2 Corinthians 13:5 Meaning and Explanation
“Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →Self-examination can slide into either anxiety or complacency, and both miss what Paul is after. He writes to a church that had been auditing him, and he hands them a mirror. The command raises a fair question for us: how does anyone check whether faith is real without either torturing the conscience or waving the matter away? The verse gives a surprisingly outward answer.
The Corinthians' inspection gets turned back on themselves. Instead of testing Paul's credentials, they are to test whether they stand in the faith, since Jesus Christ dwelling among them is the proof they were demanding.
The Context of 2 Corinthians 13:5
This is the closing chapter of a letter written under strain. Paul announces a third visit and invokes the rule of two or three witnesses (verse 1), warning that he will not spare those who have gone on sinning (verse 2). Verse 3 names the pressure directly: the Corinthians were seeking proof that Christ speaks in him. Verse 4 answers by pointing to a Lord crucified in weakness and living by the power of God. Verse 5 then reverses the direction of the test. Verses 6 and 7 show Paul's hope for them, and verse 9 states his real desire, which is their perfection.
What Does 2 Corinthians 13:5 Mean?
Two commands stand side by side, and both are reflexive. 'Examine yourselves' asks for a deliberate look, and 'prove your own selves' carries the sense of testing metal to see whether it holds. The standard is given as 'whether ye be in the faith', a phrase describing where a person stands rather than how strongly a person feels. Then comes the question, 'Know ye not your own selves', which assumes the answer is available to them. The final clause supplies the content of that knowledge: 'Jesus Christ is in you'. The word 'reprobates' names those who come through the testing rejected.
The irony is deliberate. A congregation demanding proof of Christ in Paul is asked to find the proof in itself, since their very existence as a church came through his preaching. Scripture regularly ties self-examination to worship and covenant renewal: Israel searched its ways before returning to the Lord, and earlier in this correspondence Paul asked the Corinthians to examine themselves before the Lord's table. Testing of this kind assumes that God has genuinely acted and that people genuinely respond. It also assumes an outcome can be discerned, since a life joined to Christ shows evidence that neighbours and fellow believers can see.
Everything hangs on the phrase 'Jesus Christ is in you'. Paul has just described a Lord crucified through weakness who lives by the power of God (verse 4), and the same power at work in a congregation is what the examination looks for. Signs of that presence appear across the chapter: doing what is honest (verse 7), inability to work against the truth (verse 8), growth toward maturity (verse 9), and the peace and unity urged a few lines later. The test is warm at heart, since Paul expects them to pass, and he closes by commending them to grace, love, and fellowship.
2 Corinthians 13:5 in the Original Language
adokimos (ἀδόκιμος), 'reprobates' -- failing the test, the term used for metal or coin rejected after assay. It is the negative of the word translated 'approved', so the contrast in view is between what stands up under testing and what does not.
Bible Verses Related to 2 Corinthians 13:5
“But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.”
- 1 Corinthians 11:28
“Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to the LORD.”
- Lamentations 3:40
“But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another.”
- Galatians 6:4
“Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:”
- Psalm 139:23
Where 2 Corinthians 13:5 Echoes in Scripture
Paul had already given this church a searching command in 1 Corinthians 11:28, telling each person to examine himself before eating the bread and drinking the cup. The same verb of testing appears there, set within worship. Read together, the two passages place self-examination at the table and in daily life, and both treat it as ordinary Christian practice rather than a crisis measure. In each case the aim is restoration, since Paul wants the congregation whole when he arrives.
How to Apply 2 Corinthians 13:5 Today
A useful self-examination stays concrete. We can ask what our calendar, our spending, our temper, and our speech in the last month reveal about who holds our loyalty. We can ask whether repentance still happens when we are wrong, whether prayer continues when nothing is going well, whether love for other believers has grown or cooled. Honest answers may unsettle us, and unsettling is part of the mercy here. Where the review turns up failure, the door back is confession and a return to Christ, who receives those who come. Doing this with a trusted friend or in a small group keeps us from distorting the results.
Reflection & Prayer
If someone who knows us well were asked where Christ is at work in us, what would they point to? Sitting with that question for a few quiet minutes is worth more than a quick verdict. Lord Jesus, search us and let nothing hide. Show us where you are already at work, expose what we have excused, and hold us in the faith we profess. Amen.