Lesson #28

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1 – 2 Corinthians

September 21, 2015

Lesson #01

January 16, 2010

Lesson #02

January 16, 2010

RETURN TO THE SYLLABUS

2CORINTHIANS 5
Lesson #28
THE COMFORT OF GOD AT THE END OF LIFE

• Memory Verse: 2Cor 5:21

 

• Paul’s theme in these chapters of 2Corinthians has been comfort:
• In chapter 3 Paul discussed the comfort that the believer has in his life through the ministry of Jesus Christ.
• In chapter 4 Paul discussed the comfort that God gives the believer in the midst of suffering for Christ.
  • The ultimate suffering is to give your physical life for Christ.
• In chapter 5 Paul will show us the ultimate comfort in the midst of ultimate suffering.

 

• Read 2Cor 5:1-11 The Outer Man and the Inner Man

 

• “For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved…”

 

(1)
• Notice in this verse that Paul tells us something we “know”. This is what we know because Paul already taught us about the resurrection in 1Cor 15.
  • The earthly house in which we live is our physical bodies.
    • The tabernacle in the Old Testament was a temporary and portable building the Israelites used in the desert as a place of worship. It housed the glorious presence of God. Sometimes it was called a tent. (Exo 39:32)
    • The physical body of the Christian is a temporary and portable. It houses the glorious presence of the Holy Spirit.

 

• “…we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.”

 

(1)
• The believer’s eternal house is the new resurrected body he will receive at the Rapture of the church.
• The physical body is failing and one day will return to dust. Paul tells us that this physical body is groaning in its desire to have the new incorruptible, resurrected body. (2)
  • The older we become, the more we groan waiting for the resurrection that surely will come.

 

• “…If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked.”

 

(3)
• This verse reminds me of my granddaughter. When she was about 12 years old she learned about the rapture of the church. Her eyes were wide in amazement to think that at any moment Jesus Christ would suddenly appear to take believers out of this world into heaven. Then a great sadness passed over her face. I asked her what was wrong. She said, “Grandma, I don’t want to go!” When I asked her why, she said that she would be too embarrassed because all her earthly clothes would be left behind and she would be naked.
• However, this verse tells us that we shall not be found naked. We shall not be ashamed because the believer in Jesus Christ will be clothed with the righteousness of Jesus Christ and immediately a new resurrected body. (Isa 61:10)
  • It is the non-believer that will stand before God naked and ashamed at the final Great White Throne judgment.
  • The non-believers from all human history will be resurrected after the millennial reign of Christ on earth for 1,000 years. They will be resurrected to stand before the Great White Throne judgment without any covering or excuse. Their lives will be clearly revealed for their inadequacy and inability to cover their sins.

Biblical Resurrections and Judgments in their sequence in time

The Resurrections and Judgments	Christ and the Believer	The Non-believer or the Rebellious without Christ
God’s judgment of sin	God judged sin when Jesus Christ hung on the cross and became sin for us. (Gal 3:13) The wages of sin is death and Jesus paid that price.
Jesus’ Resurrection	Jesus Christ resurrected from the dead to be the first to be raised and to never die again. He is the First Fruits that promised a greater harvest of resurrected believers to come.
Self-judgment and Chastisement	This is the judgment that the believer continually makes guided by the conviction of the Holy Spirit concerning his daily attitudes and actions. (1Cor 11:31)
The Rapture of the Church	The resurrection of New Testament dead believers in Jesus Christ and the transformation of living New Testament believers in Jesus Christ. (1The 4:16-18)
The Judgment Seat of Christ	This is a judgment of the works done by the believer during his physical life on earth after he received Jesus Christ into his heart. (2Cor 5:10)
The Judgment of the Nation of Israel		The suffering in the tribulation period of seven years that is yet to come on earth will be God’s judgment on Israel as a nation. (Eze 20:33 Psa 50)
The Resurrection of Old Testament Saints and Tribulation Martyrs	All the believers from creation to the crucifixion will be resurrected at the end of the tribulation period with all those believers that died in the tribulation period. They will receive their new resurrected bodies. (Dan 12:1-3 Rev 20:4-6)
The Judgment of Gentile Nations		At the beginning of His millennial kingdom on earth, Jesus Christ will judge all the gentile nations for how they have treated the Jews. This is the sheep and goat judgment.(Mat 25:31-46)
The Resurrection Change of all Millennial Believers	Before eternity begins, God will give all millennial believers born during that period of time a new glorified body.(Rev 20:5)
The Resurrection of all Non-believers From all Human History		All non-believers that have never put their faith in Jesus Christ as their personal savior or Messiah will be physically resurrected from the dead. (Rev 20:11)
The Great White Throne Judgment		All non-believers will stand before God in judgment to be judged for their sins along with Satan.(Rev 20:10-15)
The Judgment of Angels		God will judge those angels that rebelled against God before the time of Adam and Eve. (Jud 6 Rev 20:10)

 

• “…being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life.”

 

(4)
• Because the believer in Jesus Christ has forgiveness of sin, the righteousness of Christ, a coming resurrection, and eternal life, he does not need to worry about the final judgment or eternal condemnation separated from God.
• Not only does the believer have all these blessings coming to him but they are guaranteed by God, and assured by the presence of the Holy Spirit.

 

• “…the earnest of the Spirit.

 

(5)
• The word, “earnest”, refers to a down payment, something of value given to insure a promise in the same way that an engagement ring is something of value given to insure that a wedding will occur.
• The confident attitude of the believer: (6-8)
  • The believer in Jesus Christ has a confident attitude because:
    • The believer knows where he is going when he dies.
    • The believer knows what his eternal destiny will be.
    • The believer knows who is in control of his life.
  • This confident attitude provides for the believer:
    • A removal of all fear.
    • A deep sense of peace and love.
    • A feeling of security.
  • How can the believer be sure he has all of these blessings that Paul talks about?
    • While the believer is in this mortal body, he walks by faith. He cannot see the Lord Jesus Christ because Christ’s physical presence is absent from this earth. The faith walk is the condition of this earth while we wait for the resurrection in the Rapture of the church. (7)
      • In other words, by faith the believer trusts in God that His words are true and that God is faithful to fulfill His promises.
• Being present or being absent:
  • With the believer’s confidence in the promises of God and an eternal perspective, the believer has the ability to live his life in service to God knowing that God is in control, and He predestines the events that happen in life. (9)
    • For the time the believer is on earth, he is walking by faith and serving Christ with his eye on a future in the presence of Jesus Christ.
    • When God determines that his time on earth is finished, he is immediately in the presence of Jesus Christ.

 

• “…we may be accepted of him.”

 

(9)
• What does Paul mean by this phrase?
  • Read Eph 1:5-6 Accepted In Christ
    • In

    Jesus Christ, the believer that has received Christ into his heart is accepted by God because his sins are forgiven.

    • This is the believer’s position based on the righteousness of Christ.
  • Notice that verse 9 of 2Cor 5 says, “accepted of him”.
    • This refers to the way the believer lives his life after receiving Jesus Christ into his heart.
    • The believer should desire to be ambitious in serving Christ to the best of his ability because after the Rapture occurs, he will stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ to give an account of his Christian life.
      • We have already discussed the Judgment Seat of Christ in our study of 1Corinthians (Lesson #05)
      • Read Phi 1:21
        • Paul’s attitude is the attitude the Christian should have toward life.
          • The believer should live his life serving Christ so that when he is finally in the presence of the Lord, he will hear the words, “Good and faithful servant.”

• Read 2Cor 5:12-21
  • Do not become like those who glory in appearance:
    • Be a real believer that lives his life to serve God.
    • The believer should have a conscience to preach the truth of the gospel and the truth of an eternal destiny in hell for those without Jesus Christ. (11-12)
      • As we come closer to the second coming of Christ, there is a great apostasy (a falling away) from the true gospel of Jesus Christ. There are more and more churches and preachers that glory in appearance and do not preach about sin, hell, and eternal damnation.
      • The true church and the committed believer must tell people about their eternal destiny so as to save some.
        • If we do not do this, we will answer for it at the Judgment Seat of Christ.
  • Some people will not understand the believer’s determination to preach the truth, but for the love of Christ and the love for lost people, the believer must share the truth of God’s Word. (13-14)

 

• “…that if one died for all, then were all dead:”

 

(14)
• The believer should tell people that all humans are born with a sinful nature and that the wages of sin is death. Therefore, all humans are under a death sentence unless they are saved by faith in Jesus Christ who died on the cross for them.

 

• “Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh:…”

 

(16)
• After a person is a believer in Jesus Christ, he does not look at people in the same way as before.
  • Now he looks at people as either believers or non-believers, saved or not saved, destined for a glorious eternity with God or destined for an eternal hell.
    • This change in perspective occurred because the believer knows Christ through the Spirit and he now sees people in the same way that God sees them.
    • This change in perspective occurred because the believer is now a new creature. (17)
      • The old things that have passed away are the old relationships, the old perspective, the attraction of the old world system, etc.
• The ministry of reconciliation: (18-21)

• What is the ministry of reconciliation?
  • The ministry of reconciliation is God’s call to every human to come to Christ to reconcile his sins.
    • The word, reconcile, means = to call back into union after enmity (hatred); to restore to fellowship; a change in relationship.
    • Read Eph 2:16-19
      • Because of sin man is separated from God and becomes an enemy of God. However, Jesus Christ paid the price to reconcile us to God so that we would no longer be enemies.
  • Notice that God does the reconciling through the death of Jesus Christ on the cross. (18-19)
    • Read Col 1:20-22
      • This passage tells us that reconciliation is more than just man’s salvation that is reconciled and changed into a new relationship.
        • Colossians tells us that the whole world is reconciled by Jesus death on the cross.
          • When Adam committed the first sin, God’s whole creation was marred and came under the curse.
          • Therefore, Jesus’ death on the cross purchased the final reconciliation of this planet to change it back to what it was before the first sin.
            • We do not yet see this reconciliation of the earth and heaven as mentioned in Colossians. We will not see it until Christ comes to establish his kingdom on this earth in the millennium.
  • Notice that God has given the believers in Christ a ministry of reconciliation.
    • How can the believer fulfill this ministry of reconciliation?
      • God has entrusted the gospel of Jesus Christ to those of us that believe in Him. We are witnesses of the reconciliation that occurred in us when we were born again by the Spirit of God.
      • The believer is God’s ambassador to a lost world. (20)
      • Therefore, we must tell others that Jesus Christ paid the price to reconcile us to God by the forgiveness of sin.
• What is the message of the ministry of reconciliation? (21)
  • The word of reconciliation (19b) or the message of reconciliation is verse 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.”

 

• Summary and Application:
  • Paul’s motives for ministry should be ours as well. There are 3 things that motivated Paul:
    • =1= The fact of the Judgment Seat of Christ that would review his every deed and motive.
    • =2= The fact that all men are sinners, lost, and destined for a final judgment and eternal damnation.
    • =3= The fact that God loved man, desires to see him saved, and that Paul loved Christ enough to go to the lost with the gospel.

HOMEWORK
2CORINTHIANS 6
This is a self-study. Please do not send homework answers to the teacher forcorrection.

• Application of 2Cor 5
  • In what ways are you being an ambassador for Christ fulfilling the ministry of reconciliation?

 

• Preparation for 2Cor 6
• Read 2Cor 6:1-18
  • What do you think Paul means by not being unequally yoked? (14)

 

• Why do you think he gives this command?

 

• What are some areas of life to which this command might apply?

 

• What are some things the Christian must be willing to bear to do the ministry of God?

 

• Memory Verse: Rom 15:1