2 Corinthians 5
2 Corinthians 5:1-21
1 For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
2 For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven,
3 if indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked.
4 For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life.
5 Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.
6 So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord.
7 For we walk by faith, not by sight.
8 We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.
9 Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him.
10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.
11 Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are well known to God, and I also trust are well known in your consciences.
12 For we do not commend ourselves again to you, but give you opportunity to boast on our behalf, that you may have an answer for those who boast in appearance and not in heart.
13 For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; or if we are of sound mind, it is for you.
14 For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died;
15 and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.
16 Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer.
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
18 Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation,
19 that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.
20 Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.
21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
Therefore I make it my aim to be pleasing to Him!! ❤️
While we’ve been given an amazing design that is unique and special, it is this temporal body that wars against the eternal existence that’s ours in Christ. This is the great danger that is threatening our nation and each of us the same – that things in this body are effectively defining and dividing us. To allow these earthly “tents” to get all the focus and drive wedges between us is to miss out on the care that should really be given to the things that effect eternity and our relationship with the Great Almighty. To be in fear about things that determine our earthly status and health is be in a precarious position with regard to the promise of heaven forever. All that we could hold onto, thinking it to be the precious things that govern our course of life, is only keeping us from letting a fear of the Holy One secure our place in Him against the day of judgment for what is done in these bodies. Christ died to free us from dependence on and guidance from these fickle and sensitive shells. As long as earth suits are considered to be our residence, then our home is not effectively in Him. To be in Christ, though, is to lose the influence of that old residence altogether.
Where we live and the purpose of our life, while planned and prepared for us by your heavenly Father, is ultimately decided by us. As long as the place we abide is earthly, it will be at the mercy of the body’s whims and whines. To choose Christ, though, is to experience reconciliation with God – no longer in separate homes, but abiding together in one. This is possible even while we still move around in these perishable clothes. To best effect them for good is to be living apart from their influence, to be in Christ. It’s abiding together with Him that frees from the ability of the flesh to dissuade, divert and destroy the victorious plan of God for now and eternity. We are actually His presentation of what is right and true as our address is in Him.