2 Corinthians 5

V. 6-8, Absent from the Body

As Christians we have the great privilege of having access to God through our intercessor Jesus Christ. The Bible says in Romans 8:34 that Jesus sets at the right hand of the Father making intercession on our behalf. The only access we have to God is through Jesus Christ because we are still sinful creatures who can’t have direct access to the Father because of His holiness and righteousness. Paul references this in verse 6 when he says that if we are in this body, we are away from the Lord but as he continues this thought process, he says in verse 8 that when we leave our sinful bodies then we can be present with the Lord. Right now, Jesus acts as the bridge that spans the divide our sins created between ourselves and God but as believers when we pass into eternity, we can truly experience the fullness of God’s presence.

One of the most comforting passages in scripture that can be applied when we are dealing with the loss of a fellow believer is “to be absent from the body, is to be present with the Lord.” As believers we take great comfort in knowing that when this earthly body finally fails that we are no longer separated from the God the of universe. Therefore verse 7 is wedged between a verse that says we are separated from God and one that says one don’t we won’t be. “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” It is very hard to see a loved one who has passed away lay lifeless in a coffin prior to being placed in the earth. Our sight tells us that they are gone, and we will never see them again, but our faith tells us that they are now in the presence of the father, a place we all long to be. Our faith tells us that they are no longer facing pain, sickness, or limitations placed upon them by their earthly body, they are now in the loving arm of the Father. For a believer the driving force behind our existence is that one day the final barrier standing between us and unadulterated access to our Father will be removed and “to be absent from our body means we will be present with the Lord.”