2-Corinthians - 5:5



5 Now he who made us for this very thing is God, who also gave to us the down payment of the Spirit.

Verse In-Depth

Explanation and meaning of 2-Corinthians 5:5.

Differing Translations

Compare verses for better understanding.
Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit.
Now he that wrought us for this very thing is God, who gave unto us the earnest of the Spirit.
Now he that maketh us for this very thing, is God, who hath given us the pledge of the Spirit.
Now he that has wrought us for this very thing is God, who also has given to us the earnest of the Spirit.
Now he that hath wrought us for this same thing is God, who also hath given to us the earnest of the Spirit.
And He who did work us to this self-same thing is God, who also did give to us the earnest of the Spirit;
Now he that has worked us for the selfsame thing is God, who also has given to us the earnest of the Spirit.
And He who formed us with this very end in view is God, who has given us His Spirit as a pledge and foretaste of that bliss.
Now he who has made us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a witness of what is to come.
Now the One who accomplishes this very thing in us is God, who has given us the pledge of the Spirit.
And he who has prepared us for this change is God, who has also given us his Spirit as a pledge.

*Minor differences ignored. Grouped by changes, with first version listed as example.


Historical Commentaries

Scholarly Analysis and Interpretation.

Now he that hath fitted us. This is added in order that we may know, that this disposition is supernatural. For mere natural feeling will not lead us forward to this, for it does not comprehend that hundredfold recompense which springs from the dying of a single grain. (John 12:24.) We must, therefore, be fitted for it by God. The manner of it is at the same time subjoined -- that he confirms us by his Spirit, who is as it were an earnest At the same time the particle also seems to be added for the sake of amplification. "It is God who forms in us this desire, and, lest our courage should give way or waver, the Holy Spirit is given us as an earnest, because by his testimony he confirms, and ratifies the truth of the promise." For these are two offices of the Holy Spirit -- first, to show to believers what they ought to desire, and secondly, to influence their hearts efficaciously, and remove all their doubt, that they may steadfastly persevere in choosing what is good. There would, however, be nothing unsuitable in extending the word fitted, so as to denote that renovation of life, with which God adorns his people even in this life, for in this way he already separates them from others, and shows that they are, by means of his grace, marked out for a peculiar condition.

Now he that hath wrought us for the self-same thing - The phrase "self-same thing" here means this very thing, that is, the thing to which he had referred - the preparation for heaven, or the heavenly dwelling. The word "wrought" here (κατεργασάμενος katergasamenos) means that God had formed or made them for this; that is, he had by the influences of the Spirit, and by his agency on the heart, created them, as it were, for this, and adapted them to it. God has destined us to this change from corruption to incorruption; he has adapted us to it; he has formed us for it. It does not refer to the original creation of the body and the soul for this end, but it means that God, by his own renewing, and sanctifying, and sustaining agency, had formed them for this, and adapted them to it. The object of Paul in stating that it was done by God, is to keep this truth prominently before the mind. It was not by any native inclination, or strength, or power which they had, but it was all to be traced to God; compare Ephesians 2:10.
Who also hath given - In addition to the fitting for eternal glory he has given us the earnest of the Spirit to sustain us here. We are not only prepared to enter into heaven, but we have here also the support produced by the earnest of the Spirit.
The earnest of the Spirit - On the meaning of this, see the note on 2-Corinthians 1:22. He has given to us the Holy Spirit as the pledge or assurance of the eternal inheritance.

Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing - God has given us our being and our body for this very purpose, that both might be made immortal, and both be glorified together. Or, God himself has given us this insatiable hungering and thirsting after righteousness and immortality. Mr. Addison has made a beautiful paraphrase of the sense of the apostle, whether he had his words in view or not: -
" - Whence this pleasing hope, this fond desire,
This longing after immortality?
Or whence this secret dread and inward horror
Of falling into nought? Why shrinks the soul
Back on herself, and startles at destruction?
'Tis the Divinity that stirs within us;
'Tis Heaven itself that points out an hereafter,
And intimates eternity to man. -
The soul, secured in her existence, smiles
At the drawn dagger, and defies its point.
The stars shall fade away, the sun himself
Grow dim with age, and nature sink in years;
But thou shalt flourish in immortal youth,
Unhurt amidst the war of elements,
The wreck of matter, and the crush of worlds."
The earnest of the Spirit - See the note on 2-Corinthians 1:22.

Now he that hath (c) wrought us for the selfsame thing [is] God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit.
(c) He means that first creation, to show us that our bodies were made to this end, that they should be clothed with heavenly immortality.

Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing,.... By "the selfsame thing" is meant, either the cross, the burden of sorrows and afflictions, under which the saints groan whilst here, which God has appointed them unto, and therefore to be bore patiently by them; or that glory and immortality, which they, as vessels of mercy, were prepared by him for from everlasting; for which their bodies and souls are formed by him in creation, and for which they are made meet in regeneration, by the curious workmanship of his Spirit and grace upon them: and seeing he "is God", and not man, who hath wrought them for this, either by his secret purposes and preparations of grace in eternity, or by his open works of creation and regeneration in time; there is no doubt but they shall certainly enjoy it, since his counsels are immutable, and he is a rock, and his work is perfect; whatever he begins he finishes, nor is he ever frustrated of his end: one of Stephens's copies adds, "and hath anointed us", which seems to have been transcribed from 2-Corinthians 1:21.
Who also hath given us the earnest of the Spirit; and therefore may be assured of possessing the inheritance, of which he is the earnest; see 2-Corinthians 1:22.

wrought us--framed us by redemption, justification, and sanctification.
for the selfsame thing--"unto" it; namely, unto what is mortal of us being swallowed up in life (2-Corinthians 5:4).
who also--The oldest manuscripts omit "also."
earnest of the Spirit--(See on 2-Corinthians 1:22). It is the Spirit (as "the first-fruits") who creates in us the groaning desire for our coming deliverance and glory (Romans 8:23).

He that wrought us for this self-same thing. Gave us this longing for immortality. God not only gave it, but the earnest of the spirit, a sure proof of the fulfillment of all that he has promised.
Therefore we are always confident. Because of what is stated in 2-Corinthians 5:5. Paul knew, when danger threatened, that to be in the body was to be absent from the Lord's presence, and that if he was slain and thus left the body, he would go at once to the presence of the Lord.
For we walk by faith, not by sight. It is by faith here that we see the Lord, though absent from him.
We are confident. In the face of every peril, because we know that death, an absence from the body, would be to be present with the Lord. Note here the doctrine of the immaterial nature of the human spirit. It puts aside the body to be clothed with a new garment. It is absent from the body but present with the Lord. The body is not essential to its conscious existence. It does not sleep because the body sleeps. To Paul, death meant to be present at once with Christ, leaving the body behind. He labored (2-Corinthians 5:9) so that, whether present in the body or absent from it, he might be accepted with Christ.

Now he that hath wrought us to this very thing - This longing for immortality. Is God - For none but God, none less than the Almighty, could have wrought this in us.

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