A Warning of Discipline

II Corinthians 13:1–10
» View this passage in NIV (Bible Gateway)

As we come to the last chapter of this Corinthian letter most of the church has repented and changed its attitude toward Paul. However, there is a handful of people who are still following the false teachers and living in a worldly manner and open immorality. It is with this in mind that Paul faces them with one final question. “Examine yourselves, whether you be in the faith, prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates” (v. 5)? The question is not whether you believe the truth, but whether you are in the truth. It is possible to know about Christ on Calvary and yet know nothing about Christ in the heart. 

Paul turns the focus to them as he says, “Examine yourselves, you have disputed my doctrine; examine whether you be in the faith. You have made me prove my apostleship; prove your own selves. Use the powers which you have been so wrongfully exercising upon me to test your own character. When you answer the question about yourself, you will also know that I am a real apostle” (v. 6). He explains that he is not looking for an opportunity to come and demonstrate his authority as an apostle by judging them, but what he wants is their moral improvement (vv. 7-9).

Paul emphasizes a principle that is often forgotten today. He makes it clear that true authority is never intended to destroy people or tear them down, but it is to build them up (v. 10). In other words, it is not given so that somebody can lord it over their brothers. Yet in many churches today the pastor’s role is that he is in authority in the church and in essence he is “the pope.” In our early days in the ministry, we found ourselves associated with a group that wanted to exercise control over every area of our life. When we left them, the pastor attempted to assassinate our character in any way he could, but the Lord prevailed and continued to bless our lives in His ministry. 

Application

I am so thankful that as I examine myself in the faith, I can say that Christ lives in me.