For most certainly in this we groan, longing to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven,
Parallel Translations
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For most certainly in this we groan, longing to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven,
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And herefore sigh we desyringe to be clothed with oure mansion which is from heven:
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For therefore we sighe, desiring to be clothed with our house, which is from heauen.
Cross-references (6)
Passages linked to 2 Corinthians 5:2 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Romans 8:23 Not only so, but ourselves also, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for adoption, the redemption of our body.
- 1 Corinthians 15:53-54 For this perishable body must become imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. But when this perishable body will have become imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then what is written will happen: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”
- Romans 7:24 What a wretched man I am! Who will deliver me out of the body of this death?
- 2 Corinthians 5:3-4 if indeed being clothed, we will not be found naked. For indeed we who are in this tent do groan, being burdened, not that we desire to be unclothed, but that we desire to be clothed, that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.
- Philippians 1:23 But I am hard pressed between the two, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better.
- 1 Peter 1:6-7 Wherein you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved in various trials, that the proof of your faith, which is more precious than gold that perishes even though it is tested by fire, may be found to result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ—
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (18 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain He calleth the glory of immortality, which we shall…
He calleth the glory of immortality, which we shall be as it were clothed with, a garment.
Heavenly, not that the substance of it is heavenly, but for the glory of it.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 2 For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to…
2 For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven:
Ver. 2. For in this] That is, in this tabernacle of the body. How willingly do soldiers burn their huts, when the siege is ended; being glad that their work is done, and that they may go home and dwell in houses.
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We groan earnestly] As that avis Paradisi, which being once caught and engaged, never leaves sighing, they say, till set at liberty. (Macrob.) The Greeks call the body δεμας, the soul’s bond, and σωμα, quasi σημα, the soul’s sepulchre.
To be clothed upon] By a sudden change, and not to die at all, as 1Th 4:17; 1Co 15:51-52. Quis enim vult mori? prorsus nemo. For who wishes to die, certainly no man. Death when it comes will have a bout with the best, as it had with Hezekiah, David, Jonah, others. For nature abhors it, and every new man is two men. But when a Christian considers that non nisi per angusta ad angusta perveniatur, that there is no passing into Paradise but under the flaming sword of this angel death that standeth at the porch; that there is no coming to the city of God, but through his strait and heavy lane; no wiping all tears from his eyes, but with his winding sheet, he yields, and is not only content, but full glad of his departure; as in the mean while he accepts life rather than affects it, he endures it rather than desires it, Php 1:23.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain We are so confident of such a blessed state,…
We are so confident of such a blessed state, that we passionately desire to be invested into it; and this groaning is also an evidence of it, for the desire of grace shall not be made frustrate; desirous that our mortality may put on immortality, and our corruption may put on incorruption. It is against the nature of man to desire death, which is the stripping or unclothing the soul of flesh; but not to desire that the garment of immortality may be put upon mortality, which is that our house from heaven, which is mentioned in 2Co 5:1.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
William Burkitt 1703 · Public Domain For in this, that is, in this ruinous earthly…
For in this, that is, in this ruinous earthly tabernacle.
Observe here, The strength and vehemency of the saints’ affection, we groan; the word signifies such a groaning as of a man that has a load or burden lying upon him, which makes him fetch his wind from his very bowels: as there are groans which proceed from sorrow, so there are groans which arise from desire and hope. Thus here, We groan, earnestly desiring.
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Observe, 2. What is the subject which the apostle’s groaning desires were carried out after; namely, to be clothed with a celestial body, instead of that clogging body of earthly corruption which here they carried about with them, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon, &c.
Learn thence, That such as do believe and wait for a blessed immortality, do groan for it, and earnestly desire it, because of the miseries and pressures by sin and sorrow in this present life; because they have already a taste of the happiness and glory of the life to come; and because the Holy Spirit doth excite and stir up these groaning desires in the hearts of believers; Rom 8:23 We also, that have the first fruits of the Spirit, do groan within ourselves.
William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain For in this we groan earnestly,.... Meaning either for…
For in this we groan earnestly,.... Meaning either for this happiness we groan, or rather in this tabernacle we groan. These words are a reason of the former, proving that the saints have a building of God; and they know they have it, because they groan after it here; for the groanings of the saints are under the influence and direction of the Spirit of God, who makes intercession for them, as for grace, so for glory, according to the will of God: and this groaning is further explained by
desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven; by which is meant not the glorified body in the resurrection morn; for though the bodies of the saints will be glorious, incorruptible, powerful, and spiritual, they are not said to be celestial, nor will they be from heaven, but be raised out of the earth: besides, the apostle is speaking of an habitation the soul will go into, and is desirous of going into as soon as it removes out of the earthly house of the body, and of a clothing it desires to be clothed with as soon as it is stripped of the garment of the flesh: wherefore, by the house from heaven must be meant the heavenly glory, which departed souls immediately enter into, and are arrayed with, even the white and shining robes of purity, perfection, and glory they shall be clothed with, as soon as ever their tabernacles are unpinned and dissolved. The Jews indeed speak of a celestial body which the soul shall be clothed with immediately upon its separation from the earthly body, and much in such figurative terms as the apostle does in this, and the following verse;
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"when a man's time is come, say they (d), to go out of this world, he does not depart until the angel of death has stripped him of the clothing of body, (see Co2 5:4) and when the soul is stripped of the body, by the angel of death, it goes , "and is clothed with that other body", which is in paradise, of which it was stripped when it came into this world; for the soul has no pleasure but in the body, which is from thence, and it rejoices because it is stripped of the body of this world, "and is clothed with another perfect clothing".''
And a little after,
"the holy blessed God deals well with men, for he does not strip men of their clothes until he has provided for them other clothes, more precious and better than these, except the wicked of the world, who return not to their Lord by perfect repentance; for naked they came into this world, and naked (see Co2 5:3) they shall return hence.''
And in another place (e),
"the soul does not go up to appear before the Holy King, until it is worthy to be clothed , "with the clothing which is above".''
(d) Zohar in Exod. fol. 62. 1, 2. (e) Zohar in Exod. fol. 92. 2. Vid. fol. 84. 3. & in Gen. fol. 49. 3. & Caphtor, fol. 18. 2. & 78. 2.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Desiring to be clothed upon - This body, which…
Desiring to be clothed upon - This body, which is now covered with flesh and blood, with the glorious house which is from heaven. Instead of flesh and blood, which cannot enter heaven, the rising body will be clothed or covered with what is analogous thereto, but incorruptible and immortal. Macarius speaks largely of this.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 2. For in this we groan] While in…
Verse 2. For in this we groan] While in this state, and in this body, we are encompassed with many infirmities, and exposed to many trials, so that life is a state of discipline and affliction, and every thing within and around us says, "Arise and depart, for this is not your rest!" Those who apply these words to what they call the apostle's sense of indwelling sin, abuse the passage. There is nothing of the kind either mentioned or intended.
Desiring to be clothed upon with our house] This and the following verses are, in themselves, exceedingly obscure, and can be only interpreted by considering that the expressions used by the apostle are all Jewish, and should be interpreted according to their use of them. Schoettgen has entered largely into the argument here employed by the apostle, and brought forth much useful information.
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He observes, 1. That the Hebrew word לבש labash, which answers to the apostle's ενδυσασθαι, to be clothed, signifies to be surrounded, covered, or invested with any thing. So, to be clothed with the uncircumcision, signifies to be uncircumcised. Yalcut Rubeni, fol. 163.
On the words, Ex 24:18, Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and gat him up into the mount, Sohar Exod., fol. 77, has these words, He went into the midst of the cloud, as if one put on a garment; so he was CLOTHED with the CLOUD. Sohar Levit., fol. 29: "The righteous are in the terrestrial paradise, where their souls are clothed with the lucid crown;" i.e. they are surrounded, encompassed with light, c.
2. The word בית beith, HOUSE, in Hebrew often denotes a cover, case, or clothing. So, in the Targum of Onkelos, בית אפי beith appei, the HOUSE or the FACE, is a veil and so בית אצבעים beith etsbaim, the HOUSE of the FINGERS, and בית יד beith yad, the HOUSE of the HAND, signify gloves; בית רגלים beith regalim, the HOUSE of the FEET, shoes. Therefore, οικητηριον - επενδυσασθαι, to be clothed on with a house, may signify any particular qualities of the soul; what we, following the very same form of speech, call a habit, i.e. a coat or vestment. So we say the man has got a habit of vice, a habit of virtue, a habit of swearing, of humility, c., c.
3. The Jews attribute garments to the soul, both in this and the other world and as they hold that all human souls pre-exist, they say that, previously to their being appointed to bodies, they have a covering which answers the same end to them before they come into life as their bodies do afterwards. And they state that the design of God in sending souls into the world is, that they may get themselves a garment by the study of the law and good works. See several proofs in Schoettgen.
4. It is plain, also, that by this garment or covering of the soul they mean simply what we understand by acquiring the image of God-being made holy. This image they assert "Adam lost by his fall, and they represent man in a sinful state as being naked." So they represent the Israelites before their making the molten calf, as having received holy garments from Mount Sinai but afterwards, having worshipped the calf, they were stripped of these, and left naked.
5. But notwithstanding they speak of this clothing as implying righteous and holy dispositions, and heavenly qualities, yet they all agree in assigning certain vehicles to separate spirits, in which they act; but of these vehicles they have strange notions; yet they acknowledge that without them, whether they be of light, fire, c., or whatever else, they cannot see and contemplate the Supreme Wisdom. In Synopsis Sohar, page 137, we have these words: "When the time draws near in which a man is to depart from this world, the angel of death takes off his mortal garment and clothes him with one from paradise, in which he may see and contemplate the Supreme Wisdom and therefore the angel of death is said to be very kind to man, because he takes off from him the garment of this world, and clothes him with a much more precious one prepared in paradise."
When the apostle says that they earnestly desired to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven, he certainly means that the great concern of all the genuine followers of God was to be fully prepared to enjoy the beatific vision of their Maker and Redeemer.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain For in this - In this tent, tabernacle, or…
For in this - In this tent, tabernacle, or dwelling. In our body here.
We groan - compare note, Rom 8:22. The sense is, that we are subjected to so many trials and afflictions in the present body; that the body is subjected to so many pains and to so much suffering, as to make us earnestly desire to be invested with that body which shall be free from all susceptibility to suffering.
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Earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house ... - There is evidently here a change of the metaphor which gives an apparent harshness to the construction. One idea of the apostle is, that the body here, and the spiritual body hereafter, is a house or a dwelling. Here he speaks of it as a garment which may be put on or laid off and of himself as earnestly desiring to put on the immortal clothing or vestment which was in heaven. Both these figures are common in ancient writings, and a change in this manner in the popular style is not unusual. The Pythagoreans compared the body to a tent, or hut, for the soul; the Platonists liken it to a vestment - Bloomfield. The Jews speak of a vestment to the soul in this world and the next. They affirm that the soul had a covering when it was under the throne of God, and before it was clothed with the body. This vestment they say was “the image of God” which was lost by Adam. After the fall, they say Adam and all his posterity were regarded as naked.
In the future world they say the good will be clothed with a vestment for the soul which they speak of as lucid and radiant, and such as no one on earth can attain - Schoettgen. But there is no reason to think that Paul referred to any such trifles as the Jews have believed on this subject. He evidently regarded man as composed of body and soul. The soul was the more important part, and the body constituted its mere habitation or dwelling. Yet a body was essential to the idea of the complete man; and since this was frail and dying, he looked forward to a union with the body that should be eternal in the heavens, as a more desirable and perfect habitation of the soul. Mr. Locke has given an interpretation of this in which he is probably alone, but which has so much appearance of plausibility that it is not improper to refer to it. He supposes that this whole passage has reference to the fact that at the coming of the Redeemer the body will be changed without experiencing death; (compare 1Co 15:51-52); that Paul expected that this might soon occur; and that he earnestly desired to undergo this transformation without experiencing the pains of dying. He therefore paraphrases it, “For in this tabernacle I groan, earnestly desiring, without putting off this mortal, earthly body by death, to have that celestial body superinduced, if so be the coming of Christ shall overtake me in this life, before I put off this body.”
With our house - The phrase “to be clothed upon with our house” seems to be harsh and unusual. The sense is plain, however, that Paul desired to be invested with that pure, spiritual, and undecaying body which was to be the eternal abode of his soul in heaven. That he speaks of as a house (οἰκητήριον oikētērion), a more permanent and substantial dwelling than a tent, or tabernacle.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain To be clothed over, signifying the natural desire of…
To be clothed over, signifying the natural desire of men have not to die, but to be changed without dying to a happy state in heaven. (Witham)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain For in this--Greek, "For also in this"; "herein" (Co2…
For in this--Greek, "For also in this"; "herein" (Co2 8:10). ALFORD takes it, "in this" tabernacle. Co2 5:4, which seems parallel, favors this. But the parallelism is sufficiently exact by making "in this we groan" refer generally to what was just said (Co2 5:1), namely, that we cannot obtain our "house in the heavens" except our "earthly tabernacle" be first dissolved by death.
we groan-- (Rom 8:23) under the body's weaknesses now and liability to death.
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earnestly desiring to be clothed upon--translate, "earnestly longing to have ourselves clothed upon," &c., namely, by being found alive at Christ's coming, and so to escape dissolution by death (Co2 5:1, Co2 5:4), and to have our heavenly body put on over the earthly. The groans of the saints prove the existence of the longing desire for the heavenly glory, a desire which cannot be planted by God within us in vain, as doomed to disappointment.
our house--different Greek from that in Co2 5:1; translate, "our habitation," "our domicile"; it has a more distinct reference to the inhabitant than the general term "house" (Co2 5:1) [BENGEL].
from heaven--This domicile is "from heaven" in its origin, and is to be brought to us by the Lord at His coming again "from heaven" (Th1 4:16). Therefore this "habitation" or "domicile" is not heaven itself.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 2. In this—Tabernacle; that is, hut or cottage.
2. In this—Tabernacle; that is, hut or cottage.
Desiring to be clothed— Wishing to be rid of the corruption of our bodies, and to be clothed, to be overclad, with immortality. The Greek verb for clothed has a double preposition, super-investured. The soul in the resurrection is clothed with a body, which body is over-clothed with the investiture of immortality from above. The transition of figure from building to clothing is very easy, for our clothes are but a tighter house: one is a habit, and the other a habitation. There is no reference here to an intermediate disembodied state; not because Paul did not believe in one, but because, viewing the resurrection to be the true ultimate of hope, he overleaps in thought and wish all that lies between him and it.
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Our house… from heaven—Not, as above remarked, that St. Paul really supposed his resurrection body would come from heaven, but that the gift or over-vestment of immortality would. So in Mat_21:25 it is asked, “The baptism of John, whence was it? from heaven, or of men?” So Joh_3:27, “Except it be given him from heaven,” that is, from God. Bloomfield quotes Theophylact as saying, “Not that the body descends from heaven, but that we have thence την της αφθαρσιας χαριν, the gift of immortality.”
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 2. For in this] i.e. this tabernacle.
2. For in this] i.e. this tabernacle.
we groan] Cf. Rom_8:23.
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to be clothed upon] i.e. to put on in addition. See 1Co_15:53. “The flesh will not be annihilated, but spiritualized, glorified and beautified, as the human body of Christ was at the Transfiguration.” St Jerome, cited by Bp Wordsworth. The Greek for the ‘fisher’s coat’ spoken of in Joh_21:7 is, as Dean Stanley reminds us, derived from the word used here.
with our house] Rather, dwelling-place. The word house (οἰκία) is more absolute, dwelling-place (οἰκητήριον) has reference to the inhabitant. Bengel.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (2) For in this we groan.—The “groaning” here, and…
(2) For in this we groan.—The “groaning” here, and in 2Co_5:4, may, of course, be a strong way of expressing the burden and the weariness of life, but taken in connection with what we have already seen in the Epistle, as pointing to the pressure of disease, we can scarcely fail to find in it the utterance of a personal or special suffering. (See Notes on 2Co_1:8-9.)
Earnestly desiring to be clothed upon.—The words have suggested the question whether St. Paul spoke of the “spiritual body” to be received at the resurrection (1Co_15:42-49), or of some intermediate stage of being, like that represented in the visions which poets have imagined and schoolmen theorised about, in the visions of the world of the dead in the Odyssey (Book 11), in the Æneid (Book vi.), in Dante’s Divina Commedia throughout. The answer to that question is found in the manifest fact that the intermediate state occupied but a subordinate position in St. Paul’s thoughts. He would not speak overconfidently as to times and seasons, but his practical belief was that he, and most of those who were then living, would survive till the coming of the Lord (1Co_15:52; 1Th_4:15). He did not speculate accordingly about that state, but was content to rest in the belief that when absent from the body he would in some more immediate sense, be present with the Lord. But the longing of his soul was, like that of St. John (Rev_22:20), that the Lord might come quickly—that he might put on the new and glorious body without the pain and struggle of the “dissolution” of the old. In the words “be clothed upon” (literally, the verb being in the middle voice, to clothe ourselves, to put on) we have a slight change of imagery. The transition from the thought of a dwelling to that of a garment is, however, as in Psa_104:1-3, sufficiently natural. Each shelters the man. Each is separable from the man himself. Each answers in these respects to the body which invests the spirit.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain In this we groan. Since we have the firstfruits…
In this we groan. Since we have the firstfruits of the Spirit, who assures us of that future building from God, we, in this earthly tent, "groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit the redemption of our body". (Rom_8:23) To be clothed upon; rather, to further clothe ourselves with. Here the metaphors of a tent and a garment the "wandering tent" and the "mortal vesture of decay are interfused in a manner on which only the greatest writers can venture The corruptible yearns to clothe itself with the incorruptible, the mortal with immortality. (1Co_15:53) The glorified body is compared to an over garment, House; rather, habitation (oiketerion).
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be…
2Co_5:2-3
For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon.
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A Christians uneasiness in the mortal body and desire of the heavenly happiness
I. We are to consider a Christians groans while he is in the body under present uneasiness. In this we groan. And while we are in this tabernacle we groan, being burdened.
1. As to what the body is the more immediate seat and subject of. Of this kind we may consider the following instances.
(1) The weakness and disorder of the bodily nature.
(2) Weariness of labour. The Christian life is a state of warfare as well as service.
(3) The afflictions and sufferings of life.
(4) The dissolution of the bodily frame. There is a natural love in the soul to the body arising from the close union and long intimacy together.
2. What the body may further occasion to the soul; and in several ways occasions uneasiness.
(1) It is a great hindrance to our spiritual attainments, and to all our improvements in knowledge and grace. How often do the necessities and pleasures of the bodily life hinder a wise improvement of opportunities? We are apt to indulge in sloth, and regret the necessary pains of higher improvement.
(2) It is a great occasion of sin, as well as of imperfection. The depravation of nature seems interwoven with the bodily constitution, and by the laws of union between the body and soul, the one is much affected by the other (Rom_6:13). The sensible world round about us powerfully strikes our sensible natures, and proves a dangerous snare. It gives a great advantage to the devils temptations.
(3) It exposes them to many troubles. How many calamities befall us by accident or violence, by the hand of Providence or our own mistake!
(4) The necessary distance and absence from the Lord.
II. I am to consider a Christians desires of the heavenly happiness. He earnestly desires to be clothed upon with his house which is from heaven. There is the weight of their present burdens. They not only groan, but desire, and the groanings breed desires. Oppressed nature longs for rest. Besides, there is the excellency of the heavenly state, or the object of their desires. In 2Co_5:4 he speaks of being clothed upon, or covered all over with it, and mortality being swallowed up of life. Even the mortal part, or what was before mortal of us, will become immortal. He represents the future state by a presence with Christ. Present with the Lord. The peculiar temper of a Christians mind with reference to it.
1. He describes it by their faith of the heavenly blessedness. This he expresses in 2Co_5:1 by knowledge.
2. There is their preparation for it. This we have in 2Co_5:5 --Now He who hath wrought us for the self-same thing is God, who hath also given to us the earnest of His Spirit.
3. Their courage, or fortitude of mind. This is mentioned in 2Co_5:6 --Therefore we are confident, knowing that, while we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord. In 2Co_5:8, We are confident, I say. We have bravery sufficient to support our minds in the prospects and conflicts with death; we dare to die rather than not be with the Lord.
4. Complacency, or willingness (2Co_5:8).
5. Their constant endeavours. This we find in 2Co_5:9 --Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of Him. His favour is our happiness living and dying, in this world and in the other. I shall only further observe that the word also imports ambition; and it is as if he had said, This is the highest honour of which we are ambitious, and what we propose as the proper prize.
III. I shall close this subject with two or three practical remarks.
1. We may learn from hence the nature of the present state. It is made up, according to this account of it, of groans and desires. The one is the fruit of fallen nature, the other of the renewed nature. The one is the effect of the curse, the other of Divine grace.
2. The difference between sincere Christians and other men. They groan under their present burdens indeed, and have sometimes a larger share than other men, but then they have their desires too. But now wicked men have groans without desires; they have no desires of the heavenly state.
3. We should look well to our interest in the heavenly glory.
4. The happiness of departed saints. They have the full satisfaction of their highest desires, and the perfection of their felicity and joy. (W. Harris, D. D.)
The desire for immortality
I. The reasons for this groaning are--
1. The pressures and miseries of the present life (2Co_5:4). We are burdened--
(1) With sin. To a waking conscience this is one of the greatest burdens that can be felt (Rom_7:24). It is not the bare trouble of the world which sets the saints a-groaning, but indwelling corruption, which may be cast out, but is not cast out. A gracious heart seeth this is the greatest evil, and therefore would fain get rid of it.
(2) With miseries (Rom_8:20-21). It is a groaning world, and Gods children bear a part in the concert (Gen_47:7). There are many things to wean a Christian from the present life.
(a) Manifold temptations from Satan (1Pe_5:8-9).
(b) Persecutions from the world.
(3) Sharp afflictions from God Himself. God is jealous of our hearts. He is fain to embitter our worldly portion, that we may think of a remove to some better place and state. We would sleep here if we did not sometimes meet with thorns in our bed.
2. Our having had a taste of better things (Rom_8:23). The firstfruits show us what the harvest will be, and the taste what the feast will prove.
(1) We have but a glimpse of Christ as He showeth Himself through the lattice, but there we shall see Him with open face.
(2) Our holiness is not perfect, and therefore we long for more. The new nature is seed (1Jn_1:9; 1Pe_1:2). As a seed will work through the dry clods, that it may grow up into its perfect estate, so doth this seed of God work towards its final perfection.
(3) Our comforts are not perfect. The joys of the Spirit are unspeakable things; but at His right hand there is fulness, pleasures for evermore (Psa_16:11). These the soul longeth for.
3. The excellency of this estate. It is great ingratitude and folly that, when Christ hath procured a state of blessedness for us at a very dear rate, we should value it no more.
4. The three theological graces.
(1) Faith. They that believe that there is another sort of life infinitely more desirable than this will find their affections stirred towards it, for sound persuasion showeth itself in answerable affections (Heb_11:13; 2Pe_3:12).
(2) Love. They that love Christ will long to be with Him (Php_1:23; cf. Col_3:1).
(3) Hope. What you hope for will be all your desire (Php_1:20). 5 The Holy Ghost stirreth up in us these groans partly by revealing the object in such a lively manner as it cannot otherwise be seen (Eph_1:17-18; 1Co_2:22), partly by His secret influences, as He stirreth up holy ardours in prayer (Rom_8:25-26).
6. All the ordinances of the gospel serve to awaken them. The Word is Gods testament, wherein such rich legacies are bequeathed to us that every time we read it, or hear it, or meditate upon it, we may get a step higher, and advance nearer heaven (1Pe_5:4; Psa_119:96). So for prayer--it is but to raise those heavenly desires. We long in the Lords Supper for new wine in our Fathers kingdom, to put an heavenly relish upon our hearts.
7. These desires are necessary because of their effect. What maketh the Christian so industrious, so patient, so self-denying, so watchful? Only because he breatheth after heaven with so much earnestness.
8. The state of the present world doth set the saints longing for heaven. For this world is vexatious, the pleasures of it are mere dreams, and the miseries of it are real, many, and grievous.
II. Objections met.
1. But how can Christians groan for their heavenly state, since there is no passage to it but by death, and it is unnatural to desire our own death?
(1) They do not simply desire death for itself, which in itself is an evil, but as a means to enjoy these better things (Php_1:23).
(2) Death is sweetened to them. By Christs death it is made their friend, a passage to an endless life (1Co_3:22; Rom_8:38).
2. But must all sincere Christians thus groan and long? Many groan at the least thought of death.
(1) Somewhat of this there must be in all that believe; they all groan in this tabernacle, and desire to be dissolved. How can you labour for that which you do not earnestly desire and groan after?
(2) Much of what is here expressed may belong to an heroical degree of grace not vouchsafed to all Christians. But yet still we must be growing up to this frame of heart. Here are marks to aim at. (T. Manton, D. D.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain 2. For in this we groan. While in this…
2. For in this we groan. While in this fragile, suffering earthly body, Paul longed for the deliverance from it and “for the house not made with hands,” the spiritual body. Clothed upon. The thought is that when the spirit leaves the mortal clay, it lays off an old and worn-out clothing, and is to be clothed upon, or invested in, its divine clothing.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
J. W. McGarvey 1914 · Public Domain For verily in this we groan [ Rom_7:24 ;…
For verily in this we groan [ Rom_7:24 ; Rom_8:23 ], longing to be clothed upon with our habitation which is from heaven:
J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 5:2 we long to put on our heavenly bodies:…
5:2 we long to put on our heavenly bodies: This is no death wish; Paul was yearning for the Lord’s return when he would give new bodies to his people (1 Cor 15:51-58; Phil 3:20-21; 1 Thes 4:16-17).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.