2 Corinthians 5:8 reads, “We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.” King James Version (KJV)
Translation | 2 Corinthians 5:8 |
---|---|
ESV | Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. |
NASB | Yes, we are fully confident, and we would rather be away from these earthly bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord. |
NIV | We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. |
NLT | we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord. |
Also, see the meaning of Rejoice in the Lord Always in the Bible.
To Be Absent From the Body: Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
5:1-8 The believer not only is well assured by faith that there is another and a happy life after this is ended, but he has good hope, through grace, of heaven as a dwelling-place, a resting-place, a hiding-place. In our Father’s house there are many mansions, whose Builder and Maker is God.
The happiness of the future state is what God has prepared for those that love him: everlasting habitations, not like the earthly tabernacles, the poor cottages of clay, in which our souls now dwell; that are mouldering and decaying, whose foundations are in the dust.
The body of flesh is a heavy burden, the calamities of life are a heavy load. But believers groan, being burdened with a body of sin, and because of the many corruptions remaining and raging within them.
Death will strip us of the clothing of flesh, and all the comforts of life, as well as end all our troubles here below. But believing souls shall be clothed with garments of praise, with robes of righteousness and glory.
The present graces and comforts of the Spirit are earnests of everlasting grace and comfort. And though God is with us here, by his Spirit, and in his ordinances, yet we are not with him as we hope to be. Faith is for this world, and sight is for the other world.
It is our duty, and it will be our interest, to walk by faith, till we live by sight. This shows clearly the happiness to be enjoyed by the souls of believers when absent from the body, and where Jesus makes known his glorious presence.
We are related to the body and to the Lord; each claims a part in us. But how much more powerfully the Lord pleads for having the soul of the believer closely united with himself!
Thou art one of the souls I have loved and chosen; one of those given to me. What is death, as an object of fear, compared with being absent from the Lord!
Also, see the meaning of Think On These Things in the Bible.
2 Corinthians 5:8 | Poole Bible Commentary
Verse 8. – To be absent, etc.; literally, to be away from the home of the body, but to be at home with the Lord. To be present with the Lord.
The hope expressed is exactly the same as in Philippians 1:23, except that here (as in ver. 4) he expresses a desire not “to depart,” but to be quit of the body without the necessity for death.
Also, see the meaning of The Love of Many Will Grow Cold in the Bible.
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