God Speaks
For we know that when this tent we live in now is taken down—when we die and leave these bodies—we will have wonderful new bodies in heaven, homes that will be ours forevermore, made for us by God himself and not by human hands. 2 How weary we grow of our present bodies. That is why we look forward eagerly to the day when we shall have heavenly bodies that we shall put on like new clothes. 3 For we shall not be merely spirits without bodies. 4 These earthly bodies make us groan and sigh, but we wouldn’t like to think of dying and having no bodies at all. We want to slip into our new bodies so that these dying bodies will, as it were, be swallowed up by everlasting life. 5 This is what God has prepared for us, and as a guarantee he has given us his Holy Spirit.
6 Now we look forward with confidence to our heavenly bodies, realizing that every moment we spend in these earthly bodies is time spent away from our eternal home in heaven with Jesus. 7 We know these things are true by believing, not by seeing. 8 And we are not afraid but are quite content to die, for then we will be at home with the Lord. 9 So our aim is to please him always in everything we do, whether we are here in this body or away from this body and with him in heaven. 10 For we must all stand before Christ to be judged and have our lives laid bare—before him. Each of us will receive whatever he deserves for the good or bad things he has done in his earthly body.
11 It is because of this solemn fear of the Lord, which is ever present in our minds, that we work so hard to win others. God knows our hearts, that they are pure in this matter, and I hope that, deep within, you really know it too.
12 Are we trying to pat ourselves on the back again? No, I am giving you some good ammunition! You can use this on those preachers of yours who brag about how well they look and preach but don’t have true and honest hearts. You can boast about us that we, at least, are well intentioned and honest.
13-14 Are we insane to say such things about ourselves? If so, it is to bring glory to God. And if we are in our right minds, it is for your benefit. Whatever we do, it is certainly not for our own profit but because Christ’s love controls us now. Since we believe that Christ died for all of us, we should also believe that we have died to the old life we used to live. 15 He died for all so that all who live—having received eternal life from him—might live no longer for themselves, to please themselves, but to spend their lives pleasing Christ who died and rose again for them. 16 So stop evaluating Christians by what the world thinks about them or by what they seem to be like on the outside. Once I mistakenly thought of Christ that way, merely as a human being like myself. How differently I feel now! 17 When someone becomes a Christian, he becomes a brand new person inside. He is not the same anymore. A new life has begun!
18 All these new things are from God who brought us back to himself through what Christ Jesus did. And God has given us the privilege of urging everyone to come into his favor and be reconciled to him. 19 For God was in Christ, restoring the world to himself, no longer counting men’s sins against them but blotting them out. This is the wonderful message he has given us to tell others. 20 We are Christ’s ambassadors. God is using us to speak to you: we beg you, as though Christ himself were here pleading with you, receive the love he offers you—be reconciled to God. 21 For God took the sinless Christ and poured into him our sins. Then, in exchange, he poured God’s goodness into us!
Source: The Living Bible: BibleGateway.com
We Respond
Reflection: In 2 Corinthians 5, Paul addressed two topics: believers’ dwelling places (bodies) and the ministry of reconciliation. He began by commenting that our current bodies are only temporary and corrupted by sin and the curse [Genesis 3]. They will either be destroyed or just wear out. In contrast, our heavenly dwelling places are glorious and everlasting. They will be “made in Heaven.” The focus and longing of believers should be on the latter. We can become frustrated by our present bodies and circumstances making us groan and sigh, but we can cheer up when we remember that one day the dying bodies of believers will be swallowed up by everlasting life. The presence of the Holy Spirit in us (by faith) guarantees it. We know by faith without seeing it that if we are alive here on earth we are away from our eternal spiritual bodies and at home with Jesus in Heaven. So, while we wait for our death or His return, we do our best to use our earthly bodies to please Him. That way we’ll be able to stand before Him with confidence. When He comes back, He will judge the good or bad things we have done with these bodies and reward us accordingly. Jesus will also reveal and judge the hearts and motives of people like Silas and Paul or those travelling preachers he referred to regarding whether their motives were pure and honest or not. Whatever Paul did was focused on the Corinthians’ benefit. He wanted them to stop living just to please themselves but to spend their lives pleasing Christ who died and rose again for them, just as Paul did. After all, they had received whole new lives by placing their faith in Jesus. They had been reconciled to God. Now they were enabled by the great exchange (see verse 21) to live as ambassadors for Him: “For God took the sinless Christ and poured into Him [all] our sins. Then, in exchange, He poured God’s goodness into us!” (2 Corinthians 5:21 TLB) AMEN
Prayer: Dear Loving Father God who provides His children with both temporary, perishable bodies and with everlasting, imperishable ones, thank You that, by faith in what Jesus has done for me, You will give me a whole new “made in Heaven” body when I die. Sometimes I groan and sigh because of various aches and pains of this physical body, but please make me more expectant of the spiritual one You have reserved for me in Heaven. Help me to take good care of and use this body well, though it is wearing out, to do those things that bring You pleasure and glory. Jesus will someday judge whether those actions and attitudes were good or evil. You have shown me that the most important things I can do now are to be reconciled with You and help others to do the same. Your word says that You are less concerned about our outward appearance (what we look like or seem to others) and more concerned with what is in our hearts. I no longer want to live for myself but for Him who for my sake died and was raised (Jesus). From now on, please help me to not view other people according to a fleshly or worldly viewpoint but through the eyes of Jesus and the Holy Spirit. You see each one that is in Christ as a new creation. The old is gone. The new has come. You have and are reconciling the world to Yourself, and You are letting me help, You have entrusted me with this message of reconciliation. Help me, as Your ambassador, to plead with people to be reconciled to You and to each other on behalf of Christ. They need to know beyond a doubt that for our sake You made Jesus, who never knew sin, to be sin for us so that we could be given His righteousness. Wow! Thank You, Lord. AMEN
Action: (Ask the Holy Spirit, which one of these He wants you to work on or something else more personal that He points out.)
- I will quit complaining about my physical body and needs in this world and thank Jesus for the body and dwelling place He is preparing for me in Heaven.
- I will ask the Lord to help me weed out the old foolish, world-centered things in my life so that I can more effectively serve Him and other people for the sake of the kingdom of God.
- I will ask God to help me to see other people as He sees them and relate to them accordingly.
- I will be like Paul, an ambassador for Christ, and speak to ______ (a specific person) about the message of the gospel in verses 20 and 21.
Share: I plan to share what I’ve learned with __________.