2 Corinthians 13:5 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
2 Corinthians 13:5
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?
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Lamentations 3:40 Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to the LORD.
1 Corinthians 11:28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.
Psalms 139:23-24 Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:
1 Corinthians 9:27 But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castawa…
Revelation 2:5 Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove t…
1 Corinthians 11:31 For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.
Galatians 6:4 But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another.
Hebrews 12:15 Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on 2 Corinthians 13:1-6
In these verses observe,
I. The apostle threatens to be severe against obstinate sinners when he should come to Corinth, having now sent to them a first and second epistle, with proper admonitions and exhortations, in order to reform what was amiss among them. Concerning this we may notice, 1. The caution with which he proceeded in his censures: he was not hasty in using severity, but gave a first and second admonition. So some understand his words (Co2 13:1): This is the third time I am coming to you, referring to his first and second epistles, by which he admonished them, as if he were present with them, though in person he was absent, Co2 13:2. According to this interpretation, these two…
Examine--Greek, "Try (make trial of) yourselves."
prove your own selves--This should be your first aim, rather than "seeking a proof of Christ speaking in me" (Co2 13:3).
your own selves--I need not speak much in proof of Christ being in me, your minister (Co2 13:3), for if ye try your own selves ye will see that Christ is also in you [CHRYSOSTOM], (Rom 8:10). Finding Christ dwelling in yourselves by faith, ye may well believe that He speaks in me, by whose ministry ye have received this faith [ESTIUS]. To doubt it would be the sin of Israel, who, after so many miracles and experimental proofs of God's presence, still cried (Exo 17:7), "Is the Lord among us or not?" (Compare Mar 8:11).…
Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith - Ἑαυτους πειραζετε· Try yourselves; pierce your hearts; bore yourselves throughout; try yourselves by what I have written, and see whether ye retain the true faith of the Gospel.
Prove your own selves - Ἑαυτους δοκιμαζετε· Put yourselves to the test, as you would try gold or silver suspected of adulteration. No more take that for Gospel which is not so, than you would take adulterated money for sterling coin. This is a metaphor taken from testing or assaying adulterated metals.
Know ye not your own selves - Are ye not full of wisdom and understanding? And is it not as easy to find out a spurious faith as it is to detect a base coin? There is…
The Church Fathers
"But the very hairs of your head are all numbered," says the Lord; those on the chin, too, are numbered, and those on the whole body. There must be therefore no plucking out, contrary to God's appointment, which has counted them in according to His will. "Know ye not yourselves," says the apostle, "that Christ Jesus is in you?" Whom, had we known as dwelling in us, I know not how we could have dared to dishonour.
"Try your own selves, whether ye be in the faith, prove your own selves. Know ye not as to your own selves, that Christ is in you, unless indeed ye be reprobate?" For since by what he has said he hath shown that even if he does not punish, it is not because he hath not Christ in himself, but because he intimates His long-suffering, Who was crucified and yet avenged not Himself; he again, in another manner, produces the same effect, and still more irrefragably, establishing his argument by the disciples.
"For why speak I of myself," he says, "the teacher, who have so much care upon me and am entrusted with the whole world and have done such great miracles. For if ye will but examine yourselves who are in the rank of disciples, ye will see that Christ is in you also. But if in you, then much more in your teacher. For if ye have faith, Christ is in you also." For they who then believed wrought miracles. Wherefore also he added, "Try your own selves, prove your own selves, whether ye be in the faith. Know ye not as to your own selves, unless indeed that Christ is in you, ye be reprobate?" But if in you, much more in your teacher?
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Reprobate — That which is rejected on account of its own worthlessness (Jer. 6:30; Heb. 6:8; Gr. adokimos, “rejected”). This word is also used with reference to persons cast away or rejected because they have…
Assurance · .Union with God and Christ — .Union with God and Christ
Character Of The Wicked · Reprobate — Reprobate
Faith · Examine whether you be in — Examine whether you be in
Fellowship · WITH CHRIST — WITH CHRIST
Reprobacy · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Self-Examination · 11:27,28,31; — 11:27,28,31;
Titles And Names Of The Wicked · Reprobates — Reprobates
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
Examine yourselves whether ye be in the faith,.... These words are to be considered in connection with 2 Corinthians 13:3 for seeing they sought and demanded a proof the voice and power of Christ in the apostle, he directs them to self examination, to look within themselves, to try, prove, and recognise their own souls; where if things were right, they would find a proof of Christ's speaking in him, to them: he advises them to examine the state of their own souls, and see whether they were in the faith; either in the doctrine of faith, having a spiritual and experimental knowledge of it, true love and affection for it, an hearty belief of it, having felt the power of it upon their souls, and…
2 Corinthians 13:5-9
5. 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?
5. Vosmet iposo tentate, num sitis in fide: vos ipsos probate. Annon cognoscitis vosmet ipsos, quod Iesus Christus in vobis est, nisi si cubi reprobi estis?
6. But I trust that ye shall know that we are not reprobates.
6. At spero vos cognituros, quod nos non simus reprobi.
7. Now I pray to God that ye do no evil; not that we should appear approved, but that ye should do that which is honest, though we be as reprobates.
7. Opto autem apud Deum, ne quid male faciatis; non quo nos probati appareamus, sed ut v…
The issue is clear cut: If they cannot recognize that Jesus Christ is living among them, they are the ones who have failed the test of genuine faith (literally are disproved). There is a play on words here: They were looking for “proof” of Paul’s apostolic authority, but Paul urges them, Test yourselves (or Prove yourselves). The lack of Christ’s presence would disprove their authenticity as Christians. But Paul himself has demonstrated that he has not failed the test of apostolic authority (literally not been disproved).
