2 Corinthianschapter 5
21 verses · Paul · about AD 56 · Paul's letters
God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.
Introduction
Paul, Paul's letters, 2 Corinthians Overview.
This chapter comes from Paul, who names Timothy with him at the head of the letter, writing to the church at Corinth and the believers throughout Achaia. It belongs to a letter sent to a church that had doubted him. It carries on the thought of chapter 4, where Paul explained why he does not lose heart while his body wears out. Listen for the words about tents and clothing in the opening verses. Listen also for how often reconciliation returns near the end. Hear it as a word for anyone who has to think about death, judgment and the work Christ gives His people.
Context
- Who
- Believers weighing what happens after death and what Paul's ministry was actually for.
- What
- A section of Paul's letter defending his ministry, moving from the believer's hope at death to the message of reconciliation.
- Where
- Written from Macedonia to the church at Corinth, the chief city of the Roman province of Achaia.
- When
- About AD 55 to 56, within a year or so of 1 Corinthians.
- Why
- To show the Corinthians why Paul keeps working in a failing body, and to call them to be reconciled to God.
Historical context
The tent image came naturally to a man who worked in leather and cloth. A tent is temporary shelter, struck and packed; a building from God is permanent. Paul's hope is not to be unclothed but further clothed, he wants a body, not release from one, which keeps him distinct from the Greek longing to escape the flesh.
Show the rest of the historical context, 3 more paragraphs
The judgment seat, the bema, was a real object in Corinth. A raised platform in the marketplace where the Roman governor heard cases has been excavated there, and it is almost certainly where Gallio dismissed the charges against Paul. When he says we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, his readers could picture the actual stone.
Ambassadors were the recognized channel between a ruler and a city or people. An imperial legate spoke with the authority of the one who sent him, and a city ignored him at its peril. Calling believers ambassadors for Christ, with God making his appeal through them, is a claim about authority as well as about mission.
"Reconciliation" belonged to diplomacy and to broken relationships alike, the ending of hostility between parties who had been at war.
Significance
For the first hearers, the chapter answered both fear and complacency. There is a home waiting, and there is an accounting; the two sit side by side without contradiction.
Show the rest of the significance, 1 more paragraph
The centre of it was a sentence that reorganized everything: if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation. And the mission followed directly, God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ and has committed the message of reconciliation to them.
The heads below are this chapter's scenes. The numbered points under each are its verses.
The Tent, the Building, and the Judgment Seat
2 Corinthians 5:1-4
the earthly tent we live in: The tent is skenos, the body as a temporary dwelling, set against a building from God, an eternal house in heaven. The groaning of verses 2 and 4 longs for resurrection embodiment, so that our mortality may be swallowed up by life.
2 Corinthians 5:1
“He looks upon it as a house, or habitation, a dwelling-place, a resting-place, a hiding-place, our Father's house, where there are many mansions, and our everlasting home. It is a house in the heavens, in that high and holy place which as far excels all the palaces of this earth as the heavens are high above the earth.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
3 more voices on this verseWhat preachers and commentators have said about this verse, in their own words.
2 Corinthians 5:1
“For we know - We who are engaged in the work of the gospel ministry. Paul is giving a reason why he and his fellow-laborers did not become weary and faint in their work. The reason was, that they knew that even if their body should die, they had an inheritance reserved for them in heaven. The expression “we know” is the language of strong and unwavering assurance. They had no doubt on the subject.”
2 Corinthians 5:1
“In regard to our bodily nature we must understand that there is not one body which we now use in lowliness and corruption and weakness and a different one which we are to use hereafter in incorruption and power and glory, but that this same body, having cast off the weaknesses of its present existence, will be transformed into a thing of glory and made spiritual. The result is that what was a vessel of dishonor shall itself be purified and become a vessel of honor and a habitation of blessedness.”
Origen of Alexandria · written before 253 · On First Principles 3.6.6patristic
2 Corinthians 5:1
“Its wooden frame and curtains wore out in course of time when Israel dwelt in Canaan, and a fixed temple was substituted for it. The temple and the tabernacle in all essentials were one; there was the same ark, the same cloud of glory. Such is the relation between the "earthly" body and the resurrection body.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
longing to be clothed: Chrysostom takes the heavenly dwelling as the incorruptible body, called heavenly because the grace that makes it comes from there. Adam Clarke reads the groaning as the weight of trial in this life, and he refuses to apply it to indwelling sin. The longing is for more life.
2 Corinthians 5:2
“He treats of this subject in order to offer consolation against the fear of death and the dread of this very dissolution, as is even more manifest from what follows, when he adds, that "in this tabernacle of our earthly body we do groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with the vesture which is from heaven, if so be, that having been unclothed, we shall not be found naked; "in other words, shall regain that of which we have been divested, even our body.”
Tertullian · written before 220 · Against Marcion Book Vpatristic
2 more voices on this verse
2 Corinthians 5:2
“Desiring to be clothed upon - This body, which is now covered with flesh and blood, with the glorious house which is from heaven. Instead of flesh and blood, which cannot enter heaven, the rising body will be clothed or covered with what is analogous thereto, but incorruptible and immortal.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
2 Corinthians 5:2
“For in this we groan - While in this state, and in this body, we are encompassed with many infirmities, and exposed to many trials, so that life is a state of discipline and affliction, and every thing within and around us says, “Arise and depart, for this is not your rest!” Those who apply these words to what they call the apostle’s sense of indwelling sin, abuse the passage. There is nothing of the kind either mentioned or intended.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
we will not be found naked: Chrysostom knows two readings of the verse, being unclothed and being clothed, and he prefers the second. He then reads naked as bare of glory, since all will be raised but each in his own order. Tertullian takes the clothing as the same flesh given back.
2 Corinthians 5:3
“In like manner, when he inserts the words "If so be that being unclothed we be not found naked." -referring, of course, to those who shall not be found in the day of the Lord alive and in the flesh-he did not say that they whom he had just described as unclothed or stripped, were naked in any other sense than meaning that they should be understood to be reinvested with the very same substance they had been divested of.”
Tertullian · written before 220 · On the Resurrection of the Fleshpatristic
swallowed up by life: Tertullian answers readers who took swallowed up as the destruction of the flesh. A thing swallowed, he argues, is kept and hidden within.
2 Corinthians 5:4
Still further did He also make it manifest, that we ought, after our calling, to be also adorned with works of righteousness, so that the Spirit of God may rest upon us; for this is the wedding garment, of which also the apostle speaks, "Not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up by immortality." But those who have indeed been called to God's supper, yet have not received the Holy Spirit, because of their wicked conduct "shall be," He declares, "cast into outer darkness."
Irenaeus · written before 202 · Against Heresies Book IVpatristic
2 more voices on this verse
2 Corinthians 5:4
“For we that are in this tabernacle - We who are in this state of trial and difficulty do groan, being burdened; as if he had said: The whole of human life is a state of suffering, and especially our lot; who are troubled on every side, perplexed, persecuted, cast down, bearing about in the body the dying of our Lord Jesus, and being always delivered unto death on the account of Jesus, 2Co 4:8-11. These were sufficient burdens, and sufficient causes of groaning.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
2 Corinthians 5:4
“Faith does not divest us of all natural feeling, but subordinates it to higher feeling. Scripture gives no sanction to the contempt for the body expressed by philosophers.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
has given us the Spirit as a pledge: God has given us the Spirit as a pledge, arrabon, a down payment that guarantees the full sum still owed. The Spirit given now is God’s own promise that the resurrection body of verses 1 through 4 will follow.
2 Corinthians 5:5
“This is why he shows us how much better it is for us not to be sorry, if we should be surprised by death, and tells us that we even hold of God "the earnest of His Spirit" (pledged as it were thereby to have "the clothing upon," which is the object of our hope), and that "so long as we are in the flesh, we are absent from the Lord; " moreover, that we ought on this account to prefer "rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord," and so to be ready…”
Tertullian · written before 220 · Against Marcion Book Vpatristic
4 more voices on this verse
2 Corinthians 5:5
“Now he that hath wrought us for the self-same thing - The phrase “self-same thing” here means this very thing, that is, the thing to which he had referred - the preparation for heaven, or the heavenly dwelling. The word “wrought” here (κατεργασάμενος katergasamenos) means that God had formed or made them for this; that is, he had by the influences of the Spirit, and by his agency on the heart, created them, as it were, for this, and adapted them to it.”
2 Corinthians 5:5
“Now he that hath wrought us to this very thing - This longing for immortality. Is God - For none but God, none less than the Almighty, could have wrought this in us.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
2 Corinthians 5:5
“A great deal is to be done to prepare our souls for heaven, and that preparation of the heart is from the Lord. (2.) The earnest of the Spirit gave them this assurance: for an earnest is part of payment, and secures the full payment. The present graces and comforts of the Spirit are earnests of everlasting grace and comfort.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
2 Corinthians 5:5
IT is quite clear that the Apostle did not consider his body to be himself. He speaks of it as being the frail tent or tabernacle in which he dwelt and, again, as the garment with which, for a while, he was clothed. That tent or tabernacle he expected to see dissolved. And that garment he expected to put off. He distinguished between the outward man which would perish and the inward man, which was his true self, which he speaks of as, "renewed day by day."
2 Corinthians 5:6-8
we are away from the Lord: Verse 8 states Paul's preference, to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. That is presence with Christ at death with no interval of sleep, and Philippians 1:23 says the same.
2 Corinthians 5:6
“We who in this world "are exiled from the Lord" walk about on earth, it is true, but we are hastening on our way to heaven. For here we do not have a lasting place, but we are wayfarers and pilgrims, like all our fathers.”
Jerome · written before 420 · Homily 63 on Psalmspatristic
we walk by faith: The verse explains the absence named in verse 6. John Wesley calls faith a kind of seeing the invisible, above bare reason and far below the sight to come.
2 Corinthians 5:7
“And he anointed not him that was comely in person, but him that was comely in soul. If, then, the Lord counts the natural beauty of the body inferior to that of the soul, what thinks He of spurious beauty, rejecting utterly as He does all falsehood? "For we walk by faith, not by sight." Very clearly the Lord accordingly teaches by Abraham, that he who follows God must despise country, and relations, and possessions, and all wealth, by making him a stranger.”
Clement of Alexandria · written before 215 · The Instructor Book 3patristic
4 more voices on this verse
2 Corinthians 5:7
I THINK the Apostle is explaining here how it was he could say that while he was at home in the body, he was absent from the Lord—and through what means he felt that this was not the state in which he wished to be forever. Having been possessed, and actuated, and moved by the principle of faith, he was not content to tabernacle in a body which could only be dwelt in satisfactorily through the influence of the faculty of sight. The Apostle, however, mentions here a great general principle—"We walk by faith, not by sight."
2 Corinthians 5:7
“We have not the vision and fruition of God, as of an object that is present with us, and as we hope for hereafter, when we shall see as we are seen. Note, Faith is for this world, and sight is reserved for the other world: and it is our duty, and will be our interest, to walk by faith, till we come to live by sight.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
2 Corinthians 5:7
“For we walk - To walk, in the Scriptures often denotes to live, to act, to conduct in a certain way; see the notes on Rom 4:12; Rom 6:4. It has reference to the fact that life is a journey, or a pilgrimage, and that the Christian is traveling to another country. The sense here is, that we conduct ourselves in our course of life with reference to the things which are unseen, and not with reference to the things which are seen. By faith - In the belief of those things which we do not see.”
2 Corinthians 5:7
“For we cannot clearly see him in this life, wherein we walk by faith only: an evidence, indeed, that necessarily implies a kind of "seeing him who is invisible;" yet as far beneath what we shall have in eternity, as it is above that of bare, unassisted reason.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
at home with the Lord: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown distinguish being with the Lord at death from His coming to raise the body in 1 Thessalonians 4:14 to 17. Both hopes stand.
2 Corinthians 5:8
“We are confident - We are of good courage, notwithstanding our many difficulties; because we have this earnest of the Spirit, and the unfailing testimony of God. And notwithstanding this, we are willing rather to be absent from the body - we certainly prefer a state of glory to a state of suffering, and the enjoyment of the beatific vision to even the anticipation of it by faith and hope; but, as Christians, we cannot desire to die before our time.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
2 Corinthians 5:8
“Note, As those who are born from above long to be there, so it is but being absent from the body, and we shall very soon be present with the Lord--but to die, and be with Christ--but to close our eyes to all things in this world, and we shall open them in a world of glory. Faith will be turned into sight.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
2 Corinthians 5:8
"To be with Christ" (the disembodied state) is distinguished from Christ's coming to take us to be with Him in soul and body (1Th 4:14-17, "with the Lord").
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
2 Corinthians 5:9-10
we aspire to please Him: At the judgment seat of Christ, the bema, each one may receive his due for the things done in the body. John 5:24 frees the believer from condemnation, so what is weighed here is the works of a saved life.
2 Corinthians 5:9
“Then he says even to all: "We therefore earnestly desire to be acceptable unto God, whether absent or present; for we must all appear before the judgment-seat of Christ Jesus." If all of us, then all of us wholly; if wholly, then our inward man and outward too-that is, our bodies no less than our souls.”
Tertullian · written before 220 · On the Resurrection of the Fleshpatristic
2 more voices on this verse
2 Corinthians 5:9
Wherefore--with such a sure "confidence" of being blessed, whether we die before, or be found alive at Christ's coming. we labour--literally, "make it our ambition"; the only lawful ambition. whether present or absent--whether we be found at His coming present in the body, or absent from it. accepted--Greek, "well-pleasing."
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
2 Corinthians 5:9
“Wherefore - (Διὸ Dio). In view of the facts stated above. Since we have the prospect of a resurrection and of future glory; since we have the assurance that there is a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens; and since God has given to us this hope, and has granted to us the earnest of the Spirit, we make it our great object so to live as to be accepted by him. We labor - The word used here (φιλοτιμούμεθα philotimoumetha, from φίλος philos and τιμὴ timē, loving honor) means properly to love honor; to be ambitious.”
the judgment seat of Christ: Cyprian cites the verse to prove that Christ will judge. Adam Clarke reads receive as taking into one's own hand the wages of one's own work. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown take the words in the body as evidence that the risen body is the same body that did the deeds.
2 Corinthians 5:10
“'For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that everyone may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.''2Corinthians 5:10. THIS MORNING WE preached concerning the resurrection of the dead, and it seems consistent with order to carry forward our thoughts this evening, to that which follows immediately after the resurrection, namely: THE GENERAL JUDGMENT; for the dead rise on purpose that they may be judged in their bodies. The Resurrection is the immediate prelude to the Judgment.”
3 more voices on this verse
2 Corinthians 5:10
“For we all - Apostles as well as other men, whether now present in the body, or absent from it. Must appear - Openly, without covering, where all hidden things will be revealed; probably the sins, even of the faithful, which were forgiven long before. For many of their good works, as their repentance, their revenge against sin, cannot other wise appear.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
2 Corinthians 5:10
“From this we learn that the soul was not punished for sins committed before it acquired a body. In fact, the soul did not exist before the body.”
Cyril of Alexandria · written before 444 · LETTER 81.4patristic
2 Corinthians 5:10
“For we must all appear before the judgment seat - We labor to walk so as to please him, because we know that we shall have to give a solemn account of ourselves before the judgment seat of Christ; where he, whose religion we profess, will judge us according to its precepts, and according to the light and grace which it affords. That every one may receive the things - Κομισηται ἑκαστος· That each may receive to himself, into his own hand, his own reward and his own wages.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
The Love of Christ Leaves Us No Choice
2 Corinthians 5:11-13
what it means to fear the Lord: Paul writes since we know what it means to fear the Lord, we try to persuade men. The judgment seat of verse 10 gives that fear its weight.
2 Corinthians 5:11
“Knowing therefore - We who are apostles, and who are appointed to preach the gospel, having the fullest assurance of the terrors of the day of judgment, and of the wrath of God, endeavor to persuade people to be prepared to meet Him, and to give up their account. The terror of the Lord - This is, of the Lord Jesus, who will be seated on the throne of judgment, and who will decide the destiny of all people, 2Co 5:10; compare Matt.”
take pride in appearances: The word again looks back to 3:1. Chrysostom notes how often Paul heads off the charge of praising himself, and here he hands his friends an answer to the rival teachers. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown render appearances as face, and they set the verse beside 1 Samuel 16:7.
2 Corinthians 5:12
“For we commend not ourselves? - I do not say these things to bespeak your good opinion, to procure your praise; but to give you an occasion to glory - to exult on our behalf; and to furnish you with an answer to all those who either malign us or our ministry, and who only glory in appearance - have no solid ground of exultation, and whose heart is dishonest and impure.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
2 Corinthians 5:12
“For--the reason why he leaves the manifestation of his sincerity in preaching to their consciences (2Co 3:1), namely, his not wishing to "commend" himself again. occasion to glory-- (2Co 1:14), namely, as to our sincerity. in appearance--Greek, "face" (compare 1Sa 16:7).”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
out of our mind: Albert Barnes thinks the rival teachers had called Paul mad. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown note the change of tense, one past moment of being beside himself set against a settled soundness of mind.
2 Corinthians 5:13
“For whether we be besides ourselves,.... As some took them to be, and as Festus thought the Apostle Paul was, because of the doctrines they preached, and the self-commendation they were obliged to enter into through the calumnies of their adversaries; in which they did not so much seek their own reputation, as the honour and glory of God, which was struck at through them: it is to God; it is for his glory, and not our own, that we act this part, for which we are condemned as madmen.”
2 more voices on this verse
2 Corinthians 5:13
“For whether we be beside ourselves - This is probably designed to meet some of the charges which the false teachers in Corinth brought against him, and to furnish his friends there with a ready answer, as well as to show them the true principles on which he acted, and his real love for them. It is altogether probable that he was charged with being deranged; that many who boasted themselves of prudence, and soberness, and wisdom, regarded him as acting like a madman.”
2 Corinthians 5:13
“For if we are transported beyond ourselves - Or at least, appear so to others, treated of, 2 Cor. v, 15-21, speaking or writing with uncommon vehemence. It is to God - He understands (if men do not) the emotion which himself inspires.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
2 Corinthians 5:14-15
Christ’s love compels us: translates sunechei, to hem in on every side, a word used of a besieged city. The logic follows: One died for all, therefore all died, one death standing for the death of all He represented.
2 Corinthians 5:14
“The Greek implies to compress forcibly the energies into one channel. Love is jealous of any rival object engrossing the soul (2Co 11:1-3). because we thus judge--literally, "(as) having judged thus"; implying a judgment formed at conversion, and ever since regarded as a settled truth. that if--that is, that since.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
3 more voices on this verse
2 Corinthians 5:14
“While we thus judge, that if Christ died for all, then are all, even the best of men, naturally dead - In a state of spiritual death, and liable to death eternal. For had any man been otherwise, Christ had not needed to have died for him.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
2 Corinthians 5:14
“But how is it that "one died for all," one who is worth all others, if the suffering is considered simply that of some man? If he suffered according to his human nature, since he made the sufferings of his body his own.… The death of him alone according to the flesh is known to be worth the life of all, not the death of one who is as we are, even though he became like to us, but we say that he, being God by nature, became flesh and was made man according to the confession of the Fathers.”
Cyril of Alexandria · written before 444 · LETTER 50patristic
2 Corinthians 5:14
“Note, This was the deplorable condition of all those for whom Christ died: they were lost and undone, dead and ruined, and must have remained thus miserable for ever if Christ had not died for them. (2.) What such should do, for whom Christ died; namely, that they should live to him.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
no longer live for themselves: Chrysostom reads the verse as a debt counted twice, since believers live through Christ and He also died for them. Basil of Caesarea makes it the mark of everyone who eats the bread and drinks the cup of Christ. Wesley names what a life for self seeks: honour, profit, pleasure.
2 Corinthians 5:15
“What is the mark of those who eat the bread and drink the cup of Christ? That they keep in perpetual remembrance him who died for us and rose again. What is the mark of those who keep such remembrance? That they live not for themselves but for him who died for them and rose again. What is the mark of a Christian? That his justice abound in all things more than that of the scribes and Pharisees, according to the rule of the doctrine which has been handed down in the Lord's gospel.”
Basil of Caesarea · written before 379 · The Morals 22patristic
2 more voices on this verse
2 Corinthians 5:15
“Should not henceforth - From the moment they know him. Live unto themselves - Seek their own honour, profit, pleasure. But unto him - In all righteousness and true holiness.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
2 Corinthians 5:15
“And that he died for all ... - This verse is designed still further to explain the reasons of the conduct of the apostle. He had not lived for himself. He had not lived to amass wealth, or to enjoy pleasure, or to obtain a reputation. He had lived a life of self-denial, and of toil; and he here states the reason why he had done it. It was because he felt that the great purpose of the death of the Redeemer was to secure this result.”
New Creation: Ambassadors Pleading Be Reconciled
we regard no one according to the flesh: The love of verses 14 and 15 changes how Paul weighs people: we regard no one according to the flesh. Sarx here means outward rank, nation and appearance, the false apostles’ measures.
2 Corinthians 5:16
“We consider all, only in order to save all. Who is he that thus knows no one after the flesh? ln what land do these Christians live? Yea, if we have known even Christ after the flesh - So as to love him barely with a natural love, so as to glory in having conversed with him on earth, so as to expect only temporal benefits from him.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
2 Corinthians 5:16
“Know we no man after the flesh - As we know that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God; and as we know that all are alienated from God, and are dead in trespasses and sins; therefore we esteem no man on account of his family relations, or the stock whence he proceeded, because we see all are shut up in unbelief, and all are children of wrath.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
2 Corinthians 5:16
“This is at variance with both Romish Mariolatry and transubstantiation. Two distinct Greek verbs are used here for "know"; the first ("know we no man") means "to be personally acquainted with"; the latter ("known Christ . . . know . . . more") is to recognize, or estimate. Paul's estimate of Christ, or the expected Messiah, was carnal, but is so now no more.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
he is a new creation: If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, kaine ktisis, echoing Isaiah’s new heavens and new earth. The power that made the first world remakes the man in Christ, and the old has passed away as an accomplished fact.
2 Corinthians 5:17
“Therefore if any one be in Christ - A true believer in him. There is a new creation - Only the power that makes a world can make a Christian. And when he is so created, the old things are passed away - Of their own accord, even as snow in spring.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
4 more voices on this verse
2 Corinthians 5:17
But, if we must go on with our discussion and make a deeper study, let us from this point contemplate especially the divine power of the Holy Spirit. We find three creations mentioned in the Scripture; the first, the education from nonexistence into existence; the second, the change from worse to better; and the third, the resurrection of the dead. In these you will find the Holy Spirit co-operating with the Father and the Son.… Now, humanity is created a second time through baptism, "for if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature."
Basil of Caesarea · written before 379 · Letter 8patristic
2 Corinthians 5:17
“Therefore--connected with the words in 2Co 5:16, "We know Christ no more after the flesh." As Christ has entered on His new heavenly life by His resurrection and ascension, so all who are "in Christ" (that is, united to Him by faith as the branch is In the vine) are new creatures (Ro 6:9-11).”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
2 Corinthians 5:17
“And so great is the change the grace of God makes in the soul, that, as it follows, old things are passed away --old thoughts, old principles, and old practices, are passed away; and all these things must become new. Note, Regenerating grace creates a new world in the soul; all things are new.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
2 Corinthians 5:17
“Therefore if any man be in Christ - The phrase to “be in Christ,” evidently means to be united to Christ by faith; or to be in him as the branch is in the vine - that is, so united to the vine, or so in it, as to derive all its nourishment and support from it, and to be sustained entirely by it.”
2 Corinthians 5:18-19
the ministry of reconciliation: Reconciliation is katallage, the restoring of a broken relationship, and the verbs run one way: God reconciled us to Himself through Christ. The ministry of reconciliation given to the church carries that message, the letter’s summary of the gospel.
2 Corinthians 5:18
“For through Himself He creates the things which are created in Him, just as through Himself all things are reconciled in Him. Inasmuch as they are reconciled in Him, recognise in Him the nature of the Father's unity, reconciling all things to Himself in Him. Inasmuch as all things are reconciled through Him, perceive Him reconciling to the Father in Himself all things which He reconciled through Himself.”
Hilary of Poitiers · written before 367 · On the Trinity 8.51patristic
4 more voices on this verse
2 Corinthians 5:18
“Christ's blood was the price paid at the expense of God Himself, and was required to reconcile the exercise of mercy with justice, not as separate, but as the eternally harmonious attributes in the one and the same God (Ro 3:25, 26). The Greek "reconcile" is reciprocally used as in the Hebrew Hithpahel conjugation, appease, obtain the favor of.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
2 Corinthians 5:18
“Reconciliation supposes a quarrel, or breach of friendship; and sin has made a breach, it has broken the friendship between God and man. The heart of the sinner is filled with enmity against God, and God is justly offended with the sinner. Yet, behold, there may be a reconciliation; the offended Majesty of heaven is willing to be reconciled.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
2 Corinthians 5:18
“MAN became God's enemy wantonly, without the slightest offense given on God's part. But man did not make advances towards reconciliation, or express regret because peace was broken. The first overtures for peace are not made by man, the offender, but by our aggrieved and offended God. Therefore our text begins with the declaration, "All things are of God." Reconciliation of man to his Maker is never achieved by man, but is the work of God from first to last, and to God must be all the glory. The text enforces this Truth by giving us a brief summary.”
2 Corinthians 5:18
“And all things are of God - As the thorough conversion of the soul is compared to a new creation, and creation is the proper work of an all-wise, almighty Being; then this total change of heart, soul, and life, which takes place under the preaching of the Gospel, is effected by the power and grace of God: this is salvation, and salvation must ever be of the Lord; and therefore men should apply to him, who alone can work this wondrous change.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
reconciling the world to Himself: Albert Barnes calls the verse an abstract of the whole plan of redemption in one sentence. He reads in Christ as by means of Christ.
2 Corinthians 5:19
“Namely - The sum of which is, God - The whole Godhead, but more eminently God the Father. Was in Christ, reconciling the world - Which was before at enmity with God. To himself - So taking away that enmity, which could no otherwise be removed than by the blood of the Son of God.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
2 Corinthians 5:19
“To wit - (Greek, Ὡς ὄτι Hōs oti), namely This verse is designed further to state the nature of the plan of reconciliation, and of the message with which they were entrusted. It contains an abstract, or an epitome of the whole plan; and is one of those emphatic passages in which Paul compresses into a single sentence the substance of the whole plan of redemption. That God was in Christ - That God was by Christ (ἐν Χριστῷ en Christō), by means of Christ; by the agency, or mediatorship of Christ.”
2 Corinthians 5:19
“The expression " IN Christ" for "by Christ" may be used to imply additionally that God was IN Christ (Joh 10:38; 14:10), and so by Christ (the God-man) was reconciling . . . The Greek for "by" or "through" Christ (the best manuscripts omit "Jesus"), 2Co 5:18, is different.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
2 Corinthians 5:20-21
we are ambassadors for Christ: Verse 21 states the exchange at the center of the letter: God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf. Our sin is counted to Him, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.
2 Corinthians 5:20
“Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ-we beseech you in Christ's stead - Herein the apostle might appear to some "transported beyond himself." In general he uses a more calm, sedate kind of exhortation, as in the beginning of the next chapter. What unparalleled condescension and divinely tender mercies are displayed in this verse!”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
2 Corinthians 5:20
“We are ambassadors for Christ - Ὑπερ Χριστου - πρεσβευομεν. We execute the function of ambassadors in Christ’s stead. He came from the Father to mankind on this important embassy. He has left the world, and appointed us in his place. Ambassador is a person sent from one sovereign power to another; and is supposed to represent the person of the sovereign by whom he is deputed. Christ while on earth represented the person of the Sovereign of the world; his apostles and their successors represent the person of Christ.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
2 Corinthians 5:20
“Faithful ministers are Christ's ambassadors, sent to treat with sinners on peace and reconciliation: they come in God's name, with his entreaties, and act in Christ's stead, doing the very thing he did when he was upon this earth, and what he wills to be done now that he is in heaven.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
who knew no sin: Augustine sets the two halves of the verse side by side. In his reading Christ is made sin that was never His, and believers are made righteous with a righteousness that is God's.
2 Corinthians 5:21
“I had, also, once a sweet glance from that in 2 Cor. v. 21: For He hath made Him to be sin for us, Who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.”
John Bunyan · Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners (1666)English Puritan
4 more voices on this verse
2 Corinthians 5:21
“For he hath made him to be sin for us - The Greek here is, ‘for him who knew no sin, he hath made sin, or a sin-offering for us.’ The design of this very important verse is, to urge the strongest possible reason for being reconciled to God. This is implied in the word (γὰρ gar) “for.” Paul might have urged other arguments, and presented other strong considerations. But he chooses to present this fact, that Christ has been made sin for us, as embodying and concentrating all.”
2 Corinthians 5:21
“But if you hold to the letter, as you think, from what is written, that the Word was made flesh, that the Word of God was made flesh; do you deny that it is written about the Lord, that he did not commit sin, but became sin? Therefore, the Lord was not turned into sin? Not so; but because he took on our sins, he was called sin. For the Lord was also called cursed, not because the Lord was turned into a curse, but because he himself took on our curse: Cursed is he who hangs on a tree.”
Ambrose of Milan · written before 397 · On the Sacrament of the Incarnation of the Lord, Chapter 6patristic
2 Corinthians 5:21
“God lays our sins on Christ and punishes them in him. And in Christ's obedient death, God fulfills and vindicates his righteousness and imputes (credits) it to us.”
John Piper · The Great Exchange (Solid Joys devotional) (2012)Reformed Baptist
2 Corinthians 5:21
“The sin of the world is one, therefore the singular, not the plural, is used; though its manifestations are manifold (Joh 1:29). "Behold the Lamb of God, that taketh away the SIN of the world." Compare "made a curse for us," Ga 3:13. for us--Greek, "in our behalf." Compare Joh 3:14, Christ being represented by the brazen serpent, the form, but not the substance, of the old serpent.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
How this psalm is built
The form: A reason Paul gives for why he and his fellow workers did not grow weary or faint in their work, as Barnes classes it.
The patterns in this chapter
| Device | What it does | Where to see it |
|---|---|---|
| The tent and the clothing | The word tent stands at verses 1, 2 and 4, and clothed stands three times, at verses 2, 3 and 4, with naked at verse 3 and unclothed at verse 4. Paul mixes a dwelling with a garment, so the body is both a house to live in and a covering to put on. The site's published exposition of verses 1 to 4 reads the tent against Paul's own trade and the clothing as a hope of the resurrection body.This site's published exposition of 2 Corinthians 5:1, The exposition_notes row on 2 Corinthians 5:1 to 4, citing Charles Hodge, An Exposition of the Second Epistle to the Corinthians, and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible. | 2 Corinthians 5:1, 2 Corinthians 5:2, 2 Corinthians 5:3, 2 Corinthians 5:4 |
| At home and away | Verse 6 sets at home in the body beside away from the Lord, and verse 8 turns the pair round, away from the body and at home with the Lord. Verse 9 uses the pair once more, here in this body or away from it. Adam Clarke notes that the two Greek words mean to live among one's own people and to live as a stranger among a foreign people.Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible, on 2 Corinthians 5:6. | 2 Corinthians 5:6, 2 Corinthians 5:8, 2 Corinthians 5:9 |
| Reconciliation five times | Words for reconciling stand five times in three verses, twice in verse 18, twice in verse 19 and once in verse 20. In verses 18 and 19 God is the one who reconciles, and verse 20 turns the teaching into a plea, Be reconciled to God. Albert Barnes calls verse 19 an epitome of the whole plan of redemption compressed into a single sentence.Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869), on 2 Corinthians 5:19. | 2 Corinthians 5:18, 2 Corinthians 5:19, 2 Corinthians 5:20 |
How the chapter is built
7 more paragraphs on the patterns
The chapter runs in four movements. Verses 1 to 5 set the earthly tent beside a building from God, with the Spirit as the pledge. Verses 6 to 10 turn on being at home and away, and they end at the judgment seat of Christ. Verses 11 to 15 give the two forces behind Paul's work, the fear of the Lord and the love of Christ. Verses 16 to 21 announce the new creation and the ministry of reconciliation, and they close on the exchange of verse 21.
Where it stands in the letter
Chapter 4 ended with the outer self wasting away while an eternal weight of glory is prepared, and 5:1 gives the ground of that hope. The appeal of 5:20 runs straight on into 6:1 and 6:2, where Paul urges the Corinthians not to receive God's grace in vain and declares that now is the day of salvation. The defence of his ministry goes on through chapter 7.
The debated reading: why believers groan
Adam Clarke reads the groaning of verse 2 as the weight of trial in this life, and he says that those who apply it to indwelling sin abuse the passage (Commentary on the Bible, on 2 Corinthians 5:2). Matthew Henry names the body and the calamities of life as heavy loads, and he adds that believers groan because they are burdened with a body of sin and the corruptions still remaining in them (Commentary on the Whole Bible, on 2 Corinthians 5:4).
The debated reading: the fear of the Lord
Verse 11 speaks of knowing what it means to fear the Lord. Albert Barnes reads it of the terrors of the day of judgment and of the wrath of God (Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869), on 2 Corinthians 5:11). Adam Clarke calls the older rendering terror too harsh, and he reads the fear of the Lord as the reverence and worship owed to Him (Commentary on the Bible, on 2 Corinthians 5:11). Jamieson, Fausset and Brown record both views among earlier scholars (Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, on 2 Corinthians 5:11).
Keep studying
Studies13
Words12
Sources for this chapter
The summary
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the New Testament and Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary.
The context
Charles Hodge, An Exposition of 2 Corinthians and Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible.
The form and classifications
Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869), on 2 Corinthians 5:1; John Chrysostom, Homily 10 on 2 Corinthians, on 2 Corinthians 5:10 and Tertullian, Against Marcion Book V, on 2 Corinthians 5:2.
The exposition
Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes; Ambrose of Milan, On the Sacrament of the Incarnation of the Lord, Chapter 6; Augustine of Hippo, Enchiridion 13.41; Basil of Caesarea, THE MORALS 22; Charles Hodge, An Exposition of the Second Epistle to the Corinthians; Charles Spurgeon, My Grace Is Sufficient (and the 2 Corinthians sermons); Cyprian, Treatise XII Three Books of Testimonies Against the Jews; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Calvin, Commentary on the Epistles to the Corinthians; John Chrysostom; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Tertullian, On the Resurrection of the Flesh.