Bible Reading2 Corinthians 5:1-21 For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil. Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others. But what we are is known to God, and I hope it is known also to your conscience. We are not commending ourselves to you again but giving you cause to boast about us, so that you may be able to answer those who boast about outward appearance and not about what is in the heart. For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised. From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
[07:40] [14:13] [19:51] [22:30] [22:49]Genesis 1-3 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day. [...] Then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. [...] Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. [...] Therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken.
John 1:12-13 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
Observation questions- In 2 Corinthians 5, what three things does Paul say God gives or makes new for those who belong to Christ: about the body, identity, and purpose? [24:38]
- What words and images in 2 Corinthians 5 describe the present body, and what words describe what believers will receive from God instead? [14:13]
- In Genesis 1-3, what changed in humanity’s relationship with God after sin entered the story, and what visible consequences followed?
- According to 2 Corinthians 5:20, what is an ambassador for Christ, and how does Paul describe God working through that person? [22:49]
Interpretation questions- If Eden felt like home because Adam and Eve were with God, what does that suggest about why people still ache for home even when life looks full on the outside? [05:33]
- Paul says believers groan in these earthly tents. How is groaning different from simple complaining, and what does that groaning reveal about what the heart is really longing for? [15:25]
- Paul says the Holy Spirit is a guarantee. What does that mean for someone who struggles to trust promises about resurrection, wholeness, or being home with the Lord? [17:39]
- Paul says anyone in Christ is a new creation and also an ambassador. How do those two truths fit together? Why would a new identity naturally lead to a new purpose? [30:02]
Application questions- When the word home comes to mind, what does the heart usually run toward first: a place, a person, success, comfort, control, or something else? What might that reveal about where a person is trying to find rest? [01:41]
- The body is a gift, but it is also a temporary tent. Where has that truth felt especially real lately—through aging, sickness, grief, stress, or loss? How might naming that honestly change the way a person prays this week? [11:04]
- Faith means living now without fully seeing. In what area of life is it hardest right now to walk by faith and not by sight? What would trusting God look like there in one practical step? [19:51]
- Child of God is a deeper identity than job, relationship status, or role in the family. Which other label has felt strongest lately, and how has it been competing with that truest identity? [26:53]
- A child learns to ask, “Jesus, what do you want?” What part of daily life most needs that question right now—schedule, money, relationships, attitude, habits, or future plans? [29:13]
- Christ’s ambassadors represent the King through words, forgiveness, generosity, compassion, and grace. Which one of those is most needed in the place where God has currently placed you? [33:07]
- God makes his appeal through ordinary lives. Who is one person in your real week—at work, school, home, the neighborhood, or in errands—that you may be called to love more visibly and intentionally right now? [38:09]
