We
are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be
present with the Lord.
In desiring to be absent from ‘the body’ did Paul wish for a body-less experience? This has been
the adopted view of the majority of people who are familiar with this verse. Are
we being given explicit confirmation that immaterial souls immediately ascend
to Heaven at the point of death? If we hold to the doctrine as biblical truth,
it becomes natural to interpret the verse in this light. The verse then becomes
a proof-text for the doctrine when all it really does (entirely separated from
its surrounding context) is not
contradict it. If the doctrine were more vigorously questioned in the
first place then perhaps more people would examine the context in which the
verse is found to see if another interpretation exists. I have found it to be
quoted (often misquoted: ‘is’ replaces ‘and’)
as an old favourite by people who show no interest in the themes of 2nd
Corinthians. How can such people be so assertive in their views of a piece of
literature that they have never read?
By itself, the verse merely affirms that in order to
be in the Lord’s presence one must be ‘absent
from the body’. What we know from the verse is that Paul wanted to leave ‘the body’. That is all. Many people
today wish to ‘leave home’. Irrespective of the variety of reasons that people
have for desiring this, very few actually desire to leave home in order to be
homeless. Normally, the motivation for leaving home is to find a new home. The
immediate and wider context in which we find 2nd Corinthians chapter
five, verse eight confirms the same for Paul’s famous statement. I hope to
argue from the epistle that the new home in which Paul wished to live was a new
body. Being ‘present with the Lord’
meant being judged positively at the resurrection of the dead.
Absent from
the body
Going back to the very first chapter of the epistle we
can see that Paul wanted to get something across to his readers about the
sufferings that he was undergoing for them, and the benefit of these sufferings
(1:3-11). An emphasis on these sufferings is seen in chapter four.
But
we [Paul and his companions] have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the
excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;
persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed— always carrying
about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus
also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are always delivered to
death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our
mortal flesh. (2nd Corinthians 4:7-11)
Since chapter one Paul has established two parallel dynamics: suffering leads to comfort; death leads to resurrection. The parallel is that the former dynamic is a figurative process of the latter. The suffering/comfort dynamic is evident in the verses above. Paul is ‘hard-pressed’ (his body suffers) yet ‘not crushed’ (he is comforted); he is ‘perplexed’ (his body suffers) but ‘not in despair’ (he is comforted); he is ‘persecuted’ (his body suffers) but ‘not forsaken’ (he is comforted); he is ‘struck down’ (his body suffers) but ‘not destroyed’ (he is comforted). In other words, Paul says, he is ‘carrying about in the body’ (4:10) daily reminders of the process of death and resurrection. These figurative deaths lead to figurative recoveries: manifestations of ‘the life of Jesus’.
From this we can establish Paul’s contextual meaning for ‘the body’ from which he desires to be absent. We can understand his desire to be absent from it. It is a painful existence. Though he is confident in being comforted, the pain is still real. The only way to be freed from such an existence is to die and be resurrected, literally.
And
since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, “I believed and
therefore I spoke,”
we also believe and therefore speak, knowing that He who raised up the Lord
Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus, and will present us with you. For all things are for your sakes, that grace,
having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory
of God. (2nd Corinthians
4:13-15)
His confidence in resurrection stems from him ‘knowing that’ his Lord was resurrected. Jesus suffered in the body and was raised in the body. Paul’s suffering is in the body; his resurrection will also one day be in the body. There is no ethereal consideration. It is a physical matter. As God the Father raised up His Son Jesus, so one day the Father and Son will raise apostles and saints together.
Therefore
we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by
day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a
far more exceeding and eternal
weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the
things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. (2nd Corinthians 4:16-18)
(a) ‘our
outward man is perishing... the inward man is being renewed day by day’
(b) ‘our
light affliction...is working for us an eternal weight of glory’
Rather, the ‘outward man’ and ‘inward man’ seem to be employed as a comparison between what Paul experiences in his present mortal body and what he hopes for in his future body. The ‘outward man’ is perishing. It represents the negative aspect of suffering and death. The ‘inward man is being renewed day by day’ because it can see ‘a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory’. The ‘inward man’ looks ‘at the things which are not seen’, the ‘outward man’, by contrast, looks ‘at the things which are seen’. It would seem to me, therefore, that the ‘inward man’ is Paul’s way of describing his mindset, his hope. The ‘inward man’ neither looks at nor touches that which is presently tangible, but rather sets as his hope the tangible things of the future which he can neither yet see nor touch.
For
we know that if our earthly house, this
tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands,
eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed
with our habitation which is from heaven, if indeed, having been clothed, we
shall not be found naked. For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be
unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life. Now
He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. (2nd Corinthians 5:1–5)
Why are visible things temporary (4:18)? Paul answers
that they are so because the present-day visible body will be ‘destroyed’ (5:1). But there is a new
body – a new ‘building from God’. It
is not hard to deduce then that this new body must be the ‘eternal’ and unseen aspect of 4:18. Paul does not focus on the ‘things which are seen’ (i.e. those
things which affect his present body) because, even though his body will be
destroyed, he knows he has a better one in prospect.
There are terms here, of course, that can be used to
argue that Paul has ‘going to Heaven when we die in our soul-spirit’ in mind
also. Something ‘eternal’ that is ‘not made with hands’ and ‘in the heavens’ certainly does not seem
to fit the description of a tangible body designed for earthly purposes. The
perniciousness of the doctrine, however, has blinded readers from examining
these terms in the light of their context rather than in the light of
traditional dogma.
Later in this essay the term ‘eternal’ will be examined in a little more detail. The Greek word
that it translates (αἰώνιος – aiōnios) does not mean
‘unending’. Rather it is an adjective that is best translated as ‘of the age’
or ‘pertaining to the age’ – there is no single English word that directly
translates the Greek word. Unfortunately, this did not prevent English
translators from using a single-word concept to translate it, even though it is
inaccurate. The translation suits the idea of going to Heaven forever. It hides
the scriptural concept of an age when
Messiah rules on earth. It deadens the intended impact of Paul’s words: the things which are seen are only temporary;
the things which are not seen pertain to the age to come. This present body will be destroyed; the
next body is designed for the age to come.
But the future body is ‘not made with hands’, so does this not mean that Paul’s hope was
for something ethereal? This is doubtful. To quote him more fully, he longed
for ‘a building from God, a house not
made with hands’. We can tell from verse one, and all of chapter four, that
‘house’ must be figurative of his body.
By the same token then, ‘a house not made
with hands’ is still a body. That it is ‘not made with hands’ is surely indicative of the one who makes this
new body (God, not man). This new body is not a body produced through the
natural processes of human birth.
That said, his hope was for something ‘in the heavens’ rather than on earth.
Does this not disprove my contention that his hope was predicated around an
earthly rule in a tangible body? As I see it, to suggest that this refers to
Paul being in Heaven rather than in a
resurrected body does not make sense. The new dwelling is ‘from heaven’ (5:2), not Heaven itself. At the time of
writing it was ‘in the heavens’
(much like the ‘treasure in Heaven’
that Jesus referred to in Matthew 6:20, Mark 10:21, Luke 12:33, 18:22) but
surely that was because the recipient was not yet deemed ready to own it. The
Bible may refer to a future inheritance in Heaven but this is no proof
that this is where it will be received. For example, our food is stored in the cupboard; it comes from the cupboard; but we do not have to
eat it in the cupboard to enjoy its
benefits. So it is with the resurrected body: it is stored in Heaven, it comes from
Heaven, but we do not have to go to
Heaven to enjoy wearing it. All would agree that the resurrected body is with
the saint from the moment of his resurrection from the grave, therefore it must
be removed from Heaven in order for it to be put on (cf. Revelation
22:12).
It is also interesting to note the comparison between this
portion of 2nd Corinthians and the fifteenth chapter of 1st
Corinthians. Paul refers to the same event in both contexts, which would mean
the time of the second coming of Christ. Notably, ‘from heaven’ is mentioned in that context also. This would make it
even more likely that Paul’s readers knew precisely which event he was
referring to: he used similar language when speaking of the resurrection in his
first epistle.
But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the
firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead.
For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. But each one
in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those
who are Christ’s at His coming.
(1st Corinthians 15:20-23)
Knowing
that He who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus, and will
present us with you. (2nd Corinthians 4:14)
So
when this corruptible has put on
incorruption, and this mortal has put on
immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory.’ (1st Corinthians 15:54)
For
in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed
with our habitation which is from heaven, if indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked. (2nd Corinthians 5:2)
For
we who are in this tent groan,
being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed,
but further clothed, that mortality may
be swallowed up by life. (2nd
Corinthians 5:4)
The
first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven. (1st
Corinthians 15:47)
For
in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is
from heaven (2nd Corinthians 5:2)
So
when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on
immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: ‘Death is
swallowed up in victory.’ (1st
Corinthians 15:54)
For
we who are in this tent groan,
being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life. (2nd Corinthians 5:4)
Present with
the Lord
Even before we reach the key verse, we ought to be
confident of how the wider context should mould our understanding of it. ‘Absent from the body’ is to depart this
present one for the future resurrected one. There is no in-between in Paul’s
thinking here. Whether intermediate existence is a reality or not, it is not a part
of this monologue. This is confirmed by the definition he provides of ‘present with the Lord’. As with bodily
absence, the term has nothing to do with floating away anywhere.
In chapter five, verse two, Paul interestingly
describes the new body in terms of clothing, not just housing. This allows him
to introduce the concept of nakedness. Should one not be clothed in the
resurrection body, one is effectively ‘naked’.
One could argue that this supports the doctrine of soul-spirit immortality
because it is the soul-spirit that remains unclothed. But Paul does not go this
far, leaving us only to hypothesise that he is implying this through the word ‘naked’. Rather, the import of the word
is that it describes a negative outcome when judged by God. Paul has been
looking forward to his new resurrection body. When he receives it he will not
be found ‘naked’.
Where else in Scripture are nakedness and a negative
judgement found together? Perhaps we should consider Genesis chapter three. The
nakedness Paul speaks about could point to the famous condition in which Adam
and Eve found themselves. Paul’s theme of mortality and immortality clearly has
a link to the consequences of Adam and Eve’s decision also. When coming face to
face with one’s Creator and Judge, is it advisable to be in a state of
nakedness, that sort which is a result of sinful choices? It did not work out
so well for our forebears, whose nakedness led to mortality.
Paul’s hope, however, is that ‘mortality may be swallowed up by life’ – a reverse of the original
judgement. The gift of the Spirit as a guarantee (5:5) is what leads to Paul’s
confident statement in verse eight:
We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and
to be present with the Lord.
So, what is bodily absence? It is the necessary
process through which one must gain the resurrection body. Perhaps Paul
expected Christ’s return before his death, which should lead us further from
thinking of ethereal intermediate existence after death. Rather, the important
concept behind bodily absence is the exchange of one body for another – a better
version. Paul longs to leave home for a better home.
What is it to be present with the Lord? It is to come
face to face with one’s judge, as Adam and Eve did. The resurrection of the
dead is effectively that judgement. Those who are positively judged receive
their new body. Those who are negatively judged are found to be ‘naked’. Paul and his companions were ‘confident’ and ‘well pleased’ to be present with the Lord because of the spiritual
guarantee they had received (5:5). God had ‘prepared’
them for the new body, not nakedness.
Let us also briefly consider verses nine and ten, for
they make it even more plain that ‘present with the Lord’ refers to judgement.
Therefore we make it our aim,
whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ,
that each one may receive the things done
in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. (2nd Corinthians
5:9-10)
The spiritual guarantee of verse five relates to a
spiritual walk (being ‘well pleasing’
to the Lord). By walking in the Spirit, Paul and his companions were
guaranteeing themselves a positive outcome at ‘the judgment seat of Christ’. Therefore, if Paul was ‘present’ (as in ‘present with the Lord’), he would be confident of being
well-pleasing to the Lord because of his spiritual walk. Conversely, if Paul were
‘absent’ from the Lord he would
continue to seek to live that well-pleasing life.
With this in mind, one needs not only to be careful
about misinterpreting verse eight into an ethereal meaning, but one also needs
to be sure that they can have confidence when being ‘present with the Lord’. Does our walk give us confidence?
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