THE KING’S BUSINESS
175
Wednesday, February 13 . 2 Cor . 5 : 6 - 8 .
Lord.” This is better than the first. It is better even to be absent from the body, unclothed from our present earthly body and not yet clothed upon with our resurrec tion body, but at home with the Lord, than to have our present body, but to be absent from the Lord. (3) Clothed upon with our glorious resurrection body, with the Lord, and like the Lord, bodily like Him as well as spiritually like Him (Phil. 3:20, 21; 1 Thess. 4:16, 17). This is best of all. This is not only better than being in our present body and!absent from the Lord, it is better even than being absent from our earthly body, unclothed from it and not yet clothed upon with the resurrection body. It is for this, i. e., to be clothed upon with our resurrection body, and not only be with the Lord, but also to have a body like the Lord’s that we groan (v. 4). But we are well content with being absent from the body, unclothed from our ehrthly body and not clothed upon yet with the resurrection body, in order that we may be at home with the Lord, though disembodied. These verses from 1 to 8 utterly demolish the doctrine so widely taught today that between the dissolution of our present body and the obtaining of our resurrection body at the coming of Jesus Christ, the believer has no conscious existence. God here in His Word clearly tells us that we have an existence, and an existence preferable to that which we have in our present bodies, we are “at home with the Lord.” That is what all our loved ones who, have fallen asleep in Jesus now are, “at home with the Lord.” But these verses riot only demolish this false doctrine just referred to, they also demolish the other false doctrine that at death we enter into our utter and full blessedness. We do not, not until we receive our resurrection bodies atthe return of the Lord Jesus. Thursday, February 14 . 2 Cor. 5 : 9 - 11 . In yiew of this assured future, that even if we lay down our earthly bodies and do not yet receive our resurrection bodies, we shall be, though absent from the body,
Notice carefully the word “therefore” with which verse 6 begins. It points back to . the sure and glorious hope which the believer has, and of which Paul has been speaking. With this. sure and glorious hope in view, the beilever is “always of good courage,” whether in prospect of liv ing or dying. Death has no terrors for him; for while he lives and is therefore at home in the body, he knows that he is absent from the Lord with whom he longs to be at home. We never will be really at home, we will always be pilgrims and strangers until we are with Him. In our present life on earth “we walk by faith,” simply believing what God says, not by an actual sight of that which we believe. The word translated “sight” in verse 7 means literally, “appearance,” and what is meant is that we have not a visible appearance, giving us an actual sight of that which we believe. We take it simply upon God’s Word, but hereafter it will actually appear visibly, and then we will no longer walk by faith, but by sight. So we are of good courage now, and always in face of the possibility of death at any moment, for if we die (before the Lord comes) we shall indeed be absent from the body, i. e., unclothed from this present body and not as yet clothed upon with our body out of heaven, but we shall be at home with the Lord. Paul says he was “willing to be absent from the body and at home with the Lord.” The word “willing” is a very weak translation of the word Paul used. The word means “well content.” Paul was not only willing, would be thoroughly sat isfied “to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord” (cf. Phil. 1:23). In, these verses Paul tells us plainly that there are three states, in one of which every believer exists: (1) At home in this present body, and absent from the Lord. ( 2 ) Absent from ithis earthly body (unclothed from this and not clothed upon yet with the resurrection body), but “pres ent,” or more literally, “at home with the
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online