In 2 Corinthians 5:1–11, Paul continues his defense of his ministry by explaining how his confidence in the resurrection shapes his message, motivates his courage, and defines his integrity.

In this week’s episode, we explore:

• How Paul contrasts earthly suffering with eternal glory
• What Paul means when he says “our outer self is wasting away”
• Why the Holy Spirit is described as a pledge and what it guarantees
• The debate between the two-stage and three-stage views of life after death
• The meaning and purpose of the judgment seat of Christ
• How Paul’s hope in the resurrection affects how he lives—and why that matters

By listening, you’ll gain a deeper understanding of how Paul’s eternal perspective gave him courage, how that same perspective can shape our lives today, and what it means to aim to please Christ in all we do.

Why We Should Not Fear Death (2 Corinthians 5:1-11) Review 2 Corinthians so far

• When Paul speaks in the plural (“we”), he usually means only himself.
• Paul has a difficult relationship with this church. Some in the church respect and accept him. But others in the church have rejected his authority as an apostle.
• He repeatedly emphasizes three themes:
  • Paul is not adequate to produce the results that his ministry has been producing.
  • Paul speaks with openness and integrity. Paul is not a salesman. His goal is NOT to manipulate you into buying the gospel.
  • The gospel is superior to the Old Covenant because through His spirit, God is transforming his people.
• In 2 Corinthians 4, Paul gave two reasons why he does not despair despite suffering for the gospel:
  • God has given him a great ministry.
  • God is teaching him through is sufferings.

Paul continues with this theme of learning through suffering in 2 Corinthians 5.

Paul’s Metaphors and Contrasts

• Outer vs Inner man: By fixing his vision fixed on eternal things, he does not fall into despair even though outwardly he is suffering greatly.
• Present afflictions vs. eternal glory: His current sufferings pale in comparison to the future God has promised.
• Visible vs. invisible: If he focused on his tangible experience in this world he would lose heart. Instead he thinks about the unseen promises of God.

Earthly Tent vs. Heavenly building; Clothed vs naked:

• Paul is echoing Isaiah 25:6-8
• As an apostle, Paul faces death almost daily.
• His hope is that when he dies and loses is temporary tent and his current clothing that he will not be left naked or unprotected. 
• He longs for new clothing and a new house that will protect him when he dies.
• God has promised an eternal home, and gives the Spirit as a pledge.
• Paul’s confidence in the future is rooted in the Spirit’s work in his life now.
• The Spirit guarantees that Paul will indeed arrive at that new life in that new body. 
• The result is Paul can face death with courage.

Two Views on Life After Death

Throughout church history and in reading 2 Corinthians, people speculate about how Paul pictures life after death. Both sides of the debate focus on this passage in 2 Corinthians.

Three Stage View

• The three-stage view holds that after death, believers experience a disembodied state with Christ before receiving a resurrection body.
  • Stage 1: Earthly body in this world
  • Stage 2: Body-less spiritual existence in heaven
  • State 3: When Jesus returns, we gain new resurrected bodies.
• The three-stage view understand “away from the body and at home with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:8) to mean our souls depart from our physical bodies and are immediately present with Christ in a disembodied state. 
• They argue “being away from the body” (5:8) suggests a conscious existence apart from the physical body.
• They say the idea of groaning for the resurrection body (5:2–4) implies a current state of incompleteness. We groan because we lack a tent or a building.
• They take passages like Luke 23:43 (where Jesus says to the thief on the cross “today you will be with me in paradise”) and Philippians 1:23 (Paul’s desire to “depart and be with Christ”) as emphasizes the soul’s immediate communion with God after death.

Two Stage View

• The two-stage view holds that believers are “asleep” until Christ returns and are immediately resurrected.
  • Stage 1: Earthly body in this world
  • Stage 2: The immediate next event we experience is our resurrected bodies with the coming of Christ.
• They argue the groaning happens while we are in this earthly tent. We groan because we have a physical earthly body that is subject to decay and we long for the resurrected body.
• They understand “away from the body and at home with the Lord” (5:8) to mean away from this earthly body (not away from any body at all) and at home with the Lord in our resurrected body.  
• They argue the “nakedness” or “unclothed” state (5:3–4) is something Paul wishes to avoid. That suggests it is not a desirable intermediate state of disembodied consciousness but rather it is the tragic state of death itself, which is overcome at the resurrection.  
• The two-stage view draws on passages like 1 Corinthians 15, which emphasizes the resurrection as the central hope, and 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18, where the dead are described as “asleep” until Christ’s return.
• They argue the three-stage view was influenced by ancient Greek philosophy rather than the Bible.

What Matters: Being with Christ

• I would caution against deriving doctrine from metaphor. We should recognize, both sides do a lot of interpretive dancing in deriving doctrine. The other side has as much chance of being right as whatever side I favor.
• Paul did not intend to explain what happens after death in the context of this letter.  He’s using a metaphor to make a different point. 

• Regardless of which view is correct, Paul’s point is that death is not the end.
• His courage comes from confidence that he will be with Christ and that his suffering is temporary.
• Paul’s focus is on pleasing Christ, whether in life or death.
• Everyone will appear before the judgment seat of Christ and be repaid for their actions. There is debate about whether this judgment is only for believers or for all people.
• For a discussion of this debate:

Are there Rewards in heaven? Paul’s Example and Calling

• Paul fears God more than human opinions because only God knows his heart.
• His deepest hope is that the Corinthians will see his sincerity and recognize his faithfulness.
• While Paul speaks about himself, the same truths apply to all believers.
• We are called to fix our eyes on eternal things, to live sincerely before God, and to find courage in the promise of resurrection.

Key Takeaways

• Eternal hope gives us courage in suffering.
• The Holy Spirit assures believers that God will keep His promise of resurrection.
• Like Paul, we should aim to please Christ, not people.
• Debate over the intermediate state exists, but Paul’s main point is unchanged: our future is secure in Christ.
• Faith changes how we live today and provides strength to endure.

Please listen to the podcast for more detail and explanation. Next: 08 New Creations in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:11-21) Previous: 06 Why Paul did not lose hear and what we can learn from him (2 Corinthians 4) Series: 2 Corinthians: When Church Hurts Resources to help you study: 2 Corinthians

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Podcast season 26, episode 7