2 Corinthians 5:1-10 ~ 20181028 ~ Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org
10/28_2 Corinthians 5:1-10; I Don't Want to Be Found Naked!; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20181028_2cor5_1-10.mp3
I need to tell you something. I am dying. I don't know how much longer I will have. It may be weeks, months, years, I don't know. Maybe even 40 or 50 more years. You see, I have been diagnosed with a terminal condition. It's called human mortality. And the statistics are pretty overwhelming.
Romans 5:12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—
You have it too. In fact, you are one day closer to your death than you were yesterday.
I know, this sounds like a downer, and we don't like to talk about it, but there is wisdom in squarely facing our own mortality. Ecclesiastes says
Ecclesiastes 7:1 ...the day of death [is better] than the day of birth. 2 It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for this is the end of all mankind, and the living will lay it to heart.
It is better to go to a funeral than a party; it causes us to think about what really matters. Psalm 90 says
Psalm 90:12 So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.
There is much wisdom in contemplating our own death. This is what Paul is doing in 2 Corinthians 5, and he actually finds much encouragement, much comfort there.
We are looking at 2 Corinthians 5:1-10; My aim is to step back from this passage today to take in the big picture and understand the categories in which he is thinking. We are going to skip some precious and important details; don't worry, I plan in the coming weeks to come back to some of these thing that we just won't have time for this morning.
Context of Suffering and Hope
We are looking at 2 Corinthians 5:1-10; but we need to remember that the chapter breaks are not original; they were added much later (13th cent.) for our convenience, so it is important to not allow them to disrupt the flow of thought. Paul in chapter 4 likens himself to a fragile earthen vessel (7); he says that his outer person is 'wasting away' (16). He is 'always carrying around in his body the dying of Jesus' (10) and 'always being given over to death' (11). The suffering and death of the apostle, and by extension, of every believer is the subject under consideration. Death is staring him in the face, and he is not in denial. The Corinthians on the other hand are enamored with eloquence, power, and appearance. Suffering and death in this cultural context are out of style.
But Paul aims to keep the cross central to Christianity. His focus is that Christian hope can survive, even thrive, in the face of suffering and death. “Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God” (3:4) “Since we have such a hope, we are very bold” (3:12); “Therefore ...we do not lose heart” (4:1); “So we do not lose heart” (4:16). He says in 5:6 “So we are always of good courage”, and again in 5:8 “Yes, we are of good courage”
How can we be unshaken in the face of suffering and death? Paul tells us that it matters what you look at (4:18). We are to look not at what is seen, but at that which is not seen, the eternal weight of glory that our sufferings are preparing for us.
He held out the hope of the resurrection in 4:14.
2 Corinthians 4:14 knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence.
This is it! Being in the presence of Jesus! Here in chapter 5 he details what this unseen reality consists of; his hope, the hope of the resurrection, and what happens to a believer at death.
Theological Thinking Shapes Feeling and Living
2 Corinthians 5:1 For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, 3 if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. 4 For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. 5 He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. 6 So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, 7 for we walk by faith, not by sight. 8 Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 9 So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil. 11 Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others...
Paul answers criticism and fear with truth. Doctrine. Theological truth. He knows something, and the truth he knows shapes how he feels, how he responds, how he lives. Knowing (v.1, 6, 11) punctuates this passage. There is something we know. What we know gives confidence even in the face of outer destruction and death. Theological truth gives hope and fuels perseverance. So what is that truth?
Ironically this passage has been the subject of much scholarly debate over exactly what Paul meant by what he said, some even so bold as to accuse Paul of changing his view between the writing of 1 Corinthians 15 and 2 Corinthians 5. These interpreters seem to ignore one of the fundamental principles of biblical interpretation; if your interpretation of a passage makes it contradict what is plainly taught elsewhere in Scripture, then your interpretation is wrong.
The Resurrection at the Coming of Christ
Many scholars have stumbled over the present tense of the verb 'we have' in verse 1.
2 Corinthians 5:1 For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
Paul has been contrasting the temporary with the permanent, the outer person and the inner person, the seen and that which is not seen. He points to the 'tent that is our earthly home,' a clear reference to our present earthly body, which he makes explicit in verse 6 when he says 'while we are at home in the body'. Our earthly home, the tent (remember Paul was a tentmaker by trade) is our body. He is looking to the destruction or literally the taking down of that tent. He has been talking about affliction, persecution and death in the immediate context. Now he looks at what we know will happen to the believer at the death of this body.
Some interpreters assume that the present tense 'we have' must mean that immediately after death, the Christian receives his resurrection body. But this would contradict what he taught in 1 Corinthians 15, that it is at the return of Christ that we all receive resurrection bodies.
1 Corinthians 15:21 ...by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. 23 But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ.
1 Corinthians 15:42 So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. 43 It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. 44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body.
1 Corinthians 15:51 ... We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. 53 For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.
The resurrection of the dead will happen at the last trumpet. He also teaches this plainly in 2 Thessalonians 4, teaching about those who have 'fallen asleep,' a metaphor for death.
2 Thessalonians 4:14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 15 For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.
Paul is teaching that at the coming of the Lord, at the last trumpet, the dead in Christ will be resurrected, and the believers who are alive at his coming will be transformed.
The Tenses of Confident Hope
So what does he mean here, when he says that 'we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens'? This is part of an 'if' statement that is looking toward a future event. If our current home, our physical body is destroyed, we have an eternal heavenly home, a building prepared for us by God. As we see elsewhere in the Scriptures, verb tenses can indicate confident hope. In Romans 8:30, Paul describes the believer as glorified (past tense), not because it has already happened, but because God has begun his work in us and has promised to bring it to completion, and because of his faithfulness to his promises, it is as good as done. The believer in Jesus, facing death, can be confident that 'we have a building from God, a household not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.' He promised it and it is as good as a present possession.
Longing and Groaning
In verses 2-4 he voices his longing. This word 'longing' indicates a strong desire, as an infant craves milk (1 Pet.2:2). Usually in the New Testament it is used in relational terms; earnestly longing to see a dear friend or loved one (Rom.1:11; 2 Cor.9:14; Phil.1:8; 2:26; 1Thess.3:6; 2Tim.1:4; Jas.4:5)
2 Corinthians 5:2 For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, 3 if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. 4 For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.
He speaks of an intense longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, and a groaning, a sighing under the present weight. In this, this tent that is being taken down, under the present pressure a sigh escapes. We are being made new day by day as we look to the unseen, and yet we have a deep longing for more.
We have looked before at the parallels between Romans 8 and our passage. These become even more clear and helpful here. In the context of suffering and future glory, in the context of that which is seen and what is unseen, he points to this groaning.
Romans 8:18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. 23 And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
The groaning of the believer, who has already received the Spirit as a guarantee, is a longing for freedom from corruption, the freedom of glory. This longing is for the redemption of our bodies. We long to be clothed with the glory of resurrection life.
But I Don't Want to Be Found Naked
Here he introduces the concept of being exposed or found naked, and being unclothed. He is expanding on his conception of the mortal body as a tent that is being taken down. If the mortal body is a tent that is being done away with, and if our hope is for our resurrection bodies, the imperishable glorious spiritual body, a dwelling from God not made with hands, then this hope must wait for its full realization until the resurrection. But what happens if there is a period of time between my death and the resurrection? It seems we will be in some sense a naked soul, a naked seed, not clothed by a body.
We see this in passages like Revelation 6:9-11, where the souls of those slain for the word of God and for their witness cried out “O Sovereign Lord, ...how long?” 'they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer.'
In contrast to the Greek and Gnostic philosophy of his day, which viewed release from the flaws and constraints of the body a desirable condition, Paul did not view this as desirable. We were made to be embodied. He longed not to be unclothed but to be overclothed. The word in verse 4 'further clothed' is a compound word that indicates putting something on over something else. Paul's desire is that 'we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed', that his perishable body would put on the imperishable (1Cor.15:51-52) at the coming of Christ.
To Be With Christ is Far Better
2 Corinthians 5:5 He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. 6 So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, 7 for we walk by faith, not by sight. 8 Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 9 So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him.
God has made us for this. He has guaranteed that we will possess it. We will be clothed with a spiritual body. It is in this context that he gives us the second thing he knows. We know that while we are at home in the body, we are away from the Lord.
Matthew 9:15 And Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.
This life is a life of looking at what we can't see. As Peter put it,
1 Peter 1:8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
We walk now by faith, not sight. While we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. But one day, one day we will see him.
1 John 3:2 Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.
Although Paul does not desire to be unclothed, although he would rather be alive at the coming of the Lord and be overclothed, he would rather be unclothed, away from the body if that means to be at home with the Lord. This is the same thing he says in Philippians
Philippians 1:20 as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. 21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. 23 I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. 24 But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account.
To depart is to be with Christ. To be at home with the Lord is far better. To live is Christ. To live in the flesh is fruitful labor for others; the cross-shaped life. But to die is gain. To be with Christ is what we long for. To see him. Face to face. To know him as we are fully known (1Cor.13:12). To be at home with him. That is why we do not lose heart. That is why we are always of good courage.
Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org