2 Corinthians - Chapter 5

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In this chapter, Paul continues his message regarding temporary vs. permanent he started in 2 Corinthians 4:18 (“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”)

¹For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.

“earthly tent we live in” is our present body. A tent is a temporary and flimsy dwelling just as our bodies are frail and vulnerable and wasting away. 

 

"a building from God, an eternal house in heaven" will be a solid structure that is permanent, not temporary. 

This is one of the "unseen" things Paul spoke of in 4:18 (shown above.)

"not built by human hands," means our new structure will be made by God, therefore perfect and permanent.

It seems only natural Paul would choose a tent as a metaphor since he was a tent-maker. Notice he distinctly separates the “real person” from the body. The tent is “dissolved” (from the Greek word meaning “dismantled” or “to take down”). But the real person (or the soul) continues on.

Think of how much money is spent on trying to prolong the life of our physical bodies, which are temporary. We spend millions on trying to make ourselves look better, have healthier bodies, and constantly “patching” our tents. This is not wrong, because we should take good care of this temporary dwelling God has entrusted in our care. But compare that to what little time, effort, and money we spend on the only part of us that will survive, our soul. It is given very little attention.

1 John 3:2   “Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.”

Philippians 3:20-21   “But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, ²¹ who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.”

So we don’t really know what these new bodies will be like, but we know we will be in the likeness of Christ, free from disease, distress, death and decay. And we will be in God’s presence.

²Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, ³because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. ⁴For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.

“we groan” because we long for our perfect dwelling in heaven and to be rid of this temporary earthly “tent”. At death, between the time of our earthly life and our eternal life in heaven, there is a brief interval of time when we will be “naked” – without earthly or heavenly bodies. We will depart from our frail earthly body and then be clothed in our permanent heavenly dwelling.

“mortal may be swallowed up by life” – Anything mortal is going to die eventually. So when we think of losing this earthly body, we think of death.  But Paul points out we are NOT swallowed up by death, but by life—because of the resurrection. 

Proverbs 1:12  “let’s swallow them alive, like the grave, and whole, like those who go down to the pit;”

In the Old Testament, death and the grave was thought of as the great swallower. Life in the form of our eternal spiritual life will consume and overcome our mortal existence. 

⁵Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

When Christ arose, he sent the Holy Spirit. This is a deposit on the promise of our eventual total transformation to be with, and like, Christ when our time comes to enter death’s door. 

⁶Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. ⁷For we live by faith, not by sight. ⁸We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.

As long as we are ‘at home’ in our earthly ‘tent dwelling’, we are separated from the Lord. 

Look at it this way. We are on a journey. We have left our home and are traveling. During our travels we are living in a tent, which is a temporary shelter. Since our journey is a long one, our tent becomes more and more shabby and deteriorated. But when we finally end our journey, we will return home to our stable permanent dwelling.

Now while we’re away from home, we yearn to get back to our comfortable and warm home. But we continue on because we have faith our home will be waiting for us upon our return. Even though we can’t see it at the moment, we have faith in it being there. For those who are in Christ, death is simply a prelude to eternal life with God. We will continue to live. This hope gives us the confidence and inspiration to faithfully serve Him.

⁹So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. ¹⁰For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.

Philippians 1:23  “I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far;” 

There is a brief time (a twinkling of an eye) between death and resurrection when we are disembodied, but we are home with our Lord, which is preferable to being in our ‘earthly tent’. 

Paul is clearly telling us when we die, we immediately go to be in God’s presence. There is no purgatory or waiting room. We do not remain in the grave until an appointed time. To be absent from the body is to be with the Lord.

We will appear before the judgment seat, but not to judge whether we can go to heaven or hell. Christians already know they will be in heaven with Christ, but we will be judged on what we have done with our lives as Christians.

The word “appear” here does not only imply being present. But it also means things will be brought to light. 

1 Corinthians 3:11-15  “For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. ¹² If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, ¹³ their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. ¹⁴ If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. ¹⁵ If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames.”

So although our bodies are wasting away and we know we are saved and going to heaven for eternity, we are still responsible for our actions while still in this body. 

Sin is not mentioned here because, as Christians, our sins have been washed away. They are no longer remembered. We will not be judged concerning our sins. But God will be more concerned about how we spent our time as Christians; whether we were fruitful or not in bringing others to Christ and helping our fellow Christians. We will be appearing before Christ as “servants”, not as “sinners.”

Hebrews 10:17  “Then he adds: ‘Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.’”

What about unconfessed sins? Will those be judged then? No. They are dealt with here on earth as God deals with us as His children.

Hebrews 12:5-11  “And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says, “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, ⁶ because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.” ⁷ Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? ⁸ If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. ⁹ Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! ¹⁰ They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. ¹¹ No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.”

Remember, Paul is speaking to Christians in this letter. Non-Christians will be judged for rejecting Christ and for their sins as we are told in Romans 2:5-16.

Our motives will also be judged. What we do is important, but why we do it will be more important.  

1 Corinthians 4:5  “Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God.”

Works performed for self-glorification will not receive rewards. As Christ said in Matthew 6:2, “they have their reward already.” 

The quality of our works will be judged.

1 Corinthians 3:13  “their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work.”

This should re-assure us that quality is more important than quantity. So although all of us do not have the same opportunities and gifts, all are judged by the same standard—by our faithfulness to the task. Equal faithfulness will bring equal reward. 

There will be crowns of glory for all kinds of things. There are specific crowns for peace keepers, preachers, soul-winners, those who are persecuted, and for those who look forward to His appearing.

2 Timothy 4:8 “Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.”

But the greatest reward will be to have Christ smile and say to us “Well done, you good and faithful servant.” Just imagine!

¹¹Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade others. What we are is plain to God, and I hope it is also plain to your conscience. ¹²We are not trying to commend ourselves to you again, but are giving you an opportunity to take pride in us, so that you can answer those who take pride in what is seen rather than in what is in the heart.

Paul is defending his position again against the false teachers who have infiltrated the Church in Corinth. Paul reminds them he knows what it is to fear the Lord. He says God knows he is an apostle, and he hopes the people in the Church can recognize that fact also. In verse 12 he says the false teachers are those who take pride in what is seen rather than in what is in the heart. They are full of pretense and their concern is with money and popularity and self-importance rather than things of the spirit. We can weed out the “false teachers” by determining their motivation. If they are more concerned about themselves than about Christ, avoid them. 

¹³If we are “out of our mind,” as some say, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. ¹⁴For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. ¹⁵And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.

Paul has been accused of being a crazy religious fanatic and he says if that’s what they want to believe, then so be it. This entire letter stresses how willing he is to endure affliction for the Gospel. Paul never used any kind of trickery or sensationalism when he taught the gospel to the people in Corinth. He was always sincere and sensible, never eccentric. 

If he appears obsessed or too consumed by his message, it is because of Christ’s love as shown in His death for all. He is not speaking literally about all of mankind, but is referring to all of those within the Church who have accepted Christ as Lord and Savior. Because Christ died for all, those of us who now claim life over death because of our belief in Him, should no longer live for ourselves, but for Christ.

¹⁶So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer.

If we are living for Christ, we no longer see things from a worldly point of view. 

“we once regarded Christ in this way”:  Paul is saying before his conversion, he viewed Jesus in a worldly way, seeing Him as just a man. 

¹⁷Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

 “in Christ”:  united with Christ through faith in Him and commitment to Him. Anyone who is in Christ is a new creation.

“new creation”:   our redemption in Christ fulfills and restores God’s original purposes of our creation—to be companions with Him and walk with Him.  He didn’t create us to be separated from Him, but only through sin were we separated because God couldn’t be a part of sin. When we come to Christ, we are cleansed of sin and can be united with Him, the creator of all things.  At conversion, we are not merely turning over a new leaf; we are not reformed, rehabilitated, or reeducated—we are “reborn”, or re-created, living in union with Christ.

Hebrews 1:2  “but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe.”

¹⁸All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: ¹⁹that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.

God, because of His love for us, sent Christ so we could be redeemed. But it didn’t stop there. He also gave us a job to do in return. He gave us this ministry to spread the message. We should see this as a privilege to serve God, who has given us so much, not as a chore to be dreaded. 

Paul uses the word “reconciled”. Think about this word for a minute. When we reconcile, we come back together. For instance, if we are separated or divorced from each other and we reconcile, we have ironed out our differences and come back together in like mindedness. This is what Paul is speaking about. God has brought us BACK to Him by blotting out our sins and making us righteous so we can walk with Him and in His presence. So our ministry is called “a ministry of reconciliation” because we are to encourage others to become reconciled with God.

 ²⁰We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. ²¹God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

An ambassador is a representative, so we are to represent Christ. Christ was righteous and perfect, completely without sin. But when He was crucified, He took upon Him all of our sins and died a painful death, becoming a sin offering for us. For that brief moment, he was separated from God because of that sin.

When we accept Christ, we complete an exchange. At His crucifixion, our sin was poured into Christ. At our conversion, Christ’s righteousness is poured into us. This is what the phrase “atonement for sin” means. In the world’s view, bartering means trading something of worth for something else of equal value. But God offers to trade His righteousness (something of immeasurable worth) for our sin (something completely worthless). 

 We should be so grateful for this kindness God has given us that we proudly fulfill our commission as Christ’s ambassadors by sharing the Gospel and showing others how they can be reconciled with God.