2 Corinthians 5 - The Holy Spirit is Our Guarantee of Heaven!
Awaiting the New Body
5 For 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. 2 Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, 3 because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. 4 For 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. 5 Now 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.
The word "tent" used here by Paul is the same word for "tabernacle". As you probably know God dwelt in the tabernacle when the Israelites were in the wilderness. In this case he is talking about our physical bodies. In the Garden, Adam and Eve were, "naked and unashamed". After their Fall from grace, God gave them clothes to hide their shame. But, Paul is talking about a heavenly clothing.
In heaven our bodies will be redeemed with our heavenly clothing. We groan and are burdened by our physical bodies now, which only makes us more ready for heaven. We were always made to be with God forever. "The wages of sin is death but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus." Romans 6:23
The gift of the Holy Spirit is amazing for several reasons. The Holy Spirit opens our minds to come to faith. The Holy Spirit gives us gifts to build up the church. The Holy Spirit gives us the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Galatians 5:22). The Holy Spirit gives us the words to say when we don't know what to pray or answer those persecuting us. And Paul gives us one more amazing gift of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is GUARANTEE of our future inheritance. This guarantee is also called a "down payment" or "deposit". We make a deposit on our home loans guaranteeing we will pay the mortgage company back the principal of the loan. But this is a guarantee based on a human promise to pay back the loan. People go bankrupt or lose their jobs and can't fulfill the promises they made to the lender. But the promise we have from God, the guarantee the Holy Spirit gives us, is 100% dependable. God does not go back on his promises.
The Holy Spirit lives inside of us, and He is the one who gives us the guarantee, not good works or what a great Christian we are. You should be confident of your heavenly destination. You should have peace about where you are going to go when you die! If God didn't keep His promises He would not be God!
6 Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. 7 For we live by faith, not by sight. 8 We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 9 So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. 10 For 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.
Our confidence comes from our faith, which is trusting in God's promises. We live by faith not by sight. Our faith is in what Jesus did for us on the cross and his resurrection from the grave, three days later. So as we await our heavenly home, our goal is to please our Lord. Though all Christ followers are going to go to heaven, Paul introduces a new topic. He tells us that we will all appear before the judgment seat of Christ. What does he mean by that? I thought Jesus took my judgment I deserved on the cross.
This is a judgment of the things we have done after having been saved and receiving the gift of faith. Though we have been given the gift of faith, we will be judged based on our faithfulness. Jesus said, "Whoever is faithful in a little, will be given more." Luke 16:10 He said, "Well done good and faithful servant, now is laid up for you in heaven a treasure that cannot be taken from you.!" Matthew 25:23
This is why we make it our goal to please our Lord and to live a life worthy of our calling in Christ Jesus. Ephesians 4:1
As you look at your life, would you say you are being faithful with the gifts you have been given? What keeps you from investing your time, talents, and treasures in God's kingdom?
The Ministry of Reconciliation
11 Since, 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. 12 We 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. 13 If we are “out of our mind,” as some say, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. 14 For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. 15 And 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.
One of the ways we please God is when we share our faith with others. Paul says we try to "persuade others". Not manipulate or trick them, but "persuade" them. We need to present the convincing evidence that Jesus gave us that he was and is the Son of God. 1 Peter 3:15 says, "Always be ready to give an answer for the hope you have within you. But do so with gentleness and respect."
Some thought Paul was "out of his mind", but actually he was very much "in his mind". Paul did not argue based on emotion or crazy theories but on sound principles. He based his testimony on the "things that happened among us." Paul closes this paragraph with two verses that are worthy of memorizes.
What motivates us to share our faith with others? Paul says, "Christ love compels us." When one truly understands what Jesus did for them on the cross, it is impossible to not be filled with incredible gratitude. "No greater love is there than this than a man lay down his life for his friends." John 15:13 Paul says, "I am convinced that Christ died for all people therefore all have died."
"This is the greatest foundation for ministry, wanting to give something to others because Jesus gave you everything. When we really receive the love of Christ, it touches us and makes us want to serve others." - Guzik
How did Jesus die for all? In the sense that His death is able to save all who will come to Him and is a demonstration of God’s love to all; but not in the sense that all are saved because Jesus died (which is the false doctrine of universalism). - Guzik
Because of all of this Paul says, "We should no longer live for ourselves but for him who loved us and died for us and was raised again."
Are you living for yourself, or the One who died for you? None of us are perfect. We all still struggle with a sinful nature that wants to make it all about us. But the greatest joy in our lives is when we give our all for the One who gave everything for us.
16 So 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. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:[a] The old has gone, the new is here! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that 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. 20 We 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. 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin[b] for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Paul gives us another verse to memorize. "If anyone is in Christ they are a new creation. The old is gone and the new has come."
God created us in His image. Due our sin, this image was marred and stained. But in Christ, we have been restored. We are a New Creation! We are just new and improved. We are completely new! This doesn't just happen in heaven, but you are a new Creation right now.
It is unfair for us to expect those who are not in Christ to live as if they were a new creation. However, it is not unfair to expect a changed life from people who say they are Christians. “I know no language, I believe there is none, that can express a greater or more thorough and more radical renewal, than that which is expressed in the term, ‘a new creature.’” (Spurgeon)
Paul then uses language taken from the banking world. When you have a checking account, in the old days you would reconcile your bank account to make sure the balance in your checkbook was the same balance in your bank account. Our bank account with God was in deficit. We owed God a debt we could not pay. We have been reconciled to God through Jesus who paid for our debt on the cross. He credited our account payment for a debt we could never pay. His righteousness was credited to our account.
Paul summarizes it by saying, "He who had no sin, became sin for us so we might become the righteousness of God."
Jesus, the perfectly pure one, took the stain of my sin upon him. He took my stained clothes and replaced it with a white robe of righteousness. These are the robes the apostle John refers to in Revelation when he portrays of all of the saints in heaven in white robes.
We are ambassadors of God. An ambassador represents their country to make the best possible impression on those they meet as a reflection of their government. As ambassadors for Christ, we are always putting our best foot forward for Jesus. We represent our master, as if he were making his appeal through us. This is a great honor, privilege, and responsibility not to be taken lightly!
Are you an ambassador for Christ? Do you represent him to others in a way that reflects His goodness, love, and grace.
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