2 Corinthians 5

Tuesday, 11 August 2015

Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are well known to God, and I also trust are well known in your consciences. 2 Corinthians 5:11

In the previous verse Paul noted that all believers will “appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.” This is judgment for the saved, not the lost. Understanding this, the word phobos which is translated here as “terror” is not what Paul is conveying.

Rather, the word should be rendered as “fear.” Phobos “is commonly used in Scripture – sometimes positively (in relation to God) but more often negatively of withdrawing from the Lord (His will)” (HELPS Word Studies). Christians, knowing that their judgment lies ahead, are to have a reverential fear and awe at the strictness by which they will be judged. However, “terror” is not a part of this judgment. In Christ, there is no condemnation.

With that in mind, we should each know that we will, in fact, be judged according to what we have done and we should be therefore be on guard to act in a right and proper manner at all times. It is because of this coming judgment that Paul and the other apostles “persuade men.” It was their desire that those who had called on Christ not let their guard down as if there were no judgment at all coming upon them.

And this lesson needs to be conveyed now by all who preach and teach the word. In many ways, the Christian world has come to believe that “getting saved” means that judgment is behind us and all is peachy between us and the Lord. Concerning salvation or condemnation that is true, but that is not the end of matter.

To finish this thought, he writes that “we are well known to God, and I also trust are well known in your consciences.” Paul is not telling the Corinthians anything which contradicts their own status as apostles. They are not “saying one thing and doing another.” Rather, what they have been imploring in others, they have lived out among themselves. This is confirmed by his words from the previous chapter –

“But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.” 2 Corinthians 4:2

Life application: Getting saved is not the end of our responsibilities before the Lord. Rather, it is the beginning. We will all be judged when we stand before Him, and that judgment will be based on our adherence to His word (our instruction manual) from the time that we were saved. Are the losses of eternal rewards worth ignoring His guidelines?

Heavenly Father, I have noticed that fellow believers often assume that once they are saved their judgment is behind them. I would pray for anyone who feels this way to reflect on what Your word says. Getting saved isn’t the end of our responsibilities to Christ, it is the beginning. Eternity is a long time and our judgment for rewards will be based on our Christian walk now. Help me to relay this to others so that they will receive reward and not loss on that great Day. Amen.

Monday, 10 August 2015

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. 2 Corinthians 5:10

The words here should be perfectly understandable on their surface. The verse is not speaking to unbelievers at all. They will receive a different judgment, one of condemnation. The judgment of this verse is one of salvation.

Paul notes that “we must all,” meaning all believers, “appear before the judgment seat of Christ.” This is the Bema Seat of Christ. In Greek bema indicates “an elevated place ascended by steps, a throne, tribunal.” Charles Ellicott notes that –

It “is the tribunal of the Roman magistrate, raised high above the level of the basilica, or hall, at the end of which it stood. The word was transferred, when basilicas were turned into churches, to the throne of the bishop, and in classical Greek had been used, not for the judge’s seat, but for the orator’s pulpit.”

At the time of Paul’s writing though, it had the original Roman sense of being the place of a tribunal. This is what each Christian will face. And the reason is “that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.” As noted, this is not a judgment for either salvation or condemnation. That was determined when the individual received Jesus by faith. As Paul notes about every person who is in Christ –

“And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. ¹¹ But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.” Romans 8:10, 11

The judgment which Paul speaks of here is one of works, done in the body, while in Christ. He speaks of this same judgment in 1 Corinthians 3 –

“Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, ¹³ each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. ¹⁴ If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. ¹⁵ If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.” 1 Corinthians 3:12-15

At that time we shall stand before the Lord and He will search us out. This will be a complete evaluation, right down to the motives of the heart. Nothing will be overlooked and the thought of divine reckoning is an appropriate way of explaining what will occur. He has saved us; we will be evaluated based on what we have done with that salvation; and we will be judged according to how we responded to it in our Christian life.

The same word translated as “appear” in this verse is translated as “reveal” in 1 Corinthians 4:5 –

“Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each one’s praise will come from God.”

In other words, the secret things of the heart will not be unknown to the Lord. His evaluation will search us out completely and it is with this judgment that we will receive our eternal rewards or losses. And with all certainty, there will be a standard by which we will be judged. It will not be arbitrary or unfair, but it will be perfectly just and righteous. For those who have adhered to His word, there will be reward; for those who have disobeyed it, there will be loss.

Nobody will be able to complain that their judgment was unfair. And all will be satisfied with the results of the judgment they receive.

Life application: Oh how shallow we are to trade heaven’s riches for temporary gain. The word has been given and we have been asked to pursue it and adhere to it. How many stand in disobedience to it, supposing that their dismissal of what He has spoken will be ignored. Let us not be so small-minded when we contemplate the Lord who judges.

Heavenly Father, I know that every person who has received Christ will stand before Him and give an account for the deeds they have done while in the body. I know also that Your word has been given now to direct us in our walk so that we can have a good reward if we adhere to it. How shallow we are to suppose that our judgment will be based on something other than what You have already revealed. Help me to pursue You through Your word, understanding that it is my standard for Your evaluation of my life. Amen.

Sunday, 9 August 2015

Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him. 2 Corinthians 5:9

“Therefore” is given as a summary of his thoughts from the beginning of the chapter. He has been speaking of being alive in this earthly body and also of dying – at which time we will receive our eternal, heavenly body. In order to describe either state he says, “…whether present or absent.” The Greek here literally reads, “…whether at home or away from home.” To be “at home” means to be with Christ, to be “away from home” means to be separated from Him, as we currently are.

Regardless of our state, he says that “we make it our aim … to be well pleasing to Him.” The idea is that we should strive with all diligence to be pleasing to the Lord. It should be our one and only ambition. This was the life of the apostle and it should be our desire as well. In our current existence, we have to really work at this. Trials, fatigue, stress, and so much more gets in our way of accomplishing this, but through constant prayer and the fixing of our eyes on Him, we are enabled to do so.

Life application: What is it that motivates you? We tend to exert the majority of our energy and our time on that which we find most important. If it is the Lord, then you will exert these things in order to be pleasing to Him. This doesn’t mean that this is done at the expense of other things, such as work. Rather, it means that we will incorporate Jesus into our other tasks. Our life will become a “living sacrifice” to Him as we earnestly strive to be pleasing to Him.

Lord God Almighty! It sure is good to know that You are always with me, tending to me in my frail human weaknesses. I get tired, I get frustrated, and I get worn down by those who are more and more at enmity with You each day. But in You, I have a place of rest, a place of calm, and a place of reinvigoration. You sent Jesus to show the way to Your heart and in receiving Him, I was sealed with Your Spirit. I stand ready for the day ahead and all that it entails because of this wonderful relationship! Thank You, O God. Amen.

Saturday, 8 August 2015

We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.
2 Corinthians 5:8

This verse finishes the interrupted verse which began at 5:6. If taken together without the insert, they would say –

“So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. … We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.”

However, verse 7 was inserted as a very appropriate thought before coming to the words of verse 8. This verse literally reads, “…to be away from the home of the body, but to be at home with the Lord” (Pulpit Commentary). The change from “at home” to “present” in the translation began with William Tyndale and has been used since then.

The thought here is almost identical to that found in Philippians 1:21-25 (and particularly verse 23) with the exception that here he desires not to “depart” but rather to be done with the body without the need for dying. In other words, it is a strong case in and of itself for both the imminence of Christ’s return (which Paul thought may even happen in his life), and for the doctrine of the rapture, which he clearly speaks of on several occasions in his epistles.

The idea conveyed in this verse is described by Charles Ellicott quite well –

“We are content,” he says, “if death comes before the Coming of the Lord, to accept death; for even though it does not bring with it the glory of the resurrection body, it does make us at home with Christ among the souls who wait for the resurrection.”

What this tells us is that if we die before the rapture, we will be “at home” with the Lord, but not in a glorified body. It is the resurrection which brings that about. Until then, our souls will be kept safely by the Lord as we await the glorious day when the trumpet sounds and we are changed.

Arguments for an “interim body” are not sound and there is nothing written by Paul to indicate such a state. The order is 1) This present life; 2) Either death in this life or rapture; 3a) If death, then our soul is “present with Christ awaiting the resurrection body, or 3b) If rapture, we translate directly from this life to the next in the twinkling of an eye.

Life application: The doctrine of the rapture is so clearly stated in Scripture that if you dismiss it, you have been misapplying Scripture. Remedy: Stop misapplying Scripture.

Heavenly Father, I have a blessed hope which I anticipate might be soon. It says that at some point the church age will end and those who have received Christ and have died will be raised to new and eternal life. And for those who are alive at His coming… well that will be pretty wonderful – they will be changed in the blink of an eye. I could do without the death part if that time is near, but if not, I will just be content to go off and be present with the Lord. Either way, it is a win-win situation. Thank You for my blessed hope because of Jesus. Amen.

Friday, 7 August 2015

For we walk by faith, not by sight. 2 Corinthians 5:7

The word “for” builds upon what was just said – “So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord.” As we are “absent from the Lord” our walk is different than it would be if we were in His presence. The word “walk” denotes our conduct in this life. It is a metaphor used to indicate the things we do and how we do them.

This “walk” for the Christians is a walk of “faith.” We have been saved by Christ and therefore, the conduct of our lives is to be for Him, emulating Him, telling others about Him, anticipating our being gathered to Him, etc. But as he said in the previous verse, at this time we are “absent from the Lord.” Because of this, our walk is entirely one of faith, “not by sight.”

The word “sight” doesn’t mean the active sense of vision. Rather, it means “appearance.” The word faith then is being contrasted with the time when we actually behold Jesus and our new heavenly home. We have never seen Him and we have never experienced heaven, and so our walk in this life is only in anticipation of those things. It is entirely a walk of faith. As the author of Hebrews says –

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1

But in this walk of faith is a blessing in and of itself. In fact, the next verse in Hebrews says, “For by it the elders obtained a good testimony” (Hebrews 11:2). We obtain a “good testimony” through walking in faith. Jesus confirmed this to the disciples when addressing Thomas after the resurrection –

“Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” John 20:29

Life application: Lots of people have claimed to have seen Jesus, and lots of people have claimed to have gone to heaven. This is contrary to what the Bible teaches. If someone has experienced one of these things, then their walk is no longer of faith. And so we must decide to either believe the Bible or believe them. Though many have seemed convincing about having experienced these things, it is better we reject their stories and accept that we do, in fact, live by faith and not by sight.

Lord God, I don’t need to read the stories people have written about going to heaven or having talked to Jesus. The Bible says that I am to live by faith and not by sight. That is good enough for me. I have researched Your word and I have the surest hope of all that what You have told us is sufficient for my faith and practice. The change in me testifies to this. I’ll stick to Your word and not fancy stories which do nothing to enhance my walk with You! Amen.