2 Corinthians 13:5Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

"Why should I speak of myself, a teacher who has so many cares, to whom the whole world has been entrusted, and who has performed so many miracles? You yourselves, who are among the disciples, if you wish to examine yourselves, will see that Christ dwells in you also. If He is in you, then all the more He is in the teacher. If you have faith, then Christ is in you." He said this about believers who worked miracles, because believers at that time performed wonders. Therefore the Apostle adds, "Examine yourselves, whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? Unless indeed you are not what you ought to be. If He is in you, then all the more He is in the teacher." It seems to me that the Apostle is speaking here of wonder-working faith. "If you have this faith," he says, "then Christ is in you, unless indeed you have become not what you ought to be." Do you see how again he frightens them and shows with complete clarity that Christ is with him? Here, it seems to me, he also points the Corinthians to their life. Since faith alone is not enough for receiving the spiritual power of miracle-working, and since he said that if you abide in faith you have Christ within you, while many who had faith did not have this miracle-working power, he resolves the difficulty by saying. "unless indeed you are not what you ought to be." That is, "unless your life is corrupt." "But concerning us, I trust you will know that we are what we ought to be." He should have said, "Even if you have become unapproved, still we are not unapproved." But he does not speak this way, lest he offend them. He expresses it veiledly. He does not say affirmatively, "You are unapproved." Nor does he put it as a question, "Are you not unapproved?" He leaves that aside and expresses the same thing in a hidden way, saying, "But concerning us, I trust you will know that we are what we ought to be." Here again there is a strong threat and great fear. "If you want me," he says, "to prove this to you by punishing you, we shall have no difficulty giving you such proof." Yet he does not speak in this way, but with greater strictness and threat: "But concerning us. I trust you will know that we are what we ought to be." "You ought," he says, "to know even without this our power, and that Christ speaks and acts in us. But since you wish to test this in deed, you will know that we are not unapproved." Then, since he had extended the threat far, set punishment at the very doors, brought the Corinthians to trembling, and made them expect chastisement, see how sweetly he again tempers his word. See how he moderates their fear and shows his lack of severity, his care for the disciples, his spiritual wisdom, his nobility, and his freedom from vainglory. He expresses all this in the words that follow: "We pray to God that you may do no evil, not that we should appear approved, but that you should do what is good, though we may seem unapproved. For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth. We rejoice when we are weak and you are strong. And this also we pray for, your perfection" (vv. 7-9). Where can one find a soul like Paul's? They despised him, humiliated him, mocked him, and ridiculed him as a worthless man of no account. They called him boastful, one who magnifies himself only in words, but cannot show his power in deed. Yet he not only delays and not only does not wish to punish. He even prays to God that he may not be brought to such necessity. "I pray," he says, "that you may do no evil, not that we should appear approved, but that you should do what is good, though we may seem unapproved." What do these words mean? "I ask and beseech God," he says, "that I may find no one uncorrected, and no one unrepentant. I pray not only for this, but also that you may not even begin to sin." "That you may do no evil," he says. "But if you sin, may you hasten to repent. May you anticipate me by correction and prevent every anger. I do not care to appear approved before you. Quite the opposite, I care that we should not appear approved. If you remain in sins without repentance, then it will be necessary to punish you and subject your bodies to trial, as was done with Sapphira and with the sorcerer (Acts 5:13-14; Acts 8:11). Over him we showed a proof of our power. But we do not pray for this. On the contrary, we pray that we may not show ourselves approved in such a matter. That is, we pray not to make trial of the power that is in us by punishing you and chastising those who sin and suffer incurably. What, then, do we pray? That you may do what is good. We pray that you may always abide in virtue and always be corrected, even though we may seem unapproved by not revealing in ourselves the power that chastises." He did not say, "though we be unapproved," since he would not become unapproved even if he did not punish. On the contrary, by this very thing he would show himself approved. "But if some," he says, "consider us contemptible and unworthy of respect because we do not show our power, we do not care at all. It is better for us to bring such an opinion upon ourselves from them than to display the power given us by God in punishing men with incurable souls. For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth." Lest it seem that he acts this way to flatter them, which is foreign to a soul that knows no vainglory, the Apostle adds, "For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth." He acts, rather, as the nature of the matter itself requires. "If," he says, "we find you well ordered, having put off your sins through repentance and possessing boldness before God, then even if we wanted to, we could not punish you. If we resolved to do so, God would not cooperate with us. He gave us power so that we might pronounce judgment faithfully and righteously, not contrary to the truth." Do you see how everywhere he softens his word and moderates the heaviness of the threat? As much care as he shows for this, so much he desires to show his good disposition toward them. Therefore he adds, "We rejoice when we are weak and you are strong. And this also we pray for, your perfection." "We especially rejoice," he says, "that we can do nothing against the truth. That is, we cannot punish you when you are well pleasing to God. And since we cannot, we also do not wish to. Indeed, we desire the opposite. For this very reason we especially rejoice when we do not find that you give us cause to show our power in punishing you. Even though by that we would appear glorious, approved, and strong, we desire the opposite. We desire that you be approved and blameless, and that we gain no glory from this." Therefore he says, "We rejoice when we are weak." What does "weak" mean? "When we are considered weak. Not when we are weak, but when we are considered weak." The enemies considered the Apostles such because they did not reveal their chastising power. "Nevertheless, we rejoice when you live in such a way that you give us no occasion to punish you. It is pleasant for us to be considered weak in this respect, provided only that you are blameless." Therefore he adds, "and you are strong," that is, approved and virtuous. "And we not only desire this, but also pray for it, that you may be blameless, perfect, and give us no occasion at all to punish you."

He hints that they live lawlessly. For many, though they had faith, did not have the power to work miracles because they lived lawlessly.

The meaning of the words is this: you seem not to know yourselves, whether Christ is in you. He is not in you, because you are not what you ought to be.

Yet he does not express this thought directly. He speaks indefinitely, so as not to strike them down.

Therefore every Christian must examine the condition in which he stands. Christians are not called to luxury and worldly merriment, but to warfare, labors, and struggles.

No small labor and struggle are required to conquer oneself, one's corrupted nature, and the enemy, the devil.

Yet even to these stern words he again adds a tender-hearted statement: "We pray for your perfection. For this reason I write these things while absent, that when present I may not use severity, according to the authority which the Lord has given me for edification and not for destruction" (2 Cor 13:9-10).

"You yourselves, who are among the disciples, if you wish to examine yourselves, will see that Jesus Christ dwells in you. If He is in you, then much more is He in the teacher."

"For if you have faith, Christ is in you. It seems to me that the Apostle is speaking here of wonderworking faith, because believers at that time worked miracles."

"If you have such faith, he says, then Christ is in you, unless you are not what you ought to be. Here the Apostle seems also to indicate their life."

"Since faith alone is insufficient for receiving spiritual power, he resolves the difficulty by saying, 'unless indeed you are unapproved,' that is, unless your life is corrupt."

"But he does not say this directly, so as not to offend them. He only hints at it gently."

From this comes the following suggestion: examine yourselves, lest it be because you yourselves have lost Christ that you test whether He speaks in me. If you had Him, you could not doubt that He is also in me, for through me you came to know Him.

Thus the words "test yourselves" led both to this: that by finding Christ in themselves, they might be assured that He is also in Saint Paul; and to this: that, if they did not find Him, they might grieve over it and take care to acquire Him.

This again would lead to the same thing, namely, to assurance that He is, speaks, and acts also in Saint Paul.

Chrysostom says: "Why should I speak of myself, the teacher, who have so many cares, to whom the whole world has been entrusted, and who have performed so many miracles? Even you yourselves, who are among the disciples, if you wish to test yourselves, will see that Jesus Christ dwells in you also. If He is in you, then much more in the teacher. For if you have faith, Christ is in you. It seems to me that the Apostle here speaks of wonder-working faith, because believers at that time performed miracles. If you have such faith, he says, then Christ is in you, unless you are not what you ought to be. Here the Apostle seems also to indicate their life to the Corinthians. Since faith alone is insufficient for receiving spiritual power, and he had said that if you remain in the faith you have Christ in yourselves, while many who had faith did not have wonder-working power, he resolves the difficulty by saying, 'unless perhaps you are unapproved.' That is, unless your life is corrupt. But he does not say this directly, so as not to offend them, but hints at it lightly. He does not affirm, 'you are unapproved,' but presents a case as though it were not fully possible among them: 'unless perhaps.'"

Blessed Photius, in Oecumenius, finds other shades of thought in these words of the Apostle: "Are you not thereby putting your own faith to the test? Are you not forcing the question whether you are in the faith? For to seek a test of Christ speaking in me, and not to be firmly convinced that Christ speaks in the teacher, what else does this mean except testing yourselves, whether you are faithful, and doubting yourselves? It means even more: not knowing at all that Christ is in you. For if Christ is not in the teacher, then much more He is not in the disciples. But how, he says, do you not know that Christ is in you, when He has enriched you with various gifts of grace? Or, by showing yourselves unapproved in works, by living badly, have you lost these gifts also? By this he also means to say: if you have received and possess gracious power over unclean spirits, unless, by becoming useless, you have been deprived of it, do I not much more have authority over those who fulfill the will of unclean demons, if such are among you? Or again: do you seek proof in me? Test yourselves. Examine more carefully whether you are in the faith. Perhaps you have already fallen away from it, for otherwise you probably would not test me. Then, as though softening the strong rebuke, he says, 'Or do you not know that Jesus Christ is in you?' As though saying: I understand you in this way, that Christ is in you. If you yourselves do not know this, the fault is yours. See whether you have become what you ought not to be. At the same time he shames them: if I acknowledge that Christ is in you, unless perhaps you are unapproved, how do you still seek a test of His abiding in me? But how could they know that Christ was in them? From the signs they performed, if they were still performing them. The words, 'unless perhaps you are unapproved,' hint at a bad life. If, he says, you are in the faith, but do not have a life corresponding to it, then you are unapproved. Christ is not in you, and He no longer shows His presence among you through signs."

What, then, shall we now say about our faith? Does this commandment of the Apostle not apply much more closely to us? Are there not far greater reasons to fear for our faith?

Those who call themselves Orthodox believers should examine themselves according to conscience, whether they are truly believers.

Are there not among them some who do not know the Creed and are unfamiliar with the foundations of the teaching concerning the Christian faith?

And those who know the teaching of the faith should ask themselves whether they have assimilated this teaching with all the powers of the soul.

They should ask whether faith penetrates their life, and whether it serves them as a guide in all circumstances and conditions. They should ask whether it is limited only to the mind and memory.

Thus we believe in God, but the demons also believe. We believe that God is almighty. But do we have recourse to Him with hope in His help?

We believe that He is everywhere present, all-knowing, and righteous. But do we restrain ourselves from sinful temptations by fear of His omnipresence, omniscience, and justice?

We believe in His goodness and love for mankind. But do we thank Him for everything we receive from His love toward us, for gifts of happiness, and even for sorrows and afflictions sent by Him for a good purpose?

We believe in the Redeemer. But do we value what He has done for our salvation? Do we not continue to anger Him by the sins for which He shed His most pure blood?

We believe in the grace of the Holy Spirit. But in order to receive it, do we hasten to the sacraments, and do we do so zealously? Are we not burdened by preparation for confession and Holy Communion?

We believe in the Holy Church. But do we submit to her guidance, order our life according to her statutes, and honor in the Church's pastors the distributors of the gifts of the Holy Spirit and spiritual guides?

We believe in one baptism. But do we preserve the vows of faithfulness to Christ given by each of us at baptism?

We believe in the life of the age to come. But do we fear eternal torments? Are we not attached to the goods of temporal life to the point of forgetting eternal blessedness?

These are the questions we must put to ourselves, in order to give an account of whether we abide in the faith.

The resolving of these questions must occupy us at all times, and especially in the days of fasting and repentance.