2 Corinthians 5:1-10
Q.1. How did Paul describe our present body? Why should old age and frailty not depress the believer? What do we have to look forward to? How has God secured our future? – (2 Cor.5:1-5)
Our present body is temporary. Here it is described as a ‘tent’ which will not endure. (2 Cor.5:1). Paul admitted that – indeed, in this house we groan (2 Cor.5:2 c.f. Rom.8:20-23) He likened it to the discomfort of being ‘naked’ and vulnerable – For indeed while we are in this tent, we groan, being burdened, because we do not want to be unclothed but to be clothed, so that what is mortal will be swallowed up by life (2 Cor.5:4). It is one of the great paradoxes of life, that when we are frail and old, at a time when society may place little value on us, God completes His redemption of sinners. In the midst of this growing vulnerability, the believer can experience peace – For we know that if this earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens (2 Cor.5:1). We may ask – how can we be confident about a road on which we have never travelled before? To this Paul declared – Now He who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave to us the Spirit as a pledge (2 Cor.5:5). God has given us the indwelling Holy Spirit as His mark of ownership.
Q.2. What perspective did Paul have regarding his present and future body? What was his motivation and ambition? How did he stay focused? What will happen at the judgment seat of Christ? – (2 Cor.5:6-10)
Paul knew – that while we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord (2 Cor.5:6). However, this knowledge was not based on experience, but was a conviction based on faith – for we walk by faith, not by sight (2 Cor.5:7). Nevertheless, he preferred – to be at home with the Lord (2 Cor.5:8). He wrote in a similar vein to the Philippians – I am hard-pressed from both directions, having a desire to depart and to be with Christ, for that is very much better; yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake (Phil.1:23-24). Paul was balanced in his view of life and death. He had as his ambition – whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him (2 Cor.5:9). His zeal was founded on remembering that – we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad (2 Cor.5:10). The judgment seat of Christ is an award giving celebration when the righteous acts of the saints will be recognised (c.f. Rom.14:10-12; 1 Cor.3:10-15; Rev.19:7-9). Paul knew this BEMA JUDGMENT SEAT would not be to judge his sin (for that was paid for in full by Christ). This BEMA was a Victory Dias that rewarded athletes who had completed the race.