Our Future after Death
1For we know that if our temporary, earthly dwellinga, b is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal dwellingc in the heavens,d not made with hands.e 2Indeed, we groan in this body, desiringf to put on our dwelling from heaven, 3since, when we are clothed,g we will not be found naked.h 4Indeed, we groan while we are in this tent, burdened as we are, because we do not want to be unclothed but clothed, so that mortalityi may be swallowed up by life. 5And the One who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave us the Spirit as a down payment.
6So, we are always confident and know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. 7For we •walk by faith,j not by sight,k 8and we are confident and satisfied to be out of the body and at home with the Lord.l 9Therefore, whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to be pleasingm to Him. 10For we must all appear before the tribunaln of Christ,o so that each may be repaidp for what he has done in the body, whether good or worthless.
11Therefore, because we know the •fear of the Lord,q we seek to persuade people. We are completely open before God, and I hope we are completely open to your consciences as well. 12We are not commending ourselves to you again, but giving you an opportunity to be proud of us, so that you may have a reply for those who take pride in the outward appearancer rather than in the heart. 13For if we are out of our mind,s it is for God; if we have a sound mind,t it is for you. 14For Christ’s love compelsu us, since we have reached this conclusion: If One died for all,v then all died. 15And He died for allw so that those who live should no longer live for themselves,x but for the Oney who died for them and was raised.
The Ministry of Reconciliation
16From now on, then, we do not knowz anyone in a purely human way.aa Even if we have knownab Christ in a purely human way,ac yet now we no longer knowad Him in this way. 17Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation;ae old things have passed away, and look,af new thingsag have come.ah 18Everything is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:ai 19That is, in Christ, God was reconciling the worldaj to Himself,ak not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed the message of reconciliation to us. 20Therefore, we are ambassadorsal for Christ, certain that God is appealing through us. We plead on Christ’s behalf,am “Be reconciled to God.” 21He made the One who did not know sinan to be sinao for us,ap so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
Footnotes:
a. 5:1 = our present physical body
b. 5:1 2Pt 1:13
c. 5:1 = our future body
d. 5:1 Eph 6:9; Php 2:10
e. 5:1 Col 2:11
f. 5:2 1Pt 2:2
g. 5:3 Other mss read stripped
h. 5:3 Mt 25:36; Lk 10:30
i. 5:4 Rm 7:24; 8:23; 1Co 15:26
j. 5:7 Mt 8:10; Ac 3:16; Rm 1:8; 1Co 2:5; Gl 2:16; 1Tm 1:2; Heb 4:2
k. 5:7 Lk 3:22
l. 5:8 Php 1:23
m. 5:9 Heb 13:21
n. 5:10 Jn 5:22-30
o. 5:10 Mt 25:31-46; Php 1:6; Heb 10:31
p. 5:10 Mt 16:27
q. 5:11 Ps 147:11; Pr 1:7; 1Pt 1:17; Rv 14:7
r. 5:12 Lit in face
s. 5:13 Ac 10:45
t. 5:13 1Pt 4:7
u. 5:14 Or For the love of Christ impels, or For the love of Christ controls
v. 5:14 Jn 11:51; 2Co 4:10
w. 5:15 Lk 20:38; Heb 2:9
x. 5:15 Rm 14:7
y. 5:15 Lk 20:38
z. 5:16 Or regard
aa. 5:16 Lit anyone according to the flesh
ab. 5:16 Or have regarded
ac. 5:16 Lit Christ according to the flesh
ad. 5:16 Or regard
ae. 5:17 Jn 1:3; Rv 3:14
af. 5:17 Rm 8:24
ag. 5:17 Other mss read look, all new things
ah. 5:17 Is 43:19; 65:17; Rm 6:4; Eph 4:24; Rv 21:5
ai. 5:18 Rm 5:11
aj. 5:19 2Pt 2:20
ak. 5:19 Ti 2:11
al. 5:20 Eph 6:20
am. 5:20 2Co 12:10; Php 1:29
an. 5:21 1Jn 3:5
ao. 5:21 Or be a sin offering
ap. 5:21 Rm 8:3; Gl 3:13; 1Pt 2:24
