2 Corinthians ~ Part 7

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As I emphasized in my previous posts, we are delving into the profound significance of Sha’ul’s Letters to the Corinthians, a crucial cornerstone of our faith. This significance is not to be taken lightly but to be deeply understood and appreciated, invoking a sense of the weight of this text’s importance in our faith. We must grasp the depth of its meaning and its impact on our spiritual journey.

We continue to examine the topic Regarding Sha’ul’s Ministry, which covers 2 Corinthians 2:14 to 9:15.

We may struggle with forgiveness and holding onto past hurts in our personal relationships. Remember the message of 2 Corinthians 5:1-18, where Sha’ul talks about reconciliation and being new creations in Yeshua. Reflect on your grudges and pray for the strength to forgive others as Yeshua has forgiven you.

Longing for the Eternal Dwelling

This section and the following, probably motivated by Sha’ul’s recent brush with death (2 Corinthians 1:8–9), contains the most extensive teaching in Scripture on the “intermediate state,” or the condition of Believers between the death of the body and its resurrection.

5 ¹ We know that when the tent which houses us here on earth is torn down, we have a permanent building from God, a building not made by human hands, to house us in heaven. ² For in this tent, our earthly body, we groan with desire to have around us the home from heaven that will be ours. ³ With this around us, we will not be found naked. ⁴ Yes, while we are in this body, we groan with the sense of being oppressed: it is not so much that we want to take something off, but rather to put something on over it so that what must die may be swallowed up by the Life. ⁵ Moreover, it is God who has prepared us for this very thing, and as a pledge he has given us his Spirit.

Sha’ul uses a tent metaphor for the human body because tents are, by nature, temporal. He compares a heavenly or resurrection body to a building from God, an eternal structure. Elsewhere, Sha’ul expands even more on the nature of the resurrection body (see 1 Corinthians 15:35–58). On we groan; see 2 Corinthians 1:8 and 4:8–9 for examples from Sha’ul’s experience. The resurrection will be something like putting on new clothes. The word naked is a reference to being disembodied. A human soul or spirit apart from bodily existence—considered a desired state in some religious systems—was never desirable in the Scriptures. Sha’ul shared this view. Sha’ul’s preference was for the final state of the resurrection body rather than the intermediate and bodiless situation of dead Believers. Life in the resurrection is impossible without the proper preparation. This verse emphasizes God’s sovereignty. The beginning of salvation is receiving God’s person (the Ruach); the goal of salvation is enjoying God’s person thoroughly and forever (Rev 22:4).

Courage Facing Death

⁶ So we are always confident—we know that so long as we are at home in the body, we are away from our home with the Lord; ⁷ for we live by trust, not by what we see. ⁸ We are confident, then, and would much prefer to leave our home in the body and come to our home with the Lord.

Sha’ul states that this faith in the resurrection gives him fortitude in the face of persecution. While Believers are here on earth, they are separated from God, yet they live by faith, not by sight, and so they believe that when they die, they will go to be with God. Note that these verses teach that Believers who die go immediately to be with God, just as Yeshua promised the repentant thief on the cross (Luke 23:43; see also Philippians 1:23). The Believer desires to be with God ultimately.

⁹ Therefore, whether at home or away from home, we try our utmost to please him; ¹⁰ for we must all appear before the Messiah’s court of judgment, where everyone will receive the good or bad consequences of what he did while he was in the body.

Sha’ul explains the ramifications of realizing how close one is to being with God (5:8). It leads one to perceive God’s presence and relevance and to live “before God’s face” all the time. The believer’s goal, whether in heaven or on earth, is to please God, “the one with whom we have to do” (Hebrews 4:13). The reason that the Believer desires to live a life pleasing to God is that all will eventually appear before Yeshua, who is acting as judge, judging the Believers’ actions—whether they were good or bad.

Boasting for Their Sake

¹¹ So it is with the fear of the Lord before us that we try to persuade people. Moreover, God knows us as we really are, and I hope that in your consciences, you too know us as we really are. ¹² We are not recommending ourselves to you again but giving you a reason to be proud of us so that you will be able to answer those who boast about a person’s appearance rather than his inner qualities. ¹³ If we are insane, it is for God’s sake; and if we are sane, it is for your sake. ¹⁴ For the Messiah’s love has hold of us, because we are convinced that one man died on behalf of all mankind (which implies that all mankind was already dead), ¹⁵ and that he died on behalf of all in order that those who live should not live any longer for themselves but for the one who on their behalf died and was raised. ^[1]

 

 

Building on the statement concerning Messiah’s court of judgment found in 5:10, Sha’ul says his motivation for Gospel ministry is the fear of God. He believes in the coming judgment and wants to bring people to Yeshua so they can be saved from the wrath to come (Romans 5:9). Sha’ul states that he is not commending himself but giving the Kehillah in Corinth reason to boast in his ministry—that it is not based on physical appearance or any impressive outward display, but on the changed heart. He wants them to be able to answer critics who are judging matters with wrong values. Sha’ul refers to how people may view his ministry. Some may think he has a mental illness, and some may think he is in his right mind. Sha’ul knows he is in his right mind, but he wants them to know that he lives for God and them either way. He wants them to be immune to the corrupt judgments of his critics just as he is immune to them. People have said that Sha’ul may be insane, so Sha’ul explains the principle that guides his life—Yeshua guides him with love for Believers. He states that Yeshua died for all so that those for whom He died would live for Yeshua, who was raised from the dead. Sha’ul is explaining that the Gospel of Yeshua controls his life. He no longer lives for himself but puts Yeshua’s interests first.

In our next post, we will continue to examine Sha’ul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians. Stay tuned for more insights and revelations.

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^[1] 2 Corinthians 5:1–15.