Life Project Blog

2 Corinthians 5:1-10

These verses serve a twofold purpose. First, they amplify the point Paul has been making in this chapter, and second, they transition into his next subsection in his larger discussion defending his apostolic ministry. The new subsection will deal with preaching the ministry of reconciliation, as we will shortly see.

To accomplish this expansion and transition, Paul will use two metaphors, the first of which is seen in 5:1…

For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.

The “earthly tent we live in” represents our mortal bodies, this earthly existence. Paul uses a building “not made by human hands” to represent our eternal future in Christ. Thus, if and when our tent is destroyed, after all, a tent is a temporary shelter, we will have a really cool house to live in. Of course, who would want to live in a tent when there’s a cool house waiting for them?

After this, he mixes metaphors:

Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. (5:2-4)

I suppose we could read these verses and identify the exact number of writing and communication rules Paul has broken here in the way he introduces and mixes his metaphors, but in the final analysis, I think he made it work. The tent and house of verse 1 have become articles of clothing, and now our contrast is between being clothed and being naked. While that would normally be confusing and would make his meaning unclear, it seems to be clear enough that when we die, when that tent is destroyed, we will not be left with nothing, i.e. naked. Instead, we will be “clothed” with that new house not built by human hands, by the fact that we have inherited eternal life in Christ.

I should also point out that in these verses, Paul has shifted the meaning of “we”, for in the last two chapters, “we” meant Paul, as opposed to “you” Corinthians. Now, “we” means Paul and his readers. This reminds me of the time I was at a luncheon and sitting next to an English Professor. I asked her where she thought the line was between questionable grammar and style. Her response was, “Honey, you’ve written for three presidents; when you do it it’s style, when my freshmen do it it’s bad grammar.” Having completely understood her meaning, I’m happy to point out Paul’s unique writing style.

Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. (5:5)

Whatever we might say about Paul’s writing style, this is a wonderful verse. God has created us to have an intimate relationship with Him for all eternity. Honestly, this all by itself, is wonderful, incredible, and heartening. Yet the next part is simply amazing, for by giving us His Spirit in this life, God has given us a foretaste of what is still to come and a guarantee that He is serious about our eternal future. Sit back and think about that… We have God present within us 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Yes of course, sometimes we feel overwhelmed by the day-to-day, our problems or challenges; maybe we have health issues or pain or… whatever it may be. We may groan a bit, we may long for our eternal destiny, but even then, God is with us and we can turn right into His loving presence if only we would remember to do so.

Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. For we live by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. (5:6-10)

Paul is concluding this part of his defense of his ministry in these verses. The first thing we notice here is that in this, his final conclusion, he has dropped all of the metaphors, moving his descriptions to a clearer dichotomy: Either at home in the body or at home with the Lord.

While we live on this earth at home in our bodies, we live by faith, for we are not seeing our Lord directly and instead we have His Spirit within us as a deposit, a guarantee, of what is coming. As we go through this life, we will desire to live in a manner that is pleasing in His sight, and thus we will want to ask His Spirit within us to guide us in all that we do; this is the natural and normal response of any reasonable follower of Christ.

We know that when our Lord returns, He will return to judge all humanity for what we have done, whether good or bad, so of course, we want to do only good. Clearly, Paul is winding up his subsection by implying that the very thing he has been attacked for doing in the church in Corinth, is what is good in God’s sight; preaching faithfully the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Yet if we really think about it, these verses might beg a question: If we fall short, is Paul saying we are doomed?

To be quite honest with you, the answer to such a question depends entirely on how you approach the text. If you only read verse 10, you might get the idea that one little slip-up means you’re toast. The only problem is that verse 10 does not stand all alone, it is found in a larger context, and in that context, it is quite clear that Paul is telling us no such thing. We, along with Paul, would always want to do our best to be pleasing to God in the way we live, but remember that Jesus changed the paradigm on the cross. In fact, sharing that fantastic news is something that is always pleasing in God’s sight, and Paul’s whole point here is that in preaching Christ, while some people may not appreciate it very much, it is the one thing God always appreciates.

With that, Paul moves into the next subsection which is all about preaching the gospel of Christ.

Further, my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord! It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you. Watch out for those dogs, those evildoers, those mutilators of the flesh. For it is we who are the circumcision, we who serve God by his Spirit, who boast in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh— though I myself have reasons for such confidence.

Philippians 3:1-4a

Chapter 3 starts out with Paul urging the people to rejoice in the Lord, and that seems simple enough, but then the subject seems to turn.  What follows is a denunciation of those who would teach the Philippians that they must first become Jews before they can be saved.

The word that jumps out at me in the second verse is the word “dogs”. So, catch this spectacle: Paul the Jew is calling those Jews who insist that a Gentile be circumcised a Jew before they can become a Christian, “dogs”. That is amazing when you consider that “dogs” are what the Jews call Gentiles! Dogs, evil doers and mutilators of the flesh; hey Paul, tell us how you really feel!  As we saw in Paul’s letter to the Galatians, he has no patience with this teaching, and there is little wonder why; the old ways are entirely over and done.

In verse 3, he points out who are the “circumcision”, the ones who serve in the Spirit and boast in Christ; and it isn’t the Jews.  Again, the old ways are done, gone, and irrelevant.  We as Christians have “no confidence” in the flesh, not even Paul, who might have a reason to claim some confidence in the flesh. This is an interesting little situation, for Paul has been writing from the end of the first chapter, and all through the second about being “worthy of the gospel” and through all that he described how we should be imitators of Christ, which is the sign of the New Covenant. Circumcision was the sign of a different covenant, and was required of Abraham and his descendants.  All of those old ways were merely illustrations of the reality to come in Christ, and now that the reality has come, those old physical things are over.  Thus, Paul dismisses confidence in the flesh (circumcision).

If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless.

Philippians 3:4b-6

Here, Paul seems to be issuing a challenge of sorts, as if to say that if anyone could claim salvation by being a Jew, it is Paul, but Paul claims salvation in Christ alone.  He gives a brief summary of his resume as a Jew; it is an impressive one.  Thus, of all people, Paul the Jew among Jews, has no confidence in the old ways, for he knows that only Jesus Christ can take away sin and give the gift of eternal life.

If we were to extend his reasoning a little bit, we might ask a question like, “What of this world can possibly save you from destruction? Your fortune, your possessions, your education and accomplishments?”

No, none of these things can take away sin, and without that, there is only destruction.  It is no wonder, then, that Paul began this passage by encouraging the people to rejoice in the Lord always.

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18

You will recall that we are in a unit that began in 2:14 and which continues through 7:4 in which Paul is defending his apostolic ministry, and in a subsection that began at 4:1 and  continues through 5:10 dealing with his perseverance through his own shortcomings. Of course, all of this derives from the opposition to Paul’s ministry that cropped up in Corinth at some point after his first letter. We now enter the final phase of this subsection, with Paul’s conclusions drawn from the previous verses, and amplified in 5:1-10.

Naturally, we know for certain that we have arrived at his conclusion because of the word “therefore” in 4:16. In these three verses he ties his previous comments together into a conclusion that essentially says that the glory to come outweighs any hardship in this life.

Yes, Paul has his problems. Yes, he is sometimes persecuted, he has known his share of danger, and he has made some mistakes along the way. People accuse him unfairly, he is sometimes insulted, humiliated or cursed, but he continues to be faithful to his calling because he knows that in spite of any affliction in this life, which is itself temporary, his future in Christ is beyond bright, and God provides him with everything he needs inwardly to stay the course in this life.

I must confess to you that I am not an apostle and I’m sure you aren’t either. Yet we all have a calling from the Lord Jesus Christ to build His Kingdom, to share the gospel and to help others along the way. All of us know that we have the same Spirit within us that Paul had within him and thus, what Paul has declared in these three verses applies just as much to each one of us as it did to Paul. We also know that the strength God provided Paul was more than enough to keep him going until his last day on earth, and consequently, we also know that God will do the same for us if we are determined to remain faithful.

So, the only question left for us is whether or not we will determine to remain faithful to our callings.

I don’t know about anyone else, but as I think about that, at first it seems a little daunting to me because I’m never terribly comfortable having to depend on someone else, even God. Yet, I also know that in every case that I have placed my trust in Him, He hasn’t let me down. When I come to this point, I begin to realize that these are three of the most empowering and liberating verses in all of Scripture: How about you?

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.

2 Corinthians 4:7-10

Paul is continuing in his defense of his apostolic ministry as we continue in this section. He has been using the metaphor of light and darkness to discuss the presence of God… or the lack of it in the preceding verses, and here he shifts the metaphor slightly, moving from light and dark to jars of clay that contain God’s power. Thus, we humans are the jars of clay, and the power we contain is the presence of the indwelling Holy Spirit.

He enters two verses of cadence in which he links difficulties and perseverance to show that in spite of the criticism, trials, and hardship he has faced, he continues faithfully in his mission as the apostle to the Gentiles.

We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body. So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you. (4:10-12)

At the end of his cadence, he shifts the metaphor again, now with Christ’s death and Christ’s life both being present in his body. This neat little allusion tells us that Christ’s mortality, by which His blood was shed for us, is within Paul; who faces persecution and possible death frequently for his testimony about Jesus. Yet that is combined with the presence of Christ’s indestructible life as well, and so, Paul perseveres in his ministry in spite of all difficulties, for the benefit of those to whom he ministers; in this case, the Corinthians themselves. As a result of Paul’s faithful pursuit of His God-given ministry objectives, the Corinthian believers have received God’s grace, and the gift of eternal life through Christ.

Of course, by extension, so have we.

It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.” Since we have that same spirit of faith, we also believe and therefore speak, because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you to himself. All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God. (4:13-15)

He finishes his thought in this paragraph, in which he extends his thinking to its ultimate conclusion: Since the life of Christ is within him, Paul is certain that in the end, though his physical life may be lost, he will rise again just as Jesus did. He will be presented to God along with those countless ones who have received God’s grace because of Paul’s efforts.

All of his problems in this life will have been worth enduring.

Shifting his emphasis in the last verse, he points out that as this process continues, it should be a great source of thanksgiving to the Corinthians. With that, Paul has prepared us for his conclusion… see you next time.

Philippians 2:19-30

In this section, Paul moves back into some personal comments.  He is talking about two other men who are with him, but who are not prisoners, Timothy, and Epaphroditus.  In the first several verses, Paul is telling the Philippians that he is planning to send Timothy back to them so that he can bring more news back to Paul about how the Philippians are doing.  Then comes what is probably the most significant part of the passage from our point of view:

I have no one else like him, who will show genuine concern for your welfare. For everyone looks out for their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. But you know that Timothy has proved himself, because as a son with his father he has served with me in the work of the gospel.

Philippians 2:20-22

Isn’t it interesting that Paul says he has no one else like Timothy, because he will show “genuine concern” for the Philippians?  He explains what he means by that when he says that everyone “looks out for their own interests” and “not those of Jesus Christ.” Think about that for a moment: Wouldn’t you have expected Paul to say ‘not those of others’ instead? “Everyone looks out for their own interests, but not everyone looks out for the interests of others.” That’s what I would expect him to say here, since what came just before this was Paul’s observation that Timothy would have genuine concern for the Philippians. What’s going on here?

Let’s see if we can solve this little riddle.  Paul has been encouraging the Philippians to live lives “worthy of the gospel” and in the process he has discussed unity in the Body of believers, along with service, humility and putting others first.  Now, he cites Timothy as someone who will show the people genuine concern and who will look out for the interests of Christ.  We must conclude from this that showing genuine concern for one another is looking out for the interests of Jesus Christ. Why would we be concerned about others?  Because we want to serve Jesus by looking out for His people.  

This is what Paul is doing by writing this loving letter.  This is what it means to put others first. This is what loving our brothers and sisters is all about, and it results from our love of God.  God loved us; we love Him. God loves our brothers and sisters, so we love them too. Thus, when we love one another and care for one another, we are putting not only the interests of others ahead of our own; we are putting the interests of Jesus Christ first in our lives. This then, is “making disciples”: Caring for others because they are loved by, and important to, our Lord.

Verses 25-30 are mostly about Epaphroditus. We gather from these verses, that he was sent to Paul with the most recent news from Philippi. Apparently, while he was with Paul, he became seriously ill, but has now recovered. You might notice the tender way in which Paul speaks of him, and about Paul’s relief that he has recovered. Now, he would like to send Epaphroditus back to Philippi with Timothy so that they can see how much better he is doing. 

If we look carefully at these verses, what we will see is that Paul is showing genuine concern for both Epaphroditus and for the Philippians; he is looking out for the interests of Jesus Christ, and thus he is giving us another practical example of this teaching.  Pretty cool, don’t you think?

2 Corinthians 4:1-6

As chapter 4 begins, we find ourselves in the midst of a unit of the letter which is a defense of Paul’s apostolic ministry, that began at 2:14 and runs through 7:4. With 4:1, we are entering into the next subsection of this unit and it runs from 4:1 through 5:10 dealing with Paul’s tenacity in spite of his shortcomings.

We begin with Paul drawing another conclusion:

Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God (4:1-2)

In chapter 2, Paul made the case that the New Covenant is superior to the Old, and that the Spirit was superior to the Law. Because of these facts, Paul will not lose heart in the face of the opposition he has received in Corinth, or anywhere else. In saying that he has not used “secret and shameful ways” he amplifies and mentions what were apparently the things he was accused of in Corinth: “deception” and distorting the Word of God. Remember, this whole unit is a defense of his ministry, and in these verses, Paul has taken quite an interesting route to come back to those allegations.

This last about speaking the truth openly and commending himself to the conscience of everyone in the sight of God, is rather amazing rhetorically, for it has a dual meaning. First would be something like this: “With all of this in mind, and in the sight of God, do you really think I did anything that I’ve been accused of? Remember, God is watching you!” The other way you could take it would be: “So, you’ve seen everything I’ve had to deal with, and you know I have taken it for the sake of Christ, and why; don’t you think you should do the same?”

And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. (4:3-4)

Now Paul pours it on. An unbeliever has an excuse for not understanding the situation, for they have been blinded by “the god of this age”. Yet Paul has not written this to unbelievers, he has written it to the church; they have no excuse.

For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. (4:5-6)

Again, Paul points out that he has never approached his ministry for any kind of gain or status. Instead, he has preached Christ only, and as a servant. As a result of him fulfilling his ministry in their midst, they all have Christ’s light of truth within themselves; they have the very glory of God in their midst, and at this point, it would be hard for anyone to give any credence whatsoever to Paul’s opponents.

We, as our Corinthian brothers and sisters before us, sometimes have people in our midst who seek to tear things down, rather than build things up. Maybe they want to tear down a church leader and start a whispering campaign in the shadows. Maybe they want to distort the gospel to pursue an unsound teaching of the Word of God. Maybe they just like to stir the pot, then stand back and watch the fun…

I used to deal with things like that in teaching when someone would make a comment in class just to start something. I’ve also seen it in the church, and in the blogosphere; yep, some folks think that kind of thing is fun, and if I’m honest, I’d have to admit that when I was a kid, I did too.

We are supposed to grow up at some point, both in maturity and age, and spiritually into mature followers of Christ.

I will add that there are times when a person, perhaps a leader, has said or done something that needs correction, and Scripture is quite clear on how this should be dealt with. None of that guidance includes creating dissention or gossip however, for dissention and gossip are the two most common things in churches that require correction.

Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold. We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to prevent the Israelites from seeing the end of what was passing away. But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts.But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

2 Corinthians 3:12-18

In the previous paragraph or so, Paul has presented a contrast between the letter, and the Spirit; death, and life, and the Old and the New Covenants, and with this paragraph, he draws a conclusion from that discussion− that is our context.

In drawing his conclusion, Paul uses a metaphor, that of Moses wearing a veil when he came down from the mountain to address the Israelites after his summit meeting with God. The purpose of the veil, as you will recall, was to hide the glory of God that still shone on his countenance so that it would not overwhelm the people who saw it, until it faded away. His next step is to tell them that in a sense, that veil is still there, only not on the face of Moses, but upon their hearts, for it is only through Christ Jesus that we can see God’s glory clearly. Of course, what we see of God’s glory in Christ is not a bright light, at least not in the literal and physical sense.  What we see is His Truth, His salvation; His grace. In seeing this, we come to understand the difference between the letter of the Law, and the life-giving Spirit of Almighty God working in our lives.

That is, if we care to notice.

So often we might want to rely on something more tangible like… rules, regulations… the Law, and as a result, we might well miss the Spirit in our midst. If we’re honest, we’d probably say that we’ve all had that experience.

Yet, we do not need to stay in that place, for thanks be to God, He has set us free from the regulation of Law, from the regulation of worship, and from death and separation from God.

We have the Spirit of the Lord, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom, and that dear reader, is glorious indeed.