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. 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. For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life. (2 Corinthians 5:1-4)

A Building From God

It is easy to become discouraged in life because of the burdens of the soul, mind, and body. Life can become very tedious and demanding. One of the consequences of the fall of man was the infirmities of the body, leading to death. When God removed man from the garden, the Tree of Life was taken away. All men die. Many suffer. The earthly dwelling of the flesh is a body of groaning for relief, seeking a greater plane, desiring a habitation of peace.

God promised the faithful a change in body when they crossed the river of death. Paul calls the suffering of this life a “light affliction” because it is but for a moment. There is a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory realized in the building planned by God for those in Christ. The earthly body will be destroyed. There is no doubt of that. God wants His children to believe that a greater and better possession is coming in eternal life.

The fleshly body is likened to a tent. It is transitory, temporary, easily folded, and provides little comfort and security. A building is a permanent structure offering greater comfort and a place to feel secure. Paul says the earthly body is nothing more than a tent or a house. God is preparing a building for the faithful to dwell and share eternity. This house is not made with hands but is eternal, never-ending, everlasting, without end. The physical body is something all men groan and find weariness to hold on to. Death is the joy of receiving a body without sorrow, pain, and suffering.

Children of God desire to be clothed with an eternal habitation. The building promised by God is without comparison to anything man has experienced. John declares in the Revelation that God will wipe away all tears. There will be nothing in the new body or building from God that will experience pain. It is hard to imagine such a body. How can life be filled without the aches and pains of daily living? The building of God comes without suffering. Christians desire to be further clothed with the glory of God. It is the focus of life to receive this new body.

What makes the idea of a new body difficult is to realize attaining that body can only come through death or the return of Jesus Christ. Until the day of the Lord when Jesus comes with His holy angels, death is the means to receive the new building from God. Those left behind are filled with sorrow, but the one who dies experiences the joy of a new body. Angels carry the faithful to the bosom of Abraham, outfitted with a new tabernacle. What a glory. Praise God for His mercy and power to recreate us with a new body. Lord, come quickly that I may receive my new building.