2 Corinthians 5

Thursday, 6 August 2015

So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord.
2 Corinthians 5:6

Verse 6 is an unfinished sentence in the Greek. It picks up with the same verb (are confident) in verse 8 with its continuing thought while verse 7 is bracketed by the two. The Greek word for “are confident” shows the unswerving nature of those who have a firm hope in what lies ahead for the believer. Paul and the apostles had such confidence and so they pressed on. He says, “…knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord.”

In this statement he uses two words which are only found in this chapter –

1) endémeó – It is used three times in verses 6, 8, and 9 – It means “properly, be present (at home), as amongst one’s own type of (kindred, related) people.”

2) ekdémeó – It is also used three times in the same verses, 6, 8, and 9 – It means “being absent” and “portrays believers who are still alive as being ‘away from home’ (heaven), i.e. because still living in a mortal, physical body.”

While we are in this body, we are not in our true homeland. With our calling on Jesus Christ, we became adopted sons of God and have a new, heavenly home which we belong to. However, until we die or are raptured up, we are living away from this true home, being “absent from the Lord.” At some point, we will be reunited in our true home, but until then we are to be confident that we are where we should be. The Lord will determine when our homecoming will be.

Life application: Although we live in this world, we are not truly of this world. This is why Christians are often perceived as a threat or a nuisance. When we truly believe that this isn’t our home and act accordingly, then we demonstrate that we are strangers to those around us. People generally shun strangers in one way or another. And as the world continues to push God out of their lives, we can only expect to be further alienated from those around us. Let us cling fast to the truth that we have a better, heavenly home which awaits us.

Lord God, since I received Jesus, You have accepted me as Your adopted child. That means that I now have a heavenly home and an eternal promise ahead of me. And that means that this world is really no longer my home. As an alien here, I don’t fit in with the ways of this world and that is becoming more pronounced as it steadily turns away from You. However, I won’t lose heart. If the world comes against me, the only thing it can do is send me home to You… not a bad deal at all. I’m here until You’re ready to receive me! Amen.

Wednesday, 5 August 2015

Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. 2 Corinthians 5:5

It’s truly amazing how many believers in Christ, and unfortunately pastors and theologians in particular, can’t simply read these words and accept them at face value. Because of this, there is much stress and anxiety among many who have received Christ as Lord and Savior. The reason for this will be detailed as we go along.

First however, we look to Paul’s words, “Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God.” This is speaking of what he said in the previous verse which spoke of our being clothed in our heavenly body “that mortality may be swallowed up by life.” It is God who prepared this wondrous abode for each person who has called out to Jesus Christ in faith. And further, it is God “who has also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.”

It can’t be certain what part of the word “guarantee” is misunderstood by so many, but apparently the word isn’t clear enough to avoid confusion. The word translated here as “guarantee” is arrabon and is a transliteration from the Hebrew word eravon which is used three times in the Old Testament, all in Genesis 38.

The Greek word is found three times in the New Testament as well, all from Paul’s hand – in 2 Corinthians 1:22, 2 Corinthians 5:5, and Ephesians 1:14. It means “an earnest, earnest-money, a large part of the payment, given in advance as a security that the whole will be paid afterwards.” More specifically HELPS Word Studies says it is “an installment; a deposit (“down-payment”) which guarantees the balance (the full purchase-price).”

What Paul means in each instance of its use is that at the moment we receive Jesus Christ we are “sealed” with the Holy Spirit. It is a “guarantee” that we have been saved. Because of this, it is beyond the pale that many seminaries, churches, pastors, and teachers claim that a person can “lose” there salvation. If this is true, then the guarantee that was made wasn’t worth the seal which accompanied it. In other words, it calls into question the very truthfulness of God.

The doctrine which teaches that a person can “lose” their salvation calls into question the reliability of God, the truthfulness of His word, and it completely diminishes the work which Christ wrought on behalf of those who have believed. Further, it is bondage to those who are held in this misguided belief because they can never know just how good they need to be in order to “remain saved.” Thus their pastor can wield control over them as he practices his flawed theology, causing them unnecessary anxiety and harm.

Life application: Jesus Christ saves. When He saves, He is fully capable of ensuring we remain saved – despite ourselves. Don’t call God’s word into question because of your personal failings. He knew you would fail and counted that into the equation when He first saved you.

Heavenly Father, there is one sure truth that I have gleaned from Your word – I am saved. Your word says that when I received Jesus I was sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise and that He is a guarantee. I don’t know what anyone else thinks “guarantee” means, but when it comes from You, I know it means – “deal done.” Thank You for eternal salvation wrought by Christ on my behalf. I rest in His work. Amen.

Tuesday, 4 August 2015

For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life. 2 Corinthians 5:4

Paul continues to expand upon the same thought which he has been speaking about since verse 1. “We who are in this tent” is speaking of all saved believers in Christ who are still alive. Those who have died have put off their current tent and are awaiting the call of the resurrection which is seen in 1 Thessalonians 4:16. There it says that “the dead in Christ will rise first.” However, those who are still alive “groan, being burdened.”

This is our current state. We have pains and trials and we know that because of Christ there is something far better which lies ahead. But this isn’t just Christians. In Romans 8:22, Paul says –

“For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now.”

However, though all creation groans, for the believer there is the sure hope of something better ahead. We look to the resurrection and we anticipate our time ahead when we shall also participate in it. Now, we struggle in this life because our body is temporary and corrupt. Again, Paul says in Romans 7:24 –

“O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” Romans 7:24

Therefore, our groaning is in hope, “not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life.” To be “unclothed” means to die and be rid of this corrupt body. Someone without the hope of Jesus may desire this state. For example, someone who commits suicide may simply want to be done with life. In ending their life, their groaning will hopefully end. But in Christ, there is more than just the hope of ending pain. Rather, there is the hope of being “further clothed.”

We look forward to a new life in a new body that is far better than what we now possess. Because Jesus has gone before us, and because we are promised to be like Him in His resurrection, then we desire that additional state rather than just to put off this mortal, corruptible body. This is the assured difference between those who do not know Christ and those who do. We have the solid hope “that mortality may be swallowed up by life.” This corresponds perfectly with Paul’s words of 1 Corinthians 15 –

“So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory.'” 1 Corinthians 15:54

For Christians, the path doesn’t end at death. Instead, it continues on with new and everlasting garments. And Paul’s words here imply that he believed that he may actually be alive when the Lord returned. Two points to consider on that are: 1) even since the earliest times in the church, there was the eager anticipation of the Lord’s return. 2) The concept of a “rapture” was understood, not misunderstood, by those who waited for their change. Paul’s words clearly show that this event was expected by believers. Thus it was not a late “invention” which came through dispensational theologians.

As a final note, Paul’s words here closely resemble the apocryphal writings of the Wisdom of Solomon –

“…for a perishable body weighs down the soul,
and this earthy tent burdens the thoughtful mind.” Wisdom of Solomon 9:15

It is believed by some that Apollos, Paul’s friend mentioned in Acts, 1 Corinthians, and Titus may have been the author of this book.

Life application: We have a sure hope of a better, eternal body which is superior in all ways to the one we now have. Be content to live this life knowing that whatever you are facing in physical trials, you will never face them again when you are given your new and eternal home. God has lovingly prepared something wonderful for you.

Lord, thank you for the promises of Your word which tell us that this mortal life will be swallowed up with immortality. I know this will come in the twinkling of an eye and the change will be both immediate and complete. And I know this with all certainty because Jesus has gone before me and Your word says that because I have received Him, He will receive me. What a sure promise I possess. Thank You for this wonderful hope! Amen.

Monday, 3 August 2015

…if indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked. 2 Corinthians 5:3

There are several things to consider here. Paul has been speaking of our “earthly house” which he calls a “tent.” There is a time, except for those who are alive at the rapture, when we will die and that body will go into corruption. At that time, the soul will be “naked.” In other words, it will still exist, but it will be without a body. This verse then implies that we were intended to be a soul/body unity. This is the doctrine of anthropological hylomorphism – man is a soul/body unity.

In Genesis 2:7, God created man out of the dust and breathed into him the breath of life. He is therefore matter (dust) and soul (the animated breath) combined. In the Bible, the soul can mean a person without a body. For example in Acts 2 we see this –

“Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, He would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne, ³¹ he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption.” Acts 2:30, 31

But the soul can also be speaking of a dead body, such as in Leviticus 22:4. If there was no soul/body unity, then the killing of a body (murder) wouldn’t be wrong, but it is because when a man is murdered he is deprived of his physical being which is tied to his soul. And finally, the concept of a “resurrection” would be illogical if we were complete without a body. Instead, we would be “naked” as Paul’s words imply here. This is why Paul so carefully describes our resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15.

Again, in Job 10, Job speaks of his soul as a body that is animated and he describes the various things which that imply. There and elsewhere in the Bible, we see that grief of the soul affects the body and that pains of the body distress the soul.

Also, as a precedent in the Bible for an interim spiritual state without a real body, you can go to 1 Samuel 28 and see that even though Samuel had an appearance and that he could speak and hear, he is clearly identified as a “spirit” in verse 28:13. In other words, he was a soul without a body despite having abilities such as hearing and speaking.

All these tie in with what Paul has been speaking about and what he will continue to describe. We have a body now which is temporary and there will be a time when that is set aside because of death. However, our soul will live on. At some point, that unnatural state will be corrected when we will have “been clothed.” This is the new, glorified body that God has prepared for those who have received Jesus. At this time, “we shall not be found naked.” In fact, in 1 John 3, we are told that we shall be like Christ Jesus –

“Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.” 1 John 3:2

Life application: Taken as a whole, the lesson of the Bible is that what we are now is temporary and that it will go into corruption at our death, but our soul will live on in an unintended state. However, God will give us an eternal body at some point. It will never wear out and it will be glorious. Don’t let the pains of this life wear you out to hopelessness, and don’t let the thought of death consume you with fear. Instead, know that God has everything under control and what He has planned for us will be glorious.

Lord God, I just love the promises of the Bible that tell me there is a better life yet ahead. You have told us that some day we will be like Jesus in His resurrection. With this great hope in my heart, even the temporary pains of this life cannot ruin my joy. And the thought of death brings no panic to me at all. No fear here… I have an eternal hope which is rooted in the promises of Your word. Praise Jesus who went before us and has prepared the way for His faithful! Amen.

Sunday, 2 August 2015

For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven, 2 Corinthians 5:2

“For” builds upon verse 1 as Paul continues to show the state we are in now and the anticipation of what lies ahead. “In this” is speaking of the “earthly house” which he also calls a “tent.” Our current bodies are temporary and earthly. Because of this, they are susceptible to corruption and decay. In this state “we groan.” Paul uses this thought elsewhere, such as in Romans 8 –

“For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. ²³ Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.” Romans 8:22, 23

Our “eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body” of Romans 8 is the same idea as “desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven” found here.

The “habitation” that he speaks of is the Greek word ependuomai. It is found only here and in verse 4 of this chapter and it indicates an outer covering. It is comparable to the ependutes, or “outer garment,” found in John 21:7 –

“Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment (for he had removed it), and plunged into the sea.”

The idea that we may draw from Paul’s words is that our current “tent” is temporary and not what was originally intended for man. Instead, it is a part of the fallen creation and is actually in an unnatural state. Our true and intended state “is from heaven” and will be pure, eternal, and exceedingly glorious in comparison to what we now have.

It is significant that Peter’s actions in John 21:7 come after the resurrection of Christ and they are specifically noted by John, thus indicating a picture for us to see. He was fishing in an “unclothed state” but when he heard it was the Lord waiting for them, he put on his outer garment that he might not be naked any longer. It is a connection that will continue to be seen in the verses ahead.

Life application: This body isn’t how we are supposed to be. It is failing and temporary. Instead, we have a far better body awaiting us. As this is so, why should we degrade ourselves now with the temporary lusts of life when everything connected to it will perish? Let us act in holiness now as we await that which is truly holy, and in which we will be clothed for eternity.

Lord God, I am in eager anticipation of what lies ahead for Your redeemed. There is a glory that we cannot even imagine yet. I ache for the body which will never break down, never get tired, and never desire to sin against You. As this current body is temporary, help me to use it in a manner which glorifies You as I await the home which is truly my home. And may that day be really soon! Even so, come Lord Jesus. Amen.