• 2 Corinthians 5:1-10 - Walking by Faith: Longing for Heaven and Living on Earth (Rev. Erik Veerman)

  • Mar 23 2025
  • Length: 31 mins
  • Podcast

2 Corinthians 5:1-10 - Walking by Faith: Longing for Heaven and Living on Earth (Rev. Erik Veerman)

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  • Walking by Faith: Longing for Heaven and Living on Earth 2 Cor 5:1-10 Our sermon text is 2 Corinthians 5:1-10. You can find that on page 1147. The theme of suffering continues here in chapter 5. Last week, we were encouraged to not lose heart in our affliction. That is because of three things. (1) God is working his Gospel in us – he is renewing us day by day. (2) our suffering, though difficult, pales in comparison to the eternal weight of glory. And (3) God enables us to look to the eternal things in heaven, which we cannot see but are promised. The beginning of chapter 5, here is a continuation of point 3 from last week. God enables us to look to the things in eternity even though we cannot see them. And in these verses, we’re given a picture of heaven and what it will be like to dwell there. These verses put meat on the bones, so to speak. They tell us what the future reality will be like in comparison to our present reality. So, as I read, listen for that comparison. Our present reality on earth compared with our future reality in heaven. Reading of 2 Corinthians 5:1-10 Prayer There’s one medical statistic that has remained consistent for all of history… going all the way back to Adam and Eve. The percentage of this medical occurrence has not changed in that long. Thousands and thousands of years of human history. I’m talking about the mortality rate. It has remained at 100%. By the way, the word “mortality” literally means “subject to death.” 100% in the history of humanity. Now, I know what couple of you are thinking… “yeah but what about Enoch? God took him but he didn’t experience death? Or what about Elijah? He was taken up to heaven on the whirlwind.” Ok, fine. But you get my point. Everyone in history minus 2 There is only one event that will change that. There is only one event that will end mortality. And that is when Christ returns. We don’t know when that will happen. But when he returns, those who are alive will not experience death. Wouldn’t that be great if it happened in our lifetime. At that time, the Scriptures say that Jesus will return as judge of the living and the dead. Verse 10 references Jesus’ “judgment seat.” We’ll come back to that later. But look at verse 1, do you see that word “if?” “For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed” It’s talking about our mortal bodies. That word “if” is the same word in the Greek for the word “when.” And here it is an “if or when.” It’s an “if” for you if Christ returns before you experience death. It’s a “when” if Christ returns after you pass from this life. In the meantime, all of us will experience the groaning of our bodies, as these verses describe. And possibly all of us will experience the pains of death as we pass from this life. And it’s difficult. Our “groaning” is difficult to different degrees now and it will likely become more difficult. We don’t want to struggle with sleep issues or weight issues or chronic issues or disease or mental heath issues… or the general wearing down of our bodies. No, we all have an internal longing to be whole. And what 2 Corinthians 5:1-10 reveals to us is that one day we will be whole. These verses reveal the amazing reality of what is to come. It helps us to live with the groaning now with confidence in the reality of what is to come for us in heaven. And it’s a beautiful promise. As you heard, these verse constantly go back and forth between earth and heaven. Our current reality and our future promise. The pains of our current bodies, and being clothed in perfected ones. How in this life we are away from the Lord –we’re not in his physical presence, but in the life to come, we will be with him forever. And the big question here is this: How do we live in adversity and long for eternity? How can we turn our groaning into longing? The answer centers on one thing. There’s one thing that is critical. Really, it’s the key to the answer. And it’s right there in the middle of these verses. Verse 7. “We walk by faith and not by sight.” You see, the Bible gives us many promises. And we are called to believe in them by faith. Faith is the key to it all. It’s the key to living on earth while longing for hope for heaven. Now, these verses do not give us a definition of faith. In fact, faith is only mentioned a few times in the whole book. But remember, Paul is writing to the church in Corinth. This is not the first letter he’s written to them. No, it’s actually the fourth letter. We don’t have two of them. And also, don’t forget, Paul planted the church in Corinth. He’s also visited them. So, he is not defining the word “faith” because he knows that his readers understand its meaning. Now, for us, the word faith culturally has a shallow meaning. Mostly. People often use the word “faith” today in a generalized sense like a blind trust – a blind faith. Like, I’...
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