What is the meaning of 2 Corinthians 5:3? setting the context Paul has just said, “For in this tent we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling” (2 Corinthians 5:2). • “This tent” is our present, mortal body (2 Corinthians 5:1). • The “heavenly dwelling” is the glorified body prepared by God (1 Corinthians 15:50-54; Philippians 3:20-21). Against that backdrop he adds 5:3: “because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked”. unpacking the imagery • Clothed = having a resurrection body suited for eternity. • Naked = being without that body, a disembodied state after death but before resurrection (cf. 2 Corinthians 5:4; Revelation 6:9-11). Paul’s point: the believer’s ultimate hope is not merely to leave the earthly body, but to receive a new one. clothed with what • Incorruptibility: “this perishable body must put on the imperishable” (1 Corinthians 15:53). • Immortality: “what is mortal must be clothed with immortality” (same verse). • Christ-likeness: “He will transform our lowly bodies to be like His glorious body” (Philippians 3:21). why being “naked” matters • God created humans as body-soul unities (Genesis 2:7). A bodiless existence is incomplete. • Resurrection secures full redemption: “we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies” (Romans 8:23). • Assurance: when clothed, believers will stand unashamed before God, unlike Adam and Eve who, after sin, “realized they were naked” (Genesis 3:7). living in the meantime • Confidence: “We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord… yet we are of good courage” (2 Corinthians 5:6-8). • Purpose: “We make it our goal to please Him” (2 Corinthians 5:9). • Hope that steadies daily faithfulness: “Our citizenship is in heaven” (Philippians 3:20) even while we serve Christ on earth. summary 2 Corinthians 5:3 assures believers that God’s plan culminates not in a disembodied spirit existence but in being wondrously “clothed” with a resurrected, glorified body. Because that promise is certain, we face death without dread, live this life with courage, and anticipate the moment when mortality is forever swallowed up by life. |
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