Health, Wealth & Happiness
2 Corinthians 5, part two 

As we wrote about yesterday, the false teachers were most likely mixing Christian principles with worldly success. It was some form of correlating Gods blessings with health, wealth and success. This appeals to people. Paul’s enemies used this philosophy to make Paul look bad. So, Paul writes in the opening verses of this chapter a more accurate view of the temporal versus the eternal.  

“For we know that if this earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in heaven. For indeed in this house we groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven…He who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave to us the Spirit as a pledge.” 

Flimsy and fragile 

Our current bodies are tents; temporary, flimsy, fragile and insecure. Our heavenly body is solid, secure; an eternal fortress. I’m all for doing things that promote health, energy and vitality. Energy and vitality should be important because it allows us to work, serve, minister, add value and fulfill our earthly calling. But it’s not an end in and of itself and it should not be a consuming priority for us. Bottomline, we sometimes don’t have control over health and vitality because sickness and disease can strike. God can and does use sickness and disease to teach us, strengthen us and keep us dependent upon Him. God can also heal. We always pray and ask, but we leave the results to God. Additionally, Paul is an example of someone who experienced beatings and afflictions according to the will of God. 

Paul writes this chapter to emphasize the priority of the inner life over the focus on the outer life. Verse 9 says,  

“Therefore, we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him.” And Paul says he is writing these words “so that you will have an answer for those (the false teachers) who TAKE PRIDE IN APPEARANCE AND NOT IN THE HEART,” verse 12. Then, verse 16 says, “Therefore from now on we recognize no one according to the flesh.”  

It’s coming together 

This all leads to a fuller understanding of verse 17; “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature.” In other words, spiritual significance is not correlated to our present health, happiness and wealth. Those of us in Christ are new creatures internally by the Spirit and we are ambassadors externally for Christ, urging others to be reconciled to God in their hearts, verse 20.  

How then should we live? 

Let us give appropriate attention to our health and vitality but the real priority is our inner spirit. We are new creatures in Christ and therefore, the health and vitality of our inner life is paramount and of eternal significance. Lord, may we feed our inner spirit with Your Word, prayer, meditation and worship, words of grace and encouragement, good fellowship and good literature. Amen!