Paul tried more than once, in different words, to describe what Christian life is. And now he calls his fellow believers to test themselves: are they Christians? At first glance...
Paul tried more than once, in different words, to describe what Christian life is. And now he calls his fellow believers to test themselves: are they Christians? At first glance the question may seem strange, since everyone entering the Church, and in those days baptism was received only at a conscious age, knew perfectly well what he was doing and whom he was following. And yet, as we can see, the matter was not so simple.
Of course, if Christianity were only one more new religion, a choice made once, a promise pronounced once, a baptism received once would be enough: as long as the person who had made his choice did not renounce it, he would remain a Christian. But Christianity is not a new religion, but life in the Kingdom that the Savior brought into the world. Here one cannot limit oneself to one choice, one decision, one action, even if it is of fundamental importance. Life does not stop; it continues in the Kingdom, and the choice once made must then be confirmed again and again. That is why the apostle advises testing ourselves, watching our spiritual state, giving account to ourselves whether we are living Christ's life or not. For the life of Christ is the life of the Kingdom, and we remain Christians only as long as we live one life with Christ.
It would seem that for those who have entered the Church, it cannot be otherwise. And so it would really be if we had already completed the path of our transformation, if our human nature had been renewed to the end, as will happen at the end of times when the Kingdom is revealed in all its fullness. But for now the Kingdom is only entering the world, and we are entering the Kingdom, and just as the world has not yet been transformed to the end, so we have been transformed only partially. In such a condition sins, mistakes, and falls are still possible. Until full transformation, we still have something to fear.
And if so, then the constant self-control of which Paul writes is necessary. Every sin committed separates us from the Kingdom, and if in committing it we still do not lose our salvation, it is only because the history of the Kingdom has not yet been completed, the period has not been put, the doors have not been closed. But even in such a situation it is better not to take unnecessary risks and to reduce the possibility of losing the fullness of life to a minimum. This is what the apostle calls us to.
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13:5 Prove yourselves - Whether ye are such as can, or such as cannot, bear the test - This is the proper meaning of the word which we translate, reprobates. Know ye not yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you - All Christian believers know this, by the witness and by the fruit of his Spirit. Some translate the words, Jesus Christ is among you; that is, in the church of Corinth; and understand them of the miraculous gifts and the power of Christ which attended the censures of the apostle.