Examine Yourselves

Examine Yourselves:

God redeemed the nation of Israel out of Egypt so they could serve Him as “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Exodus 19:6). As a kingdom of priests (mediators) they were to live such holy (meaning separate & distinct as God’s people) lives that it would serve to draw the peoples/nations of the world to God.  Israel’s perpetual failure was idolatry – the lifting up of anything to the place where God alone rules and reigns as Sovereign.  God gave Israel a system of living (Exodus 20-32, Leviticus, et al.) that would distinguish them externally from all the other people/nations of the world. But MOST importantly God gave them Himself in the form of His tangible Presence, which not only led them as a pillar of smoke by day and a pillar of fire by night, but Who dwelt in a tent, i.e. the tabernacle, at the very center of their community.

After the giving of the Ten Commandments and all the externals (priesthood, rituals, etc.), which certainly served important functions, Moses understood that it was the Presence of God ALONE that ultimately mattered – not the rituals, not the tabernacle or future temple, not the land, but God’s Presence.  Moses was terrified at the thought of taking a LITERAL single step in any direction without God’s Presence manifest to lead, direct, guide, protect, defend, and dwell…  Even after God told Moses that he had nothing to worry about because “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest,” Moses PLEADED, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?”

That’s the real beauty of the Incarnation of Christ; the Presence of God not merely to dwell among us, but IN us!  In John’s gospel we read “The Word became flesh and He pitched His tent among us. And we beheld His glory as the only Begotten, full of grace and truth, intimately untied with the Father.”  Jesus didn’t simply “dwell among us” as most translations read.  That word (skay-na-oh) means to pitch one’s tent, to intimately dwell as a member of the community.  God Himself, Immanuel (God with us), came in the flesh, pitched His tent with us… rebellious, broken, nasty, slimy, fallen sinners.  Then just before the Cross He said “I am going there (His Father’s house) to prepare a place for you.” Jesus ascended, then at Pentecost the Presence of God, in the form of the Holy Spirt, came to forever dwell – IN – the Children of God!

Jesus told us “unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.”  Jesus was NOT talking comparatively.  He was not saying that we should do better things: e.g. refrain from dancing, abstain from alcohol, tobacco, and alcohol, to go on mission trips, tithe 10% of your income, or go to church on Sunday.  Jesus was saying that unless His Presence (the absolute superlative) dwells in you – then you are unfit to enter the kingdom of heaven (i.e. His Presence).  No matter what “good deeds” you’ve accomplished in life they all amount to filthy rags.  The prophet Isaiah said it like this, “All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away” (Isa 64:6).

One of the most powerful and transformative prayers you can pray is “Examine me O Lord.” (Psalm 139:23; 17:3; 26:2) and ask God to reveal how He sees you.  If you merely examine yourself through your own filters, or the comparative standards of the world, then you’ll end up feeling pretty good about yourself (Rich Young Ruler).  But unless your righteousness EXCEEDS… i.e. unless you have the righteousness of Christ, the Sovereign Superlative, His Holy Presence, the very Spirit of God dwelling in you… then Jesus says that you are unfit for the kingdom.

When Paul wrote, “Examine yourselves,” in 2 Corinthians 13:5, he wasn’t talking comparatively.  Paul wasn’t telling us to be Jerry Springer Christians who feel good about ourselves because “compared to ‘those people’ I’m doing GREAT!”  Paul wasn’t being politically correct or sensitive to people’s feelings.  Instead, Paul issues a raw, bare-knuckled, unashamed wake-up call – POW! “EXAMINE YOURSELVES!  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?”

The test isn’t any list of things you’ve done or accomplished; it’s not about what trials you’ve gone through or what you’ve sacrificed or lost. It’s about one thing only – the Presence of God, the Holy Spirit, dwelling in your heat and reigning in your life so that through you Christ is manifest, disciples are made, sinners are saved, and the Lost redeemed according to God’s plan and for His eternal glory.

Examine yourselves.

Blessings,

-Kevin