Knowing One Another After the Spirit

[Guest shiloh357]

Knowing One Another After the Spirit.

By Shiloh357

While this is a study on the entire chapter of 2 Corinthians 5, I chose a title that best describes the direction and focus this study will take. It is vitally important that we not know others after the flesh but after the Spirit. It is not that the flesh does not exist, but we need to begin to have an eternal perspective when dealing other people. It is the eternal perspective that Paul dwells on in this chapter. He begins with our assurance of the resurrection and our subsequent eternal bodies and the ministry we have been given which is meet to this assurance. This assurance should be a motivating factor for two reasons, not only because of our reward, but because it IS an assurance, that we will either appear before the Lord clothed in our immortality OR our mortality. This assurance should motivate us to see other people, not merely as "people" but those for whom Christ died.

Assurance of a Resurrection

For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven: If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked. For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life.

(2 Corinthians 5:1-4)

"For we know..." Compare this certainty with other religions, especially those of Paul's day. A major difference between Christianity and other religions is our certainty. We don't have to guess at what God may or may not be thinking, nor do we have to go day to day, not knowing where we stand with Him. We are assured each and everyday by His unchanging Word that we are His beloved, the sheep of His pasture, and that His ever watchful eye is upon us each day. We have a "know-so" salvation. The Bible tells us in John 5:24 and 1John 5:11-13 that we can know we are saved today. We don't have to wait until the great day of judgement to find out if we made it or not. Eph. 1:14 tells us that we are sealed with the Holy Spirit of Promise who is the earnest (down payment) of our inheritance. The Holy Spirit is our Guarantee. The Spirit of God living on the inside of us is an ever living witness that we are children of God.

"...our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved..." An metaphorical reference to our bodies. Dissolved obviously referring to physical death. "Dissolved" meaning to throw down, to destroy.

"...we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." Here is what we are assured of. We have another "building" another body awaiting us. Salvation is three-fold; it begins with Justification, continues with Sanctification, and ends in Glorification. We have the hope of a resurrection, which hearkens back to what Paul says in chapter 4 and verse 17 about "a far exceeding greater weight of glory." It is obviously a continuance of the same line of thought. Paul, back in chapter 4 tells us that our afflictions, which he calls "light," will accomplish a greatness of glory that far and way exceeds the price we pay here on earth. This is amazing because here is a man who later on in the same book of 2 Corinthians enumerates for us what He has been through for the sake of the Gospel:

Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I am more; in labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft. Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches.

2Corinthians 11:23-28

It is amazing that Paul calls his afflictions light. While taken by themselves, it appears that Paul suffered inhuman brutality for the gospel, His assurance of the fullness of salvation which would exceed his suffering one hundred times over, was constantly in his view.

It is also worth noting that Paul compares our bodies with a "tabernacle" or tent, and our heavenly bodies with a house. Tents or tabernacles are temporary shelters; they can moved and transported from place to place. They are also more fragile. Their protection is minimal when compared to a house. A house is permanent. It is more sound, sturdy, and it will endure much longer than a tent or other such dwelling.

What do we know about this permanent dwelling, the "house" that God has prepared for us?

• It is of Divine origin. "we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens"
  
• It is prepared for us in the Heavens, as Paul says. Our current body is prepared for this world. Our new body is celestial.
  
• Our new body is eternal. It will endure all eternity without any element of decay.
  
• Our new body is more enjoyable. When we experience our new body it will never suffer pain, disease, or discomfort. Paul says in verse two of chapter five,"...we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven."
  
• In our new body there will be no more groaning under the weight of pain and stress, disappointment and disillusionment.
  

"If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked" To be naked in the context of this passage means to be found without the glorified body. It means to be found clothed in our natural bodies. When Adam and Eve sinned they saw they were naked. I personally believe that Adam and Eve were covered with the Glory of God prior to their sin. It was the glory that covered their nakedness, and when they sinned they found themselves not only unclothed in the literal sense, but also devoid of the glory they once enjoyed as a covering. They were now relegated to the natural world as natural beings. When Jesus comes for His saints, we shall be transformed into our heavenly bodies.

There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory. So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven. As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.

(1 Corinthians 15:40-54)

"For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life." Paul's desire is not to simply put off the body. Paul does not hold to the Manichaean philosophy that the body is a disgrace. The body itself is not the problem or source of Paul's groaning. It is the afflictions he faces while heavy on this side of heaven will appear light when we receive the fullness of all God has for us.

I think we should take some encouragement from Paul who has probably suffered more for the gospel than any other single missionary in human history. If not more, He certainly ranks as one of those who has suffered the most. Paul's motivation, in part, for sharing the gospel under such adverse circumstances stemmed from his assurance of what awaited Him at the throne of God.

Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

(Philippians 3:13-14)

I think this should encourage us to be more pro-active in being a light to the world. It doesn't matter who hates us or disparages us. Our mandate is share the Lord and his gospel with the world, especially the world as it relates to where we live and work.

Too often we have our eyes on their response, and their anticipated offense at the message we bring. We need to put our eyes on Jesus, and on the reward He has for us. It is our love for Jesus and the reward He has waiting for us that should push us forward. It is not selfish to want the reward awaiting us. In fact, God would not have told us about it, if He did not expect us to push ahead to claim it. It was this very reward, the new body, that Paul groaned for and about which he was assured of. It was this promise that, in part, spurred him on. May the Holy Spirit use this to, likewise, spur us on to greater things for Christ.

[Guest shiloh357]

Assurance that since God had appointed them to this ministry, they were suited to the trials they had to face as a result

Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit. Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: (For we walk by faith, not by sight:) We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.

(2 Corinthians 5:5-8)

"Now he that hath wrought us for the self-same thing" Another way of saying this is that God has prepared us for this very thing, namely that which would come, namely our heavenly body. God has, as another translator puts it, "worked us out" for this very thing. We are being prepared for the fullness of our redemption.

I feel though, that it goes deeper than that. God not is not only preparing us for the glorious existence we are to have with Him after the end of age, but He is also preparing us NOW for the things we must endure for His Name's sake until that time arrives. Paul was able to see the trials and afflictions he faced, as "light" because of his eternal perspective, and because Paul knew one very important fact: Implicit in the demand that God places upon us, the ministry to which we are called, is the grace to successfully perform and complete the assigned task. God never asks of us, what He does not also equip and empower us to do.

who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the "earnest" or downpayment. Here is God is using a figure of speech. How exactly is "earnest" being used here? Often it is seen as "pledge." A pledge is an assurance of something else to come. When a TV or radio station calls for "pledges" they asking from the audience listeners/viewer a committment or assurance that they will give a certain amount of money to fund future programming. An "earnest" as used in reference to the Holy Spirit is something else. The earnest is actually a portion of what is promised. This goes back to what I said earlier about the fact that we can KNOW that we have eternal life today. It is not merely something in the future we have to hope for. Eternal life is ours and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is proof that it is ours. He is the "earnest of our inheritance." (Eph. 1:13,14) The Holy Spirit is the assurance of our resurrection. Paul was confident of the resurrection of the "house" of his heavenly body for which he longed because of the presence of the Holy Spirit within him, serving as the guarantee of that future promise.

So often, people are plagued with the thought that perhaps they are not saved, perhaps they have sinned their way out of salvation. They worry, but it is that worry, that sorrow, and regret that is the biggest testimony of their salvation. No one truly unsaved would care. The problem could be that we have so much unconfessed sin, things we have tried to bury and forget about, and the enemy uses this to condemn us. (This is, by the way, another testimony to our salvation. Satan does not need to heap condemnation on the unsaved. He does not cause you to doubt the salvation you don't have) It is when we are faced with condemnation and doubt that we can go to the Lord and get our sins confessed. Confession of sin is not for God's benefit. It is for ours. It is how we stay out of condemnation.

Therefore we are always confident, It is amazing that Paul can say this. The word for "confident" from the Greek carries more than just the idea of boldness, but one of good cheer. Inspite of all that Paul has been through up to this point, the beatings, the imprisonments, the floggings, the stonings, starvation, shipwrecks, he says they are "always of bold cheerfulness." Even in the midst of suffering He retains a stubborn confidence that defies human logic. How many of us would have given up after the first stone was hurled? Or after the first imprisonment? How many of us give up just because we are afraid of what someone might think about us? What is our excuse? Where is our confidence, our bold cheerfulness in the face of persecution in the face of defamation for the bearing the Name of Jesus?

knowing that, Here is that certainty again. (See notes on 2Cor 5:1)

whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: At home in the body meaning this earthly tent, obviously. To be absent from the Lord does not mean from His general presence since He is omnipresent, He is everywhere. Nor does it mean from His spiritual presence in our lives, since He does live in hearts, in the person of the Holy Spirit. What it means that is that we are absent from His glorious presence, and the full reality and enjoyment of His presence. Christ is with us here, today. But our closeness to Him in that day when we are clothed with our new bodies will be more apparent, our enjoyment of Him so much more complete, that by comparison, it will seem that in this life we were absent from Him altogether.

Commentator JR Thomson Offers some wonderful insights about our absence from the Lord:

I. THIS ABSENCE IS NOT SPIRITUAL, BUT BODILY.

His own word is fulfilled,

[traveller]

Excellent study, Brother

[Guest Summer Sun]

Thanks Shiloh (presumably a Jewish name? Do you know what it means?) A good study.

Dunno about anyone else but I always find myself praying silently when I meet new people or who aren't (yet) Christians, because I know that God has a perfect perspective on others that I don't. And that's awesome, especially when He gives us grace to show His grace to others in whatever way is right at the time (cup of tea, listening ear, sharing a laugh, watching the kids). It also helps keep you from judging others - that's God's job, after all.

Knowing we're saved - yes, I agree, the devil can only really 'attack' us with doubts if there's something to fundamental to even doubt - and ultimately that is BEYOND DOUBT!! Alleluiah!

Summer Sun

[DInsights]

OK Shiloh:

How do we then "know one another after the Spirit"?

My understanding of your posts largely is of the "glorious body" that is prepared us and that shall "house" or spirits when we shed off the earthly body. And you did well in your study about that subject.

But, lets go back to the practical and essential subject of knowing the brethren after the Spirit and not flesh. How does that happen?

[RebekahDavid]

Thank you Shiloh this study has richly blessed my heart!

Love your sister in Christ,

Rebekah David

[Guest Thomas I Believe]

Very good Study Brother , exactly what i needed this morning.

[Marnie]

Even in the spirit, I'll be the shortest person in heaven.

[LightofJesus]

Absolutely wonderful study!!! Thank you, thank you!!!