Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified. (2 Corinthians 13:5, NKJV)
The possibility of Christians becoming disqualified and lost (severed from Christ, fallen from grace, Gal. 5:4) is both implied and explicitly stated here. To be “disqualified” means to be “unapproved, i.e., rejected” (Strong’s Dictionary). Conversely, the one who is accepted is “in the faith,” that is, “Jesus Christ is in you.” To know which is true of us, Christians should do three things. 1) Examine ourselves. Like an assayer tests “a metal or ore to determine its ingredients and quality” (Merriam-Webster), we must “endeavor to discover the nature or character” (BDAG) of ourselves. Am I “in the faith” (in harmony with the gospel, Eph. 4:1), or am I deceiving myself (Gal. 6:3; Jas. 1:22-26)? 2) Test ourselves. This word means to “try, prove, put to the test,” “to make a critical examination of something to determine genuineness” (Thayer, BDAG). We must test all things, then hold fast to what is good, and reject evil (1 Thess. 5:21-22). This includes a close, careful examination of our own work and responsibilities (Gal. 6:4-5). 3) Know ourselves. This requires humility (1 Cor. 8:2). The Scriptures help us know ourselves the way God knows us (Heb. 4:12-13). God’s word corrects us so we may live in the faith, have Christ in us, and be approved before God (2 Tim. 3:16-17; 2:15; Eph. 3:17).
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