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June 27/28, 2015
Jason Meyer | 2 Corinthians 13:5-14
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 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 the 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.—2 Corinthians 13:5–14
Introduction
We have reached the end of our expositional journey through 2 Corinthians. This is our final passage. We began this series in April of 2013. We have had breaks along the way—Advent in December, topics in January, and vision series like Bethlehem DNA and Fill These Cities. Today will be the fiftieth and final sermon of 2 Corinthians.
The end of a series makes us look back and look ahead. I will look back with a profound sense of thanksgiving at this series because there are things I see in myself that are forever changed—things that will stick with me forever. There have been times that I felt that the message of a week’s passage and the moment we were living as a church lined up so well that it almost looked scripted. I would love to hear more stories from you all about ways that God has spoken to you or changed your life through 2 Corinthians.
As we look ahead, you may be wondering where we are going next. We came really close to doing Genesis next, but the more I prayed and wrestled with God about Genesis, the more I realized that he has more to show me before we take that step.
As I felt increasingly led away from Genesis, I felt led toward the first book of the Psalms (Psalms 1–41). There are many reasons why I am really, really excited to start this series with you, but perhaps I will mention one that stands out right now. Second Corinthians has convinced us that we are weak in Christ. Psalms 1–41 will show us what to do with that weakness.
The church in America has operated from a position of cultural power and influence for many years. America has a rich Christian heritage. We are entering a time in which it appears that the church may one day soon operate primarily from a place of oppression under cultural hostility, not a place of privilege that enjoys cultural power. While I was preparing this sermon this week, I wrote that last sentence before the Supreme Court decision to make same-sex marriage legal in all 50 states.
The signs are well documented in many studies. One study that was helpful identified three groups for the sake of simplicity: biblical Christianity; secular society, which tolerates almost anything except the exclusive message of Christianity; and the more liberal cultural Christianity of many mainline churches in the middle. There is a heightened sense that the middle category of cultural Christianity is beginning to vanish. America is becoming more and more polarized between biblical Christianity and American secular pluralism. Even the courts are saying that sexual liberty is more important than religious liberty.
A time is coming when it will be increasingly unpopular to be Christian. It will not be culturally advantageous. Cultural Christianity will vanish even more. But let me be clear. The studies say that it is not that biblical Christianity is in decline. It is just cultural Christianity that is declining. The early church looked at darkness as an opportunity for the light to shine, not as a chance to hide the light under a bushel.
What does this have to do with Psalms 1–41? When the church operates from a weak place of oppression instead of a strong and privileged place of power, the church begins to speak and pray the language of lament. That is the language of Psalm 1–41. This emphasis will be good for us as a church. We need to learn to lament.
People have sometimes felt like Bethlehem is a place where you can’t be vulnerable—a place where people have to be strong and have it all together. Does the language of lament come naturally to you, or is it awkward, uncomfortable, and easy to skip over?
Matthew Westerholm is the worship pastor at our Downtown campus. He thinks in analogies. I call them the Westerholm word pictures. Here is the way that he has talked about lament: Imagine going to work out at the gym. There are some machines that are going to be familiar and well used, and there are others that we tend to ignore and never touch. Perhaps we are like the bodybuilder that does a lot of upper-body work. We bench presses heavy theology with Paul, but we avoid the hamstring curl machine because we can’t lift as much weight. We have a strong, ripped upper body, but we have underdeveloped chicken legs because we have avoided the leg machine of lament.
All of this talk about true Christianity and cultural Christianity raises the question of what makes someone a true Christian. What is the difference between a real Christian and a cultural Christian? Many people can claim to be Christians. Is there a way to test that claim? How would someone pass the test? Our passage tells us that there is a test, and it tells us what it takes to pass the test.
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!
This first point is the foundational point. It is the building block upon which the other three points are built like a three-story structure.
Paul turns the tables on the Corinthians once more. They think that he is the one under examination. They are demanding that he provide proof that Christ is speaking in him. Paul turns the tables and tells the Corinthians that they are the actually the ones taking the test, not the ones giving the test. Verse 6 says that the apostles have not failed the test. The Corinthians are under examination. Paul explains the test and what a passing score looks like.
Before we look at the text, let me remind you that this is a test for all of us, not just some first-century people. Sometimes people say, “Pay attention, there will be a test.” That is what I am saying. Pay attention—this is your test.
Let us see two things together. First, notice Paul says that the test is whether we are “in the faith” (v. 5). Faith here is not merely a checkbox of beliefs that we affirm. This is not the kind of test where we just circle true or false. Faith here is something we enter. It is a space we occupy, a place on which we stand.
Second, being “in the faith” is unpacked further in verse five with the phrase “Jesus Christ is in you.” This phrase reinforces the point about what it means to be in the faith. Being in the faith cannot primarily be tested with a checkbox of beliefs. The test boils down not to a set of beliefs or propositions, but to a relationship with a real person. It is often noted that Christianity is a relationship, not a religion. Being in the faith means that Jesus is in us.
That changes the test. It would be like you telling me that you got married over the weekend and that you and your spouse have a house together. How could that claim be proven? Well, if I came to visit you at your house, I would expect to see your spouse come out once and a while. If your spouse was nowhere to be seen in your house every time I visited, I would begin to wonder if you had married your imaginary friend.
Another thing that would become clear is how personally you talk about this relationship. If you told me you were married but you couldn’t tell me what your spouse was like, I would start to doubt you were really married. The church is the bride of Christ. We are defined by our relationship with our groom. Do you know him personally like that? Do you know him personally, or do you know about him historically, like you know about other historical people?
Some people only know Jesus as a wax figure from history. It is a little bit like the movie Night at the Museum. In that movie, one of the characters is doing her dissertation on Sacajawea. She are trying to get to know Sacajawea through books and history. But the museum’s night guard actually talks to Sacajawea. She has come to life in a different way for the night guard than for the person relating to her only through books. The night guard does not have a problem introducing Sacajawea to others. He talks about her in a way that sounds like he has met her.
Dear friends, Jesus is really risen. We can meet him. It is a living relationship because he lives. We can relate to him not simply as some religious figure from history—we can relate to him as a real person who wants to come to live and dwell not just with us but in us.
Let me repeat the most foundational point, which is the building block for the other three points. The test from God is whether or not we are “in the faith.” What do you need to pass that test? Being in the faith means that Jesus is in us. Jesus, the living God, lives in us. If we are in Christ, it means he is in us.
The results of that test will now determine everything else: how the Corinthians relate to Christ will determine how Paul relates to them, how they relate to each other, and how they relate to the Trinity.
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 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 the authority that the Lord has given me for building up and not for tearing down.
Verses 6–10 testifies to Paul’s Christ-like care for the Corinthians. Let me try to explain what Paul is contemplating here. It sounds confusing. What does he mean that he could “appear to have failed the test” (v. 7) even though he has not really failed the test (v. 6). What does he mean that he can’t do anything against the truth? What does he mean that he would gladly look weak instead of strong so that they could be strong?
Verses 7–9 begin and end with a prayer and it helps us interpret everything in between.
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.—2 Corinthians 13:7
Your restoration is what we pray for.—2 Corinthians 13:9
That word restoration helps clarify everything else in this confusing passage. For the Corinthians to “do wrong” would mean that they would side with the false apostles and their false gospel. If they do this, they would fail to be reconciled and restored to the apostle Paul. For the Corinthians to do “what is right” would mean that they side with Paul. If they do this, they would be reconciled and restored to him, and they would kick out the false apostles.
So what does it mean that Paul would appear to have met the test in one scenario but seem to have failed in another? If the Corinthians do wrong—if they fail to repent and continue in rebellion against Paul—Paul will be forced to use his apostolic power in judgment. It will be clear to everyone that Paul was telling the truth. They won’t be able to say that his bark was worse than his bite. They would see that he has the powerful bite to back up the strong bark of his warning.
But if the Corinthians do what is right—if they repent and are reconciled to Paul—then Paul will spare them the threatened judgment. There will be no display of apostolic power, so it will look like Paul will have failed the test. People will say that he is really weak because there is no display of power.
How would Paul respond? Look at verse 9. He would be glad. His prayer for restoration would be answered. He’s saying, “Who cares if I look weak? I am not doing any of this because I am itching to prove myself or defend myself. I love you.” He is not motivated by self-defense after all. He’s motivated by love for them and love for the truth of the gospel.
But what in the world does he mean by verse 8?
For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth.—2 Corinthians 13:8
Here is what he is saying: Paul would be working against the truth of the gospel if he abused his apostolic power by being severe and harsh to those who have already repented and should be restored. He cares about the truth of the gospel. He will not act out of vindictiveness toward these Corinthians.
Paul is proving once again that he will not bring the rod of discipline unless it is a last resort. He fits the qualification of an elder as someone who is not pugnacious or itching for a fight. Some people are looking for an excuse to display their power. Paul is looking for an opening to show mercy, not severity.
Verse 10 shows that Paul is a minister of the new covenant by quoting once again from the book of Jeremiah.
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 the authority that the Lord has given me for building up and not for tearing down.—Jeremiah 24:6
Paul uses his apostolic authority as a minister of the new covenant in accord with the stated aims of the new covenant: to build up and not to tear down.
How was a new-covenant apostle different than an old-covenant prophet? The old covenant was a covenant that brought condemnation. The Law showed the people that they were covenant breakers, and therefore most of the prophets had to enforce the old covenant. Many of them did not want to bring this message of judgment—think of Jeremiah, the weeping prophet.
Jonah was a notable exception. He wanted God to bring judgment upon Assyria, Israel’s Gentile enemy. Jonah preached repentance and then got upset when the people of Nineveh repented because he wanted to see the fireworks show of judgment. Jonah ran away from God’s call to preach repentance to Nineveh because he knew God was so merciful and God’s word was so powerful. Paul was the opposite. He wanted the Corinthians to repent. He wanted to avoid the fireworks show. He prayed that they would respond with repentance so they could be restored.
As a minister of the new covenant, Paul is a picture of the new covenant. How? People see Jesus in Paul’s ministry. He would rather bring pain and scorn on himself in a sacrificial way than see the Corinthians suffer. Paul would prefer to take on suffering himself if he could spare them pain. In this, he once again is a picture of Jesus’ sacrificial substitution for his people.
You may remember that Paul modeled this same heart for the Corinthians back in 2 Corinthians 2:6 where he said that the person who repented should be restored. The church should stop punishing this person because discipline had served its purpose. Its purpose was restoration, not punishment.
There are no original apostles today whom we can relate to like the Corinthians related to the apostle Paul because the risen Christ had to appear to an apostle personally. But we do have the apostles’ teaching in the Bible. That means that if Jesus (the living God) lives in us, the Bible is written for us. The Bible is written to build us up and not to tear us down. If we don’t know Jesus, the Bible testifies to our condemnation. If we know Jesus, everything in the Bible is written to say that “there is no therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1).
But there is more. We also belong to a family of faith. This family also exists to build us up and not to tear us down. If we pass the test, we belong to a family that rejoices, aims for restoration, comforts one another, agrees with one another, lives in peace with one another, and greets one another.
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.
Paul’s call to rejoice cannot be separated from the other commands, which are all community commands. The words for rejoicing show up so prominently in 2 Corinthians 2:2–3 and 7:7, 9, 13—contexts where the Corinthians rejoice on the other side of repentance in mutual reconciliation.
The Corinthians are to aim for restoration. Paul uses the same word (cognate) here that he just used in verse 9. He’s telling them to aim for the restoration that he has been praying for so that they are aiming for each other. The target here is not aim so that they can shoot Paul—it’s to aim so that they can be embrace him in restoration.
The command to be comforted picks up a rich theme back in chapters 1 and 7 as well. Remember how God comforted Paul with the coming of Titus and the report about the Corinthians’ repentance. God is the God of all comfort, and Titus got to be the face of comfort. They will receive God’s strong comfort in the bonds of togetherness.
The phrase “agree with one another” is almost exactly what Paul talked about in 1 Corinthians 1:10.
I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment.—1 Corinthians 1:10
We have come back full circle. Last week’s passage brought back fears that there would be a repeat of 1 Corinthians 5 and the sexual immorality that he had to address. In this week’s passage, Paul goes back all the way to 1 Corinthians 1 and commands that there be no divisions—that they would agree together.
I will come back to peace in a moment. The end of verse 12 and verse 13 both talk about the greetings that take place within the community from God. They greet each other with great affection. The fact that it is a holy kiss shows that it is not sexual—it is a family kiss. It is the way that daddies kiss their daughters, not the way husbands kiss their wives. In Minnesota, we are not accustomed to this type of kiss, but a handshake is not quite enough of a cultural approximation. Maybe it’s one of those handshakes that become a hug—that type of family affection.
Look back at verse 11: “live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.” Paul follows a pattern with the words peace and grace at the beginning and end of his letters. He often begins with the phrase “grace and peace” and ends the letter with the phrase “peace and grace.” We see the same thing here. Paul mentions peace first. He calls the Corinthians to “live in peace.” This horizontal peace is an overflow of our vertical peace with God. It is not surface or shallow. It is not worldly peace that has to be guarded because it is so fragile and fickle. It is a powerful peace that guards our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. The reason this peace is so powerful is that it is found in the presence of God. We can sometimes distinguish the gifts from the Giver and see peace as a gift from God, but here Paul wants us to connect them. Peace comes from the God of peace.
If we pass the test, we find that God is with us and not against us. The God of love and peace is with us. We are swept up into more than a community of people where we can belong—we find something greater. We are caught up into a greater community called the Trinity. God is three persons: Father, Son, and Spirit. The community of God here means God as Trinity is a community.
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
Look what we have if Jesus lives in us: we have the grace of Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. The unified work of the Trinity is on display here. The phrase “the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ” takes us right back to 2 Corinthians 8:9.
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.—2 Corinthians 8:9
Through the rich grace of Christ, we receive the riches of his righteousness so that we are right with God. Our debt is paid, and our right standing is secured with God so that we know him not as a terrifying Judge but as a loving Father. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. There is no other way to the Father except through him.
There is no other way. What a distinctly Christian claim. All other religions and all other philosophies are dead ends. There is only one way: Jesus. There is no other name under heaven by which we must be saved than the name of Jesus. What a wonder to know the love of God instead of the wrath of God!
But remember that there is more to the grace of Christ than just saving grace—there is also sustaining grace, and it is sufficient. In our weakness and struggles and sorrows, Christ does not often take away all the troubles. He gives us more of himself and lovingly tells us, “My grace is enough for you” (2 Corinthians 12:9).
We also have the fellowship or the oneness of the Spirit. The Christian community is one because of the fellowship of the Spirit. The Spirit shows us Jesus, and Jesus takes us to the Father. No one can snatch us from his strong, sovereign, Trinitarian hand.
If Jesus is in us, then the Bible is written to build us up, not to tear us down. We belong to a family of faith that also build us up and does not tear us down, and we belong to an all-sufficient God who is for us a Savior of grace, a Father of love, and a Spirit of fellowship.
Application
Let us make some careful distinctions together. I want to distinguish the event of salvation from the evidence of salvation. The event of salvation has two parts: salvation accomplished and salvation applied. Christ’s work on the cross is an accomplished fact of history. We are not waiting for him to provide the work of salvation. He has already provided it. He testified that the work is finished.
Every person born into this world is born as a child of wrath, not a child of God. We cannot think our way to God or earn our way to God. The Bible tells us that we are lost and headed toward hell. As sinners, we have fallen short of God’s standards, and we have a debt that we cannot repay. What we need—more than our next meal or our next breath—is to have the work of Christ applied to our account. We all need to have the salvation Jesus accomplished be applied to us personally.
Please hear me—I said personally. You don’t pass the test if you are born into a Christian family and have Christian parents or Christian relatives. You don’t pass the test by church attendance. Paul is giving this test to church attenders—people who claim to be Christians. Notice that it is not a morality test. It’s not about reading your Bible enough or living well enough or staying away from enough worldly things. It’s not about spending more time in a Christian sub-culture than a worldly culture. We have a squirrel that comes into our garage and steals our stores of birdseed and nuts. The fact that the squirrel comes into our garage does not make him a car. He is still a squirrel. Spending time in a church does not make someone a Christian any more than spending time in a garage makes that squirrel a car.
There is only one way to be saved.
Let’s try an analogy to make the mechanism a little clearer. Imagine that you are going to take a test. You have to get a perfect score to pass this test. The stakes are high. If you get a perfect score, you get heaven. If you don’t get a perfect score, you get hell. We all take the test, and because we are sinners, we all fail. It does no good to compare scores at this point. Someone who got a 20 on the test would be foolish to make fun of someone who got a 10 on the test. A failing score is a failing score. “I got a better F than you” is a really lame thing to say. Don’t do that. We all deserve hell.
But God intervenes. He sends his Son, who takes on flesh and becomes like us in every way so that he can take the same test. He gets a perfect score. He is like us in every way, but he is without sin. Now God says that through faith in Christ, you are joined to Christ. God transfers the scores. Christ will get your score, and you will get his score. He will pay the penalty for your score on the cross, and you will get the reward for his score in heaven. We are saved by works—by the works Christ of our substitute. He obeyed in our place. He died in our place. We are saved by his death and his life.
Theologians sometimes call this double imputation. Our sin is imputed or reckoned to Christ, and his righteousness is imputed or reckoned to us. Our sin becomes his sin, and his righteousness becomes our righteousness. Do you see what this means? We can’t be good enough to bring salvation in our reach, and we can’t be bad enough to make salvation out of reach. No one can be saved without this gospel. No one is exempt or excluded.
Let’s stay with the test analogy. Some people think that they have done enough good. They have already passed the test. They think they have tested so high that they are exempt from needing the gospel. You can’t test out of Righteousness 101. No one is exempt from needing the gospel. But on the other hand, no people are excluded from the gospel, no matter how bad they are. You don’t need to take remedial righteousness courses to qualify for the gospel.
But now what about the effect of salvation? If the event of salvation takes place because we are in Christ, the effect of salvation will be shown because Christ is in us. We are in Christ, so Christ is in us. The evidence of salvation is sanctification.
What is the evidence of salvation test? In his book Future Grace, John Piper uses Solomon’s famous test as an analogy. Do you know the story? Two women came to Solomon. Each claimed to be the mother of the same baby. Solomon called for a sword to be brought. He commanded for the baby to be cut in two so that one woman could have one half and the other women could have the other half. The first woman said, “Oh my lord, give her the living child and by no means put him to death” (1 Kings 3:26). The other woman said, “He shall be neither mine nor yours; divide him” (1 Kings 3:26). Solomon said to give the child to the first woman. Why? You could say it was because of her works. It was what she did. But Solomon gave the real reason: “She is his mother” (1 Kings 3:27). What she did only provided the necessary evidence that she was the mother. Solomon’s wisdom was simple and profound: mothers act like mothers.
In the same way, God has designed salvation to include an effect that provides evidence: Christians act like Christians. You can’t say, “Christ lives in me, but that does not have any impact in how I live.”
Conclusion
At one level, the way the Corinthians relate to Paul is a determining factor as to whether they are true Christians or not. Do they follow the false apostles of Satan or the true apostle of Christ? Paul is a picture of weakness and strength, suffering and comfort, death and life. This reflects the death and resurrection of Christ. If Christ lives in them, how can they fail to love his reflection as seen in his apostle? If you despise the picture of Christ, how can the person of Christ live in you?
We have to be clear about why some of the Corinthians were attracted to false apostles and a false gospel. The tempter baits his hook with the allurements of the world: earthly fame, fortune, power. His trick is instant gratification. He offers it now. He did the same thing with Jesus. He told Jesus that he could have all the kingdoms of the world and their glory and that he could have it right away—no cross, no resurrection—by bowing down and worshipping him.
The devil uses the same shortcut with us. He tells us that we can have it all right now. But Paul told these Corinthians that all things are ours (1 Corinthians 3:21). We just have to wait. We can’t do an end run around suffering and the cross—it will come on the other side of resurrected life. I want to include a quote from one commentator on Corinthians because I think he sums up exactly what I have been saying:
To be indwelt by Christ is to be thrust into the conflict between God and the fallen world. For the Corinthians to recognize this truth about themselves will mean that they must surrender their dreams of earthly power and glory.—Seifrid, p. 482
We are back to where we began in the introduction of this sermon. It does not look like true Christians will be popular in this world. So count the cost, but count it in two directions: what you lose when you follow Christ and what you gain when you follow Christ. In terms of losses, you may lose the approval of the world. Can you surrender your quest for earthly power, glory, and approval? Do you expect a world that rejected your Savior to accept you? Do you expect to be treated better than your Savior (who never made any mistakes) was treated?
Don’t be surprised. John Newton says that half our trials are owing to the fact that we don’t believe there should be any trials. Don’t think it’s strange that we are called to suffer. Don’t be surprised by loss.
But also look at what you gain in following Christ! We gain far more than we lose. So we can sing, “Jesus I my cross have taken. / All to leave and follow Thee. / Destitute, despised forsaken.” Yes. Those losses look like good reasons to lose heart, but there are better reasons to take heart.
“Yet how rich is my condition— / God and heaven are still my own!” Look at what we gain!
“Think what Spirit dwells within thee. / Think what Father’s smiles are thine. / Think what Savior died to win thee. / Child of heaven shouldst thou repine?”
Think of what is coming on the other side of the resurrection. Following Christ may mean that you end up on the wrong side of American history, but you will end up on the right side of Christ’s eternity. Choose this day.
Sermon Discussion Questions
Outline: The Test of True Christianity
Main Point: If Jesus Christ, the living God, lives in us, then the Bible was written to build us up and not tear us down; we belong to a family of faith who will build us up and not tear us down; and we belong to a God who is our all-sufficient Savior of grace, Father of love, and Spirit of fellowship.
Discussion Questions
Application Questions
Prayer Focus
Pray for a grace to pass the test of true Christianity. Pray for the grace of assurance of belonging to God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.