2 Corinthians 13 | The Importance of Self-Examination and Correction

What does Paul mean by "examine yourselves" in 2 Corinthians 13?
How does 2 Corinthians 13 relate to church discipline? 
 
In this episode of "God's Plan, Your Part," we explore 2 Corinthians 13, the final chapter of this powerful letter from Paul. This chapter is notably different from other Pauline conclusions, as it lacks the typical personal greetings and instead delivers a stern warning. Paul reminds the Corinthians of his upcoming visit and emphasizes the need for self-examination, urging them to correct their ways before he arrives. He is not shy about his intent to discipline those who continue in sin, stressing the importance of genuine faith and living according to the teachings of Christ.

Paul's tone is one of urgency and authority, reflecting his role as an apostle and leader of the church. He makes it clear that his judgments will be based on established witnesses, in accordance with God’s law. The Corinthians are encouraged to test themselves, to see if they truly live in the faith. Paul’s message is sharp and unyielding, pushing the believers to recognize the seriousness of their spiritual condition and to act in accordance with their professed beliefs.

A key theme in this chapter is the call for self-examination and repentance. Paul challenges the Corinthians to consider whether they are truly living out their faith or merely going through the motions. This message is highly relevant today, as it encourages modern believers to take a deep, honest look at their lives and their relationship with God. Are we truly following Christ, or are we simply playing the part? This introspection is crucial for spiritual growth and alignment with God's will.

Paul's closing remarks are both a warning and an invitation. He prays for their restoration, not to tear them down, but to build them up in their faith. He desires that they live in peace and unity, reflecting the love and grace of God. This final exhortation to aim for restoration and to live in harmony with one another is a powerful reminder of the community's role in supporting each other in the faith.

As we conclude 2 Corinthians and prepare to move into Galatians, we are reminded of the importance of holding ourselves accountable to the standards set by God’s Word. This chapter challenges us to examine our own lives and the health of our church communities. It’s a call to action to ensure that we are not only hearing the gospel but living it out in truth and love. Join us next time as we dive into the book of Gal

Transcript

 2 Corinthians 13

2 Corinthians 13

[00:00:00] Hey everyone, welcome to God's Plan, Your Part, Year Two, where this year we're reading through and studying the entire New Testament one chapter at a time. Thanks again for joining us in discovering God's Plan and your part in it. Congratulations, you made it to the end of 2 Corinthians. Today we're looking at 2 Corinthians chapter 13, and I think I can speak for Jenny confidently that she is very happy.

That we are done with this book. Yeah. I'm a little excited about that. I'm hoping Galatians will be a little bit more, well, just different. This book, this is interesting. So this is, this is a short final chapter. It's only 14 verses. What's interesting is that this is a real letter. It's easy for us to forget that sometimes this is a real letter that Paul wrote and sent to the church.

The church would have received it. Influential people in the church would have read it. It would have been read out loud to the church. It's interesting that Paul chooses to land this way because usually Paul has kind of like two chapters of final personal notes that are like, Hey, [00:01:00] do this for that person.

I'm thankful for that person. Pray for that person. Could you give me my blanket? That would be great. And do you have any more money to send to the churches? But this is like, I mean, read it for yourself. Always read it for yourself. This is very different. This is like, hey, you guys need to get your stuff together because I'm coming.

And when I get there, I'm going to discipline you if you're not right. Yeah. Verse two even says, well, actually verse one says, um, this is the third time that I'm coming. It almost reminds me of when I said, Speak to my children like this is the third time I've asked you. Um, so it's definitely giving that kind of warning, I guess.

I mean, it's called final warnings, but, uh, the second verse, I warned those who sinned before and all the others. And I warned them now while absent. Um, and then it says, um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, [00:02:00] Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, And I think he's really trying to just, like, sharpen them before he gets there, like, you have an opportunity right now to try to pull it together before I get there.

And I hope, he's saying this later on in the chapter too, that you can test and examine yourself to know where your errors are, because they do exist, and hopefully you can change those things about yourselves, because he even says in verse, let's see, what is that, five, do not realize. This about yourselves that Christ is in you like if that is the case the spirit should be convicting you of the things that you're doing that are not Worthy of being a Christ follower Or that's keeping you from a closer relationship, I should say, with God because of the sin that's evident.

Um, you had a, just to wrap up that introductory piece really quickly, you had a question when we first read it that's like, why did he say every charge must be [00:03:00] established by the evidence of two or three witnesses? He is drawing attention to the fact that he intends to come and like bring judgment on charges.

He's, he's like appealing back to the law of God. The law of God establishes that before you can cast judgment on somebody, there has to be. Two or three established witnesses. So he's essentially saying like, Hey, I'm coming basically to deliver discipline and I want you to know that discipline will be delivered based on two or three witnesses.

So like, if there's a bunch of people that agree that you have been stirring up stuff, like discipline is coming for you. And then he again continues and lands on what you just brought up, that like the spirit of, of the Holy Spirit, the spirit of God is in all of us. And because of that, we should feel that conviction.

And if we don't feel that conviction, we have questions. We have reason to question that, that we are even followers of Christ at all. Um, which is where he says, and I think this is one of the more powerful pieces of just these 14 verses. Verse five, examine yourselves to see [00:04:00] whether you In the faith, that's a huge statement.

Like, imagine, imagine your pastor saying that today, or imagine some, you know, giant mega church pastor saying that today, like examine yourselves to decide if you're in the faith or not. Like that's very pointed. Uh, it leaves very little wiggle room. It's like, Hey. Are you actually following Jesus, or are you just doing this for pretend?

And then he says, test yourselves, or do you not realize this about yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you? And he makes that spirit of God case that you already talked about. And he also says in verse seven, well, actually in verse six, he's basically saying, I hope that you'll find that like, we didn't fail the test of like, bringing the gospel to you to actually influence real change in your lives.

And then in verse seven, he's saying, like, we pray that God may not do wrong. Or, excuse me, pray to God that you may not do wrong, not that we appear to have, like, done something right, but that you do what's right, though it seems like we've failed our mission. Like, he's essentially saying, [00:05:00] bottom line, it falls on you to whether or not you've accepted the gospel or not.

Like, it's not a, oh, shame on us for not presenting it in the right way. It's whether or not you've accepted it. It's kind of like that. I think of that dust on your sandals situation again, like we've brought the gospel. I hope it wasn't in vain that you just heard it kind of like the whole seed deal where you hear it and then you wither away and you don't accept it, but rather you can examine yourself and really truly understand through what the Holy Spirit is prompting you that This is a problem.

You need to fix it if that Paul's mission It's about them if that kind of language feels harsh to you or unfair to you Remember that we do know of at least four letters that Paul sent to the church We do know that this is his third visit the one coming up We do know that he lived with the people among the church for a significant period of time And we do know that all along he's been You Ensuring that they understand what the faith is and they [00:06:00] live it out well, so he has given them multiple opportunities, um, to turn from their sin.

He's giving them multiple opportunities to embrace the grace that God offers. But it is here where he's saying, like, Hey, I am an apostle. I am the leader of this congregation. And I am You really need to examine yourselves and straighten yourselves out because when I do show up it will be to discipline and to judge Again, we've made this case in the podcast several times We are permitted to judge other believers.

We are And the, the key is that we should not be hypocrites in our judgment, but we are supposed to wisely discern if people are authentically following Jesus on or not. And it's, it's kind of in fashion lately to pretend like we're not supposed to do that or to pretend like it's really difficult to know, like, How a Christian should look or sound or feel.

Paul here is not nervous about that at all. Now, [00:07:00] Paul is an apostle who was taught, um, most likely directly from Jesus. So he's in a little bit of a different setting than we are, but he's not afraid to enforce what it means to be a Christian and expect that people who claim to be Christians would live like Christians.

He also fleshes that out the end of verse 10, where he says that he's not doing this He's not judging the people or bringing judgment to tear them down, but rather to, I would say, shed light on the darkness in order that they can build back up. It's so frustrating when oftentimes people hear the word judge and it's like everyone shudders and they're like, nope, don't you dare tell me what's wrong in my life.

When in actuality, when we are believers, We have the obligation to, like, correct each other when we see things because it's so easy in your own personal life to just have this very sheltered view of what the situation is, what your habits are, what your lifestyle is, and when someone from the outside is looking in to say, [00:08:00] Hey, I'm definitely seeing these really strange things.

I'm going to like shed light on what I see going on in your life. I really feel like this would be helpful for you to hear rather than saying like, Oh, you're just judging me. It's no, I'm seeing it from a different perspective. And what the Bible says, what God says is not reflective of these decisions in your life.

Take it as an opportunity to build up from a place of weakness, rather than feel like someone's just knocking you down. Um, I think Paul even says that too in verse nine, at the end of verse nine, he says, your restoration is what we pray for. It's not a matter of just kicking you down and saying, you're an idiot.

It's, wow, there's some clear issues here. What kind of restoration can you seek in order to be a better shining light, um, of what the church is, of what the gospel requires of us? And I think ultimately it's a good question just for the church in general, like a church body that you are a part of. What would Paul be writing to your church about?

Like, think of that. Like, what kind of [00:09:00] restoration does your church need? Do you need as an individual? And honestly, seek for, um, Like people to be really honest with you in your life about those things that you can do better at. I think it's a good thing for building up and not just this idea of, you know, Tear me down and walk away.

I think it's interesting. Like the thing that Paul's actually talking about when he's talking about building up, I think you're making a great point that it is like he's trying to build up the individual, but even more than that, he's trying to make sure that the church is built up like, Hey, discipline is required for building up the church to ensure that it's not being torn down.

And that's what I was saying. I think it'd be really interesting to consider what would Paul write to your church, what would he say to your. specific needs. What are things that you need to be built up in and really take a serious, critical look at of things that might be completely overlooked or things that you take pride in that are actually not God honoring.

It's also pretty cool that he gives them the opportunity to [00:10:00] examine themselves first. That's why I think Verse five is so powerful, like examine yourselves and see if you're in the faith. If you examine yourself and you find that something is going on in your life, that is not befitting of the faith, then you need to fix that.

Or also if you examine your life and you realize you're not in the faith, like stop pretending. So he's giving them an opportunity to examine their own lives. Because I think this, I think 2 Corinthians and you could pile in 1 Corinthians with it. I think these letters are evidence of the fact that he is not eager to jump into discipline, but he does realize that it's very necessary at times.

And that the Spirit will do the work. Yes. If you truly claim to be in Christ Jesus, if you truly claim to be in Christ Jesus, He's saying, examine yourselves because the spirit will prompt you to those things that need to be addressed. And it won't be so harsh because it's not Paul saying it. I mean, Paul is like pointing it out, but the spirit will convict your heart to be like, okay, you've been saying that thing, but actually I know that's a real issue for me, or that's a real issue for our body or church body or whatever [00:11:00] the case may be.

So that's, that's the thing. It's, it's really wild that this is his final. Thought in second Corinthians, because he's closing out an actual letter. Uh, imagine if you wrote an email and ended it this way, it would not land kindly, it would land like, Hey, this is messed up. It needs to get fixed. Um, it is also worth noting that if you look at verse 14, this is kind of extra credit Bible nerdery.

But, uh, verse 14 says the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy spirit be with you all, this is a Trinitarian. Amen. Closing statement. This is Paul saying, Hey, um, in, in the, I'll read it again. The grace of the Lord, Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy spirit be with you all.

So there is a common, uh, false teaching out there. That is the, the idea of the Trinity did not exist until Augustine, which is in like the late three to four hundreds. So basically like people didn't think this way, that is obviously [00:12:00] not true Paul clearly thought this way. We've made that case a couple of different times.

You can see that in Genesis. You can see that in the gospels. You can also see it here in the closing arguments of second Corinthians, uh, chapter 13. So that's worth noting because it can firm up your theology and help you understand who God is. So that wraps up second Corinthians for us. We told you from the very beginning that this is a really unique letter because it has a lot of defense for Paul's authority.

It is slightly more contentious than some of his other letters. And to be honest, I'm, I'm, I appreciate all of God's word. I am thankful for second Corinthians. I'm also very thankful that tomorrow is Galatians. So the, your part, uh, I think would be pretty powerful from that verse five, like guys, like examine.

Yourselves, if there is sin in your life, if you are outside of what would be, um, accepted in the faith, like correct those things. And I love what, what Jenny was talking about. [00:13:00] Like, what does your church need and think through that? What does your church need and start with yourself and hopefully All of us, as we read God's word, as we are led by God's spirit are being led to be more like Christ, to bring more and more honor to Christ and ultimately to build up his church.

So that's the, your part for today, examine yourself and see if you're in the faith. So thanks for sticking around for all of Corinthians first and second, we'll be jumping into Galatians tomorrow. See you then. Thanks for joining us for another episode of God's Plan, Your Part. We wanted to remind you that reading God's Word is so important and it will transform your life.

If you want a copy of the Bible that we use here on the podcast, just go ahead and send us an email at godsplanyourpart at gmail. com. With that being said, here is the reading for today. Second Corinthians chapter 13. This is the third time I'm coming to you. Every charge must be established by the evidence of two or three [00:14:00] witnesses.

I warned those who sinned before and all the others, and I warn them now while absent, as I did when present on your second visit, that if I come again, I will not spare them, since you seek proof that Christ is speaking in me. He is not weak in dealing with you, but is powerful among you. For he was crucified in weakness but lives in the power of God.

For we also are weak in him, but in dealing with you we will live with him by the power of God. Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you, unless indeed you fail to meet the test? I hope you will find out that we have not failed the test.

But we pray to God that you may not do wrong, not that we may appear to have met the test, but that you may do what is right, though we may seem to have failed. For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth. For we are glad [00:15:00] when we are weak, and you are strong. Your restoration is what we pray for.

For this reason I write these things while I am away from you, that when I come I may not have to be severe in my use of authority that the Lord has given me for building up and not for tearing down. Finally, brothers. Rejoice. Aim for restoration. Comfort one another. Agree with one another. Live in peace.

And the God of love and peace will be with you. Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints greet you. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Thank you so much for listening to today's episode of God's Plan, Your Part. Don't forget, you can find us on just about every social media platform and YouTube.

Let us know what you thought of today's episode, and if you have any questions, go ahead and post them there. You can also reach out to us directly at godsplanyourpart at gmail. com. As always, if you don't have a Bible, or if you'd like to use the one that we use, reach out to us via email and [00:16:00] we'll be happy to send one to you.

Thanks again for listening. We'll see you again tomorrow.