07 Why We Should Not Fear Death (2 Corinthians 5:1-11)

Wednesday in the Word

In 2 Corinthians 5:1–11, Paul continues his defense of his ministry by explaining how his confidence in the resurrection shapes his message, motivates his courage, and defines his integrity.

In this week’s episode, we explore:

• How Paul contrasts earthly suffering with eternal glory
• What Paul means when he says “our outer self is wasting away”
• Why the Holy Spirit is described as a pledge and what it guarantees
• The debate between the two-stage and three-stage views of life after death
• The meaning and purpose of the judgment seat of Christ
• How Paul’s hope in the resurrection affects how he lives—and why that matters

By listening, you’ll gain a deeper understanding of how Paul’s eternal perspective gave him courage, how that same perspective can shape our lives today, and what it means to aim to please Christ in all we do.

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Why We Should Not Fear Death (2 Corinthians 5:1-11)

Review

Paul has a troubled relationship with the Corinthian church. Some in Corinth do not think he is charismatic or sophisticated enough as a teacher, and some have rejected him as an apostle. Some do not think he can be trusted because he said he would visit and then did not.

Since chapter 1, Paul has been explaining how they should view his ministry.

• First, Paul is not adequate to produce the results his ministry has produced. The gospel is beyond him. He is just a man. He did not invent something as powerful and wise as the gospel. In a sense, he agrees with them. He is kind of a loser and not as sophisticated and charismatic as they want. Nevertheless, God chose him to be an apostle, and God is producing these great results.

• Second, Paul speaks with openness and integrity. He is not a salesman. His goal is not to manipulate you into buying the gospel. He will not change the gospel or his presentation to win more converts. Instead, Paul sincerely speaks the simple truth as if he were standing in the presence of God himself.

• Third, the gospel is superior to the Old Covenant because, through His Spirit, God is transforming His people. The Old Covenant Law was a set of external commands, but our problem is rebellious hearts. The external law is powerless to change internal rebellion. Under the New Covenant, God offers a different deal. He forgives us because of Jesus, and then He gives us His Spirit to cut the rebellion out of our hearts so that we follow Him.

Walking a Tightrope

Paul claims a huge impact for his gospel while making clear he is not bragging about himself. His job is to preach the gospel, and understanding the gospel is a matter of life and death. His ministry is incredibly important, not because he is a big deal, but because his message is a big deal.

Why Paul Does Not Lose Heart (Chapter 4)

In chapter 4, Paul gives two reasons he does not lose heart in the midst of suffering and hostility.

1. He does not lose heart because God has given him a great ministry. Yes, many reject Paul and he suffers many things, but those called by God find life through his gospel. His sufferings bring the message of life to many, including the Corinthians.
2. He does not lose heart because God is teaching him through his sufferings. He is learning to focus not on the temporary sufferings of today, but on the eternal glory that awaits him.

We started that last time, and Paul continues the theme in chapter 5.

How Paul Uses “We”

I remind you that Paul uses the pronoun we throughout 2 Corinthians to refer to himself. In this section he says that God gave to us the Spirit as a pledge. I would argue Paul is still talking primarily about himself, his own perspective on his own destiny in the midst of his struggles as an apostle.

But in this case, God has given the Spirit as a pledge not only to Paul but to all believers.

Sometimes Paul is saying, this is how I respond to my circumstances as an apostle. Sometimes he is saying, this is how I respond as a believer. When he talks as a believer, we can apply that directly to ourselves. When he talks as an apostle, we have to ask whether and how it applies to all believers.

Paul’s purpose throughout the letter is to talk about himself. He is trying to get the Corinthians to understand him and his ministry the right way. Many things he says about his own attitude are also things we should embrace because they are true of us.

Death and Hope in Ministry

From the beginning of the letter, Paul has made it clear that as an apostle he is constantly confronted with death. In chapter 1 he said his ministry was so difficult he thought he was going to die. He faces the hostility of the world and describes that as living out the death of Christ. He faces the same hostility, rejection, and death Jesus faced. That could cause anyone to lose heart, yet in 4:16 he says he does not lose heart.

His hope grows because his vision is fixed on eternal things. With his eyes on the right things, the inner man does not fall into despair, even though outwardly he suffers. As he said in chapter 4, he preaches the gospel because he himself believes it. He preaches it for the sake of others, and he preaches it faithfully for his own sake, so that he might be a believer and enter into life.

Paul’s present experience is difficult and discouraging. If he focused only on what he sees in this world, he would lose heart. Instead, he thinks about the unseen promises of God. God has promised that Paul will inherit glory. His suffering is temporary. The glory God has promised is eternal. This age and its sufferings will not last. The next age and its glory will last.

Our Earthly Tent and Heavenly Building (2 Corinthians 5:1–4)

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. 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. 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. — 2 Corinthians 5:1-4

It sounds like Paul mixes metaphors. He speaks of longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven. The image is both a house and clothing. Those images work together. Both cover and protect. Do not think of clothing as adornment, but as protection.

The idea is that we have an inner self that is housed and clothed, protected by the body. The issue under discussion is losing that protection. When my body is gone, what happens to me? Where is my house? Where is my clothing?

As Paul puts it, if the earthly tent that is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. This is a metaphorical way of saying what he says at the end: what is mortal will be swallowed up by life.

Echoes of Isaiah 25

I think Paul is echoing a passage from Isaiah about mortality being swallowed up by life. Isaiah 25 speaks of the day when God will rescue and redeem His people.

On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined. And he will swallow up on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the LORD has spoken. – Isaiah 25:6–8

I cannot prove it, but I think it is possible this passage influences Paul’s language about death being swallowed up.

The Spirit as Guarantee (2 Corinthians 5:5)

What Paul says is not abstract. For him, suffering and death are ever-present. He groans in this life under constant threat, which burdens him and puts emotional pressure on him. His hope is that when he dies and loses his temporary tent and clothing, he will not be left naked or unprotected. He longs for new clothing and a new house that will protect him in death.

That is exactly what God intends to do:

2Co 5:5 He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.

Two important ideas:

1. This is God’s idea. God intended from the beginning to give us eternal life. God promised to prepare new, eternal bodies to replace our temporary ones.
2. God guarantees that His people will arrive at this new life through the work of the Spirit in their lives today.

This is a strong theme throughout 2 Corinthians. Paul keeps bringing up that the Spirit of God reaches out and works in His people to bring them to this good end. This is the second time Paul speaks of the Spirit as a pledge, a down payment.

Paul has said his ministry is better than that of Moses because his ministry concerns the Spirit writing on our hearts and transforming us. Our hope for the future is secure because God is working on us now to ensure we arrive there. The Spirit guarantees that Paul will indeed arrive at that new life in that new body. He can have confidence in that hope because of the Spirit’s work in him now.

Courage in Life and Death (2 Corinthians 5:6–9)

And so Paul can face death with courage:

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. So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. – 2 Corinthians 5:6-9

In one sense, this is clear. His ministry involves constant suffering and the threat of death. He can face death, the loss of his earthly body, with courage because life in this body is not the best life. Here, he is apart from the Lord. Better to leave this body and to go to that existence where he will be with Jesus forever.

In the history of reading 2 Corinthians, people started speculating about how exactly life after death works. There is a debate between a two-stage view and a three-stage view, and much of it comes from this passage.

The three-stage view argues:

• Stage 1: is our earthly body. Then we die.
• Stage 2: is a bodiless spiritual existence in heaven.
• Stage 3: Finally, when Jesus returns, we enter stage three, resurrected with new bodies.

The two-stage view argues:

• Stage 1: is bodily existence in this world. Then we die.
• Stage 2: The next event we experience, which will seem immediate, is our bodily resurrection with Christ.

Part of the debate centers on what Paul means by being away from the body and at home with the Lord, his groaning, and what it means to be naked or unclothed.

My personal, good-for-nothing opinion is that building theology on a metaphor puts you on shaky ground. It is easy to take a metaphor and run in directions the author never intended. Paul expects us to understand his point from the context. I am not sure he means to say anything beyond that.

But here are the arguments.

Everyone agrees that stage one is this earthly existence in a fallen world with physical bodies that decay. Everyone agrees that we get our resurrected body when Christ returns. Paul makes that clear elsewhere. At the second coming, the last trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised, and we will be changed.

The question is what happens between death and Christ’s return. Are we essentially asleep, or are we awake and conscious in a disembodied state with Christ?

Three-Stage View of Life After Death

Those who hold the three-stage view take “away from the body and at home with the Lord” (5:8) to mean our souls depart from our physical bodies and are immediately present with Christ in a disembodied state.

• They understand “being away from the body” as suggesting a conscious existence apart from the physical body.
• They argue the groaning for the resurrection body (5:2–4) implies a current state of incompleteness. We groan because we lack a tent or a building, a temporary disembodied state that longs for embodiment.
• They take the tent to be this earthly body and the building from God to be the resurrected body that comes later.
• They point to Luke 23:43 (“today you will be with me in paradise”) and Philippians 1:23 (“depart and be with Christ”) as emphasizing the soul’s immediate communion with God after death.

Two-Stage View of Life After Death

Proponents of the two-stage view also take the current tent as the earthly body and the future building as the resurrection body. But they argue the groaning happens while we are in this tent. We are not groaning because we lack a body. We are groaning because we have a physical, decaying body and we long for the resurrected body.

• They understand “away from the body and at home with the Lord” to mean away from this earthly body, not away from any body at all, and at home with the Lord in our resurrected body.
• They also argue that the naked or unclothed state (5:3–4) is something Paul dreads and wishes to avoid. That suggests it is not a desirable intermediate state of disembodied consciousness, but the tragic state of death itself, which is overcome at the resurrection.
• They argue the next conscious moment after death will be Christ’s return and the resurrection, so Jesus can say to the thief “today” because it is the next thing the thief will know, and Paul can say he wants to depart and be with the Lord for the same reason.
• They call this “soul sleep.” This view draws on 1 Corinthians 15 and 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18, where the dead are described as asleep until Christ’s return. They argue the three-stage view was influenced by ancient Greek philosophy.

Both sides draw on 2 Corinthians 5, but their conclusions reflect broader theological commitments.

If you are inclined to a dualistic view where the soul can exist separate from the body, you will lean toward the three-stage view.

If you assume a more holistic view where human existence is tied to a body, you will lean toward the two-stage view.

I lean toward the idea that there is no intermediate state. When I die, the next thing I will know is the day when Christ returns and raises me from the dead. There is no break in my experience. I move from this life to the return of Christ. I am leaning in that direction.

But if you convinced me otherwise, I would say great. It does not matter to me whether there is an intermediate stage. What matters is that Jesus claims me as His and grants me forgiveness and a resurrected body. I am not going to argue about when that happens.

What Matters Most Regardless of the Model

I would classify this debate as an issue of deriving doctrine. It seems obvious from the context that Paul did not intend to explain what happens after death in this letter. He is using a metaphor to make a different point.

We are debating how far to take that metaphor, and in my good-for-nothing opinion, neither view has rock-solid ground. We can speculate and try to put the pieces together, but this is not a hill to die on. The other side has as much chance of being right as whatever side I favor.

Crucially, which side you land on does not change Paul’s essential point. His ministry involves constant suffering and the threat of death. He faces the loss of his earthly body with courage because he knows something better is coming. Here he is apart from Jesus. It is better to leave this body and be with Jesus forever. If his opponents succeed in killing him, he will be with Jesus sooner. His courage is grounded in confidence that death will not be the end.

The Judgment Seat of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:9–11)

As we continue in verses 9–11, the idea of eternal life not only gives Paul hope, it changes how he lives each day.

So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. 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. 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. – 2 Corinthians 5:9-11

As I understand it, the issue for Paul is whom he will fear. By straightforwardly preaching the gospel, Paul faces hostility and the threat of death. He goes into that situation confident that no human being can truly hurt him. No one can steal his eternal destiny. He fears the Lord, the judge who decides his eternal destiny. That Lord is Christ, the judge of all.

Who Faces the Judgment Seat?

Here is another controversial question. What is the nature of the judgment seat of Christ? Who and what is being judged?

Some scholars argue that 5:10 refers to a judgment specifically for Christians, noting the use of we suggests Paul is speaking to the church. They argue this judgment evaluates believers’ works for rewards in heaven. Salvation is secured through faith.

They claim Paul is talking about a second judgment only believers will face that determines crowns, jobs, and individual rewards. The focus is on what was done in the body, assessing faithfulness, service, and obedience.

They see “good or evil” as referring to the quality of believers’ deeds (effective or worthless) rather than moral evil leading to condemnation.

They note the Greek word bēma refers to a raised platform for rewards given to winners, not a criminal bench.

They point to 1 Corinthians 3:10–15 where believers’ works are tested by fire, and they receive rewards or suffer loss but remain saved. On this view, when believers appear before Jesus, salvation is not at stake, but rewards are.

Faith, Works, and Judgment: Two Themes

When we hit the relevant passage in 1 Corinthians, I did a bonus episode called Are there Rewards in heaven?. I will not cover all that ground again. I will summarize.

I think the key is understanding the relationship between faith and works.

Theme 1: Yes, we are saved by the faith and the grace of God alone. None of us will stand before God and survive based on the merit of our works. I am a sinner, and apart from the grace of God and the blood of Christ I stand condemned. Left to myself, I can do nothing to save myself or change that fact. If I am saved, I am saved solely on the basis of God having mercy on me because of the atoning sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ. That is a key teaching of the Bible. I will call this theme 1.

Theme 2: Faith makes a difference in how I live today. Once I have genuine, saving faith, the Spirit changes me in real and tangible ways. I have real repentance and grief over my sinfulness. I have a real desire to be holy and free from sin. I long for the life God offers and to live in accordance with His teachings and precepts. If I claim to believe in Jesus, I will make different choices than if I do not believe He is the Messiah. Does it mean I will never sin again? No. Does it mean perfect obedience is within my grasp? No. But over time my life will change, and I will increasingly make wiser choices. I will call this theme 2.

I would argue the Bible teaches both themes. The Bible says both that we will not be judged by our works and that we will be judged by our works, depending on which theme the passage is addressing.

When the Bible talks about believers being judged by our works, it is talking about theme 2. What I do reveals who I am. What I say, think, and do reveals what is inside me and, over time, whether I have genuine, saving faith. We are not judged by our works in the sense that we earn a place in heaven or a higher place in heaven. We are judged by our works in the sense that our lives demonstrate that we actually have faith.

I would argue that those who teach we are earning rewards in addition to salvation are mixing up these themes and, or, misunderstanding which theme a passage has in mind. To say a passage addressed to Christians and talking about being judged by works cannot be talking about salvation is not a given. It depends on which theme the passage has in view.

So I do not see a problem with the idea that the judgment seat of Christ here could be for all mankind. Christ will judge all as to whether they have lived as the people of God, whether they have done good or bad, not in the sense of whether they are sinners, but whether they have trusted God and lived a life of turning to God for salvation.

I do not have a theological problem with this being the judgment of mankind. In John 5, Jesus says God has given Him authority to judge all. He will raise all, and they will be judged on whether they did good or bad. Some will enter into life, and some will enter into judgment. That fits Paul’s language here.

Do not misunderstand me. I am keenly aware that if I am judged on whether I am a sinful, weak, fallible human, I am guilty. If that is the criterion for getting saved, then I am not getting saved. That is theme 1.

But theme 2 is also true. Faith makes a difference. It makes such a difference that Jesus can look at how we lived and tell if we have it. Our lives express the reality of our relationship with God. They do not show moral perfection, but they do express our faith. I think that is what Paul is getting at.

Bringing It Together and Our Calling

The hope of eternal life affects how Paul conducts his ministry in two ways.

First, it gives him courage as he faces hostility and death. He can face death with courage because he knows a better life is ahead.

Second, it teaches him whom to fear. It does not matter what people think of him. It matters what God thinks. It matters that he lives out his faith. Entering into eternal life is key, and Christ determines that, not other people.

So Paul does not worry about how people react. His job is to persuade them if he can, no matter how they respond. He conducts himself with integrity and honesty, knowing his life is an open book to God. God sees Paul’s motives and heart.

He hopes the Corinthians see his motives and heart as well. In spite of their troubled relationship, he hopes they will see him clearly for what he is. In many ways, this is about Paul. But in another sense, it is not just about him.

There is a sense in which we all must do this. Everyone faces the same issue Paul faced. The hope that gives him courage is the same hope every believer has. The fear of God that motivates him is the same fear every believer should have. We should seek to have our inner person renewed in the same way, by thinking about the future things that are not yet seen.

When you and I think about death, we should see it as a comfort and an incentive. I know this is not easy to do or say. But this is what Paul believes. The comfort is that God gives us an eternal weight of glory. He intends to give us eternal life with Jesus our Lord. That is His purpose. That is what He has set out to do. That is what the Spirit of God working in us is ensuring we reach. The incentive is that we recognize our destiny is in the hands of God and His Messiah, Jesus.

Our calling is to live our lives as genuine believers. We want to be among those who have sincerely turned to God and found life.

Please listen to the podcast for more detail and explanation.

Next: 08 New Creations in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:11-21)

Previous: 06 Why Paul did not lose hear and what we can learn from him (2 Corinthians 4)

Series: 2 Corinthians: When Church Hurts

Resources to help you study: 2 Corinthians

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Podcast season 26, episode 7