In the epistle of 1st Corinthians, the Apostle Paul instructs those in Corinth to 'examine' themselves before they take of the Passover. Later, in his 2nd epistle, he instructs them to 'examine' themselves as to whether they are in the faith. In English - these two words mean the same thing - but in Greek, they are two separate words with two very different contexts. One of them, is used to describe the kind of testing that an assayer would do to test the quality of metal, to approve it as gold, or silver, or copper. This word is always used in connection with God, while the other word describes a test that is intended to trip up the one taking it and is most frequently used to describe the trials and tests that Satan provides us in this life. Which word did Paul choose to use when he told us to "examine" ourselves before the Passover? His word choice is not coincidental - he was purposeful in the choice of Greek. What does this choice of word tell us about the Refiners Fire, and the quality of metal that we are expected to be?
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