2 Corinthians 5:1-10 † “How to Want Heaven”

Introduction

“Everybody wants to go to heaven, but no body want to go now.”

How do we get to the place of confidence and courage that Paul displays in this passage? How do we grow to “want to go to heaven?”

Find Confidence in God’s Promises

Paul continues the theme of the “eternal weight of glory” that God is preparing us for by talking about the confidence he has that what God promises his people is greater than the momentary afflictions of this life.

Let’s look at the text and see why Paul has such confidence in his life and eternal destination. I see at least two foundations for his confidence:

#1: Paul has an accurate view of the temporary nature of life apart from God. (1-4)

Paul uses two helpful pictures to describe what he means to the Corinthians. He compares the “tent” of this earthly body with the “building from God.” He also talks about being unclothed verses being “further clothed.” The main idea we can take from these pictures is that a person will only come to have a confident desire for being with God if they have an accurate understanding of the temporary nature of life on this side of heaven. The world and the enemy want us to stay in the blindness that we talked about a couple of weeks ago. If you’re blind to God’s eternal goodness, you’ll invest everything you have in the right now that you can see. You’ll be tempted to believe that the “tent” of earthly life is a mansion.

As I read Paul’s words, especially his groaning and desire to finally be free of the temporary brokeness of the world (2-4), I’m convicted that I must be missing something. I want to challenge us this morning to consider if we actually belive that what God promises his people in offering eternal life that “swallows up what is mortal” is really better than the life we have now. I’m afraid I too often have an unrealisticly high view of what a comfotable life here and now should be and an unfortunately low view of what God says eternal life really means. I want to encourage each of us this morning to flip the script. How can we spend more time engaging our hearts and minds with understanding God’s promises than looking at the momentary comfort of the day?

Here is a helpful quote from Richard Baxter:

“Oh, what passions it would raise within us if only we were thoroughly persuaded that every word in the Scripture concerning the inconceivable joys of the kingdom and the inexpressible blessedness of the life to come was the very word of the living God and will certainly be performed even to the smallest detail.” Richard Baxter

Like Paul, we’ll have a desire for heaven when we really believe that God means what he says.

#2: Paul has a real connection with the God of life. (5)

I think it is important to see, though, that Paul’s confidence in his eternal destination isn’t just rooted in some idea of nirvana, spiritual rest, or personalized paradise. A person will only truly want to go to heaven when they know why heaven is so special. Heaven is paradise because it is the place of God’s perfect and holy presence and blessings. We’ll see in a minute that Paul doesn’t say “I can deal with some pain in life because I’ll get my own private island in heaven someday.” Rather, he recognizes that “we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.”

In verse four, Paul says that seeing this life for what it is, believers groan for “what is mortal [to be] swallowed up by life.” In verse 5, Paul says that it is God who is preparing us for this reality and that the Spirit of God who has been given to all believers is the guarantee that the death in us is ultimately giving way to life.

The truth is that you and I should find confidence in God’s promises by remembring that God’s promise is that “I will be their God, and you will be my people.” Heaven is heaven because it is the place where that promise becomes a lives reality. There used to be a question that I heard asked of Christians that said, “If you could have everything in heaven without Jesus would you still want to go?” This question really does get at the heart of what we think heaven is and what we’re actually looking forward to. Let me challenge you to consider this thought for a moment: for Paul, his deep connection with God on earth drove him for a desire to be with God forever. If we don’t share this desire to be with God, could it be that something is missing in our connection with God right now? Could it be that we need to look with fresh eyes on the goodness and glory of God in Jesus Christ to spark our hearts to deeper desires for what honors God now and for eternity?

Summary Conclusion:

If we are to have a deep desire to be with God, we need to ask God to open our eyes to an accurate view of what he has promised us and a deeper connection with who he is.

Find Courage in God’s Plan

So, Paul displays for us in his accurate view of the temporary nature of current life and his deep connection with God the foundation for his confidence in God’s promises. In verses 6-10, I want us to continue to look at Paul’s example and be challenged to find courage in God’s plan.

Two times in these 5 verses Paul says, “we are..of good courage.” In verse 9, Paul talks about how the confidence believers have in God’s promises ought to change the aim and purpose of our lives. We live for eternity whether we are anticipating it or experiencing it. There used to be a clique that someone could be “so heavenly minded that they were no earthly good.” I think what this means is that a person may come off so “spiritual” that they can’t interact with this life and world. It is a catchy clique, but you won’t find it in the Bible. In fact, the Bible teaches us that those who are most focused on embracing God’s promises and presence here and now have the most impact on the world around them. When you really believe God’s promises, you live in light of them. Paul points to the “judgment seat of Christ.” He reminds the Corinthians that there is accountability coming both for those who reject Christ and for his followers. Paul isn’t teaching us that we will be saved by our works, but in the same line of teaching as Jesus, that we will be called to give an account for how we stewarded the faith and grace that God gave us.

To find courage in God’s plan, then, is to “walk by faith and not by sight.” Some might take Paul out of context here and say, “See, Christians just close their eyes to the real world and pretend that heaven is coming.” That might be true if it weren’t for all that Paul has already said to the Corinthians and will continue to say. The idea that Paul is getting across is that Christians are guided by the eternal realities of God’s promises based on their relationship with God through Christ. We cannot see these realities with our physical eyes, but we know that where God is, the kingdom is reigning and Jesus is ruling. So, we can’t keep living as blind people when by grace we have seen God’s eternal plan. We see the truth that heaven isn’t a far off place, but a here and now pursuit. Paul says that Christians are called to live in light of heaven right now.

The person who says, “Everybody wants to go to heaven but nobody want to go now” has clearly misunderstood Jesus’ very basic message: “Repent, for the kingdom (heaven) is here.”

Christian, I want you to consider in this moment what your understanding of God’s eternal plan in Jesus Christ is creating in you here and now. Can you say like Paul, “I am of good courage no matter what?” Can you be content in your current circumstances while fully committed to pleasing Jesus Christ with your actions?

Conclusion

Christian, where is your confidence and courage? Where is your heart? I am convicted by this passage that I am far too comfortable with the temporal. By God’s grace, let’s pray that the testimony of our church is that we believe in God’s promises and courageously walk by faith in God’s plans.