Paul is the father of the church at Corinth. One of his main concerns is that the people of the church were in danger of failing the test. He urges them test themselves (vs. 5) to see if they are in the faith. Paul seems to have considerable doubt regarding the spiritual condition of the people of that church. In the previous section (12:20-21), Paul had listed sins of the spirit and sins of the flesh the people were guilty of. They had continued this practice of unrepentant sin. Their sins had threatened the unity and the purity of the church. And because of their sins, Paul was threatening stern and severe rebuke when he arrives for his next visit.

So this is a serious warning to the Corinthian church. If the spiritual condition of the church remains as it is, he will come in and take drastic measures. There’s going to be a fight between him and the false teachers; he’s ready to clean house if they don’t clean it up first.

All of us should take heed to Paul’s command here to test ourselves and see where we are spiritually. If we pass the test, we have good reason to be assured of our salvation. If we fail the test, we have good reason to question our salvation.

Let’s consider the instructions here regarding how to pass the test.