2 Corinthians 5:8

Context

The verse is part of 2 Corinthians, which Paul wrote to the church at Corinth, and it belongs to a line of thought that runs from 4:7 through 5:10. Paul likens his ministry to "treasure in earthen vessels" (2 Corinthians 4:7) and says that though the outward man perishes, the inward man is renewed. In chapter 5 he compares the present body to "our earthly house of this tabernacle," which will be dissolved, and the body to come to "an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens," given by God. This verse is a confession that arises within that line of thought. Verse 9 goes on to say that whether present in the body or absent from it, Paul labors to be accepted of the Lord, and verse 10 says that all must appear before the judgment seat of Christ.

The original text builds its contrast on a pair of verbs, one meaning to be away from home, absent from the body, and the other meaning to be at home with the Lord. In effect, the contrast is between making the body one's "home" and making the Lord one's "home."

Interpretation

• The majority Protestant reading: Most Protestant denominations, including Presbyterian, Methodist, Holiness, Baptist, and Full Gospel churches, read this verse as grounds for holding that believers, upon death, immediately enter a conscious state of being with the Lord. In theology, this state between death and the resurrection is called the "intermediate state." Chapter 32 of the Westminster Confession of Faith likewise confesses that the souls of the righteous return to God immediately after death and states that believers await the resurrection of the body.
• The "soul sleep" reading: The Seventh-day Adventist Church teaches that death is a state of unconsciousness lasting until the resurrection. Jehovah's Witnesses likewise hold that the dead are without consciousness. These groups take the verse as a statement of what Paul desires and hold that this hope is fulfilled at the Second Coming and the resurrection.
• The Catholic reading: The Catholic Church teaches the doctrine of purgatory, according to which those who die in grace but are not yet fully purified undergo purification before entering heaven. Protestants have cited this verse as evidence against the doctrine of purgatory.

Questions Concerning Application

Several points have been raised. The verse states only what Paul is "willing" for, that is, what he desires. Some therefore observe that quoting it as the equation "to leave the body is to be with the Lord at once" changes the nuance of the original sentence. Moreover, in verse 4, just before, Paul says that he groans "not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon." For this reason, many commentators hold that Paul's ultimate hope is not a disembodied state but the resurrection body. It is also emphasized that, as verse 9 shows, the verse should not be read as expressing a wish to die.

In Korean Churches

The verse is often read as a word of comfort at funeral services and memorial services, together with Philippians 1:21–23. It is frequently used to support the conviction, widespread in Korean churches, that a believer who dies has gone to be at the Lord's side.

Related Passages

• 2 Corinthians 5:1
• Philippians 1:21–23
• Luke 23:43
• 1 Corinthians 15:51–52
• 1 Thessalonians 4:13–14