Coríntios 13:5
Spurgeon asked "Now, what is it to have Jesus Christ in you? The Roman Catholic hangs the cross on his bosom; true Christian carries the cross in his heart; and a cross inside the heart, my friends, is one of the sweetest cures for a cross on the back. If you have a cross in your heart - Christ crucified (1Co 1:23) in you, the hope of glory (Col 1:27-note) - all the cross of this world’s troubles will seem to you light enough, and you will easily be able to sustain it. Christ in the heart means Christ believed in, Christ beloved, Christ trusted, Christ espoused, Christ communed with, Christ as our daily food, and ourselves as the temple and palace wherein Jesus Christ daily walks. Albert