This week we are reading through 2 Corinthians 5. This portion of Paul’s letter is about the resurrection and repeats, in a slightly different language, Paul’s discourse on the resurrection found in 1 Corinthians 15, and particularly verses 42-50. If you have the opportunity, please re-read this chapter from Paul’s prior letter. Within 2 Corinthians 5, Paul uses the analogy that our present bodies are but temporary tents, whereas our eternal dwelling is a building constructed by God. Think through how this analogy is similar to that employed by John’s Gospel. In the prologue, John tells us the “Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” John 1:14. The word “dwelt” in Greek means “to pitch a tent.” Paul and John both use this idea that our present condition is like living in a tent and that the Son assumes this condition of ours. Later in the Gospel in his farewell discourse, Jesus likewise speaks of our heavenly dwelling as a building constructed by the Father and prepared by the Son. John 14:1-3. This is the eternal structure whereby we assume his condition.
Rob Donahue will still be at General Convention on Tuesday, and so we are on our own this week. Dinner is at 6. The menu is macaroni-and-cheese. Discussion about 6:45. Please bring a friend. Hope to see you here.
For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
2 Corinthians 5:1