In the fourth chapter the Apostle has shown the character of trials which accompanied him in his path of service; and his willing acceptance of them; always, as he wrote, bearing about in his body the putting to death of Jesus—the world’s rejection of his Master, even to death, being brought in these trials constantly before him as he trod in that Master’s footsteps.
Then, if death should become the Christian’s portion,—and of course it has with Paul and the great majority of believers; if our earthly tabernacle house should thus be destroyed, we know that we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. The Apostle writes here with an “if” because the Christian has no certainty of death. “We shall not all sleep” (1 Cor. 15:5151Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, (1 Corinthians 15:51)), and “we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord,” in 1 Thessalonians 4:1515For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. (1 Thessalonians 4:15), tell of the Christian’s hope of the Lord’s soon coming; the moment of the resurrection we believe to be now very near.
The Christian’s body as it now is, is compared to a tent or tabernacle, and so subject to decay; in its future state, it is a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens, our dwelling place to be. As to this, we have the language of inspiration for faith’s appropriation, “we know.”
Verse 2. In this present tent-house we groan, earnestly desiring to have put on our house from heaven. The Apostle expresses more than his own ardent wish; it is the longing of every right-minded Christian. We have, by God’s favor, been formed into new creatures in Christ Jesus; formed for heaven; and what has been communicated to us in the Word of God (revealed to us by His Spirit), makes us feel the limitations of the present body; we desire the glorified body, that, no longer hindered, we may enjoy to the full all that has been secured to us.
Verse 3. “If indeed, being also clothed, we shall not be found naked” (JND). Nakedness was the condition of Adam when a sinner before God, for his fig-leaf apron brought him no acceptance with God (Gen. 3:7-107And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. 8And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden. 9And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? 10And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. (Genesis 3:7‑10)).
All must appear before the judgment seat of Christ (verse 10), and there will be only two classes there—the saved and the lost; the “clothed” and the “naked.”
“For indeed we who are in the tabernacle groan, being burdened; while yet (or though meanwhile) we do not wish to be unclothed, but clothed, that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. Now He that has wrought us for this very thing is God, Who also has given to us the earnest of the Spirit. Therefore, (we are) always confident, and know that while present in the body, we are absent from the Lord (for we walk by faith, not by sight); we are confident I say, and pleased rather to be absent from the body and present with the Lord” (verses 4-8, JND).
This is one of the few passages in God’s Word that tell of the state of the saint who dies before the Lord comes. Luke 16:2222And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; (Luke 16:22) is the first New Testament scripture in which it is referred to, being the Lord’s words for Jewish ears concerning the state after death,
“And it came to pass that the poor man died and that he was carried away by the angels into the bosom of Abraham. And the rich man also died and was buried. And in hades lifting up his eyes, being in torments, he sees Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.”
The rich man’s plea that Lazarus be sent to bring him the smallest measure of temporary relief from his suffering, Abraham answered with,
“Child, recollect that thou hast fully received thy good things in thy lifetime, and Lazarus evil things. But now he is comforted here, and thou art in suffering. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm is fixed, so that those who desire to pass hence to you cannot, nor do they who (desire to cross) from there, pass over unto us.” (Luke 16:22-23,25-2622And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; 23And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. (Luke 16:22‑23)
25But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. 26And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. (Luke 16:25‑26), JND)
Luke 23:42,4342And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. 43And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise. (Luke 23:42‑43) tells of that crucified thief who opened his mouth to speak in behalf of the holy sufferer on the central cross, and the answer he received: “And he said to Jesus, Remember me, (Lord) when Thou comest in Thy kingdom. And Jesus said to him, Verily, I say to thee, Today shalt thou be with Me in paradise.” (JND)
Taking the passages in order, we come next to 1 Corinthians 15, where the believing dead are referred to as having fallen asleep, a term used by the Lord with reference to Lazarus of Bethany in John 11, and found again in 1 Thessalonians 4. It is evident that it is the believer’s body that is referred to in these passages, for nowhere in the Bible is there a hint that the spirit or soul sleep.
2 Corinthians 5 (this chapter) is next. Verses 6 and 8 in the New Translation of J. N. Darby have been already quoted: “Therefore (we are) always confident, and know that while present in the body we are absent from the Lord.” “We are confident, I say, and pleased rather to be absent from the body and present with the Lord.”
“For for me to live is Christ, and to die gain; but if to live in flesh (is my lot) this is for me worth the while; and what I shall choose I cannot tell. But I am pressed by both, having the desire for departure and being with Christ, for it is very much better.”
A few other scriptures might be cited, but these may suffice to show that God has not left His children to conjecture about what happens to a Christian when taken away in death, or the intermediate state in which he is while waiting for the Lord’s coming for the living saints and to raise the bodies of those gone before.
“We shall not all fall asleep, but we shall all be changed, in an instant, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed” (1 Cor. 15:51-5251Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. (1 Corinthians 15:51‑52), JND).
The dead in Christ are in a far happier state than we who live. The trials that oft beset them in life are forever gone; sorrow is no more; the old nature which often troubled them is no longer with them, and they sin no more. For a little while they are absent from the body, but they are present with the Lord, enjoying His presence with nothing to hinder any more. Memory is theirs, we can see from Luke 16, and all the qualities of the new nature are of course in action.
Our chapter in 2 Corinthians assures us of the heavenly body we believers shall each have; 1 Corinthians 15:51-5251Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. (1 Corinthians 15:51‑52) tells us when we shall possess it. Meanwhile, if we should be called upon to pass through death, the body sleeps; we are then “unclothed,” because all the heavenly saints are, together, in one moment, to receive the new body; that will be at the resurrection morning now fast approaching. None of the saints have the heavenly body yet. May we each live in the prospect of the Lord’s coming.
Verse 5. He that has wrought us for this is God, and He has given us not only His infallible Word to tell us of what He will do for us, but also the Holy Spirit has been given as an “earnest” or advance payment. Yes, God the Holy Spirit is here, dwelling in every child of God who knows peace with Him; never to leave us, but to guard and guide us until the end of the way.
So, verse 6, the believer is entitled to say, “we are always confident.” We walk by faith, not by sight. We can only say this in truth concerning ourselves as we are living on Christ, our heavenly food. A child of God can be very unlike one, if he feeds the old nature within, finding, or trying to find, happiness in worldly things; that is, walking by sight, not by faith.
O, let us find our true happiness in a walk with God, keeping His Word constantly in our heart and mind; the Word of God and prayer must be our daily, our constant resort if such a life is to be ours.