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The National Transformation of Israe - 2 Cor 5_1-11.pdf

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v.1 – “For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved…”

• “We know” —
  • "We" in 2 Corinthians most literally refers to Paul and his apostolic companions, particularly those involved in his ministry to the Corinthians.
  • In its clearest sense, "we" refers to Paul and Timothy (v. 1:1) and possibly Silvanus (v. 1:19). The first use of the first person plural appears in 2 Corinthians 1:4, and by 1:6 "we" is contrasted with "you." Verses 6-8 establish a clear distinction between "we" (Paul and Timothy) and "you" (Corinthian recipients) in the pronouns.
  • However, in 1:21 Paul shifts into an “us with you” concept, but by verse 24 it is back to “we” and “you.” Then this pattern (or “I” and “you”) continues into chapter 2. However, 2:14-17 gives the initial appearance of joining the two groups into one “we/us,” but this distinction is proven wrong by 3:1, where the “we” is clearly Paul and his companions. Paul then goes into a lengthy conversation about Israel under Moses, and in 3:18 he uses a “we all,” and appears to mean “all of us Israelite believers” and not just Paul and companions, but could be argued in the more limited scope. By 4:1 the “we” continues to be the “we all” in the broader sense of believing remnant of Israel, and “them” (v. 3) becomes those who are lost (presumably of Israel, but perhaps worldwide). In 4:4 Paul speaks of the “Gospel of Christ” which is the message to Israel that Jesus is her Messiah. In 4:5, however, Paul seems to revert to the original and more narrow “we” and “you.” This narrow focus continues in a personal testimony of suffering through verse 11, with a conclusion in verse 12, confirming the “we” and “you” context. In 4:14 Paul moves to “us with you” together. In 4:15 there is a momentary “we” and “you” context, but by 4:16, continuing through 18, the first-person plural pronouns have a better fit being the “us with you” collective “we.”
  • All of this becomes important to interpret the message of 5:1-11.
• “Earthly house of this tabernacle” (ἡ ἐπίγειος ἡμῶν οἰκία τοῦ σκήνους)
  • “Tabernacle” evokes Israel’s wilderness era—a temporary and mobile identity.
  • May symbolize the Mosaic covenant body, that is, National Israel—earthly, fragile, provisional (cf. Heb. 9:1–10).
    • Hebrews 9:8-9 - “the first tabernacle was yet standing: Which was a figure for the time then present”
  • If this is correct, then the “tabernacle” is not the physical body of a person, but the corporate structure of national Israel.
  • However, we should note that in 2 Peter 1:13-14, Peter speaks of the body as a tabernacle, and in Greek a similar use is found in John 1:14.
• “Dissolved” (καταλυθῇ) — often used for tearing down a structure or system but never for a metaphor of death (e.g., temple, cf. Matt. 24:2); Israel’s old form is passing away.

💡 Argument: Israel’s national structure is failing; Paul sees its dissolution as inevitable and imminent.

“…we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.”

• “Building of God” (οἰκοδομὴν ἐκ Θεοῦ) — contrast to “tabernacle,” a more permanent “building.”
• "Not made with hands" — a phrase that seems reminiscent of promises of a kingdom from above.
• “Eternal in the heavens” — describes a promised, permanent structure—Israel’s kingdom under the Messiah, preserved in God’s plan.

💡 Argument: A future covenantal structure—glorified Israel in the kingdom—is being anticipated here, not individual resurrection bodies.

v.2 – “For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven”

• “We groan” — echoes Romans 8:23, where Paul says Israel groans waiting for adoption, i.e., national redemption.
• “To be clothed upon” — metaphor of being covered with glory, found in Isaiah 61:10 (garments of salvation).
• “House from heaven” — consistent with the New Jerusalem, or Israel’s glorified identity under the new covenant (cf. Ezek. 37; Zech. 2:10–11).

💡 Argument: The groaning isn’t for individual death, but for the completion of Israel’s national hope in Messiah’s reign.

v.3 – “If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked.”

• “Naked” — status of covenant shame, such as exile or judgment (cf. Hos. 2:3; Rev. 3:17).
• Implies a longing to avoid national disgrace or rejection.
• “Found naked” echoes Israel's fear of being cast off and uncovered before God (cf. Lam. 1:8; Ezek. 16:37).