2 CORINTHIANS 5:1-112005 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: 2 Corinthians 5:1-11

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2005.

We continue our study this morning through 2 Corinthians. So turn with me to 2 Corinthians chapter 5. As you're turning there, two quick announcements I'd like to make. If you are planning on going to the marriage retreat, which is next weekend, the final money is due today. And so make sure you get that in. If you're not able to get that in, please talk to Tom and Jean Hallman or John and Heidi Barrera so that you can make maybe some special arrangements or we just want to make sure that we hold your spot for you. And so please make sure you get that in.

Please take care of that today. Also, immediately after service, there is a meeting for those who are going to the marriage retreat underneath the tree over by the bookstore to get the final information of where to be and what time to be there and all of that. And so make sure you take part of that. They have some information to give you. And the second announcement is...

Evening service tonight. I know that a lot of people have been asking, and yes, there is evening service tonight at 6 o'clock as usual. It's going to be an exciting service as they study the rest of 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, talking about the rapture of the church, and so I would definitely encourage you to be here. We don't want to take away from what the Lord has already put on your heart with your family though, and so as the Lord leads and as He guides your priorities, then do the things that He lays on your heart.

2 Corinthians chapter 5 though this morning. We continue our study. Now we've been looking at the Apostle Paul and we've been studying the things that he's been teaching to the Corinthians and the letter that he's been writing as we've seen has been very personal to them. Very much him talking about the things that he has done and the things that he's been able to do and why he wasn't able to do certain things like visit them on the way back as he

originally planned and the last couple weeks we've been dealing with and talking about the incredible awesome ministry that had been given to the Apostle Paul and that was the ministry of life, the ministry of bringing people and offering to them eternal life through Jesus Christ. And so we find the Apostle Paul is continuing this discussion now. Last week we looked at him talking about it was because of this that he was going through so many hard times and so many trials. He had this

but it was through the crushings, the pressings, it was through the perplexities and the persecution that Jesus' life was revealed in him. And so he said, it's okay. I will allow myself to go through all of the things. And we saw a list from 2 Corinthians 12 talking about all the things that Paul went through. He mentioned that...

He'd been stoned, he'd been beaten with rods five times and shipwrecked three times and so on and so forth. And he'd been through so much, but he said, it's okay because God has revealed in my life through all of that. So he calls them at the end of chapter 4, light and momentary afflictions. That they're not very long, they're not very hard, but he's looking at them as light and momentary. And we talked about verse 18, which is,

talks about the perspective that we are to have. And the reason why he was able to call being stoned a light and momentary affliction was that he was looking not at the things that are seen, but the things that are unseen. And he explained to us in 2 Corinthians 4.18 that the things that are seen are temporary, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

Things that are seen are temporary and the things that are unseen are eternal. And so in chapter 5, he's continuing that discussion. Let's read together 2 Corinthians chapter 5 starting in verse 1. It says this,

Verse 1.

Verse 5, Verse 6,

So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. We are confident, yes, well pleased rather, to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. Verse 9.

Therefore, we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well-pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body according to what he has done, whether good or bad. Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men, but we are well known to God, and I also trust are well known in your consciences.

Here as Paul is continuing his discussion, he takes us a little bit further down this road as he's telling us, I'm able to endure these great afflictions and trials and I just see them as light and momentary because of my perspective and because I'm looking at and building something that is unseen, something that is for eternity. Well, he explains to us a little bit more in detail now how he's able to do that and what that really entails. In verse 1 of chapter 5, he goes on to explain that

Because, or for, we know that in this earthly house, or our earthly house, this tent, the main reason why he is able to go through these things and these trials and tribulations with such a light heart is he looks at himself, he looks at his body, and he doesn't call it some super strong foundation or structure or anything like that, but he calls it

A tent. This earthly house, he says, this body that we have is a tent. Now you and I very well know what a tent is. We know that it's temporary. It's not something that will last very long. It's not something that really protects from too many of the elements. It's something unstable. It's something you use when you are temporarily staying somewhere that's outside of your home.

And it's a good comparison for us because we understand the picture. Now, when you're young, when I was young, tents were awesome. I mean, they were the greatest thing ever. You'd pitch them, you know, right in the middle of your living room just so you could sleep in the tent at night, right? And you'd just have a great time and you just think it's fun. There's no...

particular reason for it, but it's just exciting. And when I was young, my dad used to let me, you know, sometimes I'd pitch the tent out in the front yard and I would just stay out in the front yard for a week or two. And, you know, my parents liked it because I was out of the house, but I liked it because it was exciting. You know, there's a little bit of trees in the front yard and it feels like you're outdoors and it's like living the last of the Mohicans all over again, right? I was like, I was there on my own and it was awesome. It was incredible. It was cool. It was something I really got excited about as a

a child. Now, as adults, there's a little bit different story, right? We don't think they're the greatest things in the world that much anymore. They're okay if you, you know, want to go camping or hiking or something and you got to stay there for a couple days, but it's not something you would be really excited about or really looking forward to. When you drive down your street, you don't see adults, you know, the parents pitching the tent out in the front yards and, you know, just excited about staying in the front yard that night. It's

it's not very exciting to an adult. Adults don't really look at tents as something that thrilling. But, Paul here is drawing this illustration, this example that we can understand because he says our body is this tent. And isn't that true? When you're young, boy do you love this body that you have. You know, you wake up in the morning, you look forward to looking in the mirror and seeing what you look like and you look forward to all the things that you can do in this body and in this tent. But,

from some of you older people who have told me, that when you get older, you don't have that same excitement waking up in the morning and just getting out of bed might be a chore. Looking in the mirror is not as exciting as it once was. It's not as exciting as maybe it used to be. And we'll just stop there. You understand what I'm saying, right? There's a tent. There's this illustration, this example that we can see and picture and go, okay, Paul's saying this tent, my body...

is just temporary. It's not made to last. It's not going to last forever. It's going to wear out. It's going to fall apart just like a tent does because it's not very strong. It's not very stable. So Paul says this tent, this body, is here just for a moment. It's just here temporarily. And he says if this tent is destroyed...

He says, we have a building from God. A house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. So this body is temporary and it's going to be destroyed and when it is destroyed...

He says, "Then it's okay, because then, after that, after this body, we have something better. A building from God, a house that's not made with hands, but something that's made by God, something that is eternal, he says, in the heavens. A body that will last forever, a body that will not fail, that will not ache, that will not have any of the problems that we have today." Paul is demonstrating great faith here.

He's going all out in his ministry. He's going through these trials and persecutions and sufferings and perplexities. And he says, look, it's no big deal. It's no big deal. I have something better waiting for me so I can endure. You want to stone me? That's okay. I have something better in store. I have something better waiting for me in heaven.

He's taking Jesus at His word. You remember the scripture in John 3.16, I'm sure. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever would believe in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. Paul's taking that and he's not just saying that's a nice teaching and it makes me feel good, but he's saying this is something I truly live for. This is something I really believe and I'm going to go all out with the ministry that God has given to me

It's okay if I suffer. It's okay if I perish. Because God has given me everlasting life as I've believed in His Son, Jesus Christ. Those who believe in Jesus will live forever. It's important for you and I to remember this. For the main reason that we don't live for this life, but like the Apostle Paul, we live for the next life.

I will spend eternity with Jesus, but it won't be in this body. And so if it's broken down, if it's beaten up, that's okay. It's worth it because God has something far better in store for me.

The thing that's in store for me, it's not a tent, but Paul describes it as a building. A building from God that's not made with hands, not the hands of men, but it's something that God supernaturally has created. It's something that's permanent, that's not affected by the weather, that doesn't have the aches and pains. It's an eternal body that will not fail. It won't break down. There won't be the groaning and the mumbling and the stumbling and all of the things that we fight with today. And there will be much, much, much more

More hair, I guarantee you that. That's for sure. This body that God has in store for us. He goes on in verse 2. And he says, Paul says, we groan. In this body that we have, we groan.

Now, Paul's looking back and he obviously went through a lot more sufferings than you and I have, but we know what it's like. Our flesh groans. This body does not last and it's falling apart. Have you ever trained or prepared for a big sporting event? Let's say like a marathon or a big bike ride or some kind of track meet or competition that you're going on or maybe you've dieted at some time or something. Just done something, right, to afflict your flesh and

And the reason why you do that, the reason why you train and you prepare for those things, it's not really fun while you do it. You know, as you're preparing for the marathon and running the miles every day or preparing for the bike ride or preparing for the football game or taking less meals or whatever for the diet or whatever the case may be,

your flesh groans the whole time, right? It's not an enjoyable thing, it's an agonizing thing. It's something that's miserable, but you do it, and you do it willingly because you have something in mind, you have something in store, you have a goal that you're trying to reach, you're looking at the finished product, the loss of those 10 or 15 or...

Two pounds if you're like me. But the loss of those pounds, the loss of that weight, or the accomplishment of finishing the race, or whatever it is that you're trying to do. And so it's okay. It's okay to be in agony for that time because there's something so much greater in store. And that's what Paul is saying. Look, it's okay. It's okay. There's something so much greater in store. This body groans now in this life as I fulfill my ministry, as I do the things that God has called me to do.

But it's okay, because there's something far greater in store. And that's what Paul's saying. He's been given this ministry that we've been looking at, this ministry of life, and yeah, his body hurts. And yes, it groans, and it doesn't feel good to be stoned. He's felt what it's like to be tired, and he knows what it's like to be hungry. He knows, just like you and I, that our bodies are stubborn, and they feel pain. Our body's groaned.

I don't know about you, but my sinuses have been groaning for about three weeks now and it's just been driving me nuts. But it's okay because God has something better in store. The heavenly body that he has for us is going to be incredible. It's going to be awesome. And we'll talk about that more in a moment. He goes on and he says, and he talks about nakedness. Now,

He talks about nakedness. In verse 3 he says, This is Paul's way of referring to the idea of disembodied spirits. Listen, when we die, we don't just become ghosts. There's no in-between state. There's no interim stage, as we'll get to see in a moment. It's not anything like that. When...

We don't become less clothed, Paul is saying, but we become more clothed. As he says here in verse 4, let's read together. For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed. We who are in this tent. That's you and me as we're sitting here today. We're in this tent. What you have and what I have is a tent. It's temporary. It's a body that has been given to us for this time. And every morning we're reminded that

We're reminded that we're not so young anymore as we wake up, as we groan, as we get out of bed, as we groan when we go to work, as we groan when, you know, whatever the case may be, whatever happens in our lives. We're reminded every day, we're in this tent, we're in this tent, and we groan. We're familiar with Paul's language here, the groaning, we understand what it's like.

That's why this age and this society, we spend so much money on plastic surgery and all the different kind of pills you can take and all the different things and techniques you can do to try to feel young, to try to keep your body from groaning. Remember Ponce de Leon? He was that explorer looking for the fountain of youth, right? And it's always been the case with us as human beings. Our body's grown and we're seeking for some remedy, right?

That's why we have gym memberships that we never actually use, but we feel good about it because we're seeking for some remedy. We're seeking for something to stop our body from groaning. Now, Paul's recognizing, hey, we in our tent, we in our body, we groan.

But what's important is how we respond to that. That we don't respond by going to try all these other things to make our body stop groaning, but that we recognize the groanings and don't look for fulfillment here in this life, in this world, because there's something far greater in store. And this tent is perfect.

This tent will pass away.

There's something that's so much better for us, in store for us. This mortal body is going to be swallowed up by an eternal body. Mortality. It means you have the ability to die. And that is you and I here in this room. We have the ability to die. This body, it's temporary. It's not going to last.

It is going to die. The statistics are quite staggering. 10 out of 10 people will die. It's true. It will happen. You and I, it could be today, it could be tomorrow, we don't know when, but it's a temporary body that you and I have. It will not last.

Why would God do this? Why would God give us this body that groans, this body that has pains and aches, this body that will die? Well, look at verse 5. He says, God has prepared us for this, Paul says.

Yes, our body groans and it's falling apart, it's temporary, but that's the way God designed it. He designed our body to groan. Why? Well, for the simple reason that we remember that we are mortal. For the simple reason that we will remember that we do not live forever. It's the same reason why He gave us the sense of pain. Pain we don't like, we're not comfortable with it, we don't get excited about it.

But God gave it to us for our protection so that we would know, hey, that's hot. You're going to hurt yourself. It's going to be detrimental to you if you continue to touch that.

If we didn't have the pain senses, of course we'd walk around with arms cut off and problems all over because we had no idea that there was something going wrong or some kind of problem with our body. And so he gives us pain as a protection. And the groanings and the things that we experience in this body is the same thing. That we would stop and reflect. That we would stop and look back.

That our focus would not be on the temporary things, but on the eternal things. You've seen it happen, I'm sure, many times in your life and the life of friends and family, where there's a moment, a time where you step back and put your life back in perspective. It happens after family members experience hard times.

After you experience a heart attack or a car accident or something that, you know, just surprising or something out of the blue, something you're not expecting. As you go to funerals, you...

are reminded. And it causes many people, they reflect and they go, "Really, do I want to live my life this way? Really, do I want to raise my family this way? Do I want to continue on this career path? Do I want to continue these things?" Because it makes them stop and step back and regain perspective and go, "What is really important in life?" As you've had a near-death experience or you've seen someone close to you experience similar things.

God designed us to have bodies that groan so that as we're reminded that we are mortal, that our bodies are not here forever, for eternity to last, we're reminded that we can step back, put things back in perspective and live for eternity. That's why He did it this way. That's why He created it this way.

When you groan, let me suggest to you, when you groan, as you experience pains and suffering in this life, when you groan and your body desires life, you need to go to the author of life, which is Jesus Christ. In John 10.10, He tells His disciples, He tells those who follow Him, look, the enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy. If you try to find fulfillment,

for those groanings and anything in this life. Fulfillment for that thirst, that desire within you and anything in this life. You will be left empty. But Jesus says, I have come that you may have life and have it more abundantly. He's come to give us eternal life, everlasting life. But,

He doesn't just give us this and he doesn't just say this, but Paul goes on to say something pretty incredible, that he also gives us the Spirit as a guarantee. He gives us the Spirit, the Holy Spirit, as a guarantee, as a deposit or a security that what is promised is really going to come. Those who come to God are promised eternal life. And Paul says...

When you come to Jesus Christ, He deposits within you the Holy Spirit.

So that you can know beyond a shadow of a doubt, without question, whether or not you've received Him. Whether or not you have this and can hold on to this promise of everlasting life. And so the question that you and I need to ask ourselves is, is the Holy Spirit within us? Do we have the Spirit within our lives? How do you know? Well, let me ask you a couple questions. Does God speak to you when you spend time in His Word?

Does the word come alive? Does it come off the pages? Does he speak exactly to the situations that you're in? Do you find that you have inexpressible joy in your heart and in your life? Do you find a love for people like never before? A love that's not explainable. A love that covers a multitude of sins. Do you find that in your life?

These are marks, these are characteristics of the Holy Spirit. Being at work, the Holy Spirit living within us. And so you can know that you have this promise, that it's for you, that you have received eternal life. Now if you pick up the Word of God and say, I just have no idea, it's just like reading a book to me. I don't understand any of it. You need to understand, you haven't been born again. The Spirit's not speaking to you because that's what the Holy Spirit does, that's His job.

There's not joy. There's not that love. You need to know that Jesus has that for you.

He offers it free of charge because of what He did on the cross. The works of the Holy Spirit in our life, they're just the taste, by the way, of what is to come. The speaking of God to your heart as you experience it in His Word, the joy that He places there and He brings up and He stirs up within you, the love that He offers to you and He flows through you with, those are just taste. They're just a little sample. It's just a little tiny bite of an appetizer of what is really to come.

It's just a sample. It's just a taste. He's given us this as a deposit so that we can look and say, for sure, beyond a shadow of a doubt, I am saved. I have this promise of eternal life. He also gives it to us to make us thirsty for more. Oh, I can't wait. I can't wait to experience the fullness of God and not the limited experience I have in this body that has come just for a time, temporarily, and has come to pass.

So in verse 6, he says, He says we're always confident. Why? Well, because he has the Spirit as a guarantee. He's confident. He's bold. He has no reason to be ashamed. He knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that he has this promise. And so he says we're always confident. Even though I'm going through hard times, Paul would say, even though there's these sufferings and these trials, hey, we're always confident.

It's okay. I'm confident. I have this promise of eternal life. It's worth it. God has something far better in store for me. We're confident, he says. He's given us this guarantee. And even though, he goes on to say, we know that as long as we're in this body, we're not with the Lord. We're away from the Lord. We're absent from the Lord. We're still confident. Because, as I'll go on to say in verse 7, we walk by faith and not by sight. Listen, as long as you are here in this body,

you need to remember that this is not the final plan. This is not the whole scope of what God has in store for you. He has something so much greater. Remember this.

Right now, we are absent from the Lord. God's whole plan, the whole point of Him coming to die on the cross for us was that we might have fellowship with Him, communion with Him, a relationship with Him. And what we have here is a relationship and it is communion and it is the greatest thing that you will find in this place. But it is limited.

to what we can experience in this tent, in this body. It's not the final plan. God has a relationship with you and I in store for us that we cannot even imagine at this time. To be able to see God, to be with God, to experience His presence completely and fully. So we're absent from the Lord. Now this doesn't mean that God is not with us.

He's not absent. We are. The limitation is us, our bodies, this flesh that you and I have. Jesus promised that he would be with us always, even to the end of the age. He said, wherever two or three are gathered in my midst, there I am, or in my name, there I am in the midst of them. Jesus is here. He's real. He's alive. But we cannot experience God fully,

Until we've been rid of this tent and have the new one that's in store for us. That's why God told Moses in Exodus chapter 33 verse 20, He said, In this body, we're not capable of really experiencing a relationship with God as we will be then.

It's going to be great. It's going to be something we cannot even imagine. To spend eternity with the King of Kings and Lord of Lords who loved us so much that He sent His Son to die for us. So in verse 7, He says, For we walk by faith and not by sight. We're absent from the Lord right now.

Because we can't completely experience Him. He's given us the Holy Spirit, a deposit guaranteeing, and we get a taste of Him speaking to us and the relationship that He has with us. And in comparison to anything in this world, oh my goodness, it's incredible, it's amazing. There is no comparison for what God has to offer. But then what God has to offer for those who have received Jesus Christ.

And the next life so far surpasses anything that you and I could even begin to imagine. So Paul says we walk by faith. It's not because we can see God. It's not because we can see and know and taste and handle Him.

It's because of faith. It's obedient faith as we walk with Him and do the things that He puts upon our heart. Once again, God says the same thing He always says, Believe and I will show you. It's not the other way around where we say, Show me and I'll believe. God says, Believe and I will show you. And He will. He's faithful to that.

Now, faith does not take away from intellect. It doesn't take away from us thinking about things. It doesn't take away from... It's not like you check your brain at the door and don't think about anything. It's just blindly just accept whatever they say. It's got to be in faith.

It's not what it means. It does mean that you will not have everything figured out because it's the almighty, infinite God that you're describing and you're having a relationship with. And He's not going to fit in this little box that you can define. But He offers to us

He gives us the Spirit as a guarantee. He has creation crying aloud His glory and His majesty continually and constantly. He speaks to us. He gives us a conscience to confirm the things that are true. And He speaks to our hearts. So He doesn't expect blind faith or ridiculous faith in that sense.

but obedient faith where we respond. Yes, we don't understand everything, but we respond to what He has said and we believe in the things that He has promised. He desires that we learn to trust Him, to believe Him and be obedient to Him.

Our faith is in Him, who He is and what He said. So for now, until we're with Him, until we're with Him in eternity, we walk by faith. Not fully understanding everything about God, but receiving His words, believing them and walking in them.

Then in verse 8, he goes on to say, Paul says we're confident. Now, he had just said we're confident in verse 6. And he says...

The opposite thing. He says we're confident in verse 6 that to be in this body means to be absent from the Lord. And then in verse 8 he says, yes, we're confident, well pleased, to be absent from this body is to be present with the Lord. He's confident both ways. He's assured and he knows beyond a shadow of a doubt both ways. In this body, I'm not going to completely experience God, but out of this body, I will get to be in His presence. I will be with Jesus.

Now, there's no such thing as soul sleep. There's no such thing as an interim period or some in-between thing. Listen, to be absent from the body, Paul says, I'm confident of this, is to be in the presence of Jesus for those who are born again. To be absent from this body is to be in the presence of God for the rest of eternity. It's to receive the new body that He has in store for us and to spend eternity with Him.

So if you're born again this morning, the moment you die, you will be with Jesus. And that's encouraging. That's comforting. This verse has brought comfort to many who have lost loved ones, to many who've seen friends and family pass away, because those who knew Jesus, they're with him. To be absent from this body is to be present with the Lord. Now, Paul is using this here in reference to himself. And so let's you and I take a moment and reflect this upon ourselves.

If you are absent from this body today, will you be in the presence of Jesus? If you walk out this door and something happens, or the walls collapse in the next moment, will you be with Jesus? Because this body, it's made to pass away. It's made to grow and it's made to fall apart. It's not going to last. And so we need to make sure that we've made the necessary preparations that when this body does be destroyed, or does get destroyed,

That we get to spend eternity with Jesus Christ. Because to be absent from this body is present with the Lord for those who are in Christ Jesus. Do you have this confidence? Do you have this hope?

Something to consider, something to meditate on. In verses 1 through 8, as we've been studying together, Paul is really teaching us doctrine. He's teaching us the basics. Look, this is what God has in store. This is why I'm able to endure these things and I'm doing the ministry like I am because this is the doctrine. This is what takes place. This is the way that God has designed you and I to be. He's talked about four things in this doctrine. Number one, this body is temporary. It's

It's not going to last. That's what we saw in the first couple of verses there. The second thing he teaches us about this doctrine is that there's a better body in store for us. That this is not the final thing, but he has something far greater, something that's eternal, something that's a building and not a tent, and that is in store for us. The third thing he tells us is that we receive a new body when we die. This tent, it passes away, and when we die...

There's a new body that's in store for us. And then the fourth thing he tells us is that when we die, we will be with Jesus.

We will be with Jesus. And that's the doctrine that he wants to know. That's what you and I need to learn and understand. Now, he doesn't just tell us this so we can say, oh, great information. That's nice. I'll get, you know, now I know. I'm glad I know that. But doctrine and these things that he's teaching us are not just to be, you know, for us to be smarter, but for us to then respond.

As we learn about God and learn about God's plan, it's up to us now to respond to God's plan. And so verses 9 through 11 are not doctrine, but they're action. They're the actions that Paul takes and the action that you and I need to put in place in our lives as well. Verse 9, it goes on to say this.

Therefore, we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well-pleasing to Him. He says, therefore, as a result of all this doctrine, as a result of knowing that our body is temporary, that it's not going to last, as a result of knowing that there's a better body in store, that we'll receive it when we die, and when we die, we will get to be with Jesus. He says, therefore, as a result of all this, we make it our aim, we make it our goal, whether present or absent, either here or there,

to be pleasing to Him, well-pleasing to Him. That's our goal, Paul says. That's our aim. That's our desire. That's the result of knowing this doctrine. It's being lived out, a life that's pleasing to God. Now this morning, let me ask you, what is your aim? What is your goal? What is it that you desire? Do you have a five-year plan?

It's a popular term these days. I have a five-year plan. Does it include God? Is it about the purposes of God and what God wants to do? Is it a plan for the things of this life and the things that are seen and temporary? Or is it a plan for the unseen things, the eternal things, the things that will last forever? All of our goals, our whole life should be centered on God. What does He want? What is pleasing to Him?

Those are the things that last. Those are the things that matter. So Paul says, as far as I'm concerned, we make it our aim that we're going to live a life. Whether we're here or there, we're going to be pleasing to God. And that's why I keep moving forward. Because I want to please God.

I want to please God. In verse 10, he goes on to explain it a little bit more and he says, For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body according to what he has done, whether good or bad. In verse 10, he explains, Why do I want to live a life that's pleasing to God? Well, because every one of us will stand before Jesus at the judgment seat of Christ.

Now, the judgment seat of Christ, the word judgment seat in the Greek, it's the word bima. And the bima seat in the Greek culture was not a judicial judgment seat, but was a judgment seat of rewards. If you were competing in the Olympics or some type of competition, you would go afterwards to the judges to receive your reward, or basically your evaluation of how you performed.

This is the judgment seat that we will stand before Him. As we end this competition, this race that God has given to us, we will stand before Him to give an account for how we performed, for how well we pleased Him. Paul says, that's my motivation. That's why I'm going all out. Because I'm going to stand in front of Jesus one day and I'm going to be rewarded for how well I pleased Him in this life. How well have you pleased Jesus in this life?

Because you will stand before Him. Listen, we are sowing now the things that we do, the actions that we do, the way that we please God. We're sowing now the things that we will be reaping for the rest of eternity. So sow wisely.

Act wisely. Do the things that please God. Notice he says each one. Each one. It's not that we'll stand up there with our families or with our friends or with a group of people, but each one individually. We won't be able to give excuses about, well, I didn't do this because of that or this person or that person. There won't be any excuses as we stand before Jesus Christ, the King of kings and Lord of lords.

We will stand and give an account for how we used our time, our talents, all the things that He's given to us. So Paul says, that's why. That's why I aim to be pleasing to God. That's why I aim to do this because we all must appear before the judgment seat of Christ. That each one will receive what they've done in their body, whether it be good or bad. Rewards or lack of rewards.

Paul says, so I want rewards. I want to live a life that's pleasing to God. Verse 11, he says, "...knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men."

But we are well known to God, and I also trust are well known in your consciences. He says, Now this word terror is an interesting word. It means fear, dread, terror. You get the picture, right? The second meaning is interesting. It's reverence for one's husband. So just so you know how to reverence one's husband, it's this terror, this fear, this dread, right? What is Paul saying? He's saying, look, knowing that we will stand before Jesus, right?

Knowing that we will stand before Him should put a little bit of fear in our heart. That I will have to give an account. As I stand before Him, He's the King of kings and Lord of lords, God Almighty, Creator of the universe. And I will have to give an account for what I did and why I did it and how I did it. And so Paul says, we persuade men. He tells people, hey, live for Him. God offers to you this ministry of life. Turn to Him. Please, God, He loves you.

Paul says, this is what we do. Now, why did Paul do this? Well, he's fulfilling his ministry. Persuading men, that was Paul's ministry. That was his call.

Paul is basically saying, look, we do the best to fulfill the ministry that God has given to us because I know that one day I will stand before Him and give an account for this ministry that He's given to us. It's a reminder to us of the parable of the talents. You remember the master, he was going away for a time and he gives these talents, which are not abilities like we think, but it's amounts of money. He gives the sum of money to each of his servants

And he says, I'm going away. Put these to use when I come back. Then you'll give an account for how you used it and what you got back. And so he goes away and he comes back and he has to deal with those who received and those who put it to work and did much and accomplished much. Well done, good and faithful servant. But to the one who did nothing, he said, depart from me, you worker of iniquity. Paul says, for this reason, this is why I'm running so hard. This is why I endure these things. Because...

I'm going to stand before Him one day. And I don't want to say, Lord, I didn't minister to that person because I would have gotten beaten another time. Lord, I didn't want to do this work that you called me to do because I was afraid of being uncomfortable or I didn't enjoy this or that or this would not have been very fun or pleasurable for me. Paul says, I...

None of that matters in comparison to standing before the king of kings. I'm going to stand before him and give an account so I'm going to run. And if I'm beaten, I'm beaten. If I'm smitten, I'm smitten. If I'm perplexed, I'm perplexed. It doesn't matter. It's a light and momentary affliction.

Because I'm going to stand before him. John Corson says this about the Apostle Paul. He says, Paul wanted to spare anyone from saying, why did I waste my time on that hobby? Spend my money on that insignificant trinket? Squander my energy so foolishly? Why did I take lightly that which Jesus did for me on the cross of Calvary? Paul is saying to you and I this morning, watch out, be careful.

There's many things that will get us caught up in this life. And the things that are seen, the things that are temporary, but they have no real value. And they will do us no good as we stand before the King of Kings and say, but Lord, look what I accomplished in that life. Unless it had eternal value, unless it was of God, unless it was pleasing to God, there's nothing that you can point back to.

It needs to be of God. That's why Paul says, I live my life to please God. Now, the false apostles were coming against Paul and saying, he's doing all these things because he has these false motivations and he has this desire to get profit kind of behind the scenes. But Paul's explaining, look, that's not it at all. I'm

I'm doing these things because I want to live a life that's pleasing to God. I'm doing these things because I'm going to stand before Him and I want to give an account that, Lord, I did everything and I didn't care about myself. I went all out so that Your name would be known, that You would be glorified, that people would come to know You. Paul says, God knows this. We're well known to God. He says He knows our motivations. He knows our hearts. He knows everything about us. He knows what's going on, really.

And then he goes on to say, and I trust also we're well known in your consciences. As we looked at that last week in 2 Corinthians 4.2, that God has given us a conscience that testifies and confirms the truth when it is being shared, when it is being told. The word of God coming alive, speaking to our conscience and confirming within us. He says, I trust. As I'm sharing the truth, as I'm speaking the truth,

that you know it's true, that it's confirming it within your heart. Paul says, I don't have false motives. This is why I do what I do. Let me explain to you. I'm living for eternity. I'm living to please God. Paul here, a great example for us that we might understand what this life is truly supposed to be about.

That it's not about living for the things that are temporary, that will not last. Understanding that this body itself will not last. And so if it suffers, if it goes through trials and hard times, so what? If it groans, it doesn't matter. Because what really counts, what we're sowing for now, is what we will reap for the rest of eternity. So let's make every thought, every action, every deed count. Let's do things that please God.

Things that will last for eternity. Verses 1-8, the doctrine. This body, it's temporary, it's not going to last. There's a better body that's in store for us that God has created, not made with hands, but created supernaturally by Him. We receive this new body when we die, when this tent finally falls apart.

And at that time, we receive the new body and we get to experience the presence of God, eternity with Jesus Christ. Listen, as we learn this, as we understand this, what we should do here and now, in this place, you and I, what we should do, the response to this doctrine, is that we should live a life to please God. We should take action from this to live a life of pleasing God.

And make that the most important thing. When you get up from your chair in a few moments and your back hurts, when your body groans, remember, God's reminding you, you need to please God. You need to live a life for God. The things in this life, they've come to pass you're immortal because I have something better in store for those who are in Christ Jesus. As you stub your toe on the way out or your wife smacks you later for something you say, whatever the case may be, remember, as this body groans, remember,

Let it be a reminder to you to live for eternity, to take back and put it back in perspective and say, I want to live a life that pleases God. I want to live a life that pleases God. Right now we're sowing the things we'll be reaping for the rest of eternity. It's not the things that are seen that are eternal, but the things that are unseen. So invest your life in those. Invest them in those. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, as we have been called by you to your side,

Lord, you've entrusted us with ministry, with the ministry of life and bringing other people to the knowledge of you and telling them about you and sharing your love with them. God, I pray that you would help us to be like the Apostle Paul. Lord, as we understand that this body you've given us, yes, it groans, it aches, and there's pains, but Lord, it's just come to pass.

But it's here for a time. It's temporary because you have something so much greater in store. And so you allow us to fill these things and to go through these things that we might take a step back and remind ourselves to live for eternity. So God, I pray that you would help us

to live a life that's pleasing to You. And God, if there's anything in our lives that are not pleasing to You, Lord, we ask that You would help us to get rid of them, to take care of them. Lord, that we would not invest in this life and this world, that the things of this place would not be important to us. But God, the most important thing to us would be pleasing You. Lord, we would invest in the things that are not seen, in the things that are eternal and will last forever. Because we're going to stand before You one day, God.

So Lord, help us to take every opportunity. Help us. Lord, if it's uncomfortable, that's okay. If it's not what we desire, that's okay too, God, because we want to live a life that's pleasing to you. Help us, Jesus, to fulfill the ministry that you've given to us. Amen.

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