Test The Spirits
There was an interesting question that was raised two weeks ago regarding this passage. It came up in reference to the last verse in this passage. Paul is describing his calling to the apostleship and how word had spread about his miraculous conversion. Many people saw it as a miracle and praised God. But the comment was made, "I would a little skeptical about Paul's conversion at that time, I might wonder if there was really a change." That brought up the discussion of testing the spirits.
We are as Christians to be fruit inspectors, judging (yes I said judging) the character and fruit of others. If the fruit is that of the Spirit then we can see that it is genuine. If the fruit is that of the flesh then we know if it not sincere.
I heard an interesting piece of history yesterday. The word sincere comes from the latin word Sine meaning "without" and Cera meaning "wax." What is the context in which this was derived? Well Roman craftsmen and marble workers would cover imperfections with wax. Maybe someone got excited with a chisel and accidently chiseled too much out of a statue or something. So as not to have to start over again wax was used to cover it up. Here is the issue with that, imagine a hot day. Wax really doesn't like heat and it will melt therefore revealing the imperfections.
So here we are with the word sincere, without wax meaning it is the real thing. It is interesting that in the heat of life, the storms, the trails it will melt away the wax, the insincerity in our life. In the Word is say that the wood, hay and stubble will be consumed in the fire. This doesn't mean we have to be perfect, but it means we can't fool God or the discerning body of Christ. If we test those spirits we can see if they are for real or just wax.
Let's strive to be changed by the Word of God and the blood of Christ. Christ makes all things new so even if you have been insincere Christ can renew your heart and mind and form you into a marvelous image for His purpose and glory!