Is Christ In You?
SCRIPTURE: 2 Corinthians 13 
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BIO: I’m Sam Knight and I am the Associate Pastor of Congregational Life at FPCO. I’m from Pontypool, Wales via Texas. After graduating from the University of Oxford, I was ordained and began my ministry in Orange, Texas and eventually served as Senior Pastor at the Presbyterian Church. I volunteered as the Fire Chaplain for the City of Orange and worked closely with other law enforcement agencies and emergency services. I have served the wider church through various mission experiences, on the New Covenant Presbytery’s Examinations Committee and as a member of the PFR youth ministries planning team. All of this is combined with a passionate heart for God’s children facing all types of life situations and a desire to love people into a relationship with Christ. God’s grace enabled me to marry a beautiful Texan, Jennifer, and we have two daughters, Cinnone and Gwyneth, and a son Gethin.
KEY VERSE: 2 Corinthians 13:5 Examine yourselves to 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?
CENTRAL TRUTH: The Christians in Corinth received the gospel message from Paul yet seem to have received teaching from those that seek to lead them astray from the true devotional life of the faithful. Paul addresses this issue with the call for self examination based upon the central truths of the gospel that he proclaimed.
DEVOTIONAL: I certainly looked the part. Crossing the street to Examination Schools dressed in the traditional subfusc of an Oxford undergraduate about to sit for finals; the dark suit, white shirt, white bow tie, black socks, black shoes, mortarboard and the shorter commoner’s gown. While taking full advantage of an ancient law that required the right of way be given to academic students suitably dressed, I walked into the street with such enormous pride and a sense of accomplishment. As I walked through the doors and into the great hallways of lecture and learning all that I thought of myself quickly diminished. I may have been dressed for the role but would I remember my lines. Climbing the stairs to the assigned room with the throngs of fellow students my heart raced, my brow moistened and the knowledge that I thought I had retained seemed to slip into a self-made abyss. I would simply sit before a blank sheet of paper expected to deliver insights old and new in the form of words upon the page. Those words did not appear! Nothing came to mind. I read the essay question a second time. The blankness of the white page became like a snow drift engulfing me on this beautifully warm mid May morning. I have read this subject, I have captured the concepts, I have wallowed in the myriad of dates, names and locations; I know this! Reminded of my knowledge the words began to flow. With vigor and a little nervous excitement I penned what I believed to be one of the greatest essays that the Dons of Oxford had ever had the privilege of reading; they would thank me for what they would be learning. No, I wasn’t fooling anyone but I was able to write a reasonable essay. I recounted the dates, events and names pertinent to the subject but it was a true battle of assurance and doubt.
Many times in our Christian experience we are challenged about our faith. We think we believe what we know though doubt may often abide itself within our soul. Paul writes to the church in Corinth with a challenge to those that had come to faith in Christ through the gospel proclaimed while he was with them. They had shared a true measure of assurance but others had come sharing heretical interpretations. The onset of fallacies had led many to misunderstand the redemptive nature of the work of Jesus. Many said they believed but what they believed in was being questioned. Could they, would they, pass the test. Paul calls for them to hold their knowledge against the truth of the gospel hope. Many more would have fallen if Paul had not intervened. Paul encourages them toward perfection. This perfection is based upon their knowledge of the truth and the power of Christ in them.
QUESTION 1: What do you really believe? Would your gospel knowledge hold true to an orthodox version of the faith?
QUESTION 2: When the trials and tests of life come would your faith stand the test?
QUESTION 3: Are you assured that Christ is in you?
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