The Old Has Passed Away

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Reasons Why Paul Did Not Despair

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In these verses we see more reasons given as to why Paul did not despair in the face of all his persecution. Notice the names that Paul uses for our physical bodies. In chapter 4 he calls them "earthen vessels" and "our outer nature". Here in chapter 5, verse 1, he calls them an "earthly tent".

In these verses Paul finds solace in face of persecution by knowing that he had nothing to fear from death and by knowing what Heaven was going to be like. Why didn't Paul fear death? Because he believed that to die was gain. Many might rationalize that death would be better than to have to live like Paul. But Paul did not seek death because he knew that as long as he lived, he would be in the service of the Lord Jesus.

What do you believe about the "resurrection"? Can you say assuredly, as Paul did, "If this earthly body is destroyed, we will have a new one made by God, eternal in the heavens." Will the body be clothed? It most certainly will be, clothed in "Robes of Righteousness" elsewhere called "Robes of Glory" and "Garments of Phrase". These "coverings" are the gifts of God and are eternal. Paul says that our present cloths are "rags of mortality".

How do we come to this belief. How do we know that there is a resurrection in which we are going to be a part of? Paul says in verse 5 that God prepares us for this. Through the Holy Spirit, we have a "guarantee", its called a "know-so" salvation. Matthew Henry, in his commentary, says, "All who are designed for Heaven, are prepared for it while they are here." "The stones of that spiritual body are squared and fashioned here below." No hand, less than the hand of God, can do this and no one but the Holy Spirit can give the assurance." This guarantee should make us, as it did Paul, of good cheer.

What does Paul mean in verse 6, "While we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord?" He means the simple fact that now he is with us but we are not with Him. Now we must walk by faith not by sight. Then sight will become the reality of faith for we shall see God.

Finally, Paul says that in all things, good or bad, we must be content. In all stages of our lives, in all situations of life, Paul assures us that in all of these, there is gain and blessing, and he spoke from experience. He learned to be content regardless of the situation that he found himself. Paul really looked forward to going home to be with the Lord, he says in verse 8, "I would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord, but, either way, I make it my aim to please Him."

Why did Paul want to do this? Look at verse 10. He realized that we all must appear before the "Judgment Seat" of Christ, so that we all might receive according to what we have done in this body. Paul is not speaking of the judgment of our souls, that has been determined by what we have done with Christ. Paul is speaking of the account that we all must made of the use we have put to our talents.

We all have received, when we accepted Christ, talents. We are responsible for the use of those talents. Some will be used for good and some for bad. Salvation removes from us the accountability for our sins, but there will still be a day of reckoning when each will be judged according to what they have done, in the body, with their God given talents.

Paul Reclaiming Himself

Here in these verses, Paul makes an explanation for "reclaiming" himself. This was the term Paul used for speaking of his credentials. He did this (verse 12) so they would be proud of him and be able to answer the charges of the false teachers.

Notice the reason here that Paul gives for preaching the Gospel. He preached because he knew what it was to fear the Lord. Knowing what God could do to him, and surly it is God's prerogative to do to us what he pleases, Paul had a great respect for the wrath of God. This motivated Paul, it motivates a great many people. So what did Paul do about it? He preached, he attempted to persuade men. He not only sought to save some, but he also sought to teach those who had become believers.

Paul knew that the Lord was aware of this and used his feeble attempts to save some and to enlighten others. Paul hoped that this work, approved by the Lord, was known to the Corinthians. Notice he assures them that he was not reminding them of these things about himself out of pride but rather that they would have cause to be proud of him. The false teachers were degrading Paul because they looked at a person the way the world looks at a person, by his position rather than what was in his heart. So Paul was trying to get these Corinthians to judge him not by worldly standards, but rather by what was in his heart.

It would even appear from verse 13 that there had been rumors circulated in Corinth by false teachers that Paul was mentally sick. "If", Paul says, "I am beside myself, it is for God." If I seem to be having mental problems, it is because I have exhausted my energies for the Lord. On the other hand, if I appear to be in my right mind, it is for you. They must judge Paul for themselves. He had given all to them for the sake of their salvation.

Notice what controlled Paul. It was the love of Christ. That love that went to the cross and died that all might, through faith in Him, have eternal life. So all who believe must no longer live for themselves, but for Christ, the one who died and was raised for our sake.

Reconciliation

Notice, Paul says that in order for us to live for Christ and no longer for ourselves, two things are necessary, regeneration and reconciliation. Paul had reached the point in his spiritual growth that he no longer regarded people from a "human point of view". He no longer evaluated people by earthly standards.

Paul admits that he once regarded Christ from a human point of view. He looked upon Jesus as an enemy to Judaism. He saw Jesus as someone who failed, who got caught in a scheme to change all that they had come to know as God's will for people. For this He was crucified. But later, Paul's view changed. This occurred on the road to Damascus. This change is called "regeneration". He became a "new creature". Therefore, we must regard our Christian brothers and sisters as "new creatures". Paul says that when this happens, old things pass away. We have a new heart, a new nature.

Does this mean that we no longer sin? Does this mean that we no longer do anything un-Christ like? No. What's the difference then? How can we be "new creatures" and do evil things? Paul explains in Rom. 7:13-20. Read and digest this wonderful passage of scripture. Know here that regeneration does not bring perfection. Paul says in this scripture in Romans, "I can will what is right, but I can't do it." "For I do not do the good that I want to do, but the evil that I do not want, is what I do." So, again, regeneration does not bring perfection. It brings knowledge of sin, dislike for sin, patience with the weaknesses of others, and forgiveness. All this, Paul says, is from God thru Jesus Christ.

Paul calls the Gospel the "Ministry of Reconciliation". God, thru Christ, reconciling the world to Himself. What does it mean to be "reconciled" to God? The last part of verse 19 says, "It means that God is not counting our trespasses against us". Forgiving all sins, past. present and future.

Now this is not, as some people think, permission to sin. In reconciliation, we have a duty. As God is willing to be reconciled to us, we must be willing to be reconciled to Him. We must strive to live a life worthy of being reconciled to God. The basic message of these verses is summed up in verse 21, "For our sake, God made Christ to be sin, Him who knew no sin, so that, in Him, we might become right (reconciled) before God." We, who have no righteousness of our own, have it "imputed" (given) to us by our faith in Jesus Christ.

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