2 Corinthians 5
The earthly body is temporary, but believers have a heavenly dwelling that is eternal. They long to be clothed with their heavenly habitation, and this transformation is made possible by God through the Spirit. Believers are confident in their faith and strive to please the Lord, knowing they will be judged according to their actions. They have been reconciled to God through Christ and have been given the ministry of reconciliation, serving as ambassadors for Christ, urging others to be reconciled to God.
For we know that, when our earthly house of this habitation is dissolved, we have a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in heavenAnd for this reason also, we groan, desiring to be clothed from above with our habitation from heavenIf we are so clothed, then we will not be found to be nakedThen too, we who are in this tabernacle groan under the burden, because we do not want to be stripped, but rather to be clothed from above, so that what is mortal may be absorbed by lifeNow the One who accomplishes this very thing in us is God, who has given us the pledge of the SpiritTherefore, we are ever confident, knowing that, while we are in the body, we are on a pilgrimage in the LordFor we walk by means of faith, and not by sightSo we are confident, and we have the good will to be on a pilgrimage in the body, so as to be present to the Lord.And thus we struggle, whether absent or present, to please himFor it is necessary for us to be manifested before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive the proper things of the body, according to his behavior, whether it was good or evilTherefore, having knowledge of the fear of the Lord, we appeal to men, but we are made manifest before God. Yet I hope, too, that we may be made manifest in your consciencesWe are not commending ourselves again to you, but rather we are presenting you with an opportunity to glory because of us, when you deal with those who glory in face, and not in heartFor if we are excessive in mind, it is for God; but if we are sober, it is for youFor the charity of Christ urges us on, in consideration of this: that if one died for all, then all have diedAnd Christ died for all, so that even those who live might not now live for themselves, but for him who died for them and who rose againAnd so, from now on, we know no one according to the flesh. And though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know him in this way no longerSo if anyone is a new creature in Christ, what is old has passed away. Behold, all things have been made newBut all is of God, who has reconciled us to himself through Christ, and who has given us the ministry of reconciliationFor certainly God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, not charging them with their sins. And he has placed in us the Word of reconciliationTherefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, so that God is exhorting through us. We beseech you for Christ: be reconciled to GodFor God made him who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that we might become the justice of God in him
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