“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 Corinthians 5:1 –
In 2 Corinthians 5, the apostle Paul reaffirms the assurance of inmortal glory, but he also makes it very clear that we will appear in the judgement before God.
In turn, he also claims that he works for God with zeal and commitment and does not even have the slightest intention of boasting about the work he does. In this way, Paul tries to carry out the mission that God gave him and live in peace with his own consience.
The apsotle highlights a beautiful teaching:
The death of Christ in our favor should produce in us a corresponding commitment and loyalty to Him and should lead us from a selfish and self-centered life toward a life lived to follow and do the will of God.
Yes, those who accept Christ into their lives become new creatures (2 Cor. 5:17; Gal. 6:15). That is why they must abandon their old life of sin and begin to live in the light of the gospel of Christ. This is possible because Christ has reconciled us with the Father (Rom. 5:10-15; 2 Cor. 5:11, 18-20; Eph. 2:16; Col. 1:20-21), providing a new relationship with God.
We do not deserve God’s love, but He is so merciful that He loves us, frees us from sin, transforms us daily, and makes us His representatives before the world. This is how our amazing God is! All of this is done with a purpose: to transform our earthly dwelling into an eternal building.
Paul begins the chapter by contrasting life in the present with eternity. Paul, the tentmaker, tells us that today we have a tabernacle, a tent, an earthly dwelling which is wearing out. Both the tent as well as the body are made with materials from the earth; transitory and easy to destroy. On the other hand, the celestial dwelling is a building made with materials which originate in heaven.
The tent’s time is running out.
It is time to debut the new building.
This is not a reopening; the tent is not getting dusted off
and some patches put in. It is not a refurbished tent.
It is a restored life. It will not be a tent in disguise,
it will be a reclaimed life. The Master Builder makes all things new;
new energy, new strenght, new life!
Tent or building?
It is time to decide today!
May the Lord bless you, today and always…