Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible
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2 Corinthians
Book: 2 Corinthians
Chapter: 5
Overview:
The
Apostle's
Hope and desire of heavenly
Glory.
(1-8) This
excited to diligence. The reasons of his being affected with
zeal for the
Corinthians.
(9-15) The necessity of
Regeneration,
and of reconciliation with
God through
Christ.
(16-21)
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 moulding 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!
9-15 The
Apostle quickens himself and others to
Acts of duty.
Well-grounded hopes of
Heaven will not encourage sloth and
sinful security. Let all consider the
Judgment to come, which is
called, The terror of the
Lord. Knowing what terrible vengeance
the
Lord would execute upon the workers of iniquity, the
Apostle
and his brethren used every argument and persuasion, to lead men
to believe in the
Lord Jesus, and to act as his disciples. Their
zeal and diligence were for the
Glory of
God and the good of the
Church.
Christ's
Love to us will have a like effect upon us, if
duly considered and rightly judged. All were lost and undone,
dead and ruined, slaves to
Sin, having
No power to deliver
themselves, and must have remained thus miserable for ever, if
Christ had not died. We should not make ourselves, but
Christ,
the
End of our living and actions. A
Christian's
Life should be
devoted to
Christ. Alas, how many show the worthlessness of
their professed
Faith and
Love,
By living to themselves and to
the world!
16-21 The renewed
Man Acts upon new principles,
By new rules,
with new ends, and in new company. The believer is created anew;
his
Heart is not merely set right, but a new
Heart is given him.
He is the workmanship of
God, created in
Christ Jesus unto good
Works. Though the same as a
Man, he is changed in his character
and conduct. These words must and do mean more than an outward
reformation. The
Man who formerly saw
No beauty in the
Saviour
that he should desire him, now loves him above all things. The
Heart of the unregenerate is filled with
Enmity against
God, and
God is justly offended with him. Yet there may be
reconciliation. Our offended
God has reconciled us to himself
By
Jesus Christ.
By the
Inspiration of
God, the Scriptures were
written, which are the
Word of reconciliation; showing that
peace has been made
By the
Cross, and how we may be interested
therein. Though
God cannot lose
By the quarrel, nor gain
By the
peace, yet he beseeches sinners to lay aside their
Enmity, and
accept the
Salvation he offers.
Christ knew
No Sin. He was made
Sin; not a sinner, but
Sin, a
Sin-Offering, a
Sacrifice for
Sin.
The
End and design of all this was, that we might be made the
Righteousness of
God in him, might be justified freely
By the
Grace of
God through the
Redemption which is in
Christ Jesus.
Can any lose, labour, or suffer too much for Him, who gave his
beloved Son to be the
Sacrifice for their sins, that they might
be made the
Righteousness of
God in him?