2 Corinthians 5

²⁵But I know that my Redeemer lives, and in the end He will stand upon the earth.

²⁶Even after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God.

²Beloved, we are now children of God, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that when Christ appears, we will be like Him, for we will see Him as He is.

¹³I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of my body,

¹⁴because I know that this tent will soon be laid aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me.

⁷Now we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this surpassingly great power is from God and not from us.

²⁴For Christ did not enter a man-made copy of the true sanctuary, but He entered heaven itself, now to appear on our behalf in the presence of God.

⁴⁶The spiritual, however, was not first, but the natural, and then the spiritual.

⁴⁷The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven.

²³Not only that, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.

⁵³For the perishable must be clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.

⁵⁴When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come to pass: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”

²⁴What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?

³because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked.

⁴For while we are in this tent, we groan under our burdens, because we do not wish to be unclothed but clothed, so that our mortality may be swallowed up by life.

²³I am torn between the two. I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better indeed.

⁶In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in various trials

⁷so that the proven character of your faith—more precious than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

⁷And the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; so they sewed together fig leaves and made coverings for themselves.

⁸Then the man and his wife heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the breeze of the day, and they hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.

¹⁵“Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who remains awake and clothed, so that he will not go naked and let his shame be exposed.”

¹⁸I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, white garments so that you may be clothed and your shameful nakedness not exposed, and salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see.

²⁵Moses saw that the people were out of control, for Aaron had let them run wild and become a laughingstock to their enemies.

⁵³For the perishable must be clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.

⁵⁴When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come to pass: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”

²For in this tent we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling,

⁸He will swallow up death forever. The Lord God will wipe away the tears from every face and remove the disgrace of His people from the whole earth. For the Lord has spoken.

¹³I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of my body,

²²placed His seal on us, and put His Spirit in our hearts as a pledge of what is to come.

¹³And in Him, having heard and believed the word of truth—the gospel of your salvation—you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,

¹⁴who is the pledge of our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession, to the praise of His glory.

²³Not only that, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.

³⁰And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

²⁴Whoever keeps His commandments remains in God, and God in him. And by this we know that He remains in us: by the Spirit He has given us.

¹⁷For our light and momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory that is far beyond comparison.

²⁰But our citizenship is in heaven, and we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,

²¹who, by the power that enables Him to subject all things to Himself, will transform our lowly bodies to be like His glorious body.

¹For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is dismantled, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.

¹⁴For here we do not have a permanent city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.

¹²Hear my prayer, O Lord, and give ear to my cry for help; do not be deaf to my weeping. For I am a foreigner dwelling with You, a stranger like all my fathers.

¹³All these people died in faith, without having received the things they were promised. However, they saw them and welcomed them from afar. And they acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.

³⁵So do not throw away your confidence; it holds a great reward.

¹Now faith is the assurance of what we hope for and the certainty of what we do not see.

²This is why the ancients were commended.

¹⁸So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

²⁴For in this hope we were saved; but hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he can already see?

²⁵But if we hope for what we do not yet see, we wait for it patiently.

⁸Though you have not seen Him, you love Him; and though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and rejoice with an inexpressible and glorious joy,

³⁸But My righteous one will live by faith; and if he shrinks back, I will take no pleasure in him.”

²⁰I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

²⁰I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have complete boldness so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.

²¹For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

⁶Therefore we are always confident, although we know that while we are at home in the body, we are away from the Lord.

³And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and welcome you into My presence, so that you also may be where I am.

²Beloved, we are now children of God, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that when Christ appears, we will be like Him, for we will see Him as He is.

²I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of it I do not know, but God knows.

³And I know that this man—whether in the body or out of it I do not know, but God knows—

²³Yet I am always with You; You hold my right hand.

²⁴You guide me with Your counsel, and later receive me in glory.

¹⁰so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,

¹⁴Therefore, beloved, as you anticipate these things, make every effort to be found at peace—spotless and blameless in His sight.

¹⁸For whoever serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men.

¹¹and to aspire to live quietly, to attend to your own matters, and to work with your own hands, as we instructed you.

¹⁰To this end we labor and strive, because we have set our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of everyone, and especially of those who believe.

⁷If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you refuse to do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires you, but you must master it.”

²⁷For the Son of Man will come in His Father’s glory with His angels, and then He will repay each one according to what he has done.

¹²“Behold, I am coming soon, and My reward is with Me, to give to each one according to what he has done.

¹⁴For God will bring every deed into judgment, along with every hidden thing, whether good or evil.

⁸because you know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free.

¹²and loving devotion to You, O Lord. For You will repay each man according to his deeds.

⁵But because of your hard and unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.

⁶God “will repay each one according to his deeds.”

²³save others by snatching them from the fire; and to still others show mercy tempered with fear, hating even the clothing stained by the flesh.

³¹It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

²⁴And a servant of the Lord must not be quarrelsome, but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, and forbearing.

²⁵He must gently reprove those who oppose him, in the hope that God may grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth.

¹⁵And if anyone was found whose name was not written in the Book of Life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

¹Therefore, since God in His mercy has given us this ministry, we do not lose heart.

²Instead, we have renounced secret and shameful ways. We do not practice deceit, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by open proclamation of the truth, we commend ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.

⁵But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear the One who, after you have been killed, has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear Him!

¹Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, like some people, letters of recommendation to you or from you?

¹⁴as you have already understood us in part, that you may boast of us just as we will boast of you in the day of our Lord Jesus.

¹²Those who want to make a good impression outwardly are trying to compel you to be circumcised. They only do this to avoid persecution for the cross of Christ.

¹³For the circumcised do not even keep the law themselves, yet they want you to be circumcised that they may boast in your flesh.

¹²But I will keep on doing what I am doing, in order to undercut those who want an opportunity to be regarded as our equals in the things of which they boast.

¹³For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ.

¹⁸For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.

⁸For even if I boast somewhat excessively about the authority the Lord gave us for building you up rather than tearing you down, I will not be ashamed.

¹⁶I repeat: Let no one take me for a fool. But if you do, then receive me as a fool, so that I too may boast a little.

¹⁷In this confident boasting of mine, I am not speaking as the Lord would, but as a fool.

⁶Even if I wanted to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain, so no one will credit me with more than he sees in me or hears from me,

¹I hope you will put up with a little of my foolishness, but you are already doing that.

³For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but think of yourself with sober judgment, according to the measure of faith God has given you.

¹⁰We are fools for Christ, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are honored, but we are dishonored.

¹¹To this very hour we are hungry and thirsty, we are poorly clothed, we are brutally treated, we are homeless.

²⁴At this stage of Paul’s defense, Festus exclaimed in a loud voice, “You are insane, Paul! Your great learning is driving you to madness!”

²⁵But Paul answered, “I am not insane, most excellent Festus; I am speaking words of truth and sobriety.

²⁰I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

⁷For none of us lives to himself alone, and none of us dies to himself alone.

⁸If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.

³⁷Anyone who loves his father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me;

³⁸and anyone who does not take up his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me.

⁸Though you have not seen Him, you love Him; and though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and rejoice with an inexpressible and glorious joy,

¹⁵But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many!

²⁸just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”

⁷For none of us lives to himself alone, and none of us dies to himself alone.

⁸If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.

²Consequently, he does not live out his remaining time on earth for human passions, but for the will of God.

³For you have spent enough time in the past carrying out the same desires as the Gentiles: living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing, and detestable idolatry.

¹⁴As obedient children, do not conform to the passions of your former ignorance.

¹⁵But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do,

¹Therefore, since you have been raised with Christ, strive for the things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.

¹⁷And whatever you do, in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

¹⁹For through the law I died to the law so that I might live to God.

²⁰I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

¹¹Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, or free, but Christ is all and is in all.

⁷But whatever was gain to me I count as loss for the sake of Christ.

⁸More than that, I count all things as loss compared to the surpassing excellence of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ

⁶³The Spirit gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.

¹My brothers, as you hold out your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, do not show favoritism.

²Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in.

¹⁷But the wisdom from above is first of all pure, then peace-loving, gentle, accommodating, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial, and sincere.

⁶For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. What matters is faith expressing itself through love.

²⁶I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.

²²to put off your former way of life, your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires;

²³to be renewed in the spirit of your minds;

¹⁸“Do not call to mind the former things; pay no attention to the things of old.

¹⁹Behold, I am about to do something new; even now it is coming. Do you not see it? Indeed, I will make a way in the wilderness and streams in the desert.

³Jesus replied, “Truly, truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.”

¹⁰Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.

¹⁹And I will give them singleness of heart and put a new spirit within them; I will remove their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh,

²⁰and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through the blood of His cross.

²¹Once you were alienated from God and were hostile in your minds, engaging in evil deeds.

¹⁰For if, when we were enemies of God, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through His life!

¹¹Not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

¹⁹that God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting men’s trespasses against them. And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation.

²⁰Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ: Be reconciled to God.

¹⁶and reconciling both of them to God in one body through the cross, by which He put to death their hostility.

¹⁷He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near.

¹⁰And love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as the atoning sacrifice for our sins.

¹Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

²⁵I, yes I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake and remembers your sins no more.

²²I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud, and your sins like a mist. Return to Me, for I have redeemed you.

¹⁰And love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as the atoning sacrifice for our sins.

¹My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate before the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.

²He Himself is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

¹⁶By common confession, the mystery of godliness is great: He appeared in the flesh, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was proclaimed among the nations, was believed in throughout the world, was taken up in glory.

¹Of David. A Maskil. Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.

²Blessed is the man whose iniquity the Lord does not count against him, in whose spirit there is no deceit.

²⁰for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it fearlessly, as I should.

²³So the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedges and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full.

⁷For the lips of a priest should preserve knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, because he is the messenger of the Lord of Hosts.

³¹Cast away from yourselves all the transgressions you have committed, and fashion for yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. Why should you die, O house of Israel?

³²For I take no pleasure in anyone’s death, declares the Lord God. So repent and live!

¹⁶Whoever listens to you listens to Me; whoever rejects you rejects Me; and whoever rejects Me rejects the One who sent Me.”

²¹Again Jesus said to them, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent Me, so also I am sending you.”

²²“He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in His mouth.”

²³When they heaped abuse on Him, He did not retaliate; when He suffered, He made no threats, but entrusted Himself to Him who judges justly.

¹⁸For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit,

¹⁹For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.

¹³Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. For it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”

³⁰It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God: our righteousness, holiness, and redemption.

⁵But you know that Christ appeared to take away sins, and in Him there is no sin.