What Are We Living For?

Preparing to Meet Christ and Serving as His Ambassadors

A Teaching From 2 Corinthians 5

“Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him.”
—2 Corinthians 5:9

Second Corinthians 5 brings together some of the most important truths a Christian can understand.

Paul explains that our present bodies are temporary, but God has prepared an eternal home for us. He reminds us that we walk by faith rather than by sight. He teaches that every believer will appear before Christ's Judgment Seat. Then he explains how that future meeting should influence our lives today.

Because eternity is real, we should make it our ambition to please Christ.

Because every life will be evaluated, we should use our time faithfully.

Because Christ died for us, we should no longer live merely for ourselves.

Because God has reconciled us to Himself, we should help others become reconciled to Him.

Second Corinthians 5 follows a powerful progression:

Our earthly home is temporary.

Our eternal home is being prepared by God.

We walk by faith while we wait.

We make it our ambition to please Christ.

We will appear before His Judgment Seat.

The love of Christ changes what we live for.

We become new creations and ambassadors for Christ.

This chapter answers one of life’s most important questions:

What are we living for?

Our Earthly Body Is a Temporary Tent

Paul begins:

“For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.”
—2 Corinthians 5:1

Paul compares our present body to a tent.

A tent can be useful, but it was never intended to be a permanent home. Its fabric wears, its strength declines, and eventually it must be taken down.

Our bodies are much the same.

When we are young, we may feel strong and assume that life will continue indefinitely. But as the years pass, our bodies remind us that this earthly life is temporary.

We experience weakness, pain, sickness, fatigue, and physical limitations. Things we once did easily may become difficult. Our earthly tent gradually shows evidence that it was not designed to last forever.

This can be discouraging if our hope is limited to this present life.

But Paul does not speak as a man without hope. He says that when this earthly tent is taken down, believers have something far greater awaiting them:

“A building from God…eternal in the heavens.”

Our present bodies are temporary, but our future with Christ is eternal.

The Christian does not look forward merely to becoming a spirit floating without purpose or identity. Scripture promises resurrection, transformation, and life in the presence of God.

Paul wrote elsewhere:

“For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.”
—1 Corinthians 15:53

The body we have now is subject to death. The resurrected body God provides will never grow old, become diseased, weaken, or die.

Our earthly tent is temporary.

Our home with Christ is eternal.

Why Do We Groan?

Paul continues:

“For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven.”
—2 Corinthians 5:2

The word groan describes the deep longing believers experience while living in a world damaged by sin.

We groan when our bodies hurt.

We groan when people we love die.

We groan over injustice, cruelty, hatred, deception, and suffering.

We groan when relationships are broken.

We groan when we recognize the continuing presence of sin within ourselves.

We groan because something within us knows that this world is not as God originally intended it to be.

That groaning is not necessarily a lack of faith. It can be evidence of our longing for the completion of God’s work.

Christians are thankful for the life God has given us, but we also understand that our present condition is not our final condition.

We are not asking merely to escape responsibility or avoid temporary discomfort. We are longing for the day when mortality will be swallowed up by life.

“For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened…that mortality may be swallowed up by life.”
—2 Corinthians 5:4

Death will not have the final word over those who belong to Christ.

Life will swallow up mortality.

The Holy Spirit Is God’s Guarantee

Paul then gives believers this assurance:

“Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.”
—2 Corinthians 5:5

God has not merely told us about eternal life and left us without assurance. He has given believers the Holy Spirit as a guarantee of what is coming.

A guarantee is like a deposit confirming that the complete promise will be fulfilled.

The Holy Spirit’s presence within us assures us that God has begun a work He intends to complete.

He convicts us of sin.

He leads us into truth.

He produces spiritual fruit.

He gives us the desire to know Christ.

He strengthens us to obey.

He reminds us that we belong to God.

Our hope does not rest upon our ability to preserve ourselves. It rests upon God’s faithfulness to complete the work He has begun.

The same God who saved us by grace is preparing us for eternity.

Walking by Faith, Not by Sight

Paul writes:

“For we walk by faith, not by sight.”
—2 Corinthians 5:7

This is one of the best-known verses in the chapter, but its context makes it even more meaningful.

Paul is speaking about living in a temporary body while awaiting what God has promised but we cannot yet see.

We cannot presently see our eternal home.

We cannot see our resurrected bodies.

We cannot see the Judgment Seat of Christ.

We cannot see the rewards God has prepared.

We cannot see Jesus with our physical eyes.

Nevertheless, we organize our lives around these unseen realities because we trust the One who promised them.

Walking by faith does not mean ignoring evidence, denying difficulty, or pretending that painful circumstances are not real.

It means that visible circumstances do not have the final authority over our lives.

Sight says, “This earthly life is all you have.”

Faith says, “God has prepared an eternal home.”

Sight says, “Your suffering has no purpose.”

Faith says, “God is working even when I cannot understand what He is doing.”

Sight says, “Live for what you can possess today.”

Faith says, “Invest in what will matter forever.”

Sight says, “Human recognition determines your value.”

Faith says, “Your life is hidden with Christ in God.”

Faith is not blindness. It is confidence in the character, promises, and Word of God.

To Be Absent From the Body

Paul continues:

“We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.”
—2 Corinthians 5:8

For the believer, death is not disappearance, annihilation, or abandonment.

To leave this body is to be present with the Lord.

That does not mean death is painless for those who remain. Separation produces genuine grief. Even Jesus wept at the tomb of Lazarus.

But Christian grief is accompanied by hope.

When a believer dies, we do not have to imagine that person lost somewhere in darkness. The believer is with Christ.

The earthly tent has been left behind, but the person belongs to Jesus and remains safely in His presence while awaiting the full completion of the resurrection promise.

Paul’s confidence was not based upon his moral perfection. He trusted what Jesus had accomplished through His death and resurrection.

Our hope must rest in the same place.

We are not received by God because we accumulated enough good deeds to purchase Heaven. We are received because Christ paid for our sins and gave us His righteousness.

What Is Our Greatest Ambition?

After describing our eternal hope, Paul reaches a practical conclusion:

“Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him.”
—2 Corinthians 5:9

The word translated aim carries the idea of ambition.

Every person lives with some kind of ambition.

Some want financial security.

Some want comfort.

Some desire recognition, influence, achievement, or success.

Some want to be admired by their family, neighbors, coworkers, or church.

These goals are not always wrong. Providing for our needs, working diligently, and using our abilities well can honor God.

But none of those things should become our highest ambition.

Paul says that his greatest ambition was to please Christ.

That gives us a standard by which every other goal can be examined:

Will this please Jesus?

When deciding how to use our time, will it please Him?

When deciding how to spend our money, will it please Him?

When responding to someone who has hurt us, will our response please Him?

When no one is watching, will our conduct please Him?

When choosing whether to serve or remain uninvolved, what will please Him?

The Christian life is not primarily about pleasing ourselves, impressing other people, or satisfying a religious organization.

It is about pleasing the One who saved us.

We Will All Appear Before Christ

Paul explains why this ambition matters:

“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ.”
—2 Corinthians 5:10

This is not a meeting reserved for pastors, missionaries, teachers, or well-known Christian leaders.

Paul says:

“We must all appear.”

Every believer will personally stand before Jesus Christ.

We may belong to a congregation, denomination, ministry, family, or Bible-study group, but we will not stand before Christ as part of a crowd.

Each of us will give an account of our own stewardship.

The opinions of other people will no longer matter.

Our reputation will not protect us.

Our religious titles will not impress Him.

Our excuses will not hide our motives.

Jesus will know perfectly what we did, why we did it, and what opportunities He entrusted to us.

Yet we must make an essential distinction:

The Judgment Seat of Christ does not determine whether a believer has earned salvation.

Salvation is the gift of God received through faith in Jesus Christ. Christ bore the believer’s condemnation at the cross.

“There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.”
—Romans 8:1

At the Judgment Seat, believers will not be competing to earn entrance into Heaven. Our stewardship, faithfulness, conduct, service, and motives will be evaluated by the Lord who saved us.

Salvation concerns what Christ did for us.

The Judgment Seat concerns what we did with what Christ entrusted to us.

Receiving According to What We Have Done

Paul completes the sentence:

“That each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.”
—2 Corinthians 5:10

Our earthly lives matter.

The choices we make in these temporary bodies can carry eternal consequences.

Our time matters.

Our words matter.

Our motives matter.

Our treatment of others matters.

Our response to God’s calling matters.

The use of our abilities and spiritual gifts matters.

Our private faithfulness matters.

This does not mean that every believer receives the same assignment. In the Parable of the Talents, the master entrusted different amounts to different servants according to their abilities.

The servants were not judged by comparing their assignments with one another. Each was evaluated according to what he had received.

The question will not be:

“Did I accomplish as much as someone else?”

The question will be:

“Was I faithful with what Christ entrusted to me?”

You may never preach before a large congregation.

You may never become widely known.

You may never write a bestselling book or lead a famous ministry.

But you can pray faithfully.

You can encourage someone who feels forgotten.

You can share the gospel.

You can help a struggling family manage its finances.

You can mentor a prisoner.

You can use a blog to help people prepare for eternity.

You can forgive someone who has hurt you.

You can quietly serve when no one notices.

Nothing done faithfully for Christ is forgotten by Him.

Knowing the Fear of the Lord

Paul then writes:

“Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men.”
—2 Corinthians 5:11

Some translations say “the fear of the Lord.” Paul understood the seriousness of standing before Christ and the reality of God’s judgment.

But this knowledge did not cause him to withdraw from people or spend his life trembling in helpless fear.

It moved him to persuade them.

Paul knew that eternity was real.

He knew that sin separated people from God.

He knew that Christ had provided the only way of reconciliation.

He knew that every person would eventually stand before the Lord.

Therefore, he did not treat the gospel casually.

To persuade people does not mean pressuring, manipulating, humiliating, or winning arguments against them.

It means lovingly explaining the truth, answering questions, warning of danger, presenting Christ, and urging people to respond while they still have time.

We cannot force anyone to believe.

We cannot save another person.

But we can faithfully point people toward the One who can.

The Love of Christ Compels Us

The fear of the Lord was not Paul’s only motivation. He also wrote:

“For the love of Christ compels us.”
—2 Corinthians 5:14

Paul was moved by both the seriousness of judgment and the greatness of Christ’s love.

Christian ministry becomes unhealthy when it is motivated entirely by fear, pride, anger, competition, guilt, or the desire for recognition.

The love of Christ should be the controlling force behind our service.

We share the gospel because Christ loves people.

We serve because He first served us.

We forgive because He forgave us.

We give because He gave Himself for us.

We care for hurting people because He had compassion upon us.

We continue when we feel unnoticed because His approval matters more than human applause.

The love of Christ does not merely comfort us. It compels us to live differently.

We Should No Longer Live for Ourselves

Paul explains the conclusion produced by Christ’s love:

“He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.”
—2 Corinthians 5:15

This verse confronts the natural direction of the human heart.

Without Christ, we tend to organize life around ourselves:

What do I want?

What makes me comfortable?

What protects my reputation?

What gives me pleasure?

What benefits me?

What do other people owe me?

But Jesus did not die merely to improve our self-centered lives. He died and rose again so that we might receive an entirely new reason for living.

We now belong to Him.

This does not mean neglecting our health, families, responsibilities, or legitimate needs. It means these things are surrendered to Christ and placed within His greater purpose.

Our lives are no longer primarily about accumulating comfort before our earthly tent is taken down.

We are living for the One who died for us and rose again.

A New Creation in Christ

Paul then gives us this wonderful promise:

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”
—2 Corinthians 5:17

Christianity is not merely an attempt to improve the old person through religious effort.

God creates something new.

Our past may explain some of our wounds, habits, fears, and struggles, but it does not have to determine our future.

In Christ, we receive:

• A new identity
• A new relationship with God
• A new purpose
• A new direction
• A new spiritual family
• A new hope
• A new eternal destination

Becoming a new creation does not mean that every old habit disappears instantly. Spiritual growth is a continuing process.

But something fundamental has changed.

We no longer belong to the old life. The Holy Spirit now works within us, teaching us to take off what belonged to the old person and put on the character of Christ.

This connects directly with Colossians 3.

Because we are new creations, we should not continue dressing ourselves in the attitudes and conduct of the old life.

We put off anger, malice, lying, bitterness, impurity, and pride.

We put on mercy, kindness, humility, patience, forgiveness, and love.

We do not make these changes to become new creations.

We make them because, in Christ, God has already made us new.

God Reconciled Us to Himself

Paul writes:

“Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ.”
—2 Corinthians 5:18

Reconciliation means that a broken relationship has been restored.

Our sin placed us in rebellion against God. We could not repair that separation through moral effort, religious ceremonies, generosity, or good intentions.

God took the initiative.

Jesus carried our sin upon the cross. He paid the debt we could not pay and opened the way for us to be brought back into a right relationship with God.

Reconciliation does not mean that God ignored our sin.

It means that Christ bore its judgment for us.

God’s justice and mercy met at the cross.

We are not reconciled because we made ourselves worthy.

We are reconciled because Jesus is worthy.

Entrusted With the Ministry of Reconciliation

Paul does not stop by saying that God reconciled us. He adds that God:

“Has given us the ministry of reconciliation.”
—2 Corinthians 5:18

Those who have been reconciled are entrusted with helping others hear the same message.

We do not reconcile people to ourselves, our denomination, our traditions, or our preferred teachers.

We point them toward reconciliation with God through Jesus Christ.

This ministry is not limited to ordained clergy.

A Christian businessperson can participate in it.

A retired person can participate in it.

A teacher, parent, neighbor, counselor, writer, or jail mentor can participate in it.

Someone who was once shy and introverted can participate by faithfully using the ability and opportunity God has provided.

Not everyone will serve in the same way. Some will preach. Some will teach. Some will write. Some will give. Some will pray. Some will encourage one person at a time.

The assignment may differ, but the message remains the same:

Be reconciled to God through Jesus Christ.

We Are Ambassadors for Christ

Paul continues:

“Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us.”
—2 Corinthians 5:20

An ambassador represents the interests and message of someone greater than himself.

He does not create his own message. He faithfully communicates the message of the one who sent him.

Christians are representatives of Jesus in this world.

That is both a remarkable privilege and a serious responsibility.

When people encounter us, what impression do they receive of the One we represent?

Do they see humility or arrogance?

Compassion or indifference?

Truth spoken in love or truth used as a weapon?

Grace or condemnation?

Faithfulness or hypocrisy?

An ambassador must remember that the mission is not about making himself famous. His purpose is to represent the King faithfully.

This applies directly to every lesson we share.

The objective is not to impress readers with our knowledge.

It is not to win every theological argument.

It is not to build recognition for ourselves.

It is to point people toward Jesus Christ and help them prepare for eternity.

God has chosen to make His appeal through ordinary people who have been transformed by His grace.

“Be Reconciled to God”

Paul speaks with urgency:

“We implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.”
—2 Corinthians 5:20

Paul does not merely suggest that people consider adding religion to their lives.

He pleads with them.

Reconciliation with God is not something to postpone until life becomes more convenient.

Our earthly tent can be taken down at any time.

Tomorrow is not promised.

The Judgment Seat is real.

Eternity is real.

Christ has already provided the way.

God’s invitation is being extended now:

Be reconciled to God.

A person is not reconciled to God merely by attending church, knowing biblical facts, receiving baptism, belonging to a Christian family, or performing charitable deeds.

We must personally receive Jesus Christ by faith, trusting His death and resurrection and surrendering our lives to Him.

The Great Exchange

Paul concludes the chapter with one of the clearest explanations of the gospel:

“For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”
—2 Corinthians 5:21

Jesus knew no sin.

He was perfectly righteous, obedient, and holy.

Yet at the cross, He willingly took our sin and its judgment upon Himself.

He received what we deserved so that, through faith in Him, we could receive what we could never deserve.

Our sin was placed upon Christ.

His righteousness is credited to us.

This is sometimes called the great exchange.

We do not stand before God dressed in our own moral accomplishments. We stand in the righteousness of Jesus Christ.

That is why salvation is entirely a gift of grace.

We cannot boast that we rescued ourselves.

We cannot claim that our works made us worthy.

Every part of our salvation points back to Jesus.

He took our sin.

He bore our judgment.

He conquered death.

He reconciled us to God.

He made us new.

He gave us His righteousness.

He entrusted us with His message.

All glory belongs to Him.

What Should We Do With This Chapter?

Second Corinthians 5 calls us to examine the direction of our lives.

Remember that your earthly tent is temporary

Care for your body responsibly, but do not live as though your present physical life will continue forever.

Walk by faith

Trust what God has promised even when you cannot yet see its fulfillment.

Make pleasing Christ your ambition

Before making important decisions, ask whether your choice will honor the Lord.

Prepare to appear before Christ

Live faithfully with the resources, abilities, relationships, and opportunities He has entrusted to you.

Allow Christ’s love to compel you

Serve from gratitude and love—not merely from fear, guilt, or the desire for recognition.

Stop living only for yourself

You were purchased by Christ and given a new purpose.

Live as a new creation

Take off what belongs to the old life and put on the character of Jesus.

Accept your calling as an ambassador

Represent Christ faithfully through your words, conduct, service, and love.

Help others become reconciled to God

Do not keep the message of grace entirely to yourself.

A Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank You for reminding me that this earthly body is only a temporary tent and that You have prepared an eternal home for those who belong to Christ.

Help me walk by faith rather than allowing visible circumstances to control my life. Make it my highest ambition to please Jesus in my thoughts, words, decisions, relationships, and service.

Prepare my heart for the day when I appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ. Help me remember that I am saved by grace, not by my works, while also taking seriously the life, abilities, and opportunities You have entrusted to me.

Let the love of Christ compel me. Forgive me for the ways I have lived only for myself. Teach me to live for the One who died for me and rose again.

Thank You for making me a new creation and reconciling me to Yourself through Jesus Christ. Help me faithfully carry the ministry of reconciliation.

Make me a humble and truthful ambassador for Christ. Speak through my life so that others may recognize their need to be reconciled to You.

Thank You for the great exchange—that Jesus, who knew no sin, took my sin so that I could receive His righteousness.

May everything worthwhile in my life bring glory to Him.

In Jesus’ name, amen.

A Final Question

If your earthly tent were taken down today, could you say that pleasing Christ had become the great ambition of your life?

Second Corinthians 5 does not allow us to separate our eternal hope from our present responsibility.

We are going to leave this temporary body.

We are going to be present with the Lord.

We are going to appear before Christ.

Therefore, the time we have now matters.

Walk by faith.

Make it your ambition to please Him.

Live no longer merely for yourself.

Represent Christ faithfully.

Help others become reconciled to God.

Our earthly tent is temporary, but what we do for Christ can carry eternal value.

We are not living merely to reach the end of this life.

We are living to please the One we will meet when this life is over.