2Cor 5:3 inasmuch as we, having put it on, will not be found naked.
Because there are many anomalies in the Christian faith, Paul often set out the truth of our great Salvation and the glory that is ours in Christ in a very systematic way. For instance, he points out that the suffering we undergo for Christ's sake, brings with it great reward, and equips us for the ministry of comfort - in that when we are weak in ourselves we are strong in the Lord, but when we are proud of our self-sufficiency, we will suffer a tremendous fall.
Paul also used many metaphors and similes in his teaching, and in this section, he shows how things that appear permanent in this world are passing and will fade away, while spiritual things, which are unseen and indefinable are both secure, permanent and everlasting.
In this chapter, Paul moves from comparing the distresses of Christian suffering.. with the joys of our future glory in heaven. He contrasts our earthly body with the new heavenly body, which will one day replace this old dying frame. He points out that he would prefer to put off his mortal body - to die and go to be with Jesus, rather than keep on living in this fallen world and a dying body.
He wanted to show that death is not the end of life but the start of a glorious and eternal future AND that this body of ours is nothing more than a temporary lodging place. It is like an old, deteriorating tent that can be taken down at the end of our life-journey and will one day be replaced with a new dwelling place - a glorious body, just like Christ's resurrection Body.
He likened our mortal frame to an old tent - a temporary covering for the soul, on our brief, journey through life. He explained that one day this mortal body will be discarded, at the point of death, in preparation for a new, eternal body, where we will receive a permanent and immortal body. As believers, we have a promise from God that we will one day receive an incorruptible body - a body like Christ's resurrected body.. a body of flesh and bone.
He wanted us to know that in the eternal ages to come we would not be a spirit without a body. We will not become an unclothed, disembodied spirit, with no physical covering. As part of the new creation in Christ we will one day be given a new body - a permanent, immortal body - a body that will never die and one which will be like Christ's glorified body. We will one day have a new covering - a building from God - an eternal dwelling in the heavens - a body not made with hands.
When God created the world, he built man's earthly body from the dust of the earth. Adam was the federal head of the first creation - the old creation in Adam... but by faith in Christ, we are born into the new creation - with Jesus as the Federal Head. When man disobeyed God, sin entered the world. The first creation was cursed and death was the result of sin. And death places its icy fingers around the throat of every human being, as a result of Adam's fall.
Because of sin and death, we groan in this body, and desire to put on our new, heavenly dwelling place. Because of our mortality, this earthly body will one day be destroyed and return to dust. Because of sin and death, we have many physical limitations. We get sick and become disabled. We have problems with joints and organs that become painful, malfunction and eventually expire and die.
Because of sin and death, we do not want to be unclothed and naked. We want to be clothed in our new, eternal, bodies.. so that mortality may be swallowed up by immortality and death may be enveloped by life... and the encouraging truth in verse 3 is that having been born-again into the family of God - by faith in Christ, we have an assurance that when we pass from this life into the next.. we will be given a new, glorified state. We will be housed in a literal body. What a tremendous hope. Praise His holy name.
My Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank You that in Christ we have an assurance that we are not only forgiven of our sin and have received the gift of eternal life, by faith, but are part of the new creation in Christ and have passed from death to life. Thank You that in Him we will not be found naked, but have received an inheritance in heaven and will soon be clothed with a new, eternal body, that far surpasses this frail, dying frame. Thank You for sending Jesus to be the propitiation for my sin and thank You that by His death and resurrection, sin and death have been defeated. We praise You for the wonderful assurance that our bodies will also be resurrected and we will be complete and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ - spirit, soul, and body. Hallelujah! Praise His holy name, AMEN.
Knowing Jesus-the beginning of wisdom!
See you next blog.
Ted
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