This is 2 Corinthians chapter 13, and this is the word of the Lord. This is the third time I am coming to you. Every charge must be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. I warned those who sinned before and all the others, and I warned them now while absent, as I did when present on my second visit. that if I come again, I will not spare them, since you seek proof that Christ is speaking in me. He is not weak in dealing with you, but is powerful among you. For he was crucified in weakness, but lives by the power of God. For we also are weak in him. But in dealing with you, we will live with him by the power of God. 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 among Sorry, and you are strong, I've lost the light. And these aren't very bright. Let's try this again. 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. Thus the reading of God's word. You may be seated. Okay. So here we are at the end of the second letter of Paul's to the church at Corinth. And these are the final words recorded of Paul to that church. And we see in here that Paul had planned to attend, to visit the church body once again. information about his third visit. to the church at Corinth, these are the final words that the Holy Spirit has reserved for us. And so it's in light of this idea that these are the last words that Paul would convey to them, the last words the Holy Spirit would have us understand Paul to say to them, we should consider the weight of such a thing as we look at these words. You know, we've been on quite a little journey if you consider our walk through 1 Corinthians and our walk now through 2 Corinthians. We've been on quite a little journey of this church and all that it has dealt with, all Paul has had to address and respond to. And in these two letters, we've been allowed to observe the Corinthian church, in a sense, its early growth pains that it went through. And with that, we've been introduced, really, to probably most every category of issue that a church could face. Just consider some of the things that have been dealt with. This is not exhaustive, but they've dealt with internal factions and divisiveness. They've dealt with issues about the world being brought into the church and the church and its relationship being in the world. There's been issues in the area of immorality and idolatry. Within the church, there's been contention among the members. You might remember in 1 Corinthians, Paul had to talk about, you're suing each other. Come on. What's going on here? Obviously, selfishness that was expressed. Disorder in their daily living. Disorder in their worship. They had that as issues in their church. At times, they'd come across falling into legalism. One extreme and at other times falling off on the other extreme of licentiousness. There's all dealings with issues of association and disassociation. Issues of using one another and abusing one another. All things that can be a part of relationships with each other, and of course doctrinal distortions and outright heretical teachings. All these things Paul has had to address, and all these things are things that this church has been going through. In many ways we'd say that the Corinthian church is not a model church, okay? It's not a model in terms of an ideal church. There's little in their behavior, except for a few times that Paul commends them, there's little in their behavior and conduct that a church should be looking to, to strive to be like. But these letters give us a view of a real church, a real church that's endeavoring to operate in a real world and with members that are real people with real flaws all associated together and professing Christ. You might think that it'd be good if at least one of these letters was written to the perfect church. I mean, it'd be good to just read about what it's all supposed to be like and see it happening and talked about in one church body where all the functioning of the members was ideal and the teachings were perfect and the relationships were always appropriate. I mean, I think about that, you know, a church that just presented itself like the emblemished Bride of Christ. Wouldn't that be wonderful to read? Well, that's not what the Holy Spirit thought would be best for us. And it probably wouldn't be because if we had such a letter, all we would see, and especially if that was all that we had, all we would see is what it ought to be. And we would never understand how to get there. We wouldn't understand the road and the process that is taken from where you're at to where you are to be. We wouldn't understand what was needed. We wouldn't know how to negotiate the issues that do come up because we are all fallen people. And we would never reach the ultimate goal. And I think in the end, if all we had was the picture of the perfect, we'd probably just sit down and give up because we're not there. How do you get there? How could we get there? We can't individually get there. Corporately, for sure, because I have to deal with you, and you have to deal with me. And so we would just give up, because all we saw was the goal, and we didn't see the process. We didn't see the way. We didn't see how to correct and overcome the challenges. And that's the revelation that we're receiving when we read such a letter like the Corinthian letter here and what they were facing. And we see the revelation of how to face and how to correct and how to overcome all these aspects that are part of moving you and me and the body from one point to another toward the ultimate goal. So the Corinthian church isn't an ideal church. It's not the model of an ideal church, but it is the church that the Holy Spirit used for Paul to found and interact with to convey to us what we need to know. The information on this church through Paul's two letters are given to us to show us what real church is about, what real problems are in a church, and how to address them, how to find answers, and how to have hope. So much of what Paul told the Corinthians as far as how to deal with the issues they faced in their personal as well as their corporate life centered around realizing who they are in their relationship to Christ and to one another. I mean, foundational to this was Paul's answers came out of those two fundamentals, who you are in relationship to Christ and who you are in relationship to one another. And so many of his answers were like this. This isn't everything, but these are many of the essentials. His answers were, you are in Christ. I mean, he'd try to remind them and make them aware of this, realize you are in Christ. And that meant that you had a new identity. And then he would say, Christ is in you. That's a difference. I mean, he'll even say here, do you not realize this about yourself that Jesus Christ is in you? He'll even say that in this passage that we read today. And that meant something new about you. You're a new creature because Christ is in you. Other times it'd say you have the mind of Christ. Use it. Think in the new way that you ought to think because you have the mind of Christ and therefore you ought to be able to know and reason according to the word that he has given you. At other places, he would talk in terms of Christ being their head. The head of the man is Christ. Christ is the head of the church. Christ is your head. You are to be submissive to a head. Submit yourself to that head and submit your thoughts to him. Captivate your thoughts. It would come out of that idea and that concept that Christ is your head. And you're a member of his body. If he's your head, then you're a member of his body. So we talk about the association of that body to other things, and you would not associate that body with this or that, because it's the body of Christ. And it too was a fundamental that he drew from. He went on to say that you're not just a member of his body, you're a member of one of another. You're a member one with another. And what would that mean then? There should be concern for the other parts of your body. Care for your body. Care for one another. Encourage one another. Just as you would care for your own physical body, take care of this body as well. Individually, he expressed, you are the temple of the Holy Spirit. This, too, was a fundamental concept that he stood upon and brought to their attention. And if you're the temple of the Holy Spirit, then don't let any idolatry take place in your temple. And then he said, but corporately, you're a temple as well. You're a temple of the living God. And in that temple, it should be God's Word that's spoken. And don't let heretical teachings come forth in God's house. So these are ideas that he drew upon to address those issues that this church was facing. And just as that church faced issues, as I said, they pretty much covered the category of issues that churches and bodies of Christ can face. The answers are the same. And these are the things that we should strive to keep in mind. And these are the things we learned from this letter. Paul strove to emphasize there needs to be purity of soul, purity of the church, love of the Lord, love of the brethren, obedience to the word. These all come out of these teachings. They're all fundamental parts of what it means to overcome the challenges that we would face individually, with the world, as an individual believer, but also as a corporate body. And we need to implement these truths and these principles in our lives in order to become or be becoming that church body that we so want to be, that Paul wanted Corinth to be, that betrothed bride able to be presented as an unspotted bride to Christ. So yeah, I think we're better off that the Holy Spirit gave us this kind of a letter than just the handbook on the perfect church. But he saw fit to preserve for us and for all of time this reality of the Corinthian church and Paul's dealings with the Corinthian church. And it presents to us that road that each of us must take and the mode by which we would overcome the trials that we face individually and corporately. So that's what we have, and that's what we have gone through in our first and then in our interim, our second letter, our look at the second letter that Paul has addressed to Corinth. Now we're at the close, and at the close of the second letter, this church is facing still the struggle. It's facing a struggle, a struggle that has been manifest because of the false teachers that have come in. They've threatened, in a sense, to displace Paul and his relationship to them. They have certainly threatened the gospel because they have presented a distorted gospel of which Paul would say means it's not the gospel, but it's another gospel. But what Paul realizes here in the last part of this letter is that in addressing this like any other error and difficulty within the church, it ultimately comes down to where are you at individually and corporately in your walk with Christ? People fall prey to falsehoods and distortions when they lose sight of who Christ is, and what the relationship is with him, and where are you at? And that's what Paul wants to address here in this last part of this letter. The last time we looked at 2 Corinthians, a couple of weeks ago, we covered the close of chapter 12. And we're going to look back at chapter 12 in just a moment because we need to understand the context with which chapter 13 now comes out of. And what is said in chapter 12 is so very important. Because this chapter begins with Paul announcing that he's coming to them. He says, this is the third time I am coming to you. And so that, I think, pretty much settles the fact that Paul has been there twice before. And it's amazing that there's debate still about whether Paul went three times. But anyway, Paul had been to Corinth the first time during his second missionary journey, and he established the church at that time. God used him to present the gospel and others to hear. And then in between these two letters, while he was at Ephesus writing his first letter and had sent that, in between that and his second letter that we just went through, he made a hasty visit that is referenced in the first part of this letter over to Corinth because of what he had been hearing. And he wanted to go there and see what he could do about the contentions and the things that were going on. But the contentions didn't get resolved Instead, at least a faction of the individuals there turned on Paul. And it became contentious between Paul and them. And Paul determined that it would be better for him to leave than to cause more harm and hard feelings. And so he left. And he followed up that with a harsh letter that we don't have, in which he thought it'd be better to speak to them from a distance in that manner. And he did. And he sent that with Titus, and then he waited for Titus and his return, which we've read about, we've talked about. And then he wrote this letter, the second letter. Because he learned from Titus that although the particular contention that blew up when he was there had been resolved, the church had repented, had dealt with the troublemakers appropriately, there had been the move of the Judaizers into the church. And they had increased in their influence. And that's why this second letter was now written. And now Paul says at the end of this letter, I'm coming. I'm going to come to Corinth. And those words are carrying some weight of what you will see here in just a moment. But what did Paul expect when he arrived at Corinth? And that's where we would back up into chapter 12 because there's where Paul, as we finished that last time, conveyed the concerns, the fears he had for what he would find when he came to Corinth. Now if you look back at verse 20, Paul states that he's afraid that they will have slipped back into some of the dysfunctional actions and ways in which they have behaved in the past. He's concerned that he's going to find that what he had addressed before and in his first letter, they're going to be quarreling with one another. You'll see their jealousies among each other, anger and slander and gossip and conceit and disorder. These are many, many things that were in the first letter that he dealt with. And so often these type of contentions that occur among people really are the manifestation but not the real problem. So many times, the things that happen out here among each other is not the ultimate problem. Now, there are problems, and they need to be dealt with. If you don't appropriately talk with somebody in a respectful way, or you slander or disorderly, yes. But so often, there's something else going on. and some things underneath, and that's where Paul heads with his concerns that we talked about last time. The physical issues we see often, well, even in the physical, the issues that individuals have are symptoms. That's terminology used is, well, what are your symptoms? Because that's not necessarily the problem, that's the manifestation of what the problem. could be. We see that in the physical and that's true in relationship and in the spiritual as well. What is the root cause? There's where Paul heads in his latter part of chapter 12 when he's talking about what he's fearful about finding. Two weeks ago we saw as we looked at verse 21 that what Paul discerned as potentially the issue here was unrepented sin, sin not repented of. In verse 21 it says, I may have to mourn. This is what he feared, that he's going to be humbled in the sense that he wants to be so proud of this church that God has used him to found, but he's going to be humbled and have to mourn over many of those who sinned earlier. And we talked about sinned earlier, previous, a past sin and have not Repented. And that was the emphasis of the message two weeks ago. Unrepented sin, as we called it. Sin, unrepented of, is so often the root of misbehavior, of contentiousness, and inappropriate activity on the part of individual believers. Sin that the person may have even stopped doing. We talked about that, how it's not enough to just stop, but they need to truly repent. And if they've not truly repented of that, then often it's still something within them that brings out the worse. But there needs to be steps of repentance. There needs to be appropriate steps, if possible, of restoration for sins previously done. And that's the context within which Paul now enters into what we call chapter 13 and his final chapter addressed to the church of Corinth. He's keenly aware that he very likely will be facing, when he comes, the external symptoms and also the underlying unrepented sin. And it's going to have to be addressed. And he plans to address it, as we're going to see in the next few verses. Paul looks at his previous dealings with the Church of Corinth, even at times when it got a little rough, as acts of grace and warning to them. But there's coming a time of judgment. And he sees this third time as his time of passing judgment. And we catch wind of the coming judgment upon Paul, or by Paul, upon the Church of Corinth as we pass into the second part of even the first verse. He makes note of a fundamental biblical truth. Every charge must be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. He's bringing this up because there are charges of which he believes are now confirmed. What is he doing here? He's citing from Deuteronomy chapter 19. Deuteronomy chapter 19 and verse 15. be citing out of the law the rules by which you are to play, if you want to put it that way, when it comes to identifying and passing judgment upon an individual. And in Deuteronomy 19 verse 15 it says, a single witness shall not suffice against a person for any crime or for any wrong in connection with any offense that he has committed. Only on the evidence of two witnesses or three witnesses shall a charge be established. This is the biblical concept and principle for proper It's there to protect the accused, that an individual who just has it out for somebody can't be the only witness against them. There needs to be a corroboration of other witnesses, and if necessary, not just one other, but another, if possibly the second witness brings some doubt in their accusation. So it's to protect the accused. It's also to assure the accuser that true justice is taking place. This is a guard against hasty decision-making, decisions of guilt or not guilty, that they come across hasty. And this guiding principle is fundamental to basic court action, but also is a basic principle drawn upon by Jesus and Paul in other places to justify or to direct ways in which behavior should be taken. For example, in Matthew 18. If you go to Matthew 18, where Jesus speaks of the church and he speaks of discipline within the church. and the proper procedure by which discipline should take place. Looking at verses 15 and 16, he says, if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you've gained your brother. The obvious question is, what if he doesn't listen? What do I do? And Jesus drew upon Deuteronomy 19.15 for his direction that he gives. He says, but if he does not listen, take one or two others. These would be individuals that know what you're talking about concerning the offense, know what has been going on, can identify it, can bear corroborating witness with you in addressing the individual. And so there is your second and your third witness, that every charge may be established, just as Paul would say to the church of Corinth, in quoting Deuteronomy 19, by the evidence of two or three witnesses. Jesus said, this is the fundamental biblical way in which these things are to be done. And then Paul, in 2 Timothy 5, draws upon this same thing. for the protection of an elder who may fall under an accusation of those within the church. And obviously, if the elder is trying maybe to exercise authority and some of the church doesn't like the way he's exercising his authority, he brings up an accusation, throw him out. Well, Paul says, wait a minute. Look at 2 Timothy 5.19, he says, Again, let's have corroborating witness that what is being charged is truly an accurate charge. This is a biblical concept. This biblical concept was brought in to America. Because of the biblical and Christian influence upon our nation, this too is a part of our legal system. There needs to be second witnesses and third witnesses that need to be found to corroborate the testimony within the courtroom. And you might sit here and say, well, of course. You've got to know that it's right. But cultures in years past didn't necessarily have this. I mean, if you were an influential person who wanted to get this person out, you just brought an accusation and they took action. And that wasn't all that long ago in England that that thing could happen. It wasn't just the back tribes of Africa and whatever. But it was in our Western culture as well. And it was the biblical influence that brought about this change. And in fact, it was documented in our own constitution. In Article 3, Section 3, Clause 1, in part, it says, no person shall be convicted of treason unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act. So it wasn't just that someone could say, well, yeah, I think I saw him do that. Well, detail it. What did you see? It's got to agree overt act. It's got to be the same act that this person's talking about. And so there was a protection for that because it was a biblical concept and it was brought in even into our legal system here in America. Well, Paul, knowing that biblical standard by which a charge would be established by these words, Every charge must be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses is giving warning, of which he's about to talk about, that I believe there is corroborating evidence of sin that is to be addressed. And I'm coming to address it. Judgment is pending. The sin has been established and the judgment is now pending to take place. He's making it known to the Corinthians that he does find the situation, if he does, when he comes, the situation as he fears he will, that he's going to consider the matter judicially established and legally corroborated and affirmed, and it's time to render a judicial action. Paul is acting in his apostolic authority. He's acting in the authority of an elder. of the church and what the church itself at Corinth had taken as weakness on the part of Paul when he was present with them, what the false teachers had twisted to promote this idea of Paul being a very weak individual. In reality, was Paul acting the part of Christ to the church, graciously warning them, giving them the grace to repent. And they called it weakness. And that's how Christ deals with us, graciously giving us time to repent and to change, whether it be in our temporal situation or certainly in the eternal ultimate judgment. He gives us the time graciously to repent and to change, but judgment comes. And that time of judgment will come. And for Corinth, in relationship to Paul, toward them, that time had come. He had graciously given them time to repent. Look at this in verse 2. I warned those who sinned before and all others, and I warned them now while absent, as I did when present on my second visit, that if I come again, I will not spare them." Those are judgment words. That's rendering authority and power over them. for what they're doing. And again, Paul is, I mean, the very next words are, since you seek proof that Christ is speaking in me. That's actually completing that thought. They were questioning, oh, is Christ really working through Paul? He's saying, you be the way you've been. When I come, you will see Christ working in me because Christ has authority to judge. And that authority has been given to Paul as an apostle and an elder. But that's again how God deals with his people as Paul has been dealing with them. It's the form that God uses as he graciously appeals and warns, but ultimately deals with a congregation or an individual. and discipline. And he's given church discipline as an instrument for the good of the church and the elders and leaders of the church as those who would exercise that authority. And here we're seeing church discipline beginning to work its way out. It involved graciousness towards the offender to be confronted, being warned and called to repentance. In graciousness, the sin is addressed and is sought to be corroborated by another before accusation is brought. that would be truly established without a doubt. And yet once that is done, there needs to be an appeal for repentance and grace and mercy is extended to the individual to give opportunity to turn and to repent and to come back and be restored. But if those gracious calls and warnings in times of time periods that have been given are rebuffed by the individual, then judgment must come and judgment must be rendered. And Paul has been doing this over these two letters and over this time period with the church at Corinth. And in doing this, and in doing it in this way, Paul has been establishing really the fact that he has been like Christ to them. Conveying the words of Christ, extending the grace of Christ, professing the warnings and the necessity of repentance. But that's not all that Christ is. Christ is judge as well. And he will come to judge. in the form of Paul to the church at Corinth, and as our judge, ultimately. But the church at Corinth, like so many of those who walk in air, look upon gracious acts as weakness, and they continue to behave as they do. And so they saw Paul's acts of gracious warnings and no action in their minds by Paul as weakness. And Paul takes and kind of grabs that idea and presents what also likely had been professed by some was how weak Christ was when he died. He gave no fight. He sat there mute. He was beaten. He was forced without any resistance on his part to go up the hill and to carry his own cross and to be crucified. And some said that was weakness on Christ's part. And Paul plays on that idea in trying to instruct the Corinthians as to what the weakness of Christ really was. and what it means, the power of Christ that now is, and the power of Christ in which he is walking in relationship to them. Look at verse four. It says, for he was crucified in weakness, but lives by the power of God. Paul says, you want to talk weakness, you want to talk my weakness, which is really in Christ. Well, let's talk Christ's weakness. It is in His weakness that He died for you. That's what he's saying here. It was in His weakness that He laid down His life for you. It is in His weakness that you received forgiveness for your sins. But that weakness is only the first step of the whole process of who Christ is, because ultimately, by God's power, he lives. In his weakness, he died, but he died for you. But by the power of God, he now lives today. And he lives in that power. And what does that mean? He has ultimate authority. He was not only raised by the power of God, but he was raised to his current place. which is at his right hand, reigning as the authoritative ruler and judge of his church and ultimately of the world. That's who Christ is. And in him, Paul says, I am weak because I'm operating by God's power towards you. And I will be gracious and I have been gracious in dealing with you. But now, as verse four concludes, I am dealing with you. We will live with him by the power of God. Those are words of judgment. Those are words of pending judgment, the exercise of the power of God in their lives. And we need to consider that because whether the warning is as it is here of temporal judgment that's exercised among believers in the name of Christ by one who's put in a position of authority like Paul was with his church at Corinth, or the warning is as should be often expressed of the final judgment, not the temporal one here. Yes, we must deal with that and face it, but all will face a final judgment before the judge himself who's on the throne. And that's waiting for each and every one of us. And what should be the response when, by the prompting of the Holy Spirit, that warning's given? whether temporal or eternal type of judgment, what is the response that one should have? Well, if you were facing accusation by a court here in this land or by a friend or a fellow believer and they brought up accusations, the first thing you ought to do is look at yourself and say, is that true about me? Yeah, the answer is to examine yourself. To examine yourself. And that's what Paul says to them. He's asserted, I'm coming. And if I find what I have feared I would find and what I have seen before, I will not spare any of you. So examine yourself. Examine yourself to see what? Whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. This isn't the first time that Paul has called upon the Corinthians to examine themselves. And you ought to know where The other prominent place is that he brings that up, for we often reference it before we partake of the Lord's Supper like we will today. It's in the first letter to Corinth in chapter 11. where we often go to read of Paul's writings as he conveyed what he had received from the Lord concerning the participation of the Lord's Supper and the purposes of the signs and symbols that make up the elements. And there he gives some very dire warnings. And he gives the directive to examine yourself. Looking at verses 27 through 29, he says these words, whoever therefore eats the bread and drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty. So you're dealing with judgment. You're dealing with a rendering of a verdict on a person's life. We'll be guilty concerning the body and the blood of the Lord. And that sounds pretty heavy, and it is heavy. And so he says this, what do I do about this? I don't want to be found guilty. I don't want to be an unworthy participant. or to participate in an unworthy manner. And he says, let a person examine himself. That word examine there is the word that's test actually in the 2nd Corinthians passage where he said examine yourself. He actually used a different word. In the start of verse 5 of 2nd Corinthians 13, he used a word that means to scrutinize put under examination, kind of like I was having the children look very intently into that box to try to find what was in there. They couldn't until light had been shed upon the situation. But they had to put their eye right up to the hole and they had to scrutinize what was in there. But he says, examine, scrutinize yourself. to see if you're in the faith. And then he just basically said, test yourself. That means prove yourself. Demonstrate it so. And that's what he's saying here. Let a man examine himself. He's using the word for the test and prove. Let it be convincing to themselves. Let a person examine himself and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself. There's some debate as to whether what is spoken of there as discerning the body means the elements as representative of the body. I think that has to be understood, but it goes beyond it because this is communion. And the big deal in Corinth was they didn't care for one another. And he's saying if they can't discern that they are members of the body, and they don't understand that they are part of this body, and that they've been called not just as an individual to God, but they've been called to a body. If they cannot discern this as the body of Christ, and their part in the body of Christ, and their function as part of the body of Christ, bearing witness to the world and serving one another, they eat in judgment upon themselves. I think that's why it's important that our children understand what's going on here. We leave it up to the adults to determine in their family who among their household ought to partake of that, respecting your leadership as elders of your home. But understand what Paul's instructions are concerning those who would partake and weigh them justly in your decisions. But there's where Paul, first in a very prominent way, called upon them to examine themselves. And we take a time before the Lord's Supper for each of us to examine ourselves. Is there sin unrepented of? Are you trusting in your own works for salvation? Are you not relying upon the Lord? Are you forgetting what the Lord has done and what has been accomplished in your life? Is there bitterness in your heart, especially between you and another within the church? It ought to be made right before you pretend that you're communing with one another and partaking of this supper. Make it right. Repent and restore. Well, the issue, why is it so significant? I've kind of hinted at it, but let's look at it. The issue is this. How can you celebrate what the Lord has done and accomplished for you by partaking the Lord's Supper, what he's done and accomplished for you in his death, if you're actually denying it by the way you live? Fundamentally saying, don't be a hypocrite. Don't be a hypocrite. How can you together partake of the bread? How can you together raise the cup and say we are one in Christ when you are not one with your brother or your sister? And this is a warning saying don't profess that I have speaking for Christ, don't profess that I have changed your life, I have called you out, I have called you together, I have made you a part of this body and you don't participate in it. And you have disruptive relationships within it. Don't say that I've worked this in your life and raise the cup and take the bread and it not be so. It's a dire warning. Don't contradict in your life what the Lord has done by pretending and participating. It's a contradiction and it won't go unpunished, he says. Now it needs to be understood that this self-examination has an intended purpose here and in 2 Corinthians 13. But in speaking of the Lord's Supper, we need to understand, because often we think, well, the examination is to find out if I'm disqualified. But it ought to be understood in the other hand, in the other way. Its first and foremost purpose is to qualify you. This time of examination is actually done to qualify you as a participant. The goal is participation in the Lord's Supper, and all ought to be able to if they profess Christ as their Lord and Savior. Yes, you need to be reminded of why you are partaking of the Lord's Supper. And this can be a somber time and a somber reality as you realize who you are before God. And you realize His willingness to suffer and endure all He did for you and for your sin. But it's not just a somber time. It's a time of great joy in realizing that, yeah, He did it. He did it. for you out of pure love, a love you could never truly express, and he only could because he gained nothing. Nothing was added unto him, but yet he gave his all for you, and he's forgiven you, and he's enabled you. by his Holy Spirit and part of partaking of the Lord's Supper is spoken of in theological terms as an impartation of grace, not that you actually receive something tangible because you eat and drink that we call grace, but because you exercise the realization that this is his body represented here, that he gave for me and this is his blood that is represented here that he spilt out for me. He lives in me and as I partake of this bread and I partake of this juice I partake of the nourishment of Christ in my soul and my spirit and I'm able to walk in greater power and authority in this world overcoming sin. by His grace, and that's what it teaches us. A life of victory is more assured for you. But if there's unrepentant sin, there's that which you have not turned from, not just that which you stumble in, but you've truly not turned from, for we all stumble. If there's roots of bitterness that have not been addressed, have not been dealt with, that have not been given to the Lord as His to deal with, if you've not addressed another that you have ought with, if you've not made things right with the body that you are to discern, then you ought not partake. That's the instruction. And your self-examination is to see if you're qualified, but also to identify if there is that which disqualifies you. And you may realize that you're disqualified, and it can be a heavy thing on your heart, and it ought to be. And in actuality of even Today, there would be something that you feel would disqualify you that could only be restored by going to another person in the church. Do it during our time of prayer. I mean, everybody should just privately be praying. If you need to get up and go talk to somebody, do it. That's part of the body growing in relationship, one with another. But self-examination, we need to understand, shouldn't be limited to just two Sundays of a month, okay? Though we as a body and we as elders and leaders certainly ought to and do give you that time because of the partaking of the Lord's Supper, This isn't the only time. It should be a daily exercise. It should be a daily exercise, a regular exercise, daily exercise in your life and a part of your daily prayer time. Again, we can so often fall into prayer that's just about, oh, I need this, I need that, please take care of me, Lord. And he does want to. But so many of the Psalms prayers are, search me out, O Lord, and see if there's any wayward way in me. Let me sit quiet before you, and with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, let me ponder my life and my heart before you. Take the light of the Spirit like a candle, and have it search your soul. confessing your sins before him as they are revealed. But what is it that we should look for? Paul tells us here to examine ourselves to see whether we're in the faith and test yourselves. What should we see? What should we see if we are in the faith? That's the question. What should we see if we are in faith? What should show forth as we look within our soul and our life? What we should find is evidence of our salvation. What you're looking for is the evidence of your salvation. And I'm going to admit that I drew heavily upon some notes in the Reformation Study Bible for these evidence, because I thought they were so good. So you're going to see them there if you happen to have a Reformation Study Bible. I only altered maybe a reference or two. But the headings are the same, and I think we ought to think about this. Because, you know, you say, examine yourself, and you go, what am I looking for? Well, let's get some tools to help us. And first and foremost, what you ought to be looking for is, do you trust in Christ? Obviously. But it's good to say. John wrote in John 20, verse 31, that he had written these things so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. The whole goal of John's gospel is right there and it's truly the goal of the whole of scripture that you would believe. And so the first thing you look for is just that. Do you trust in Christ and Christ alone for your salvation? Secondly, obedience to God. Trust and belief is internal. Obedience is external in many ways, not all. But it gets more into how are you living this out? Do you see growth in your obedience? Matthew 7, 21 is pretty harsh words to consider. Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter into the kingdom of heaven. Just external profession is not enough. For it goes on to say, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. And again, Jesus said in John 14, 15, if you love me, you will keep my commandments. And so often the test of our love is what are we doing? What are we doing with our life and in our life and by our decisions and the actions that we take? And so self-examination should be a part of looking at, has my walk of obedience, has that been my desire? And do I see myself growing in that? Do you find yourself growing in your obedience to the Word of God in your life? And very much associated with that would be the next one, growth in holiness. growth in holiness. Hebrews 12 verse 14 says, strive for peace with everyone and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. Holiness, a set apartness for God's purpose, a disassociation from the things that would contaminate your Christian life. It's a separateness. 1 John 3, 3 says, I guess it's not up there. 1 John 3, 3 says, and everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure. Hear those words. So often we think in terms of God make me holy. And we do have to rely upon Him. Only by His strength could we move in those directions. But it says, and everyone who thus hopes in Him purifies himself. There is self-responsibility. There's engagement on your part to become more pure, to become more holy, to become more set apart. Are you growing in holiness? Do you intentionally take steps toward a more holy life? Those are the questions that you would consider as you examine yourself. Fourth, the fruit of the Spirit. If the Holy Spirit truly dwells inside of you, you should see the fruit of the Spirit being expressed in your life, the love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. In self-examination, you ought to be assessing that work in your life. If God's Spirit dwells in you, the fruit of the Spirit being active in your life should be what is evident. Do you see that evidence? Now, none of this is saying, is it always perfectly present? OK, that's not the point. Even Paul says, I do that which I do not want. He understood there are struggles. But where are you at? Do you see more fruit than you used to in your lives? Is it your true desire to be fruitful after the Spirit? Fifth, love for fellow Christians. We know that we've passed out of death into life, John wrote. In 1 John 3.14, because we love the brothers, whoever does not love abides in death. I addressed much of this as we talked about what communion is, but there it is. Where are you at in love one for another? Do you have a love for the others that are part of the body of Christ, especially this body here? Sixth, positive influence on others. Jesus taught in Matthew 5, 16, let your light shine before others so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. In your self-examination, you actually should be taking time to say, what are others seeing when they look at me and what I do? What do they see? When others view your life, do they see that which glorifies God? There's the question. Number seven. adhere to the fundamental teachings of the faith. In 1 John 4, it says, by this you know the Spirit of God. Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God. That is the fundamental confession of recent, before taking communion, we've been saying the Apostles' Creed. There's some reason for doing that. One, it's to profess the unity in which we stand together, in which we stand one with another in the faith. But it's also to give you opportunity to assess, do you truly believe this? As you stand and you say those words, are those your words of conviction for these truths? Do you believe what you're saying when you say those words? Are they affirming your true convictions? And then eighth, the testimony of the Holy Spirit within. In Romans 8, verses 15 and 16, it says, you have received the spirit of adoption as sons by whom we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. Some of these can only be answered by you, and this one definitely can only be answered by you. Do you have witness? Do you have witness within yourself from the Holy Spirit that you're God's child? And that's just something within you. And you know it, part by your growing love for God. As a child would love his own father. You're turning to God in times of need. You're turning to God in times of joy. Where do you go in your heart as you face the situations, the ups and the downs of life? Who do you dwell upon? Do you think of your Father in heaven? These are the witnesses within you that the Holy Spirit would bear that says, I am a child of God. I'm going to leave these eight up here. We're going to come to a close now. I'm going to leave these eight up here as we eventually move towards communion that Steve will lead us in. And as you have that time of self-examination, you have some guidelines to consider. As far as the text, we're going to consider this our last message here, Paul for 2 Corinthians. Paul will assure the Corinthians that he's met this test, as he's called upon them to assess in their life. He's met the test. He hopes that it's true for them, just as I would hope that it'd be true for you and for me and for all of us here. And Paul will say that he doesn't have any desire to be harsh with them, He would be, if necessary, he'd rather use the position that God has given him for one of building them up than tearing them down. Just quickly, verse 10 says, for this reason I write these things while I am away from you. He's saying these things that when I come, because he's hoping that they have effect on their life, 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. That's what he desires. It's what I desire for you that we would gather together for times of edification. And our own self-examination, as Paul would say in 1 Corinthians 11, part of it is if we judge ourselves, then we need not be judged. If we regularly examine ourselves and by these type of standards that I've given here, we will find our own self-discipline there to correct ourselves that did not come to a point of which an outward and an external correction is needed. But you know, speaking of discipline, speaking of examination, and these type of things, it can kind of get a little heavy, and it ought to. But in the midst of this weight, and it's kind of interesting, Paul seems to be doing this, in the midst of this weight of self-examination, possibly even self-condemnation, sometimes we can lose sight of the love of God. And it's still there. The love of God and the love of fellow Christians is still there. And it may be that you might have to, prior to this communion, enter some serious prayer and enter a time of repentance before God and maybe even man. But in that, don't lose sight of the love of God. and the love of your brothers and sisters in Christ. And that's what Paul, even after these many heavy and challenging words and warnings and pending judgment, ends this letter with. And we'll use his thoughts to end our message with. Hear these. 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, maybe a hearty handshake or a hug. That truly is a cultural expression. All the saints greet you. And then he ends with the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. And may that be true for each of us. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for the words of Paul. directed by the Holy Spirit here in this letter. And Father, they are challenging words for us as he challenges us through his challenge of Corinth to be individuals that truly would examine ourselves before you. And Father, may it become a regular practice in our life. And Lord, don't let us leave these four walls and go out in the world and lose ourselves in terms of who we are before you. But realizing that we are redeemed, bought by you as your child, and that we are no longer our own, but we are yours. And Father, may we walk in a way that shows that. Oh Lord, work in our hearts that our lives show the evidence of that salvation. And if there be, as David would say, wayward ways within us, show us that we could repent. turn and be restored in our relationship to you. Thank you for these words, Father, and may they work in our hearts, causing us to grow in grace in you. I pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.