"Examine and test and evaluate your own selves to see whether you are
holding to your faith and showing the proper fruits of it. Test and
prove yourselves [not Christ]. Do you not yourselves realize and know
[thoroughly by an ever-increasing experience] that Jesus Christ is in
you--unless you are [counterfeits] disapproved on trial and rejected?"
(2Corinthians 13:5, Amplified).
From the way the Amplified Version of the Bible puts this verse, we can readily identify five categories of Christians. The first category is the genuine believers who have Jesus Christ living in them. Their genuineness is not necessarily in their perfection but rather in the fact that having declared for Jesus, they remain resolutely committed to Him and make no pretenses about their faith. For them, following Jesus is a full time, life long commitment to which they have irrevocably pledged their allegiance, labouring day by day to produce
the fruit of the life they profess.
The other four categories of people professing the Christian faith are identified as the 'counterfeits' believers, the 'disapproved' believers, the Christians 'on trial' and 'rejected' Christians. The constraints of time and space will not allow us to explore the distinguishing characteristics of each of these types of people. But
it is sufficient to say that the Almighty God does not want you in any of these spiritually unhealthy categories.
That is the reason why today's Bible verse urges us in so many words to "examine and test and evaluate" ourselves to see whether we are holding to the faith and showing the proper fruits of it. Let every
believer take stock of his spiritual experiences, evaluating them to determine how far he has progressed in this heavenly race and taking precautions on the things that need to be done to ensure further progress. Of course, this examination or stock taking must be a continuous exercise, something we must keep doing from time to time for as long as we are alive.
Now, the counterfeit or disapproved believers may continue to draw the praise of men. The Christian who is still on trial before the Lord or the one that is outrightly rejected by Him could be the most popular among men. But the genuine believer must seek only the praise of God if he would not be distracted from the heavenly race. He must consciously put in place structures and boundaries that will help him to stay on track, and keep him producing the fruit of the Spirit which authenticates genuine believers.
The Pharisees who were the undisputed religious leaders during the time of Jesus cared nothing for the approval and praise that come fromGod. They were absolutely content with the honour and respect they
enjoyed among men. Unfortunately, those things went into their heads and prevented them from profitably encountering the Lord. Above all they refused to examine themselves in the face of the anointed, wholesome and convicting teachings that proceeded from the Lord Jesus Christ. But as we continue to engage the word of God, we will keep learning the lessons they failed to learn until we pass the test and become conformed to the image of Christ. May God help us all in Jesus' mighty name.
holding to your faith and showing the proper fruits of it. Test and
prove yourselves [not Christ]. Do you not yourselves realize and know
[thoroughly by an ever-increasing experience] that Jesus Christ is in
you--unless you are [counterfeits] disapproved on trial and rejected?"
(2Corinthians 13:5, Amplified).
From the way the Amplified Version of the Bible puts this verse, we can readily identify five categories of Christians. The first category is the genuine believers who have Jesus Christ living in them. Their genuineness is not necessarily in their perfection but rather in the fact that having declared for Jesus, they remain resolutely committed to Him and make no pretenses about their faith. For them, following Jesus is a full time, life long commitment to which they have irrevocably pledged their allegiance, labouring day by day to produce
the fruit of the life they profess.
The other four categories of people professing the Christian faith are identified as the 'counterfeits' believers, the 'disapproved' believers, the Christians 'on trial' and 'rejected' Christians. The constraints of time and space will not allow us to explore the distinguishing characteristics of each of these types of people. But
it is sufficient to say that the Almighty God does not want you in any of these spiritually unhealthy categories.
That is the reason why today's Bible verse urges us in so many words to "examine and test and evaluate" ourselves to see whether we are holding to the faith and showing the proper fruits of it. Let every
believer take stock of his spiritual experiences, evaluating them to determine how far he has progressed in this heavenly race and taking precautions on the things that need to be done to ensure further progress. Of course, this examination or stock taking must be a continuous exercise, something we must keep doing from time to time for as long as we are alive.
Now, the counterfeit or disapproved believers may continue to draw the praise of men. The Christian who is still on trial before the Lord or the one that is outrightly rejected by Him could be the most popular among men. But the genuine believer must seek only the praise of God if he would not be distracted from the heavenly race. He must consciously put in place structures and boundaries that will help him to stay on track, and keep him producing the fruit of the Spirit which authenticates genuine believers.
The Pharisees who were the undisputed religious leaders during the time of Jesus cared nothing for the approval and praise that come fromGod. They were absolutely content with the honour and respect they
enjoyed among men. Unfortunately, those things went into their heads and prevented them from profitably encountering the Lord. Above all they refused to examine themselves in the face of the anointed, wholesome and convicting teachings that proceeded from the Lord Jesus Christ. But as we continue to engage the word of God, we will keep learning the lessons they failed to learn until we pass the test and become conformed to the image of Christ. May God help us all in Jesus' mighty name.
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