THE KING’S BUSINESS
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things men heed for food and clothes in .the destructiveness of war may bring famine tp all lands; our dearest.may be slain on the field of battle.br in-our homes, what matters it? Why-should we worry? These things any how are but for-a time. But the unseen things that await every one who is faithful to the Lord Jesus Christ in these times of testing ate for eternity. There has been a great real of discussion of recent years as to the meaning of the word “aionia” which in this passage is translated “eternal.” There are those who would have us think tfiat because according to its derivation it means “age-lasting” it may refer to things that last through ages and yet are not endless; but in the passage we are studying we see a contrast is made between the things which are; aionia (eternal) and the things which have an end, which are “for a season.” The contrast makes it plain that according to New Testa ment usage this word means endless. Sunday, February io. 2 Cor. 5 :i. Verses 1 to 8 of .this chapter are of very great importance, vThey are decisive in regard to some of the questions that are being much discussed ‘today, especially as to the question of the. condition of the saved 'man between the time of his death, when he puts off his “present body, and the ..time when at the coming of the Lord he receives his resurrection body. These verses give us a very clear statement of what awaits the believer in the future, whether he remains alive until the coming of the Lord and is changed without the dissolution of his body, or whether he dies before the coming of the Lord and this present body “be dissolved” (cf. 1 Cor. 15:51-54; 1 Thess. 4:15-17). “The earthly house of our tabernacle” is our present body. It is called a ,“house” because we live in it, but a house has permanency and our bodies have. not, so Paul qualifies house by the phrase “of our tabernacle (or tent).” A tent is transient and tem porary and so is our body, it. is not our permanent home, it is soon to be taken
down as a tent is taken down (cf. 2 Peter 1:13, 14; Job 4:19).. There may be also a reference to the tabernacle in the wilder ness .in which God dwelt as we dwell, and His Spirit dwells, in this present physical frame. The humble and shifting and destructible tabernacle in which the Israel ites originally worshipped was exchanged in time for the glorious and abiding temple, and so will our present frail frame be exchanged for the glorious temple of our resurrection body (cf. Phil. 3 :20, 21). Paul says, " If the earthly house of our taber nacle be dissolved.” We should notice care fully here the “if.” It implies that it is not at all certain that the earthly house of our tabernacles shall be dissolved, and we are taught elsewhere that with some believ ers it shall not be; some will remain alive until the coming of Christ and be changed without dissolution. But even if we do not remain alive until Christ come, even if the present body is dissolved by death, still there is nothing to fear, because we have another building to take its place, a much better building. Paul gives' four- charac teristics of this better building, this better house that we are to^have: (1) It is from God.” It is God’s own workmanship. Our original bodies were of God’s own workmanship, but they have 1 been greatly damaged by human handling^ especially by the entrancé of sin. (2) It is “not made with hands.” There are many magnificent homes in this world, but the most splendid and perfect of them are made with hands. Something immeasurably better awaits us in the resurrection, “a house not made with hands.” The same thing is said of Christ’s resurrection body (Mark 14:58; Heb. 9:11; cf. Phil. 3:21). (3) It is “eternal.” Our present body if for sixty, seventy, eighty, ninety, perhaps one hundred years. That body will last through the ages. It will be absolutely endless. Here we have again the same word as the one used in ch. 4:18, “aionion.” (Some may say it is not the same word because there it is “aionia” and here it is aioniow,” but the difference is simply the difference between the singular
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