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.
The Ministry of Reconciliation
11Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade men. 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. 13If we are out of our mind, it is for the sake of 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.
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. 17Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 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 men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 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[a] for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Footnotes:
[a] 2 Corinthians 5:21 Or be a sin offering
4 comments:
2 Cor 5
Doctoral dissertations may be in order. I almost feel guilty for not going deep, but it is all I have tonight. I have to say I had a pretty good laugh tonight reading verse 4 after running this afternnon up a giant hill, i was defintely feeling
4Our dying bodies make us groan and sigh,
Anyway, I thought the verses below were pretty amazing. Especially verse 16.
16So we have stopped evaluating others by what the world thinks about them. Once I mistakenly thought of Christ that way, as though he were merely a human being. How differently I think about him now! 17What this means is that those who become Christians become new persons. They are not the same anymore, for the old life is gone. A new life has begun!
I know that I do not deserve this new life, but I'll take it, Amen?
Keep up the the good work fellas. You guy defintely inspire me to stay consistent.
Father God, Grow us closer to you and each other through this interaction we are having.
In Christ,
c
Greetings all:
especially carl... we're certainly stoked to have you on board. Please pass along a "hello" to the Mrs. and the little ones from Ally, my son and myself.
Onto 2 Cor 5:
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.
This makes it all so clear. Why are we to every worry about a situation, when God has "guaranteed what is to come"?!? God has made it so that we may suffer here on earth to further understand the vast greatness of heaven.
7We live by faith, not by sight.
Amen. Again, it certainly aides in countering my human desire to fear the unknown, and to know that God will always be by my side through my trials.
13If we are out of our mind, it is for the sake of God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you.
This really struck home for me. In other words, if by giving my testimony, I seem crazy, just trust me, I'm doing it for God. If I do make sense, then I'm doing it specifically for you. Thus, we are able to confidently profess our faith, and not ever worry about how someone "takes" it.
Lord, you have moved mountains for me today, and you know I will need to lean on you tomorrow. As for today, please lift up cas, and smoooth out his work troubles. Guide ER, and let Your will be done, and let that make any upcoming decision easier. Thank you for our recent additions, and "reacquistions". I feel your presence moving within this group of brothers and I say thank you. As Paul says "What we are is plain to God" and so it is plain that we are moving closer to You. Please continue to let us encourage each other, help each other grow, and allow our family to continue to form an amazing bond. Mostly thank You for continued amazing grace and mercy.
In Jesus' Name
Amen
crb
cas and crb, great perspectives. I also love the end of verse 4 where "what is mortal may be swallowed up by LIFE"! I love that phrase. It is great and totally the opposite of how I view life here. I always view my mortal life right now as the only REAL life. God's perpsective is obviously that our REAL life begins with Him and is eternal in nature. Therefore vs. 6-10 shows the confidence that Paul has because of this fact and the resulting commitment to "make it our goal to please Him" (vs. 9). Oh that my priorities were so ordered...
And the phrase in vs. 14 "Christ's love compels us..." is amazing to me. What does fuel me daily? What drives me on in life? Admittedly it is not always the Love of Christ.
For Paul, because of Christ's love manifested in the Cross and Resurrection, he can go on and exclaim we should "no longer live for ourselves but for Him" (vs. 15). We are "new creations" (vs. 17) in Christ with a new mission and ministry...the ministry of reconciliation!
There is too much here. This is a very pregnant passage which is a wonderful reminder to me of why I still walk the earth post-conversion.
God, we once again are amazed by your goodness, grace, and mercy. We praise you that you have allowed us to be part of your reconciliation of people here on earth. Father, allow your love and life to permeate the relationships of our life, so that we truly can be your ambassadors here.
In Christ's name...
er
Thanks for the prayers as well, crb!
Blessings
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