2 Corinthians 5
Daily Bread
2 Corinthians 5
Our Heavenly Dwelling
1Now 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. 2Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed 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 with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. 5Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.
6Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. 7We 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. 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, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.
Observation:
Since Paul lived in a nomadic society, he was familiar with living in a tent. In fact, the Jewish people were very familiar with it during their 40 years of wandering in the wilderness. Therefore, his readers would not be strangers to this metaphor he uses for our earthly bodies. We know also he refers to our bodies as a “temple”, which was the place where God came to dwell amongst the Israelites.
Paul refers to our earthly bodies/tent in the sense of the things we experience here on earth. A tent is used to protect people as they sojourn here on earth, just as our bodies protect all of our vital organs that are crucial to our enjoyment of life (brain, heart, stomach to name a few).
Paul then reasons that although this earthly tent is temporary, we have a permanent home with the Lord in heaven. Although we know where our ultimate home/tent is and we are given a guarantee of that future inheritance through residence of the Holy Spirit, we still live out the rest of our days burdened with our earthly bodies. But since we know one day we will be at home with the Lord, we make preparations now by living by faith and not by sight. We also know that there will be a day of reckoning when we meet God. Not for our sins, (meaning once someone is a Christian they will declared not guilty because of what Jesus did on the cross), but for what we have done with this gift we have been given.
Application:
Paul writes so vividly about living a life worthy of our calling as believers. In fact, he will use this phrase in chapter 6 tomorrow. Despite Paul’s hardships he was able to keep his eye on the goal of what would be revealed in heaven someday. Paul recognized all troubles our earthly bodies give us, physically, emotionally and spiritually, are not worthy to be compared to the glory that will be revealed in the future kingdom. When we feel these aches in any of these ways, it reminds us that this earth is not our home but our citizenship is in heaven.
Thank God, He has given us His Spirit, as a deposit guaranteeing that our eternal home will be much better than our earthly one. This is not to say there are not many joys here on earth, but to remind us that the longing we have for something grander is God given and will be fulfilled when either we die in faith, or Jesus’ comes back and finds us faithful (whatever happens sooner!).
Although I am not much of a camper and don’t particularly like tents, I look forward to the day we will be gathered into God’s heavenly mansion where all of our needs will be covered (ie. no leaks!)
Prayer: God thank you for this great promise that you have given to us of where we will find our final and ultimate resting place. Thank you for depositing the Spirit within us to remind us of our ultimate home. Help us to live lives that when we finally meet you we can hear the words, “Well done my good and faithful servant. Come into your final resting place with me and all the saints of light, Amen.”
2 Corinthians 5
Our Heavenly Dwelling
1Now 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. 2Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed 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 with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. 5Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.
6Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. 7We 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. 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, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.
Observation:
Since Paul lived in a nomadic society, he was familiar with living in a tent. In fact, the Jewish people were very familiar with it during their 40 years of wandering in the wilderness. Therefore, his readers would not be strangers to this metaphor he uses for our earthly bodies. We know also he refers to our bodies as a “temple”, which was the place where God came to dwell amongst the Israelites.
Paul refers to our earthly bodies/tent in the sense of the things we experience here on earth. A tent is used to protect people as they sojourn here on earth, just as our bodies protect all of our vital organs that are crucial to our enjoyment of life (brain, heart, stomach to name a few).
Paul then reasons that although this earthly tent is temporary, we have a permanent home with the Lord in heaven. Although we know where our ultimate home/tent is and we are given a guarantee of that future inheritance through residence of the Holy Spirit, we still live out the rest of our days burdened with our earthly bodies. But since we know one day we will be at home with the Lord, we make preparations now by living by faith and not by sight. We also know that there will be a day of reckoning when we meet God. Not for our sins, (meaning once someone is a Christian they will declared not guilty because of what Jesus did on the cross), but for what we have done with this gift we have been given.
Application:
Paul writes so vividly about living a life worthy of our calling as believers. In fact, he will use this phrase in chapter 6 tomorrow. Despite Paul’s hardships he was able to keep his eye on the goal of what would be revealed in heaven someday. Paul recognized all troubles our earthly bodies give us, physically, emotionally and spiritually, are not worthy to be compared to the glory that will be revealed in the future kingdom. When we feel these aches in any of these ways, it reminds us that this earth is not our home but our citizenship is in heaven.
Thank God, He has given us His Spirit, as a deposit guaranteeing that our eternal home will be much better than our earthly one. This is not to say there are not many joys here on earth, but to remind us that the longing we have for something grander is God given and will be fulfilled when either we die in faith, or Jesus’ comes back and finds us faithful (whatever happens sooner!).
Although I am not much of a camper and don’t particularly like tents, I look forward to the day we will be gathered into God’s heavenly mansion where all of our needs will be covered (ie. no leaks!)
Prayer: God thank you for this great promise that you have given to us of where we will find our final and ultimate resting place. Thank you for depositing the Spirit within us to remind us of our ultimate home. Help us to live lives that when we finally meet you we can hear the words, “Well done my good and faithful servant. Come into your final resting place with me and all the saints of light, Amen.”
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