(2Co 5:11) “Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences.”  “Terror”: to be put in alarm or fright.  Yes, our Father loves us as sons and daughters.  I know one can love or respect a person in this life so much that it hurts deeply to let them down in some way. How much more for us when our old nature no longer gets in the way of loving our Lord with all our heart.  

(2Co 5:10) “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.”  We say we love Him yet live as if not concerned if we please Him daily or not. If we did we would daily seek to know what His Word says. His Word has instruction as to how He wants us to think and how He wants us to behave.

(2Co 5:10) “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.”  Context begins with a reminder of assurance of salvation, (v.5) “…given unto us the earnest of the Spirit.”  So, this is speaking of judgment based upon how we lived out God’s Word. Sad that so many professing love for Him haven’t been thankful enough to seek such direction daily.

(2Co 5:9) “Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him.”  This acceptance is not referring to a determination of whether we are saved or not. It is an acceptance of whether we actually lived putting forth His plan of bringing others to His Son or not. No one is saved to waste their life living for self. Each is saved with purpose of service to Him, according to His plan laid out in His Word.

(2Co 5:8) “We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.”    What a glorious thing to be, to live, in the presence of the Lord! Remember, this old sinful body will be left behind. All of those sinful thoughts and desires will have been left behind, allowing us to dwell in His presence without our hearts condemning us whatsoever. “Even so come Lord Jesus”!

(2Co 5:8) “We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.”   I once again draw your attention to the fact that not only is this confidence based upon faith in God’s stated Word, but it is also based upon a tangible thing that can be proven to self  – the earnest, the Holy Spirit in you (2 Cor 5:5). This proof is why a person can rightly be asked, (2Co_13:5)  “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves…”  

(2Co 5:8) “We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.”   Notice the difference between this statement and Verse 1, “For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.”.  Today’s verse speaks of now, before the resurrection of our bodies (v.1), our verse of present day. To pass today is to leave this old house behind. Yet, we are not naked, but the spiritual body was made alive at the salvation experience. With it we immediately stand in the presence of God. At the Rapture we will receive a glorified, resurrected body.

(2Co 5:8) “We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.”   In both vVerse 6 and now in Verse 8, we have a phrase that speaks of a settled faith in God’s Word, His truthfulness, His ability. That phrase is “we are confident”! Are you confident of your spiritual position in both this life and the life to come?

(2Co 5:6) “Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: (7)  (For we walk by faith, not by sight:)”  That parenthesis statement gives clarity to what has been stated in Verse Six. Though seemingly absent from the presence of the Lord while living in this physical world, our faith in God’s teaching and the presence of the Holy Spirit assure our hearts that we are not only His, but that Verse Eight (seen tomorrow) awaits us! Praise His Name.

(2Co 5:5) “Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit.”  To “wrought us” and “the earnest of the Spirit”  speak of the same thing. It speaks of that new body being something that will, without doubt, take effect. “Wrought” speaks of finishing. The Spirit of God living inside us being the “earnest”, speaks of “a token, a sign, a surety of a promise”. Praise God, how can  you possibly doubt if you so have the evidence, the reality of the Holy Spirit within you?