A New Creation

"A New Creation: Living with Eternal Perspective"

Introduction:

Imagine you are living in a tent in the wilderness. It provides shelter, but it is not permanent. Every time the wind blows or the rain pours, you are reminded of its temporary nature. But in your heart, you dream of a sturdy house with a solid foundation—a place where you can settle, a home that withstands the storms and offers true comfort and security.

What if I told you that our earthly lives are like these tents? They are temporary and often fragile. But God has a permanent, glorious home waiting for us—a place where we can experience true, everlasting life. Today, we will explore how this truth from 2 Corinthians 5:1-17 transforms our perspective and purpose.

To set the context of 2 Corinthians Paul is writing this second letter to further address some issues within the Corinthian church. At this point Paul is talking about the faith that rest in us the knowing of Christ, and that as our bodies are wasting away we are reassured in the hope that lays within the gospel that even as we die we are gaining eternal life.

He ends Chapter 4 with this 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

2 Corinthians 4:16–18 ESV

So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

I. The Temporary Nature of Our Earthly Bodies (2 Corinthians 5:1-5)

A. Our Earthly Tent 2 Corinthians 5:1

2 Corinthians 5:1 ESV

For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.

We see then as we start into chapter 5 Paul is saying that this tent, this earthly body is only temporary, much like a tent when we go camping, we know that going out into the woods in a tent it cannot last for a long time. It usually isn’t intended as a permanent home. With some exceptions most people use tents as temporary structures maybe for a weekend, a week or as in our case when I was in the Army may even last for a month or so.

The writer of Hebrews 11:9-10 says this speaking of the ancestors of the Hebrews.

Hebrews 11:9–10 ESV

By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.

It was a temporary state to live in tents until they reached the promised land, a land in which they would be homes, cities, a temple, these were the things looking forward to. We then look forward to the permanent home that God is building.

B. Groaning for the Heavenly Dwelling 2 Corinthians 5:2-3

2 Corinthians 5:2–3 ESV

For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked.

2 Corinthians 5:4 ESV

For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.

Just as it is living in temporary conditions can be difficult. As I mentioned this was a frequent thing when I was in the Army much of our training was in the field and since in the field it is only temporary and thus you only set up tents, and tents soon get crowded, bathing isn’t always an option, so often smelly, temperatures are hard to control in a tent, it could range from extremely cold to extreme heat. Groaning was frequent and more so as time went on.

Romans 8:23 reminds us of this

Romans 8:23 ESV

And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.

We groan in this life, often suffering and complaining for we find no relief, knowing this is only temporary. Something more is coming, something better. This is the Guarantee of the Holy Spirit telling us:

C. Guarantee of the Spirit 2 Corinthians 5:5

2 Corinthians 5:5 ESV

He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.

Despite the temporary nature of our earthly bodies and the groaning we experience, Paul gives us a profound assurance. God has given us the Holy Spirit as a guarantee of what is to come. This guarantee is a promise and a foretaste of our future transformation and eternal life.

There is where we find the difficulty we find that all to often we get short shortsightedness, anyone else here near sight, we can see find with glass, but when we take them off everything in the distance gets blurry. This is what faith does for us through the working of the Holy Spirit, through the word of God, it acts like these lenses, correcting our vision so that we can not only see up close but far away as well, seeing what awaits us.

II. Living by Faith, Not by Sight (2 Corinthians 5:6-10)

A. Confidence in Our Future Home 2 Corinthians 5:6-8

2 Corinthians 5:6–8 ESV

So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.

Paul reminds us that our confidence stems from our faith in the unseen. Though we are at home in the body, we are away from the Lord. Yet, we walk by faith, not by sight. This faith gives us the courage to face life’s uncertainties, knowing that being away from our earthly body means being at home with the Lord.

Philippians 1:21-23 – Paul expresses his desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. This confidence in our future home with Christ fuels our perseverance and hope in the present.

Philippians 1:21–23 ESV

For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.

Yet we are still called to a mission here, to serve, to share the good news, to be used by God to a vessel for honorable use so that others too may hear the gospel and be saved. For we know that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the words of Christ.

B. Our Goal to Please Him 2 Corinthians 5:9

2 Corinthians 5:9 ESV

So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him.

Regardless of our physical state—whether we are at home in the body or away—our ultimate aim is to please the Lord. This goal shapes our actions, decisions, and priorities, driving us to live lives that reflect our faith and devotion to God. Again coming back to what this passage just said we walk by faith not by sight.

C. Judgment Seat of Christ 2 Corinthians 5:10

2 Corinthians 5:10 ESV

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.

Paul underscores the reality that we will all appear before the judgment seat of Christ. This judgment is not for condemnation but for the evaluation of our works. We will receive what is due for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. This is where we have to be careful now to not get into the wrong thinking that salvation is dependent on what we do, no that is the work that Jesus did on the cross by suffering, dying and then rising again three days later. There is a distinct order that we are saved by faith through the person and work of Jesus Christ, yet works do matter but they are the result of faith, not the thing we trust in.

1 Corinthians 3:12-15 – Paul describes how our works will be tested by fire. Those built on the foundation of Christ will endure, while those that are not will be burned up. This passage reinforces the importance of living with an eternal perspective.

1 Corinthians 3:12–15 ESV

Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.

Walking by faith not by sight, you see faith makes all things possible, this is true, but more so what is that faith in, what does it trust in, mere works that we do, no these are straw or hay that burns up quickly, no we trust in something much more, something much deeper, and that is Jesus. As I tell the kids all the time, the answer is Jesus, that we know the fire cannot touch, nothing can take it away, faith in Jesus is untouchable by the world. That my friends is why the world hate this message so much because it does not conform to the patterns or ways of this world, it is not based on works that we can perform, it does not boast or continue in sin, rather it kills the self, the old Adam and raises to new life a new person, a person with hope of eternal life.

III. The Ministry of Reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:11-17)

A. Compelled by Christ's Love 2 Corinthians 5:11-12

2 Corinthians 5:11–12 ESV

Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others. But what we are is known to God, and I hope it is known also to your conscience. We are not commending ourselves to you again but giving you cause to boast about us, so that you may be able to answer those who boast about outward appearance and not about what is in the heart.

2 Corinthians 5:13–15 ESV

For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.

This is a nice summary of it all, that the love of Christ controls us, for we know that he dies in our place, he overcame death and the grave, defeating that final foe, and so we now live in hope and share that hope, by giving to others what has be given to us.

John 15:13 – "Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends." Christ's sacrificial love should compel us to live selflessly and serve others.

John 15:13 ESV

Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.

B. New Creation in Christ 2 Corinthians 5:16-17

2 Corinthians 5:16–17 ESV

From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

In Christ, we become a new creation. The old has gone, and the new has come. This transformation is not just a future hope but a present reality, changing how we view ourselves and others. For the future hope gives us a new reality, and so we can live for today knowing that what awaits is far superior to everything we see now.

finally we see this last part Paul says

C. Ambassadors of Reconciliation 2 Corinthians 5:18-20

2 Corinthians 5:18–20 ESV

All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

Again it is this call to the mission and ministry of the church, that we are called to bring reconciliation to the world through Jesus Christ. How that is accomplished is right here, learning what faith is, learning what the gospel is, that being that Jesus Christ has died for your sins, that he has forgiven you, that you can partake of the grace through his body and blood here in the bread and the wine. Then by knowing these things we can tell others, as Martin Luther said “We are all mere beggars showing other beggars where to find bread.”

As our earthly tents fade away day by day, we are reminded of the gospel, that Jesus Christ died for you, and now gives you eternal life through his resurrection, and bids you to come and eat and drink, for the forgiveness of your sins. Listening to those words that Jesus tell us John 6:54

John 6:54 ESV

Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.

Amen.