The next two Sundays we will be preaching through 2 Corinthians 5. Paul begins this chapter picking up where he left off at the end of chapter 4 where he says, “We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed…So we do not lose heart.” (2 Corinthians 4: 8-9, 16).

Paul anchors the hope of the Christian in the world to come. This world matters, but this present existence is not our home. The hope we have as Christians transcends our circumstances because we have an imperishable, undefiled inheritance. Paul writes these things to encourage the church. He recognizes that we are weak and vulnerable, which is why he compares us to jars of clay and tents. No matter prosperity or poverty, health or sickness, comfort or sorrow, the church’s hope resides in a king and a kingdom that belong to a world where there is no sin, there is no death, there is no decay, and there is no suffering. Our hope is anchored in eternity.

2 Corinthians 5 is an encouraging chapter, reminding us that no matter the difficulties in this life, we have a future home with resurrected bodies in a world as it should be.