✝
← Bible
ARCBLIVREKJVVBL

2 Coríntios 5

ARC · Chapter 5/13

1Porque sabemos que, se a nossa casa terrestre d'este tabernaculo se desfizer, temos de Deus um edificio, uma casa não feita por mãos, eterna nos céus.

2E por isso tambem gememos, desejando ser revestidos da nossa habitação, que é do céu;

3Se todavia formos achados vestidos, e não nús.

4Porque tambem nós, os que estamos n'este tabernaculo, gememos carregados: porque não queremos ser despidos, mas revestidos, para que o mortal seja absorvido pela vida.

5Ora, quem para isto mesmo nos preparou foi Deus, o qual nos deu tambem o penhor do Espirito.

6Pelo que estamos sempre de bom animo, sabendo que, emquanto estamos no corpo, vivemos ausentes do Senhor.

7(Porque andamos por fé, e não por vista.)

8Porém temos confiança e desejamos muito deixar este corpo, e habitar com o Senhor.

9Pelo que muito desejamos tambem ser-lhe agradaveis, quer presentes, quer ausentes.

10Porque todos devemos comparecer ante o tribunal de Christo, para que cada um receba segundo o que tiver feito no corpo, ou bem, ou mal.

11Assim que, sabendo o temor que se deve ao Senhor, persuadimos os homens á fé, e somos manifestos a Deus; mas espero que nas vossas consciencias estejamos tambem manifestos.

12Porque não nos recommendámos outra vez a vós; mas damo-vos occasião de vos gloriardes de nós, para que tenhaes que responder aos que se gloriam na apparencia, e não no coração.

13Porque, se enlouquecemos, é para Deus; e, se conservamos o juizo, é para vós.

14Porque o amor de Christo nos constrange, julgando nós isto: que, se um morreu por todos, logo todos morreram.

15E elle morreu por todos, para que os que vivem não vivam mais para si, senão para aquelle que por elles morreu e resuscitou.

16Assim que d'aqui por diante a ninguem conhecemos segundo a carne, e, ainda que tambem tenhamos conhecido Christo segundo a carne, todavia agora já o não conhecemos d'este modo.

17Assim que, se alguem está em Christo, nova creatura é: as coisas velhas já passaram; eis que tudo está feito novo.

18E tudo isto provém de Deus que nos reconciliou comsigo mesmo por Jesus Christo, e nos deu o ministerio da reconciliação.

19Porque Deus estava em Christo reconciliando comsigo o mundo, não lhes imputando os seus peccados; e poz em nós a palavra da reconciliação.

20De sorte que somos embaixadores da parte de Christo, como se Deus por nós rogasse. Rogamos-vos pois da parte de Christo que vos reconcilieis com Deus.

21Áquelle que não conheceu peccado, fel-o peccado por nós; para que n'elle fossemos feitos justiça de Deus.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Paul speaks of the hope of an eternal body in the heavens, compared to a new dwelling in contrast to the frailty of the present body, a temporary tent. He then describes the ministry of reconciliation: God reconciled the world to himself through Christ, and Christians are ambassadors of that message.

Explanation

The image of the body as a “tent” (common among nomads, and used literally by Paul, who was a tentmaker) contrasts with an “eternal building” that God prepares for those who believe, expressing the hope of a transformed existence after death. Paul emphasizes that living “by faith, not by sight” shapes the believer's attitude toward the uncertainty of the present life. The high point of the chapter is the declaration that God, in Christ, reconciled the world to himself, “not imputing their trespasses unto them,” and now entrusts Christians with this message of reconciliation, as ambassadors representing God himself before the world. Today's practical application is to consciously live out this identity as Christ's representative, calling others to reconciliation with God through example and word.

Fun facts

  • The Greek term for 'ambassador' (v.20) was officially used for representatives of the Roman Emperor in distant territories, giving Paul's word a political weight and sense of authority that his original readers would have readily recognized.
  • The phrase 'if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature' (v.17) echoes the creation language of Genesis, suggesting that conversion is comparable to a new creative act of God, beginning something entirely new in a person's life.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. 2 Coríntios 5:1He continues the idea from the end of chapter 4 about what is eternal: he compares the physical body to a temporary tent (“tabernacle”), which will one day be exchanged for a permanent building, made by God, in heaven.
  2. 2 Coríntios 5:2“Tabernacle” was the name of the tent Israel used in the wilderness, a temporary dwelling. Paul uses the word to describe the physical body as a temporary “house,” which will one day be exchanged for a new, eternal body.
  3. 2 Coríntios 5:3He adds a condition to the hope of a new body: being found “clothed” with it, not “naked” — the Christian hope is not to be without a body, but to gain a transformed one.
  4. 2 Coríntios 5:4He reinforces the idea: the desire is not to be rid of the body (to be “unclothed”), but to be clothed with a new one, so that everything mortal is swallowed up by eternal life.
  5. 2 Coríntios 5:5He credits this hope of transformation entirely to God, who prepared this plan and has already given the Holy Spirit as an advance guarantee that it will happen.
  6. 2 Coríntios 5:6Because of this guarantee of the Spirit, Paul says he lives with courage, even knowing that, while he is at home in the body, he is in a sense still absent from the Lord's full presence.
  7. 2 Coríntios 5:7A parenthetical remark that sums up the principle of Christian faith according to Paul: living guided by trust in God, not merely by what the eyes can see or prove.
  8. 2 Coríntios 5:8He confirms the confidence mentioned before: Paul would rather, if he could choose, leave the physical body and be directly in the Lord's presence.
  9. 2 Coríntios 5:9Whether in this life (“present”) or after death (“absent”), Paul's goal remains the same: to live in a way that pleases God.
  10. 2 Coríntios 5:10The phrase “the judgment seat of Christ” recalls the public Roman tribunals, where judges sat on a raised platform to give their verdicts. Paul uses that image to speak of an accounting of the Christian life before Christ, different from the judgment that decides salvation or condemnation.
  11. 2 Coríntios 5:11He explains the motivation behind his preaching: the fear of the Lord, a serious reverence, leads Paul to try to persuade people — and he hopes that sincerity is already recognized by the Corinthians themselves.
  12. 2 Coríntios 5:12He clarifies that he isn't promoting himself again, but giving the Corinthians arguments to defend themselves against rivals who value outward appearance over sincerity of heart.
  13. 2 Coríntios 5:13He responds to what may have been an accusation that he was “beside ourselves” — perhaps because of intense spiritual experiences — saying that whatever the case, everything he does is for God or for the good of the Corinthians.
  14. 2 Coríntios 5:14He points to the source of everything he does: the love of Christ, which convinces him of a central logic of the gospel — Christ died for all, which means that, in a sense, all died with Him.
  15. 2 Coríntios 5:15He details the purpose of Christ's death for all: so that those who live would no longer live for themselves, but for the one who died and rose again for them.
  16. 2 Coríntios 5:16To judge someone “after the flesh” means judging people, including Jesus, only by outward appearance, status, or history. Paul says that after knowing Christ, he stopped looking at anyone “after the flesh.”
  17. 2 Coríntios 5:17One of the letter's most quoted verses: whoever is in Christ becomes “a new creature” — old things truly pass away, and a new life begins; it isn't just an adjustment to the old one.
  18. 2 Coríntios 5:18He explains where this transformation comes from: it all begins with God, who reconciled the believer to Himself through Christ, and gave Paul the task of announcing that reconciliation to others.
  19. 2 Coríntios 5:19He sums up what God did in Christ: reconciling the world to Himself, not counting people's sins against them, and entrusting to the apostles the “word” of that reconciliation.
  20. 2 Coríntios 5:20He uses the image of “ambassadors”: just as an ambassador speaks on behalf of his country, Paul and the other apostles speak on behalf of Christ, asking people to be reconciled to God.
  21. 2 Coríntios 5:21Paul's phrase “made him to be sin for us” is strong — it doesn't mean Jesus sinned, but that he took upon himself the consequence of sin, in an exchange: he carries what was ours so believers may receive what is His, called here “the righteousness of God.”

Chapters

12345678910111213

Our apps

Our apps →

Bible in Stories

The Bible told as a story, with audio and videos.

📱 Get the app

World in Stories

True stories of humanity that sound made up.

App StoreGoogle Play

Feito! Pequenas Vitórias

A light daily routine for people who lose track of the day.

App StoreGoogle Play