devotional post # 2170

2 Corinthians 5:4-7

2Co 5:4 Because while we are staying in this tent, we groan, because it depresses us– not that we want to be stripped, but that we want to be clothed, so that the mortal may be swallowed up by life.
2Co 5:5 The one who has made us ready for this is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit.
2Co 5:6 That is why we can always be encouraged, even though we know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord,
2Co 5:7 because we are walking by faith, not by sight.

depression and encouragement

Paul’s words in this passage are often misunderstood because many readers approach them with assumptions shaped more by Greek philosophy than by Paul’s own theology. Some imagine that Paul is revealing a secret inner technique for staying encouraged—a kind of spiritual mindset that helps him cope with suffering because he knows he will one day leave his body behind and ascend to heaven. But that is not what Paul is saying. His hope is not escape. His hope is resurrection.

Paul’s argument becomes clear when the parallels in the passage are noticed. In verse four, he describes his present condition as living in a “tent,” groaning under the weight of mortality. In verse six, he uses a parallel expression: being “at home in the body.” These phrases refer to the same reality—his current, temporary, mortal existence. This is the condition in which he experiences discouragement, pressure, and the emotional heaviness that comes with suffering. He is honest about that. Life in the tent includes depression, weakness, and longing.

But Paul’s encouragement does not come from imagining a future without a body. In fact, he explicitly rejects that idea. He does not want to be “naked,” which for him means existing without a body. That would be incomplete, not comforting. What he longs for is to be “clothed” with his heavenly dwelling—to put on the resurrection body that Christ promised. His hope is not disembodied bliss but embodied glory.

This is why Paul anchors everything in the promise of 4:14: “the one who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also.” That is the truth that sustains him. The mortal will be swallowed up by life. The temporary tent will be replaced by a permanent, God‑given structure. The present weakness will give way to immortal strength. Paul’s confidence rests on the certainty that the resurrection of Jesus guarantees the resurrection of all who belong to Him.

Because of this, Paul’s emotional life is a mixture of sorrow and hope. He suffers discouragement while living in his fragile tent, but he is simultaneously encouraged by the expectation of a glorious, eternal existence when Christ returns. The tension is real, but so is the promise. His present groaning is temporary; his future glory is permanent. And that future is what keeps him moving forward in faith.

LORD, thank you for the blessed hope, which encourages us despite our times of depression. We wait for your power to rescue us from mortality and death.