2 Corinthians 5, Part 2

Some of you who read this blog, whether every time or maybe you do-maybe you don’t, or only occasionally read it, may be saying to yourself, “I don’t want this guy for a bible teacher.” I don’t blame you, in fact, I would perfectly understand if you just skipped it till I got on to another subject. But, your thoughts about me, though probably rather accurate to my worth, are not going to stop me from finishing this project about 2 Corinthians, Ch. 5. It is just too vital and filled with the vitality of Christ, our Saviour! I’m not stopping this subject. Hang with me to the end, I think you’ll like the finish, it’ll shine in your hearts!

So far we’ve found out that the last few verses of the previous chapter have directed us to expect a wondrous thing from God our Father which we have found in the first 4 verses of our subject chapter—a new body, completely the work of God—and eternal. So, now how to expect and  become the “us’ of the future, which is in eternity.

Comes verse 5: it seems this was God the Father’s purpose all along. The verse says He has “wrought us” for this very purpose. To be sure, as this would have been to some degree a shock to the people of Corinth, much like it is a shock to people today when they find out the meaning of the last part of Verse 5: God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit. We who have trusted Christ’s work for us and for our salvation have been given the Holy Spirit—here’s how you know including the above quote ( Rom.5:5, 1 Th.4:8 ) and to be sure Paul was telling these Corinthian people the whole story about the Holy Spirit, he is tying the new body, our “house not made with hands,” with a seal explained in part in this book as well as in the two books written later on which are directly to people like us ( check these out: 2 Cor. 1:21,22; Eph.1:12-14, 4:30, Col.1:8. Sealed—for how long? Till we no longer need this earthbound body.)

You  must read the explanation of Col.2:2b—“the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ.” If God has saved you by His grace through Christ, then he has decided to keep you by His seal and the Holy Spirit has carried out that work—can anyone or anything undo such a bond? No, read the last nine verses of Romans 8. Sealed. It is enough.

Moving rapidly through the chapter, we come to another connection to who we are in Christ; this one having to do with a very touchy subject in most people’s thinking. I mean by that a simple fact: people don’t want to change their minds about this subject just because they see some Scripture which might convince them if they let it. So, before I start talking about this, let me remind you of Rom.8:1 and those last 9 verses you just read in that same chapter, that it isn’t going to cause you any problem if you disagree with what I show you, neither should we stop being friendly to each other if we disagree.

Read with me 2 Cor. 5:6,7,8. does it say if we are absent from the body that we are present with the Lord? immediately? Most saved people believe that is what it says. But, that’s not what it says. Look at it carefully: verse 6 says, “whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord:”—Now, look again at verse 8: We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. You see, verse 6 says to still be in this body we are not with the Lord. Then, verse 8 is referring to when we go to be with the Lord we’re confident we will be. But we discussed the problem concerning being with the Lord is that we have to have a new body—remembering the first 4 verses, and where and when that body comes to us. 

Now we need to know why it is that the new body doesn’t come to us immediately upon dying. (Well, in the manner we today count time it can’t immediately be re-clothing us. The dead in Christ, however, are not counting time. Only us who live, we are counting time.) Counting time till the day we die doesn’t mean the end of the dispensation happens when we die, it only ends for those who do die and us when we die. We which are alive and remain, still in this body of clay, we ought not to think any of the “dead in Christ” are “up there” doing something our own minds dream up. The bible says very clearly in several places that death or dying is sleep. Here are 7 references you can easily see: John 11:11-14; Acts 7:60, 13:36, 20:9; 1 Cor.15:51; 1 Th.4:14; 1 Th.5:10. Those seem pretty plain, to die is to go to sleep in Jesus. 

When “the Lord himself descends from heaven with a shout…” the dead rise first—so then, they awaken out of their sleep-in-Jesus mode, do they not? Why have they been asleep? They didn’t yet receive their new body; remember the first four verses? Well, many say, I don’t know if that shows me what you’re talking about. OK, one more passage—[remember, I said this should not divide us, and it will not divide me from you no matter what conclusion you come to about this]—so turn to 1 Tim.6:13-16, especially in v.16—from 14b-until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ:

Which in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords;

Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen.

When Paul wrote this, who in the passage has immortality? Christ only. So, when will Paul, Timothy, me and you gain immortality, when we die? or when the Lord comes and brings us our new bodies? How will we get the body? He’ll “shout” and we’ll wake up! Just think on it, folks, ok? Ok.

Don’t it sound great that we’ll all get our body which is “fashioned like unto his glorious body” at the exact same time!!

Thanks for reading, the Elder