2 Coríntios 13

2 Coríntios 13:5

Henry - And therefore, as a proof to those who among the Corinthians sought a proof of Christ's speaking in the apostle, he puts them upon proving their Christianity (2 Cor 13:5): Examine yourselves, etc. Hereby he intimates that, if they could prove their own Christianity, this would be a proof of his apostleship; for if they were in the faith, if Jesus Christ was in them, this was a proof that Christ spoke in him, because it was by his ministry that they did believe. He had been not only an instructor, but a father to them. He had begotten them again by the gospel of Christ. Now it could not be imagined that a divine power should go along with his ministrations if he had not his commission from on high. If therefore they could prove themselves not to be reprobates, not to be rejected of Christ, he trusted they would know that he was not a reprobate (v. 6), not disowned by Christ. What the apostle here says of the duty of the Corinthians to examine themselves, etc., with the particular view already mentioned, is applicable to the great duty of all who call themselves Christians, to examine themselves concerning their spiritual state. We should examine whether we be in the faith, because it is a matter in which we may be easily deceived, and wherein a deceit is highly dangerous: we are therefore concerned to prove our own selves, to put the question to our own souls, whether Christ be in us, or not; and Christ is in us, except we be reprobates: so that either we are true Christians or we are great cheats; and what a reproachful thing is it for a man not to know himself, not to know his own mind! John Piper makes the important point that… It is possible for true Christians, with genuine saving faith, to go through periods of time in which they do not have the full assurance of hope. John said in 1 John 5:13, “I write this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.” In other words, the heart’s true allegiance to Christ and true union with Christ are not completely identical with strong feelings of assurance. Faith can be real when the feelings of assurance are weak. But God commands us to be earnest and zealous in our pursuit of full assurance. Because that is where the joy and freedom and power are found. Two Ways to Pursue Assurance Now there are two ways to pursue assurance. One is by examining ourselves and seeing the evidences that the dominion of sin has been broken and that we have new desires and disciplines. This is what Peter meant when he said, “Therefore brethren, be the more zealous to confirm your call and election” (2 Peter 1:10). And what Paul meant when he said, “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith. Prove yourselves. Or do you not know yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you? If you are not disqualified” (2 Corinthians 13:5). Thomas Watson put it this way 350 years ago, If a malefactor be in prison, how shall he know that his prince hath pardoned him? If a jailer come and knock off his chains and fetters, and lets him out of prison, then he may know he is pardoned; so how shall we know God hath pardoned us? If the fetters of sin be broken off, and we walk at liberty in the ways of God, this is a blessed sign we are pardoned. (A Puritan Golden Treasury, p. 25) But there is another way to pursue assurance. And for people who are given to excessive self-examination and doubt this is surely the more hopeful path. The book of Hebrews puts it very simply like this: “Consider Jesus” (Hebrews 3:1). Or: “Look to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2). In other words, do not dwell on yourself, dwell on what God has done in Jesus Christ. There is a paradox here. For many people—most people, I think—the more we focus on the subjective inner workings of our own soul and the relative purity or impurity of our own attitudes and behavior, the more uncertain we become of our own assessment of our authenticity. Paradoxically the path to assurance is to shift our focus off of ourselves and onto God. Off of the subjective and onto the objective. (God Has Chosen Us in Him Before the Foundation of the Earth) (See another sermon by John Piper entitled Sealed by the Spirit to the Day of Redemption wherein he quotes 9 New Testament passages including 2Co 13:5 and notes that "All of these passages teach that the test of genuineness for the Christian is perseverance in faith and holiness of life. They warn us that the attempt to offer security apart from lasting faith and loving lives is perilous. We might succeed and give someone security at the price of destruction." Bolding added. Italics in the original.) In another message Dr Piper quotes Paul in 2Co 11:2,3… I feel a divine jealousy for you, for I betrothed you to Christ to present you as a pure bride to her one husband. But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. So at the end of the book (2Co 13:5) he calls them to test themselves: Examine yourselves to see whether you are holding to your faith. Test yourselves. Do you not realize that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test! The Test of Genuine Faith - What is the test? What is the evidence that their faith is genuine? The answer of 2Co 7:10 would be: there is a path that leads to salvation and one that leads to death. The way to test your faith is to test which path you are on. The path that leads to salvation is not the path of sinless perfection (just as we saw last week, that’s not the test). It is the path of godly grief and genuine repentance. “Godly grief produces repentance that leads to salvation.” Are we grieved by our sin with a godly grief and do we turn from it—that is the test of our faith and the evidence that Christ is in us. 1. Godly regret is good. 2. Godly regret produces repentance. 3. And, therefore, godly regret leads to salvation. (Bolding added) (Take a moment to read Dr Piper's entire sermon - The Good End of Godly Regret) In addressing the question of how one can be assured of their eternal security, Dr