2 Corinthians 5.6-10 says...
Today's verses are 2 Corinthians 5:6-10, which read,
v.6-8 - Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord--for we walk by faith, not by sight--we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.
"Therefore" always signifies that we look back before going forward. Paul is of good courage because of the fact that he is in this temporary earthly tent called home for awhile but a building made by God is waiting for him that will be his house forever. He is of good courage because of the fact that for the Christian, this physical body will be replaced by a spiritual body at the end of this physical life.
Paul gives us the two sides of the coin for the Christian. One side of the coin is the here and now for the Christian in the earthly tent body that has been given to us and the other side of the coin is the future for the Christian to be in the physical presence of the Lord. If you were to flip the coin, Paul would love to see the side come up that was present with the Lord rather than the side come up that is the here and now. He would rather have sight of what he has faith in. Now he has faith in what he does not see fully but then he will see fully what he has faith in. One is definitely better than the other and Paul states this for the Christians in the Corinthian church.
I think it is something we need to continue to state today. We can have it really good at times. It can be absolutely fantastic here but we need to be reminded that even the most fantastic time here is nothing compared to being in the presence of our Lord. We need to be reminded of this because many times Satan will use the goodness of this world to keep us for focusing on the greatness of the other and therefore we slack off on the One who is preparing it for us. We slack off on our relationship with Him and we also slack off on the Great Commission that has been given to us as followers of Him. Earth or heaven? Which side of coin do you want to flip up?
v.9, 10 - Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him. For 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.
We don't decide which side of the coin comes up and therefore which ever side is up at this time makes no difference on our response to God. If the home side is up that represents the here and now then we are to be pleasing to Him. If the absent side is up that represents the future in heaven then we are to be pleasing to Him. Even though one is greater than the other, they both are to receive the same response from us.
Paul goes into preaching and teaching the whole counsel of God. Paul doesn't just talk to them about heaven but also about the judgment of Christ on their earthly lives while absent from Him, the here and now side of the coin. The word of judgment is "bema" which is when the judge of the athletic event would hand out the trophies to the winners. Not all the trophies were the same but if you were a winner then you received some type of trophy. As Christians, when we stand before this judgment seat of Christ, we are all winners but some distinction will be made based on the life that we lived absent from Him.
This is not talking about sin that was taken care of on the cross, but this is talking about the "deeds of the body," the actions that happened during our earthly ministry of Christ. What we do and say will have an impact on our eternity rewards. Paul is challenging the Christians in the Corinthian church to look at how they are spending their earthly time in light of eternity.
When we stand at the bema and Christ is making a judgment about how we lived for Him on this earth, what kind of reward or trophy will we receive? It doesn't matter what kind of trophy it is or what it is made of or how big it is but what is important is that we would receive a trophy because we used this time to glorify Him. Anything that I would receive would be for His glory because I gave Him glory while I was here at home in this temporary earthly tent. The motivation is not, "I want to get a bigger crown" but on that day of judgment that the Lord would be so pleased to give many great crowns because great glory was given to Him while we were on this earth.
This means that I have an opportunity to give God glory today on this side of the coin. My day will be filled with opportunities of good or bad in relationship to my fellowship with Christ and my portrayal of Him to my world. Will it result in Him giving me later a greater reward because I gave Him glory now for the sake of Him being able to have even more glory when He hands down that judgment? It is not about us and what we get but it is about Him and what He continues to give no matter what side of the coin is up.
"Lord, this life matters because it is a time to give glory to You. This life matters because our words and actions now are attached to eternity just like Your words and actions are attached to eternity. There would not be an eternity with You if it were not for Your words and actions. May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart as the Scripture says bring forth actions that are pleasing to Your sight today. Amen."
Pastor Adam
v.6-8 - Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord--for we walk by faith, not by sight--we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.
"Therefore" always signifies that we look back before going forward. Paul is of good courage because of the fact that he is in this temporary earthly tent called home for awhile but a building made by God is waiting for him that will be his house forever. He is of good courage because of the fact that for the Christian, this physical body will be replaced by a spiritual body at the end of this physical life.
Paul gives us the two sides of the coin for the Christian. One side of the coin is the here and now for the Christian in the earthly tent body that has been given to us and the other side of the coin is the future for the Christian to be in the physical presence of the Lord. If you were to flip the coin, Paul would love to see the side come up that was present with the Lord rather than the side come up that is the here and now. He would rather have sight of what he has faith in. Now he has faith in what he does not see fully but then he will see fully what he has faith in. One is definitely better than the other and Paul states this for the Christians in the Corinthian church.
I think it is something we need to continue to state today. We can have it really good at times. It can be absolutely fantastic here but we need to be reminded that even the most fantastic time here is nothing compared to being in the presence of our Lord. We need to be reminded of this because many times Satan will use the goodness of this world to keep us for focusing on the greatness of the other and therefore we slack off on the One who is preparing it for us. We slack off on our relationship with Him and we also slack off on the Great Commission that has been given to us as followers of Him. Earth or heaven? Which side of coin do you want to flip up?
v.9, 10 - Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him. For 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.
We don't decide which side of the coin comes up and therefore which ever side is up at this time makes no difference on our response to God. If the home side is up that represents the here and now then we are to be pleasing to Him. If the absent side is up that represents the future in heaven then we are to be pleasing to Him. Even though one is greater than the other, they both are to receive the same response from us.
Paul goes into preaching and teaching the whole counsel of God. Paul doesn't just talk to them about heaven but also about the judgment of Christ on their earthly lives while absent from Him, the here and now side of the coin. The word of judgment is "bema" which is when the judge of the athletic event would hand out the trophies to the winners. Not all the trophies were the same but if you were a winner then you received some type of trophy. As Christians, when we stand before this judgment seat of Christ, we are all winners but some distinction will be made based on the life that we lived absent from Him.
This is not talking about sin that was taken care of on the cross, but this is talking about the "deeds of the body," the actions that happened during our earthly ministry of Christ. What we do and say will have an impact on our eternity rewards. Paul is challenging the Christians in the Corinthian church to look at how they are spending their earthly time in light of eternity.
When we stand at the bema and Christ is making a judgment about how we lived for Him on this earth, what kind of reward or trophy will we receive? It doesn't matter what kind of trophy it is or what it is made of or how big it is but what is important is that we would receive a trophy because we used this time to glorify Him. Anything that I would receive would be for His glory because I gave Him glory while I was here at home in this temporary earthly tent. The motivation is not, "I want to get a bigger crown" but on that day of judgment that the Lord would be so pleased to give many great crowns because great glory was given to Him while we were on this earth.
This means that I have an opportunity to give God glory today on this side of the coin. My day will be filled with opportunities of good or bad in relationship to my fellowship with Christ and my portrayal of Him to my world. Will it result in Him giving me later a greater reward because I gave Him glory now for the sake of Him being able to have even more glory when He hands down that judgment? It is not about us and what we get but it is about Him and what He continues to give no matter what side of the coin is up.
"Lord, this life matters because it is a time to give glory to You. This life matters because our words and actions now are attached to eternity just like Your words and actions are attached to eternity. There would not be an eternity with You if it were not for Your words and actions. May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart as the Scripture says bring forth actions that are pleasing to Your sight today. Amen."
Pastor Adam
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