2 Coríntios 13

2 Coríntios 13:5

Wesley - All Christian believers know this, by the witness and by the fruit of his Spirit. (Wesley's Notes) James Rosscup writes that "Paul is concerned for those at Corinth, some of whom may prove to be “rejected” (adokimoi), not having Christ in them (2Cor 13:5, 6, 7). (The Overcomer of the Apocalypse - Grace Theological Journal 03:2 Fall 1982) Richard Pratt explains that - To encourage them further toward self-examination, Paul asked if they did not realize that Christ Jesus was in them. Christ's Spirit at work in the believer has certain effects of sanctification and faithfulness (Gal 5:22-note, Gal 5:23-note; 2Pet. 3:18-note). If the Corinthians' claims to faith were true, they were united to Christ, and the Holy Spirit was making the truth of their claims evident in their lives. But if the life of any believer showed no signs of the Spirit's activity, then the Spirit was not working in him and Christ was not indwelling him. Paul had already mentioned that the Corinthians were being tested. Their response to his instructions would prove whether their faith was genuine. (Holman New Testament Commentary – I & II Corinthians - see also his sermon material 2 Corinthians 12:14-13:14 People, Get Ready) (Bolding added) UNLESS YOU FAIL THE TEST: ei meti adokimoi este. (2PPAI): You fail the test: 2Co 13:6,7 Jer 6:30 Ro 1:28 2Ti 3:8 Titus 1:16 1Co 9:27 Heb 6:8) "THE ALMOST CHRISTIAN" (see note) Unless (ei meti) says Bernard (The Expositor's Greek Testament) writes that this phrase implies that it "is certainly not the case" (that the readers are "adokimos"). Clearly Bernard favors interpretation #2 adding that "Their own consciousness of the power of Christ's grace is the best proof that his preaching to them was Divinely authorized; he "begat them in Christ Jesus" (1Cor 4:15)" (See interpretative approach #2) Brown comments that "the two words ei meti are usually translated together as “unless indeed, unless perhaps.” The word meti is simply a longer and more intense form of the more common Greek negative mé. This last point is important. The specific combination of ei meti occurs only three times in the New Testament (Lk 9:13; 1Co 7:5; 2Co 13:5), and the insights one can gain from comparing these three passages are limited. Brown goes on to comment that… Thayer specifically says that this word combination in 2 Corinthians 13:5 is used ironically, that is, what is said is the opposite of what is meant. On the surface, then, Paul’s words might suggest that the Corinthians were not Christians, but the syntax of his sentence indicates he did not believe that was true at all. Other Bible commentators have also understood the irony and “unreality” of Paul’s statement in this passage. Bruce writes, Rather than question if Christ is speaking in Paul, let them question if Christ is living in themselves—as, of course, he is, unless indeed they fail to meet the test: unless they are adokimoi, ‘counterfeit’ (which Paul does not believe they are).