भाष्य सध्या फक्त इंग्रजीत उपलब्ध आहे. मराठी भाषांतर प्रगतीपथावर आहे.
2 Corinthians 13 — Examine Yourselves, Whether Ye Be in the Faith
Paul warns before his third visit: if he comes, he will not spare. Though Christ was crucified through weakness, yet He liveth by the power of God; and we also are weak in Him, but shall live with Him by the power of God toward you. 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? Paul prays for their perfection, writing sharply while absent so that present he may use sharpness no further — for the authority the Lord gave him is for edification, not destruction. He closes with the great benediction: the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all.
“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?”
— 2 Corinthians 13:5
- v.1-4 Crucified through weakness, living by power
- v.5-10 Examine yourselves; authority for edification
- v.11-14 Farewell and the triune benediction
The Corinthians demanded proof of Christ speaking in Paul (v. 3); he turns the tribunal around — test yourselves. The decisive question of self-examination is not moral performance but presence: is Jesus Christ in you?
Self-examination is commanded, but note its design: to confirm, not to torment. Paul expects them to pass (except ye be reprobates). The healthy soul examines itself periodically and rests in Christ continually.
Apostolic authority itself is bounded by truth — Paul possesses no power to oppose it, only to serve it. No office, gift, or title licenses anyone to act against what is true.
A liberating constraint: the servant of God need not manage outcomes against truth, only labor for it. Truth needs advocates, never accomplices.
Five farewell imperatives compressed from thirteen chapters: mend what is torn (be perfect — the word for mending nets), take heart, agree, live in peace. The stormy letter ends in calm.
The promise is conditional in experience: the God of love and peace dwells where mending, comfort, unity, and peace are pursued. Discord does not forfeit His presence, but it muffles the enjoyment of it.
The fullest benediction in Paul's letters, and a Trinitarian theology in one sentence: grace from the Son, love from the Father, communion from the Spirit — three Persons, one blessing.
The order is experiential: the grace of Christ brings us to the love of God, and both are made ours by the fellowship of the Spirit. The doctrine of the Trinity is not speculation; it is the shape of salvation.
Sit the verse 5 examination honestly: not "am I religious, moral, churched?" but "is Jesus Christ in me?" — evidenced by His Spirit (Romans 8:9), love for the brethren, and hatred of sin. If the answer is yes, take the assurance Paul intends and stop re-trying a settled case. If the answer is uncertain, today is the day of salvation (6:2). Then live out verse 11, and walk daily under the threefold blessing of verse 14.
The letter closes with Christ first in the benediction — the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ is the door into the love of God and the communion of the Spirit. Crucified through weakness, living by power (v. 4), He is the whole argument of 2 Corinthians embodied: strength perfected in weakness, riches through poverty, comfort through suffering.
The cross was weakness embraced — Christ refusing the legions, submitting to nails. The resurrection is power displayed. The sequence weakness-then-power is the master pattern of God's working.
The believer's life runs on the same circuit: weak in him... live with him by the power of God. Union with Christ means sharing both His cross-weakness and His risen power.