The Bible — World English Bible

2 Corinthians 5

In brief

In 2 Corinthians 5, Paul speaks of death with serenity: our body is a tent that will be replaced by an eternal dwelling. We will appear before Christ's judgment seat, but his love compels the apostle. Whoever is in Christ is a new creation. God has reconciled the world to himself through Christ and has entrusted believers with the ministry of reconciliation: they are ambassadors of Christ. The chapter ends with the exchange of the cross: Christ was made sin for us so that we might become God's righteousness.

The chapter in 4 parts

  1. v. 1-10From the earthly tent to the heavenly dwelling
  2. v. 11-15The love of Christ urges us
  3. v. 16-17In Christ, a new creation
  4. v. 18-21Reconciliation and the ministry of ambassador

1For we know that if the earthly house of our tent is dissolved, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal, in the heavens.

2For most certainly in this we groan, longing to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven,

3if indeed being clothed, we will not be found naked.

4For indeed we who are in this tent do groan, being burdened, not that we desire to be unclothed, but that we desire to be clothed, that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.

5Now he who made us for this very thing is God, who also gave to us the down payment of the Spirit.

6Therefore we are always confident and know that while we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord;

7for we walk by faith, not by sight.

8We are courageous, I say, and are willing rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.

9Therefore also we make it our aim, whether at home or absent, to be well pleasing to him.

10For we must all be revealed before the judgment seat of Christ that each one may receive the things in the body according to what he has done, whether good or bad.

11Knowing therefore the fear of the Lord, we persuade men, but we are revealed to God, and I hope that we are revealed also in your consciences.

12For we are not commending ourselves to you again, but speak as giving you occasion of boasting on our behalf, that you may have something to answer those who boast in appearance, and not in heart.

13For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God. Or if we are of sober mind, it is for you.

14For the love of Christ constrains us; because we judge thus, that one died for all, therefore all died.

15He died for all, that those who live should no longer live to themselves, but to him who for their sakes died and rose again.

16Therefore we know no one after the flesh from now on. Even though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now we know him so no more.

17Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new.

18But all things are of God, who reconciled us to himself through Jesus Christ, and gave to us the ministry of reconciliation;

19namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not reckoning to them their trespasses, and having committed to us the word of reconciliation.

20We are therefore ambassadors on behalf of Christ, as though God were entreating by us: we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

21For him who knew no sin he made to be sin on our behalf; so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Key verses

Verse 7
for we walk by faith, not by sight.

Paul sums up the life of faith: we walk by faith and not by sight. The hope of the chapter rests on what God promises, not on what we yet see.

Verse 10
For we must all be revealed before the judgment seat of Christ that each one may receive the things in the body according to what he has done, whether good or bad.

All believers will appear before Christ's judgment seat to receive according to what they have done, good or bad. Many see in this a moment of truth, not of condemnation for those in Christ.

Verse 17
Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new.

Whoever is in Christ is a new creation: old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. The verse speaks of an identity received, which precedes effort.

Verse 18-20
But all things are of God, who reconciled us to himself through Jesus Christ, and gave to us the ministry of reconciliation; namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not reckoning to them their trespasses, and having committed to us the word of reconciliation. We are therefore ambassadors on behalf of Christ, as though God were entreating by us: we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

God reconciles the world to himself through Christ and entrusts this message to his children. The word ambassador says they speak in the name of another, with a mission received.

Verse 21
For him who knew no sin he made to be sin on our behalf; so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Verse that sums up the cross: the one who knew no sin was made sin for us, so that we might become God's righteousness in him. This is the foundation of reconciliation.

What the sermons say

From Death to Life: Your Identity Restored in ChristAdrien starts from a man who had no identity for eleven years to ask what we ground ours on. He shows that it is received: it comes from the passage from death to life made possible by Jesus.Read the summary →The Identikit of the New Creature in ChristJerry Yéboué-Kouamé draws the portrait of the new creature between Easter and Pentecost, born of a new covenant, so that each may recognize it in his own life.Read the summary →God Made the First Move to Reconcile YouStéphane Guillet reads 2 Corinthians 5:11-21: usually the offender asks for forgiveness; here it is the offended one, God, who makes all the effort. This reconciliation makes us ambassadors.Read the summary →Ambassador for Christ: Where Is Your Embassy?The Tabernacle Church presents the mission as a mark of trust and not as a chore. To be sent is to receive from God a task that makes you know him better.Read the summary →After the Rapture: What Awaits You in HeavenJean-Claude Villa defends a precise reading of the end times, which other Christians do not share. He mentions three events in heaven, including the judgment seat of Christ, and asks above all: Are you ready?Read the summary →

Frequently asked questions about 2 Corinthians 5

What does 2 Corinthians 5:17 mean?

The verse says that if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation: old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. It speaks of a real change in the life of the one who believes, which God produces himself. Paul does not say that everything is already complete, but that the starting point is new.

What does it mean to be an ambassador of Christ?

An ambassador represents a country and speaks in its name. Paul says that God makes his appeal through us and that we beg in the name of Christ: be reconciled to God. It is a mission entrusted to every believer.

What is the judgment seat of Christ in 2 Corinthians 5:10?

Paul writes that we will all appear before Christ's judgment seat to receive according to what we have done, good or bad. Christians understand this judgment in diverse ways. Many see it as an evaluation of a believer's works, distinct from the question of his salvation, which rests on Christ.

Articles quoting 2 Corinthians 5

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World English Bible translation — public domain.