2 Corinthians - Lesson 5B

• This morning turn with me if you will back to the 5th Chapter of 2 Corinthians. When we last left off, Paul was in the middle of explaining how it was that he and the other Apostles were able to look at life the way they looked at it. More specifically, how it was they had such an eternal verses temporal perspective?

  • As we previously discussed last week, their outlook on this life was directly tied to their ability to focus. Focus intently on the promises of God, all the while knowing that this life is indeed temporary at best.

    • Their line of thinking was also coupled by the fact that they clearly understood, everything we experience in this life is not only temporary, but it’s light in comparison to what awaits us in Heaven.

    • But more than that, the things we experience in this world (all the trials and tribulations) in the here and now are also doing something to us. It is molding us and shaping us into the Christian that God wants us to be. But that only happens when and if we allow it to do its work.

  • In other words, if we embrace suffering and allow it to do what it’s intended to do (which is to mold and shape us into instruments), we will become instruments that God uses for His Glory. And then once your life comes to an end, and all that you experienced in this life (for Christ’s sake) is tallied up, grand totaled if you will, or another way to say it is, when all that you did for Christ is banked. Paul says in Chapter 4 that it will accumulate for you, an “Eternal Weight of Glory”.

  • Which is an eloquent way of saying accumulate your riches and rewards in Heaven. And for further proof of this concept, let me read what James says in James 1:1-4, a passage that you may be familiar with, but it’s always good to hear it again. Listen to what James says under the caption Testing Your Faith:

James 1:1 James, a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,
      To the twelve tribes who are dispersed abroad: Greetings.
James 1:2 Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials,
James 1:3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.
James 1:4 And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

• I won’t dwell on this topic this morning, only to say Verse 4 clearly tells us that we (as believers) do have a choice. A choice whether we allow trials and tribulations to mold our lives into instruments of God or to simply fall prey to a victim mindset, a mindset that asks, “Why me”?

  • In other words, when we put the trials of life into their proper perspective, which is they are supernaturally designed for our benefit, forming us into these “Spiritual Instruments “of God. When we do this (believe it or not) they have the ability to empower us, taking us from a mindset of why me to a mindset of why not me, or, God has chosen me to endure all of this for purposes I can’t see.

  • We can either see the troubles of life for what they are, or we can push back against them, resist them, question them, and unfortunately, be confused by them. So, we do have a choice in how the various trials of life affect us. That’s why James said in verse 4, “And let endurance have its perfect result”.

    • Let it do its work. And what is its work? To make you perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. Perfect and complete. But how can we be made perfect and complete? And maybe even more than that, how in the world can we get to a place where we are lacking in nothing?

  • Well, as we just discovered, evidently it comes by way of trials. Meaning, the natural byproduct of a trial (in the life of a believer) is “Spiritual Development”. So, what that tells us is the trials in our lives (as Christians), can cause us to become perfect & complete, leaving us in a place where we “lack of nothing”.

• But my question is, what specifically does that mean? First, let me explain what it means by telling you what it doesn’t mean. It doesn’t mean that you will become a perfect person who’s lacking in nothing, meaning, you become rich. That’s not what it means.

  • No, this perfection is a perfection that relates to you and your development as a believer. More specifically, to you as it relates to your calling and purpose relating to God. And this developmental process, according to Paul in verse 3, has a direct effect on your endurance. Your endurance to persevere in your faith.

    • And so, Paul knew this to be the case. Not only did he know it, but he also believed it. He believed it so much that it controlled his outlook and perspective on this life, which in turn is what formed the basis from which he spoke and wrote.

• Now the question we must ask ourselves is, can we develop this same perspective? And the answer is yes. Yes, we can, but it will never happen if we don’t develop a more intimate relationship with the Lord. And how do we do that? Through study, prayer, and meditating on His Word. That is the only way we can become more intimate with Him. We must get to know Him better. It’s no different than any other relationship we may have in life.

  • Moving on this morning. Last week I ended the study by reading Chapter 5 verses 1-10, but I was only able to finish teaching through verse 5. So, this morning I want to pick back up where we left off, and begin todays teaching by backing up and re-reading 2 Corinthians 5:1-10, and this is what Paul wrote in:

2 Cor. 5:1 For we know that if our earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made by hands, eternal in the heavens.
2 Cor. 5:2 For indeed, in this tent we groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven,
2 Cor. 5:3 since in fact after putting it on, we will not be found naked.
2 Cor. 5:4 For indeed, we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, because we do not want to be unclothed but to be clothed, so that what is mortal will be swallowed up by life.
2 Cor. 5:5 Now He who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave us the Spirit as a pledge.
2 Cor. 5:6 Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord—
2 Cor. 5:7 for we walk by faith, not by sight—
2 Cor. 5:8 but we are of good courage and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.
2 Cor. 5:9 Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him.
2 Cor. 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive compensation for his deeds done through the body, in accordance with what  he has done, whether good or bad.

• As I said, we paused our teaching last week, ending with verse 5, and I won’t re-hash all of what we studied last week. But I will say, Paul’s purpose in writing verses 1-5 was to show us just how passionate and sincere he was about what he believed.

  • His teaching and concept are simple, and that is our body is a house, a dwelling place that houses our soul along with the Spirit of God. And it’s temporary, which is evidenced by the fact that it’s dying and decaying.

    • But that’s okay, because if you are a believer, there’s a new body, a new home you will one day soon inherit, and we know this to be the case because of what he says in Verse 6-9:

2 Cor. 5:6 Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord—
2 Cor. 5:7 for we walk by faith, not by sight—
2 Cor. 5:8 but we are of good courage and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.
2 Cor. 5:9 Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him. 

• Now, before highlighting the obvious teachings that come from these verses, let me say, a few weeks ago I had someone ask me the question, “What do you think happens when we die?” And I said, I know what happens, and they said, “well, what do you believe?” And I said, what Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:6-9: “To be absent the body is to be present with the Lord.”

  • Guys, there are many theories about what happens to us when we die, one of which is called soul sleep. This teaching, or doctrine, says that upon death, the soul of each person, believer and unbeliever alike, "sleeps" until the general resurrection and judgment.

    • Though all people will be raised from the dead, the condition of humans between death and the resurrection is one of unconsciousness. The soul is alive but unconscious, awaiting the time of the end. According to this teaching, when the person dies, they totally cease to exist. Eventually, each soul will be awakened to resurrection, then to judgment. 

    • I’m not going to go over all this, this morning, except to tell you a person who tries to make this the case has to stretch and bend the scriptures into all kinds of strange directions, and they must do so in order to even come close to making this theory stick.

    • I have studied this teaching, and I can tell you nowhere can I find anywhere in the scripture that teaches anything other than when we die, we immediately enter into the presence of the Lord. And that is clearly backed up by what Paul says here. One of the best ways to validate Paul’s teaching, by the way, is by understanding eschatology, which is simply the study of the End Times.

• When you study eschatology, you will clearly see what happens when the Lord returns. And by understanding that, you will get further confirmation of what Paul tells us as being the truth. Also, another confirmation of what Paul is saying comes when you study what happened to a person when they died prior to Jesus living and dying (Saints of the Old Testament), specifically where their souls went, which was to a holding place called “Sheol”, which we have studied in-depth before.

  • When you study the purpose of Sheol in the Old Testament, that study also further confirms that we immediately enter the presence of the Lord when we die. Anyway, if you’re interested in knowing more on this topic, see me after the service and I will give you some stuff to study.

    • So, Paul says, they long to be absent their body so they can be present with the Lord. But he also says even though, for now, they are not with him in that moment, paraphrasing here, he says they will continue to have (as their ambition) a desire to please him. Listen to verse 9 one more time:

2 Cor. 5:9 Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him. 

• Breaking it down into layman’s terms, Paul is saying no matter where we are, we have as our ambition a mind-set, a goal, to be pleasing to God. The Greek definition of the word ambition is ‘to love or seek after honor’, and the sense or usage of that word is to be zealous, strive eagerly, desire very strongly.

  • And so, they have as their ambition, their motivation if you will, “To be pleasing to God.” Another way to say it is, Lord, no matter my plight or situation in this life, whether in prison or pain, we love You and we will serve You, and we want to please You no matter the state we find ourselves in.

  • A pretty simple statement and one we should all remember. No matter what situation we find ourselves in, if we are believers, we should make it our goal, our ambition, to please God. And why? Well, Paul’s going to tell you why in verse 10:

2 Cor. 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive compensation for his deeds done through the body, in accordance with what  he has done, whether good or bad.

• When we die, not only will we automatically enter the presence of the Lord, but evidently, we enter His presence by way of His Judgement Seat. Another way to say it is, we enter His presence through His court. Now let me say for the believer, this will not be a judgement for sin, for Christ already paid that price, rather this will be a judgement for the purposes of receiving what the Bible calls a compensation. Much like an athlete receiving his reward for running a race.

  • But that might be a little confusing to you because Paul says, “For those things done in the body, whether good or bad.” So, that might seem confusing. I mean, if we are receiving rewards, then why are we receiving compensation for things done in the body, for both good and bad?

    • What’s with the bad part of this process? Well, that’s a good question? The Bible teaches that this judgement reconciles everything you have done in your life as it relates to those things you’ve done for God. Not bad as in sin, but bad as in detracting from bringing Glory to God. It’s an accounting exercise of sorts.

  • Think of it like this, accounting is a two-entry system. A system of debits and credits. Which means when you do something, it affects something else. Kind of like Issac Newton’s Third Law of Motion, which says, “For every action there is an opposite and equal reaction.”

  • That’s how accounting works. If you make a transaction, you automatically create another transaction. It’s a debit and credit system. Debits are listed on one side and credits on the other. When you effect the debit side of the equation you automatically effect the credit side of the equation. If one side increases the other side decreases.

    • Let me give you an example of what I mean. If your rent is due and you write a check for it, your rent is what’s called an Accounts Payable expense, and it’s required to be paid monthly or whatever the terms are of the rent.

  • Anyway, when you pay the rent, or any other expense for that matter, you debit the cash out of your bank account, and credit the rent under accounts payable. This creates a balanced system in your books. When you die, God’s judgement system works much the same way.

    • Upon your death, you immediately enter into the presence of the Lord, and as a believer there will be a final accounting of your life. There is reconciliation, But, as I said, not as a lost person or an unbeliever. It’s a reconciliation that takes place as a one of God’s children.

  • And what is the purpose of this reconciliation? To give you the compensation you have earned, which was obtained through the life you lived for God while living here on earth. But notice, as I said, there is a reconciliation, which means the good and bad things are balanced out for final payment.

• And that tells us something, and that is that if today I do something that is pleasing to God (the good things), but tomorrow I do something that is not pleasing to God (the Bad things), These two appear to have an offsetting effect. And one more time, as I stated earlier, this reconciliation has nothing to do with Salvation.

  • Rather, it has everything to do with the rewards you will receive in heaven. Now of course, while studying this my mind always goes to, well, are some things weighted heavier than others, as it relates to the good things I do versus the bad things?

    • My answer to you today is, I have no clue, and I don’t think anyone can answer that question either. What we do know though, is that there is a reconciliation process, and this process has to do with the rewards you will receive in heaven, which is directly related to the things you did which were pleasing to God. Things for His Glory and for His Kingdom while living here on earth.

  • Which tells us that we can A) Subtract from His Glory for His Kingdom, or we can B) Add to or Bring Glory to His Kingdom. Now, as I was thinking about all of this it got me to thinking just a little bit deeper about this topic. Which of course is what I always do. I simply can’t leave well enough alone.

• But it got me to thinking about how all this might work, and I came up with a theory, which by the way is not substantiated today by scripture. Therefore, don’t leave this morning and say, “Well, brother Greg said…” I didn’t say anything. I am simply giving you some insight into a thought I’ve had, and that is, if there is a judgement after our death, and that judgement is for reconciliation purposes, for the rewards we will receive in Heaven, which, let me say, I am 100% convinced of that fact, that our reconciliation is for the purposes of receiving our rewards in Heaven.

  • And so, if this is the case, then (once again) it’s a debit and credit system. We know that to be the case because that’s what it says. We will receive compensation for what we did that is good and bad. Then this means we must think about everything we do (as believers) in this life in the format of adding to and taking away.

  • Meaning, I could go out tomorrow and pray for someone, tell them about God’s love, which would be pleasing to our Lord, and as such put a credit in my Heavenly Bank Account. But then turn right around and do something that is not pleasing to Him, I don’t know, say, flip someone off in traffic, which would then turn around and create a debit.

    • Also, let me say this, we could also do something that would appear to make a deposit into our Heavenly back account, but in reality, make a debit due to the motive of our heart. And, obviously, only you and God knows what is true.

    • Which tells us even though other people may see me do something and say, wow, wasn’t that the Christian thing to do or say, if your motives were all self-serving, God knows it and it would create a debit rather than a credit. (Be burned up with fire).

  • You know what would really be interesting, would be for God to send us a current reconciliation of our Heavenly bank account. Wonder how it would look? I’ve got a sneaky feeling all of us would be shocked. And not in a good way.

  • So, this is the concept. A believer, upon his death, immediately enters the presence of the Lord and then proceeds directly into a judgement, along with a reconciliation for purposes of compensation, to receive our rewards in Heaven.

• By the way, just one more comment on this topic. I had a guy tell me one time, you know, I may not receive many rewards in Heaven, but as long as I get there, I’m good with it. He said, “I might be sweeping the gold dust off the roads, and you might be serving in some higher capacity, but I’m good”.

  • He was speaking in jest, but I thought it was an interesting way of looking at our rewards in Heaven. What he was saying is, it doesn’t matter what I do in this life, if I am saved, and I get there, who cares.

    • You know, I would hate to know that was my thought process. Because to be honest with you, my next thought after that would be (and this is just me), but my next thought would be, if I am thinking this way, maybe I am not truly saved in the first place. Because, why in the world would I not be concerned with pleasing God while living here on earth. Right? I’m not saying I am correct, but that’s just me.

    • So, you get the picture. Once you die, Paul says we immediately enter the presence of the Lord for the purpose of receiving our compensation for the life we lived, bringing glory to Him.

• One more side note. For further confirmation of what Paul wrote, the writer of Hebrews said this, and Paul didn’t write Hebrews, but in Hebrews 9:27:

Hebrews 9:27 And just as it is destined for people to die once, and after this comes judgment, 

• Other versions of scripture say, “it is appointed man once to die and then the judgement”. I’ll close here but let me say this. Guys, this life (especially the one we are living in) has a way of grabbing hold of our attention, taking our eyes off what is important.

  • But one day we will die. We don’t know when, but we will all die. And once we do there will be a judgement and there will be a reconciliation, and you will care about it. You won’t just have an “oh well” attitude about it. So, remember that as we go and represent our Lord and Savior.