"...so that mortality may be swallowed up by life." (2 Cor 5:4): Paul emphasizes here just what mankind lost in the garden deception when the serpent said, "No! You will not die." (Gen 3:4). We were created by God to live forever in God's presence but the sin of self peddled by the Evil One, began the death process that today we all experience.  Praise God, however that He through Christ Jesus overcame this curse and returned our life.  In our current state however, we long for our eternal bodies as daily the crush of sin in the world squeezes us.  At times, the longing is so great that we groan for God to take us home.  

Father, I am ready now to shed this earthen vessel and come home, but Thy will be done now on earth as it is in heaven.  Use me today in this tent for your good purpose, and when its time take me into your arms forever, in Jesus name I pray!

Recap/Transition
I don’t want to jump straight into Chapter 5 as if it stands on its own. It is intricately connected to the previous section. So - fair warning -  I’m going to spend a little time here summarizing the essentials of Chapter 4.

If you want to skip it, just go to my next post. I encourage you to not do that though. This recap was essential to my own fuller understanding of our current section.

It might prove useful to you too.

In the previous verses we learned that “we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body” (2 Cor 4:11).

As Christians, we can expect to suffer.

Most suffering in this world seems meaningless, that is, without a purpose. It seems either unfair or self-inflicted.

People are willing to suffer for good purposes. Soldiers, police, firefighters, and others subject themselves to intense agony and suffering for the benefit of the masses. We’d gladly give up a kidney or go through the painful aftereffects of donating bone marrow to save the life of someone we love. We’d sacrificially give money to pull someone out of dire straits, even when it is difficult for us. We’ll work out and endure pain if we’re committed to the health benefits of exercise.

It all still hurts, but the pain is worth it and even inspires us because we know and value the suffering's purpose.

But marital affairs? Child abuse? Famine? Poverty? Evil dictatorships? For that sort of purposeless suffering we complain, cringe and cry.

What a relief that the suffering God promised faithful Christians has a purpose higher than any of those things! It achieves for us an eternal glory (2Cor 4:17).

So death produces life, suffering produces glory!

Our troubles are only external (2Cor 4:16) – that is, they are only in our corrupt flesh, not in our spirits.

Compared to the eternal glory they’re working toward, they are “light and momentary” (2Cor 4:17).

For that reason, we fix our eyes on the things that are invisible and hidden (2Cor 4:18) – our future resurrection, perfection, freedom, and unhindered fellowship with God.

You see, it was because “our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed” that Paul could call the outwardly extreme suffering he endured “momentary, light affliction” because it “is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison” (2Cor 4:16-17).

Can I encourage you to read that last paragraph again? Can I also encourage you to pray about that topic in your life?

I’m assuming that, like me, you are a 21st century spoiled brat when it comes to discomfort and unfulfilled desires.

We have to reckon with 3 things that Hebrews says about Christ’s perfection:

1. Jesus was tempted in every way as we are (Heb 4:15) 
2. Jesus was without sin (Heb 4:15)
3. Jesus was made perfect through suffering (Heb 2:10).  

Is that last one a shocker to you? Does it challenge your beliefs as it does mine that Jesus’ perfection came through suffering rather than through sinlessness?

Bear with me while I break this down so there is no misunderstanding. There aren’t very many things I haven’t been tempted by in this life, but I’ve never been tempted by narcotic abuse. So do I get credit for never having abused narcotics? Of course not.

If Jesus was never tempted and never sinned, would that be a big deal? No. Sinlessness without temptation has no perfecting value. How could it?

Jesus the man was perfected because He suffered through the struggle against every human temptation without giving in even once.

So Paul said that our afflictions – the suffering he said all genuine Christians will face, which tempts us to turn back – are producing for us an eternal glory that has infinite value (2 Cor 4:16-17).

As John MacArthur said so well, “The true gospel is a call to self-denial. It is not a call to self-fulfillment.”

We should respond to suffering like the Apostles in Acts 5:41 who “left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name.”

To the Christians in Thessalonica, Paul wrote “your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring… is evidence that God's judgment is right. As a result, you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering” (1Th 1:4-5).

What is God telling you in the following words?

• “Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood”
  (Heb 12:3-4) 
• “If you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps”
  (1 Pet 2:20-21) 

This purposeful suffering, and the hope of becoming perfect, is where Paul picks up in chapter 5.

Let’s dig in to those first ten verses now.

John - That is a priceless and so accurate analogy to a problem you and I (at least) both face. The things that are seen seem so much more real and more within our grasp. They are designed by marketers and other advocates to appeal to our desires - the very desires God put in us for Him to fulfill. Those advocates are talented at making small things look big, optional things look necessary, and temporary things look permanent. Artificial lures.

I want to say we have trouble with invisible things. But I got to talk extensively with a blind Christian a few decades ago. She said seeing Christians often think it's easier for her to not become distracted because she can't see. But sounds, tastes, and textures in particular lured her. She assured me that her temptations were every bit as great as the rest of ours. Artificial lures.

James breaks this down for us in a very clear and recognizable way. "A man’s temptation is due to the pull of his own inward desires, which can be enormously attractive. His own desire takes hold of him, and that produces sin. And sin in the long run means death" (James 1:14-16, The New Testament in Modern English").

jb

Awaiting the new body...

Paul taught us in 1 Corinthians 15:52 that (paraphrasing)... "in a twinkle, at the sound of the last trumpet, the dead would be raised and clothed immediately with an everlasting imperishable body".

And in the next few versus that follow he teaches us that this is indeed a victory over death... "O Death, Where is your sting? "

The main points to take away...

1.We should not be too at home in this earthly body.

For the young with seemingly perfect earthly bodies, the message is that your beautiful body will not last.

The the sick and diseased and adding and elderly... The "ugly" noon famous normal masses... Average people... Don't get too fixed on wishing you had a better earthly body. For this only takes you away from God.

2. Be confident as a believer that God will provide you with a perfect body when Jesus returns. In the meantime until that day, he has given us the Holy Spirit. We live our live as a Christian by FAITH... Not by sight. We know that God will reward us for our obedience as we choose the path of living for God.

Linda - I've missed you, sis!. So glad to have you back! You wrote:

That passage from Revelation was spot on for additional insight into Paul's message here. Thank you for making that association.

You also wrote:


Amen. I ask God why I suffer. He tells me to re-read Genesis 3 and Revelation 22, then come ask Him again.

JB wrote:

Question - Our culture is obsessed with doing things to stay health - or at least talking about doing things to stay healthy. I know of several people who spend so much time at the gym that they neglect their families.

How much value should we believers place upon these bodies and upon extending our lives? Should there be any difference between how we handle that and how unbelievers do?

--

I think that God wants us to take care of our bodies... To treat our body like an earthly temple... with utmost respect. I've been blessed with a strong body and most of my life until my mid 30s I was like Superman in that my strength and constitution were very high. I ran into several health issues which I won't get into most recently diabetes type 2 high glucose. I've had to cut back on everything I like. With everything I've been through I must say at 48 I an fit and strong. I think God wants me to take care of this body as it serves several purposes... The main on being too perform my duties as a father to my boys.

Your question is a deep one and we could write an awful lot but I would say...

1. I believe our culture in general is obsessed with cheese burgers and ice cream and over eating... And this is a bad thing. We should not over eat, or drink too much alcohol. Everything in moderation. The main thing is we should take care of our earthly body as it's a vehicle to fuel our mind, which is a platform for study of Gods word and finding spiritual connection.

2. Those of us blessed with a good physical form should not obsess over fitness or how we look. This is missing the point of our Godly purpose and glorifying ourselfs... Pushing us away from God and going towards self worship and fleshy thought process.

We need to find balance and stay focused and humble