Daily Devotions
2 Corinthians
"Earnestly desiring to be clothed..."
Text: 2 Corinthians 5:2
AN EARNEST DESIRE
Heaven was not just a nice idea to Paul. Once he understood the reality and significance of eternity in heaven, there grew in his heart an earnest desire.
“For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed
with our habitation which is from heaven, if indeed,
having been clothed, we shall not be found naked.”
2 Corinthians 5:2-3
1. “For in this we groan”
a) The idea of “groaning”
i) This word is related to the word used in 2 Corinthians 4:8 translated “hard-pressed”.
ii) Paul felt “hard-pressed” in a different way.
iii) The constraint he felt was nonetheless real.
b) He was not alone in feeling this.
c) Those who were with him felt the same sense of “groaning”.
2. “Earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven”
a) “Earnestly desiring”
i) This describes a great sense of yearning or longing.
ii) This came from deep within the heart.
b) “To be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven”
i) This line of thought was given much attention in 1 Corinthians.
ii) Paul longed for the day when he would no longer be cloaked in the present human flesh.
iii) Instead there would be a new “habitation”.
iv) This is a reference to the “house” mentioned in 2 Corinthians 5:1.
v) This understanding was so real and powerful in Paul’s consciousness.
vi) He “groaned” and was “earnestly desiring” to be given this new “habitation” (“house”).
vii) This “habitation” comes from no one less than God Himself from heaven.
3. “If indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked”
a) When we die, our soul leaves the body.
b) But the soul would not be “naked” (without a covering).
c) We will have a new habitation from God.
d) This was a certain hope that every believer has in Christ.
The challenge is to have a similar sense of hope as the apostle Paul obviously possessed.