One of the great impediments or barriers of people coming to faith in Christ are those who profess a Christian faith but do not live like a follower of Christ. There is a disconnect between what we say and what we do. Of all the people that Jesus addressed in his ministry, one group stands out as the one which not only opposed Jesus the most vigorously but drew Jesus’ greatest condemnation. Many Pharisees who advocated purity were living a double life and were blind to it.
Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: ‘The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. Everything they do is done for people to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; they love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to be called ‘Rabbi’ by others. Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to. They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely. Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are.’[i]
How can we see through the lies and deception that come our way? We might immediately think of how others come across, but the deeper question we need to ask ourselves is, what are we communicating with others? Are we living an authentic life? There is nothing worse than living a life of self-deception. How does God view our lives?
As we come to the close of the letter we hear Paul’s final exhortation, prayer, and appeal for the Corinthians to respond to his message of correction. He calls them to examine themselves. In Plato’s Apology, he quotes Socrates in his defense of impiety and corrupting the youths of Athens in 399 B. C. in which Socrates is reported to have said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.”
While the intruders had challenged Paul’s life and ministry, here in 2 Corinthians 13 we find Paul putting not only the false teachers on trial, but all the Corinthians are now facing his challenge. Yet, it is also a challenge for each of us to examine ourselves as to the kind of life we are living. Is it a life of integrity, authenticity, and piety? Or is our life one where self-deception and justification have eroded our lifestyle to such a degree that what we profess is not what we live. In other words, we are living a hypocritical lifestyle that may have sobering eternal consequences. Here we have three elements that should help us live an authentic life.
THE FIRST ELEMENT IN LIVING AN AUTHENTIC LIFE IS TO LISTEN TO THE EXHORTATION OF EXAMINING OUR LIVES
Do we desire to be authentic, walking with integrity, and godliness? Will we do the necessary work to put our lives under scrutiny? Do we have a mirror that will reveal the condition of our soul? James explains how the bible is a mirror into our souls and how that happens. We move from information gathering to obedience, which is evidence that we believe. Biblical belief is acting upon what God says.
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.[ii]
People can also be a mirror in our lives reflecting to us the kind of person we are. We also have the church, a believing community in which to build healthy relationships with other believers. If we live in isolation, we do not see ourselves clearly. What are the witnesses that Paul states establish his credibility? “This will be my third visit to you. Every matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.”[iii]
Paul begins by citing an Old Testament text regarding the prosecution of a person. Under the Mosaic Law, every indictment or charge must have the testimony of two or three witnesses to prosecute and convict someone. “One witness is not enough to convict anyone accused of any crime or offense they may have committed. A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.”[iv] David Garland gives the reasoning behind this law and what it hopes to avoid.
The assumption behind the law is that it is better for someone who is guilty to go unpunished because of a lack of the requisite number of witnesses than to harm an innocent person’s reputation with reckless charges. This principle is applied elsewhere in the New Testament (see Matt 18:16; John 8:17; 1 Tim 5:19; Heb 10:28). But how does Paul’s third visit relate to the rules of evidence? By saying that no one can be condemned without the testimony of two to three witnesses, Paul tips his hand that he has every intention to bring charges against them on this next visit (see 12:19).[v]
So, who were the witnesses that Paul was bringing against the Corinthians?
Paul will take disciplinary action according to the biblical principles governing a judicial proceeding (see 1 Cor 6:1–6). He can call three witnesses against them—Titus and Timothy, for example, and even God. Can they call three legitimate witnesses against him? They should remember that the law also warns that malicious, dishonest witnesses will be punished in the way they intended for the falsely accused to be punished (Deut 19:16–19).[vi]
In this third visit, Paul warns that he is going to take disciplinary action against them if they have not repented.
I already gave you a warning when I was with you the second time. I now repeat it while absent: On my return I will not spare those who sinned earlier or any of the others, since you are demanding proof that Christ is speaking through me. He is not weak in dealing with you, but is powerful among you. For to be sure, he was crucified in weakness, yet he lives by God’s power. Likewise, we are weak in him, yet by God’s power we will live with him in our dealing with you.[vii]
They had demanded proof that Christ was speaking through Paul because of his meekness among them. Paul’s response is that this is the very nature of Christ. He came to earth in weakness, and his power was manifested through his sacrificial death, yet that death and resurrection was the vehicle of God’s power.
The Corinthians’ confusion about Paul comes from their failure to see proof that the crucified and resurrected Christ is working in him in his weaknesses (5:20; Rom 15:18). They find his weakness distasteful. But Paul’s weakness fits the paradigm of Christ’s crucifixion. If this displeases or mystifies them, then there is some serious flaw in their faith. They do not understand the full implications of the cross and resurrection.[viii]
What is Garland getting at? What he is trying to help us understand is that God’s power was demonstrated in the humbling death of Jesus. Just like what was now occurring among the Corinthians, mockers were taunting not only Paul and the faithful believers, but Jesus. Garland continues:
The crucifixion displayed an apparent helplessness that caused the spectators to taunt Jesus to show them some miraculous display of power or to pull off some miraculous escape that would finally convince them that he was the Son of God. A spectacular show of worldly power on the cross—the kind they wanted to see—would have proven only that Jesus was some kind of superman, but not the Messiah, the Son of God. Just as his tormentors suspected, nothing happened. His eyes closed, his head went limp, the breathing spasms stopped. The bystanders could not see that his weakness came from his voluntary sacrifice to give his life for others in absolute obedience to God. They also could not believe that God would deliver one whom they dismissed as so contemptible. The resurrection showed the power of God working in the most abject human weakness—death, even death on a cross. It also revealed that ‘the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength’ (1 Cor 1:25) and that God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the strong (1 Cor 1:27).[ix]
Now, like Jesus in his weakness, we understand the nature of Paul’s apostolic credibility. This amazing paradigm of weakness revealing God’s power. Now, the great reversal is about to happen. David Garland explains: “They have demanded proof that Paul is sufficient for his task as an apostle, but Paul will turn the tables on them and demand proof that they are truly in the faith. The important question is not whether Christ is speaking in Paul but whether Christ is living in them.”[x]
“Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test? And I trust that you will discover that we have not failed the test.”[xi]
What is this test of faith? It is a challenge to them that if they are believers, then Paul must be an apostle as he is the one that brought the gospel to them. David Garland explains that this is not to suggest that they are not believers unless they remain living in sin.
How does testing themselves relate to Paul passing the test? The two are obviously intertwined in his mind. If they pass the test and know that Christ is in them; then their apostle passes the test as well (see 10:15). Paul is the one who betrothed them to Christ (11:2), and they are the seal of his apostleship in the Lord (1 Cor 9:2) and his letter of commendation in Christ for all the world to read (3:1–3). If they fail the test, then all Paul’s work among them has been in vain (1 Cor 3:12–15). If they pass the test, it confirms that he is a genuine apostle.[xii]
“A Christian’s conduct, then, is a very good ready reckoner for determining his relationship to Christ, and a much better one than his religious experience.”[xiii] The test of faith is evidenced by a transformed life. This reminds us of the words of Jesus. How do we know who the disciples of Jesus are? We will know them by their fruit, and the fruit of the Holy Spirit is love. “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”[xiv]
What is fascinating is that Paul is part of the test. If they fail, then he has failed. We see in verse 6 that he includes himself, and if they are in the faith which Paul believes they are, then they will have both passed the test. However, Paul realizes that there are some who are not genuine and will certainly fail and are therefore merely professors of faith. Genuine believers will turn from their sin.
THE SECOND ELEMENT IN LIVING AN AUTHENTIC LIFE IS THE ANSWER TO THE PRAYERS OF THE SAINTS FOR OUR OBEDIENCE TO THE TRUTH
We discover the need for mutual intercession for the spiritual growth of one another in the faith. Paul generally begins his letters to the churches with prayer and praise for the believers. He mentions his continuous praying for their spiritual growth. In the conclusion of this letter to the Corinthians, his prayer is that they will not rebel against God and pass the self-examination test which means they are doing what is right. Paul also mentions that what he has done is truthful and only for their betterment.
Now we pray to God that you will not do anything wrong—not so that people will see that we have stood the test but so that you will do what is right even though we may seem to have failed. For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth. We are glad whenever we are weak but you are strong; and our prayer is that you may be fully restored. This is why I write these things when I am absent, that when I come I may not have to be harsh in my use of authority—the authority the Lord gave me for building you up, not for tearing you down.[xv]
It is a prayer for restoration and redemption from rebellion and worldliness.
Paul’s desire is that he will not be forced to exercise his authority harshly when he comes again to Corinth (13:10b). For in fulfillment of Jeremiah’s promise that God will one day ‘build’ his people, Paul’s ministry under the new covenant, in contrast to Jeremiah’s under the old, is predominantly for ‘building … up, not for tearing … down.’ …Paul intentionally ends the final section of his letter by recalling the pastoral purpose with which he began in order to put his third visit in perspective. He views the necessity and purpose of his exhortations, like all else in his ministry, through the lens of redemptive history and the Scriptures. This means that his primary goal as an apostle of Christ is the building up of the church in fulfillment of the promise of the new covenant.[xvi]
In loving people, we do not want to tear anyone down, but we do want to address what is tearing people down, namely the sin that is so destructive in a person’s life. If we do not address issues, the problem will not go away but only intensify and complicate things in the future. We certainly see that in our physical bodies when we don’t address sickness and leave them unattended. They generally only get worse and make treatments more difficult. The same is true in the moral arena of life. We need to address those things in our lives that are sinful, selfish, and self defeating.
THE FINAL ELEMENT IN LIVING AN AUTHENTIC LIFE IS THE CALL FOR A VICTORIOUS CHRISTIAN LIFE
In Paul’s closing remarks we discover the heart of a true apostolic leader in what he wants to see nurtured in their faith. His desire is to see them come to full maturity. This is not just true in the individual’s life, but in a healthy congregational life. So, what does that look like? We must remember how fractured and broken this church was. Sin abounded; factions and divisions were evident. Love was absent and they were filled with arrogance and pride. Gifted and knowledgeable, but near sighted; they reflected the society around them rather than expressing the life of Christ. Paul is calling them to spiritual health.
Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you. Greet one another with a holy kiss. All God’s people here send their greetings.[xvii]
- It begins by learning to live with gratitude and delight.
Our lives should be one of continuous praise to God. That is the meaning of “rejoice” as expressed here.
Paul’s call to rejoice is thus intended to lift the eyes of the Corinthians above their present contention with the apostle to see the unconditioned good that God has given to them in Christ. In this respect, Paul’s call to the Corinthians to rejoice parallels his repeated calls to the church in Philippi to do the same. In that context, he seeks to turn their attention from the immediate circumstances of his imprisonment to the greater work of God that is taking place in and through that imprisonment.[xviii]
How are we currently responding to our present circumstances? Are they defining us, or are we choosing an attitude of thanksgiving and gratitude? Is our focus on the challenges and hardships of life, in which we grumble and complain, or is our eye upon our Lord causing us to delight and rejoice in him?
- Put your house in order.
Here the NIV translates this as “strive for restoration”. The Greek literally means to “put in order.” How critical is it to put things right in relationships. The tragic situation in Corinth was all the factions, schisms, and broken relationships. Disunity and conflict were raging and criticism abounded. It was an unhealthy situation. Paul was calling them to address the issues and come to a place of healing and restoration. What should have been a place of peace and love was anything but that and the witness of the gospel was compromised.
- They were to endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit—be of one mind and live in peace.
When this happens, God’s love and peace would be with them. This is certainly true in our lives.
Be of one mind,’ the third injunction, probably means more than ‘get along with one another.’ Rather, Paul wants the members of the Corinthian church so to work through their differences of opinions, bringing them to the test of the apostolic gospel, that they will become of one mind. As he writes to them elsewhere, ‘I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought’ (1 Cor. 1:10).[xix]
- Paul’s closing Trinitarian Benediction: 2 Corinthians 13:14
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
Benedictions are expressions of blessing over the people. We see the full expression of God’s kindness being expressed as Paul desires for God’s love, grace, and fellowship to be with the Corinthian believers.
What is Paul’s desire but to see the church flourish? When the church is overcome by the values of society, we live defeated lives and it tarnishes our witness, but when we embrace and live out God’s values, we will have a profound influence and impact on our society. It begins with self-examination. Are we living an authentic life, meaning that we are living with single-hearted devotion to God? As James points out, the problem is that we can become doubleminded and therefore unstable in all our ways. Let us pray like the Psalmist prayed.
“Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”[xx] “Teach me your way, Lord, that I may rely on your faithfulness; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name. I will praise you, Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever.”[xxi]
Socrates said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” Rather than trying to examine ourselves by worldly standards, may we allow God’s word to examine our lives.
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[i][i] Matthew 23:1-7; 13-15, The New International Version of the Bible, Zondervan, 2011.
[ii] James 1:22-25.
[iii] 2 Corinthians 13:1.
[iv] Deuteronomy 19:15.
[v] David Garland, 2 Corinthians, The New American Commentary, Vol. 29, (Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1999), 540.
[vi] Harvey, Renewal through Suffering, 108 quoted in David Garland, 2 Corinthians, 541.
[vii] 2 Corinthians 13:2-4.
[viii] David Garland, 2 Corinthians, 543.
[ix] Ibid, 544.
[x] Ibid, 543.
[xi] 2 Corinthians 13:5-6.
[xii] David Garland, 2 Corinthians, 547.
[xiii] Richard Hanson, 2 Corinthians, Torch Bible Commentary Series, (London, Student Christian Movement Press, 1954), 95.
[xiv] John 13:35.
[xv] 2 Corinthians 13:7-10.
[xvi] Scott Hafemann, 2 Corinthians, (Zondervan Publishing House, 2000), 494-95.
[xvii] 2 Corinthians 13:11-13.
[xviii] Mark Seifrid, The Second Letter to the Corinthians, Pillar New Testament Commentary, (William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Apollos, 2014), 488.
[xix] D. A. Carson, “A Model of Christian Maturity: An Exposition of 2 Corinthians 10-13, 189-90.
[xx] Psalm 139:23-24.
[xxi] Psalm 86:11-12.
