The Promise of a Better Life
Previous bullet points:
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- Life for the believer can be very difficult.
- Never get tired of doing what is good.
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2 Corinthians 5:1-10 (NLT)
The Promise of a Better Life
Our Heavenly Dwelling
New Bodies
1 For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands. 2 We grow weary in our present bodies, and we long to put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing. 3 For we will put on heavenly bodies; we will not be spirits without bodies] 4 While we live in these earthly bodies, we groan and sigh, but it’s not that we want to die and get rid of these bodies that clothe us. Rather, we want to put on our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by life. 5 God himself has prepared us for this, and as a guarantee he has given us his Holy Spirit.
6 So we are always confident, even though we know that as long as we live in these bodies we are not at home with the Lord. 7 For we live by believing and not by seeing. 8 Yes, we are fully confident, and we would rather be away from these earthly bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord. 9 So whether we are here in this body or away from this body, our goal is to please him. 10 For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body.
Examine the scriptures:
2 Corinthians 5:1-10 (NLT)
The Promise of a Better Life
New Bodies
Our Heavenly Dwelling
1 For we know that when this earthly tent
4:16 … our bodies are dying,
We are like fragile clay jars.
Lowly, common, expendable, breakable, and replaceable.
Tents: (Remember that Paul was a tentmaker.)
Paul’s metaphor for our physical bodies
Temporary (the tabernacle was a temporary structure)
Nomadic (no permanent place to call home)
Fragile
Insecure
Lowly
we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body),
we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands.
Permanence
A heavenly, eternal body
Made for us by God
Security
Certainty
Bodies that will never die (1 Corinthians 15:54)
54 Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled:
“Death is swallowed up in victory.
- When we die and leave this earthly body we will have an eternal body made for us by God himself.
2 We grow weary in our present bodies,
- We grow weary in our present bodies.
and we long to put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing.
This is no death wish.
Philippians 3:20-21 NLT
20 But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. 21 He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control.
- Our citizenship is in heaven.
Romans 8:23 NLT
23 And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us.
- We wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us.
3 For we will put on heavenly bodies; we will not be spirits without bodies.
We will put on heavenly bodies.
1 Corinthians 15:42-44
42 It is the same way with the resurrection of the dead. Our earthly bodies are planted in the ground when we die, but they will be raised to live forever. 43 Our bodies are buried in brokenness, but they will be raised in glory. They are buried in weakness, but they will be raised in strength. 44 They are buried as natural human bodies, but they will be raised as spiritual bodies. For just as there are natural bodies, there are also spiritual bodies.
Real
Eternal
Resurrection body
4 While we live in these earthly bodies, we groan and sigh, but it’s not that we want to die and get rid of these bodies that clothe us. Rather, we want to put on our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by life.
1 Corinthians 15:50
50 What I am saying, dear brothers and sisters, is that our physical bodies cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. These dying bodies cannot inherit what will last forever.
- We will put on heavenly bodies.
5 God himself has prepared us for this, and as a guarantee he has given us his Holy Spirit.
6 So we are always confident, even though we know that as long as we live in these bodies we are not at home with the Lord.
7 For we live by believing and not by seeing. 8 Yes, we are fully confident, and we would rather be away from these earthly bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord.
Hebrews 11:1 NLT
1 Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see.
Ephesians 1:14 NLT
14 The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him.
1 Corinthians 15:20-22 NLT
20 But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died.
21 So you see, just as death came into the world through a man, now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man. 22 Just as everyone dies because we all belong to Adam, everyone who belongs to Christ will be given new life.
- We live by believing and not by seeing. (For we live by faith, not by sight.)
- Live by faith believing God’s promises.
9 So whether we are here in this body or away from this body, our goal is to please him.
Colossians 1:9-10 NLT
9 So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding. 10 Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better.
Hebrews 13:21 NLT
21 may he equip you with all you need
for doing his will.
May he produce in you,
through the power of Jesus Christ,
every good thing that is pleasing to him.
All glory to him forever and ever! Amen.
- Our goal is to please him.
10 For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body.
- We must all stand before Christ to be judged.
Romans 14:10-12
… Remember, we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. 11 For the Scriptures say,
“‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord,
‘every knee will bend to me,
and every tongue will declare allegiance to God.’”
12 Yes, each of us will give a personal account to God.
Acts 17:31 NLT
31 For he has set a day for judging the world with justice by the man he has appointed, and he proved to everyone who this is by raising him from the dead.” (Jesus)
- The believer’s judgment will not be a bad experience.
Romans 8:1 NLT
1 So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.
Romans 8:33-34 NLT
33 Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself. 34 Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.
The Judgment Seat (Bema) of Christ
Bema – elevated platform where victorious athletes received their crowns.
This does not include sin (that has already been taken care of)
Receive eternal rewards
Valuable vs. useless
1 Corinthians 3:12-15 NLT
12 Anyone who builds on that foundation may use a variety of materials—gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay, or straw. 13 But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person’s work has any value. 14 If the work survives, that builder will receive a reward. 15 But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss. The builder will be saved, but like someone barely escaping through a wall of flames.
