Is Christ in You? 2 Corinthians 13:3-13, especially vss. 3, 5:
"...you seek proof of Christ speaking in me....”
Test yourselves. Do you know that Jesus Christ is in you?" False apostles came to Corinth and undermined the character and ministry of the Apostle Paul (2 Cor. 11:5-12). They were so successful in eroding the confidence among the members of the congregation that St. Paul was pressed to counter their challenge. The Gospel and salvation were at stake.
The question Paul asks is an appropriate challenge for any who number themselves among the Faithful. Therefore, as St. Paul urged the Corinthians, let us "Examine [ourselves] as to whether [we] are in the Faith." He is challenging us: "Test yourselves" (vs. 5).
The issue of "Christ within" is central in the question, and makes an excellent starting point for testing the reality of one's faith. Stated as questions, here are St. Paul's means for determining whether Christ is truly within you: is the Christ, Whom you say is your Lord, a Person Who speaks to you? Is He the same Person Who was crucified in weakness and now lives by the power of God? Before all else, is He the governing and guiding truth of your life?
Through the Holy Spirit, Christ Jesus indwells all who have received the Mystery of Holy Baptism, for He shares His life, death and Resurrection with His own, as One Who speaks to the heart. As the Baptismal hymn declares, "As many of you as have been Baptized into Christ have put on Christ" (Gal. 3:27). Still, Archimandrite Sophrony adds, "Unless the connection is a personal one, there can be no conception of sin, no love between man and God, no existential knowledge of God; and all is swallowed up by death, obliterated in a very literal non-existence."
The possibility of obliteration by death leads St. Paul to ask, rhetorically, the arresting question: "Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? - unless indeed you are counterfeit" (2 Cor. 13:5). Beloved of the Lord, Who is He Who speaks within us, Who tells us we have sinned? Who confronts our rationalizing and does not accept excuses? Who, in gentle firmness, addresses our sin? Of course it is the Lord!
Christ Jesus our Lord confronts all our wrong thinking and acting as no one else can or will do. He moves in love past our defenses and calls us to acknowledge, "Yes, Lord, I have sinned. Have mercy upon me and save me.” Christ within drives us to the confessional, and as we kneel, He fills us with loving assurance of forgiveness. He awakens love in us by loving us despite our sin: "He brought me into the wine house...I am wounded with love" (S.O.S.2:4,5 LXX). We are cultivated and encouraged, our relationship with Him grows and blossoms: "My Kinsman is mine, and I am His: He feeds His flock among the lilies" (S.O.S. 2:16 LXX).
If we are able to say, "I know Him," then let us test that knowledge, for Satan transforms himself into an angel of light and greatly deceives many (2 Cor. 11:14). Is He Who speaks within you Christ Jesus Who was crucified in weakness and now lives by the power of God? In His weakness He does not force relationship on you. Domination is not the way of the Divine Lover. He allows the power of His love and truth alone to lead us into purity of life. Only a Living Lord is able to raise one from the death of sin to newness of life (Rom. 6:6-8). His love is a very great power to enable and support, so that we yield ourselves as "instruments of righteousness unto God" and do not permit sin to "have dominion over us" (Rom. 6:13,14).
You may be sure Christ lives in you when, above all else, He is the governing truth in your life, when He is shaping your decisions and choices. If you find His presence growing dim, light the lamp, sweep the house, search diligently until you have found the coin again (Lk. 15:8).
O Jesus Christ, enlighten our mind with the imperishable light of knowledge of Thee.