2 Corinthians 5:2

2Co_5:2-3

For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon.

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.

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.

2Co 5:2. Ἐν τούτῳ, in this) The same phrase occurs, ch. 2Co 8:10, and elsewhere.—στενάζομεν, we groan) The epitasis[25] follows, we do groan being burdened, 2Co 5:4.—οἰκητήριον, a dwelling-place, a domicile) οἰκία, a house, is somewhat more absolute; οἰκητήριον, a domicile, has reference to the inhabitant.—τὸ ἐξ οὐρανοῦ) which is from heaven: ἐξ here signifies origin, as, of the earth, Joh 3:31. Therefore this domicile (abode) is not heaven itself.—ἐπενδύσασθαι, [to have the clothing put upon us] to be clothed upon) It is in the Middle voice: ἔνδυμα, the clothing, viz., the body: hence the expression, being clothed [2Co 5:3], refers to those living in the body; ἐπένδυμα, the clothing upon, refers to the heavenly and glorious habitation, in which even the body, the clothing, will be clothed. As the clothing of grass is its greenness and beauty, Mat 6:30, so the heavenly glory is the domicile and clothing of the whole man, when he enters into heaven.

[25] See App. Strengthening of the words already used by something additional on their repetition.—ED.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2Co_5:2. Confirmation of the certainty expressed in 2Co_5:1, not an explanation why he should precisely mention the fact that he has such comfort in the prospect of death (Hofmann)as if, instead of οἴδαμεν, λέγομεν or some similar verbum, declarandi had precede.

καὶ γάρ] does not here any more than elsewhere mean merely for (see, on the other hand, Hartung, Partikell. I. p. 138), but it means for also, so that καί is connected with ἐν τούτῳ. Previously, namely, the case was supposed: ἐὰν … καταλυθῇ; to which this καὶ γὰρ ἐν τούτῳ now corresponds, so that the train of thought is: we know that, in case our present body shall have one day been destroyed, we have a body in heaven; for if this were not so, we should not already in the present body be sighing after the being clothed upon with the heavenly.[208] This longing is an inward assurance of the fact that, if our earthly house, et.

καὶ γὰρ ἐν τούτῳ] The emphasis is on ἐν: for also in this. Not merely perhaps after the κατάλυσις supposed as possible (2Co_5:1) shall we long for the heavenly body, but already now, while we are not yet out of the earthly body but are still in it, we are sighing to be clothed upon with the heavenly. This is proved to be the right interpretation by the parallel in 2Co_5:4, where our ἐν is represented by οἱ ὄντες ἐν. On καί, also, in the sense of already or already also, see Hartung, l.c. p. 135; Stallbaum, ad Plat. Gorg. p. 467 B; Fritzsche, ad Lucian. p. 5 ff. With τούτῳ, according to the supposition of Grotius and others, including Fritzsche and Schrader, σώματι is to be mentally supplied, so that, as is often the case in the classic writers, the pronoun is referred to a word which was contained only as regards the sense in what preceded. See Fritzsche, Diss. I. p. 47; Hermann, ad Viger. p. 714; Seidler, ad Eur. El. 582. Rückert wrongly thinks that Paul in that case must have written ἐν αὐτῷ. This prevalent phenomenon of language applies, in fact, equally in the case of all demonstrative and relative pronouns; see the passages in Matthiae, p. 978 f. Seeing, however, that the following τὸ οἰκητήριον ἡμ. τὸ ἐξ οὐρανοῦ proves that Paul also, in ἐν τούτῳ, was regarding the body under the figure of a dwelling, and seeing that he himself in 2Co_5:4 has expressly written τῷ σκήνει instead of τούτῳ, the supplying of τῷ σκήνει is to be preferred (so Beza and others, including Olshausen, Osiander, Neander, Ewald[209]). Others take ἐν τούτῳ as propterea (see on Joh_16:20; Act_24:16), and refer it partly to what was said in 2Co_5:1, as Hofmann: on account of the death in prospect (comp. Estius, Flatt, Lechler, p. 138), or Delitzsch, p 436: in such position of the case; partly to what follows, which would be the epexegesis of it (Erasmus, Usteri, Billroth, the latter with hesitation). So also Rückert: in this respect. But the parallel of 2Co_5:4 is decidedly against all these views, even apart from the fact that that over which we sigh is in Greek given by ἐπί with the dative or by the accusative, and hence Hofmanns view in particular would have required ἐπὶ τούτῳ or τοῦτο.

τὸ οἰκητήριον … ἐπιποθοῦντες contains the reason of the sighing: because we long for, etc. Paul himself gives further particulars in 2Co_5:4. Hofmann wrongly thinks that Paul explains his sighing from the fact, that his longing applies to that clothing upon, instead of which death sets in. The latter point is purely imported in consequence of his erroneous explanation of ἐν τούτῳ. It is the sighing of the longing to experience the last change by means of the being clothed upon with the future body. This longing to be clothed upon with the heavenly body (not, as Bengel and many of the older expositors would have it: with the glory of the transfigured soul, to which view Hofmann also comes in the end, since he thinks of the eternal light in which God dwells and Christ with Him lives) extorts the sighs. Against the reference of ἐπενδύσ. to an organ of the intermediate state, see on 2Co_5:3, Remark. According to Fritzsche, the participle is only a continuation of the discourse by attaching another thought: in hoc corpore male nos habentes suspiramus et coeleste superinduere gestimus. But in that case no logical reference would be furnished for καί; besides, it seems unwarrantable to supply male nos habentes, since Paul himself has added quite another participle; and in general, wherever the participle seems only to continue the discourse, there exists such a relation of the participle to the verb, as forms logically a basis for the participial connection. Comp. Eph_5:16. According to Schneckenburger, στενάζομεν ἐπιποθοῦντες stands for ἐπιποθοῦμεν στενάζοντες, so that the chief fact is expressed by the participle (Nägelsbach on the Iliad, pp. 234, 280, ed. 3; Seidler, ad Eur. Iph. T. 1411; Matthiae, p. 1295 f.). An arbitrary suggestion, against the usage of the N. T., which is different even in the passages quoted by Buttmann, neut. Gr. p. 275 [E. T. 320], and to be rejected also on account of 2Co_5:4, στενάζομεν βαρούμ.

The distinction between οἰκία and οἰκητήριον is rightly noted by Bengel: οἰκία est quiddam magis absolutum, οἰκητήριον respicit incolam, househabitation (Jud_1:6; Eur. Or. 1114; Plut. Mor. p. 602 D; 2Ma_11:2-3; 2Ma_2:15).

τὸ ἐξ οὐρανοῦ] that which proceeds from heaven; for it is ἐκ θεοῦ, 2Co_5:1. God furnishes from heaven the resurrection-body (1Co_15:38) through Christ (Php_3:21), in the case of the dead, by means of raising, in the case of the living, by means of transforming (1Co_15:51). The latter is what is thought of in the present passag.

ἐπενδύσασθαι] With this Paul passes to another but kindred figure, namely, that of a robe, as also among the Rabbins (Schoettgen, Hor. p. 693) and the Neo-Platonists (Gataker, ad Anton. p. 351; Bos, Exercit. p. 60; Schneckenburger, Beitr. p. 127) the body is frequently represented as the robe of the soul. See also Jacobs, ad Anthol. XII. p. 239. But he does not simply say ἐνδύσασθαι, but ἐπενδύσασθαι, to put on over (which is not to be taken with Schneckenburger of the succession; see, on the contrary, Plut. Pelop. 11 : ἐσθῆτας ἐπενδεδυμένοι γυναικείας τοῖς θώραξι, Herod. i 195: ἐπὶ τοῦτον ἄλλον εἰρίνεον κιθῶνα ἐπενδύνει), because the longing under discussion is directed to the living to see the Parousia and the becoming transformed alive. This transformation in the living body, however, is in so far an ἐπενδύσασθαι, as this denotes the acquisition of a new body with negation of the previous death (the ἐκδύσασθαι). This is not at variance with 1Co_15:53, where the simple ἐνδύσασθαι is used of the same transformation; for in that passage τὸ φθαρτὸν τοῦτο is the subject which puts on, and, consequently, τὸ φθαρτὸν τοῦτο ἐνδύεται is quite equivalent to ἐπενδυόμεθα, because in the latter case, as at the present passage, the self-conscious Ego[210] is the subject.

Regarding ἐπιποθεῖν, in which ἐπί does not make the meaning stronger (ardenter cupere), as it is usually taken, but only indicates the direction of the longing (πόθον ἔχειν ἐπί τι), see Fritzsche, ad Rom. I. p. 30 f.

[208] If that οἰκοδομὴν ἐκ θεοῦ ἔχομεν were not correct, it would be absurd, instead of being contented with the earthly habitation, to be longing already in it after being clothed upon with the heavenly habitation. Quite similar is the argument in Rom_8:22.

[209] See also Klöpper in the Jahrb. für deutsche Theol. 1862, p. 13.

[210] The inward man. He is put on with the earthly body, and sighs full of longing to put on over it the heavenly body.

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2Co 5:2-3 and 2Co 5:4 form two parallel sentences, both introduced by καὶ γάρ , of which either may be used to elucidate the other. Both bring out the Apostle’s shrinking from death, i.e. , the act of dying, and his half-expressed anxiety that he may survive until the Day of Christ ( cf. 1Th 4:15 ).

2Co 5:2 . καὶ γὰρ ἐν τούτῳ κ . τ . λ .: for indeed in this, sc. , in this tabernacle ( cf. 2Co 5:3 ), we groan, sc. , being weighed down by the body, longing to be clothed upon, i.e. , to have the heavenly body put on in addition, like an outer garment over our mortal flesh, with our habitation which is from heaven, sc. , which is brought thence by the Lord at His Coming ( cf. 1Th 4:16 , Rev 21:2 , and Ascension of Isaiah (ed. Charles), iv. 16, ix. 17). The verb ἐπιποθεῖν always expresses in St. Paul a yearning for home; here it is used of the heavenly home-sickness of the saints.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2. καὶ γὰρ ἐν τούτῳ. We must choose between several translations of both halves. For καὶ γάρ for verily (R.V.), or for indeed, or for also, or for moreover: it introduces an additional point or emphatic reason. Here γάρ introduces the motive of S. Paul’s words: ‘I speak of this sure hope because we are conscious of sorrow.’ For ἑν τούτω̣, in this tent-dwelling, or in this body? or hereby (1Co 4:4), or ‘by this, herein’ (Joh 4:37; Joh 15:8; Joh 16:30) are possible renderings. ‘For truly this is why we groan’ may be right; but For in this σκῆνος we groan’ is more probable. In either case, “the burden of infirmity we carry about with us prevents the full realization of our blessedness” (Lias). Comp. Rom 8:23.

ἐπενδύσασθαι ἐπιποθοῦντες. Because we long to be clothed upon. The participle gives the reason for στενάζομεν: comp. εἰδότες (2Co 4:14). Winer, p. 144. The double compound occurs nowhere else in Biblical Greek, but is full of meaning here; comp. ἐπενδύτης (Joh 21:7; Lev 8:7; 1Sa 18:4 A). The metaphor makes the easy change from a small tent to a garment. Here we have the two combined, to be clothed with a habitation. For the accusative comp. Mat 6:25; Mar 6:9; Luk 7:27; 1Co 15:53-54. Even more than οἰκοδομή, οἰκητήριον gives the idea of a permanent home (Jud 1:6; 2Ma 11:2); and the idea is that of a lasting edifice being placed over a frail one, like one garment over another, so that the fabric that is covered ceases to be of value. The ἐπενδύτης was put on over the χιτών, and here the ἑπενδύτης = the Resurrection body, while the χιτών = the natural body. Comp. Asc. of Isaiah 4:16, 9:9, 11:40. Our earnest desire is to escape death and draw the Resurrection body over the natural body, so that the less may be absorbed in the greater. The Apostle perhaps means that the eager longing is evidence of the reality of what is longed for. It is improbable that our natural craving to have our perishable bodies superseded by something imperishable should be incapable of realization. In the N. T. ἐπιποθεῖν is almost peculiar to S. Paul, who has it in all groups of his Epistles (2Co 9:14; Rom 1:2; Php 1:8; Php 2:26; 1Th 3:6; 2Ti 1:4). Place only a comma at the end of 2Co 5:2.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

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. Text via Bolls.life.

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.

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.

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.

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.

(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.

2. For in this] i.e. this tabernacle.

we groan] Cf. Rom_8:23.

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.

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;

"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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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).

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

2.] For also (our knowledge, that we possess such a building of God, even in case of our body being dissolved, is testified by the earnest desire which we have, to put on that new body without such dissolution taking place. See the similar argument in Rom 8:18, Rom 8:19) in this (viz. σκήνει, as Beza, Meyer, Olsh., al. The rendering ἐν τούτῳ, ‘wherefore,’—some referring it to the foregoing,—‘propter hoc quod dictum est,’ Est., some to the following,—is inconsistent with ὄντες ἐν τῷ σκήνει, which is parallel with it, ver. 4. The stress is not necessarily on ἐν, ‘in this,’ as contrasted with ‘out of this,’ as Meyer, who joins καί with ἐν τούτῳ; but see above) we groan (see Rom 8:23), longing (i.e. because we desire, the reason of στενάζομεν. ἐπιποθ., not ardently desire: the prep. does not intensify, but denotes the direction of the wish, as ἀνέμου μὴ προσεῶντος, Act 27:7) to put on over this (‘superinduere:’ viz. by being alive at the day of Christ, and not dissolved as in ver. 1:—see on ver. 4 below.

The similitude is slightly changed: the house is now to be put on, as an outer garment, over the fleshly body) our dwelling-place (‘οἰκία est quiddam magis absolutum,—οἰκητήριον, domicilium, respicit incolam:’ Bengel. So Eur. Orest. 1113,—ὥσθʼ Ἑλλὰς αὐτῇ σμικρὸν οἰκητήριον) from heaven (i.e. = ἐκ θεοῦ ver. 1, but treated now as if brought with the Lord at His coming, and put upon us who are alive and remain then.

‘Itaque,’ says Bengel, ‘hoc domicilium non est cœlum ipsum’):

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2. καὶ γὰρ ἐν τούτῳ. AV ignores the καί—‘For in this.’ The καί is either intensive, ‘For verily’ (RV), ‘For in fact,’ ‘For indeed,’ introducing some important reason; or argumentative, ‘For also,’ ‘For moreover,’ introducing an additional reason. Either of these makes good sense. Again, ἐν τούτῳ may be either ‘in this tent-dwelling’ (v. 1), or ‘hereby,’ or ‘herein,’ lit. ‘in this fact’; Joh 15:8; 1Jn 2:3, 1Jn 2:5; see on 1Co 4:4. The last meaning is specially freq. in the Johannine writings, where it commonly points forward to what is about to be stated. The first meaning is simplest here; ‘For truly in this tabernacle-house we groan.’* The words which immediately follow (τὸ οἰκητήριον κ.τ.λ.) seem to show that St Paul is still thinking of the σκῆνος when he says ἐν τούτῳ. Comp. Rom 8:12, Rom 8:13 and 18-23. But ‘herein’ makes good sense, looking forward to ἐπιποθοῦντες.

τὸ οἰκητήριον … ἐπιποθοῦντες. The participle explains and gives the reason for στενάζομεν: ‘we groan, because we yearn.’ St Paul has ἐπιποθεῖν in all four groups (1Th 3:6; Rom 1:11; Php 1:8, Php 1:2:26; 2Ti 1:4). Elsewhere in N.T., Jas 4:5 and 1Pe 2:2, where see Hort. Everywhere else in Paul it expresses the longing for absent friends, to which the longing for a permanent and glorious home is analogous. He regards this yearning as evidence of the reality of the thing yearned for: si desiderium naturae non est frustra, multo minus desiderium gratiae frustra est (Aquinas). In late Greek, compounds take the place of simple verbs without much increase of meaning, and in N.T. ποθεῖν does not occur. The ἐπι- may indicate direction; cf. ἐπιπόθησις (7:7, 11). In LXX ποθεῖν is rare, except in Wisdom. See Index. IV.

τὸ οἰκητήριον. Not a diminutive; it denotes a permanent abode or home (Jud 1:6); cf. λογιζόμενος τὴν πόλιν Ἕλλησιν οἰκητήριον ποιήσειν (2 Macc. 11:2). The difference between οἰκία and οἰκητήριον is that the latter implies an οἰκητήρ, an inhabitant, while the former does not.

ἐπενδύσασθαι. A double compound which is not found elsewhere in N.T. or LXX. Cf. ἐπενδύτης (Joh 21:7; Lev 8:7; the A text of 1Sa 18:4). The body may be regarded either as a dwelling or as a garment, and here we have the two ideas combined; ‘longing to be clothed upon with our habitation which is from heaven.’ The more permanent dwelling is to be drawn over the less permanent one, as one garment is drawn over another, and is to take its place. In some way not described, the now useless σκῆνος is destroyed, without being dissolved in the grave, as in the case of those who die before the Lord comes. The change from the carnal to the spiritual body is regarded as instantaneous (1Co 15:52), and the change is longed for.

We may therefore be content to adopt as the more probable rendering; ‘For indeed, in this tent-dwelling we groan, because we long to put on over it our true habitation, which comes to us from heaven.’ This last point is a repetition of ἐκ Θεοῦ in v. 1. In all cases it is God who furnishes the spiritual body, through Christ (Php 3:21), but the method differs: the dead receive their spiritual body through resurrection, the living through transfiguration (1Co 15:38, 1Co 15:51), and it is the living who are described here. Comp. μετασχηματιζόμενος εἰς ἀφθαρσίαν (4 Macc. 9:22). See Briggs, The Messiah of the Apostles, p. 130.

We may set aside as improbable, if not impossible, the suggestion that στενάζομεν ἐπιποθοῦντες is to be treated as equivalent to ἐπιποθοῦμεν στενάζοντες, the main idea being in the participle, and not in the finite verb. It is doubtful whether any such usage is found in N.T. Nor is it likely that the ἐπί in ἐπενδύσασθαι indicates mere succession; that the clothing with the οἰκητήριον comes after the clothing with the σκῆνος. The context, especially v. 4, shows that the former comes over the latter and extinguishes or absorbs it. It is probable that fondness for alliteration has led to the juxtaposition of the two compounds, ἐπενδύσασθαι ἐπιποθοῦντες.

It is not easy to decide how far this idea of clothing living Christians with spiritual bodies is to be identified with that of the bright robes which adorn the saints in glory. In some passages the two seem to be identical, while in others the identification is doubtful. In Rev 3:5, Rev 3:18, Rev 3:4:4, the saints have ἱμάτια λευκά, in 6:11, 7:9, 13, στολαὶ λευκαί: in 2 (4) Esdr. 2:39, splendidae tunicae: in Herm. Sim. 8:2, ἱματισμὸς λευκός. These “garments of glory,” and “garments of life,” which will not grow old (Enoch 62:15, 16) are a frequent feature in Jewish apocalypses, and in some of them we have an approach to what is stated here. In 2 (4) Esdr. 2:45, Hi sunt qui mortalem tunicam deposuerunt, et immortalem sumpserunt, et confessi sunt nomen Dei; modo coronantur, et accipiunt palmas. In the Book of the Secrets of Enoch 22:8, “And the Lord said to Michael, Go and take from Enoch his earthly robe, and anoint him with My holy oil, and clothe him with the raiment of My glory.” In the Ascension of Isa 9:16 this raiment is said to be stored in heaven; “But the saints shall come with the Lord, with their garments which are laid up on high (supra repositae sunt) in the seventh heaven; with the Lord they shall come, those whose spirits are reclothed, they shall descend and shall be in the world (1Th 4:15-17); and He will confirm (?) those who shall be found in the flesh with the saints, in the garments of the saints, and the Lord will serve those who shall have watched in this world (Luk 12:37; cf. Joh 13:4). And after that, they shall be changed in their garments [from] on high, and their flesh shall be left in the world.” Again, 9:9, “I saw those who had put off their garments of flesh and were now in garments from on high (exutos stolis carnalibus et existentes in stolis excelsis), and they were as angels”; and 9:17, “Then shall there ascend with Him many of the just, whose souls have not received their garments until the Lord Christ is ascended and they have ascended with Him”; and 11:40 we have the final charge; “And do you watch in the Holy Spirit, to receive your garments, thrones, and crowns of glory, which are laid up in the seventh heaven.”

AV places a full stop at the end of v. 2, RV. a colon: a comma is all that is needed.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

In this. Tabernacle. As if pointing to his own body. See on 1Co 14:54.

Earnestly desiring [επιποθουντες] . The participle has an explanatory force, as Act 27:7, "because the wind did not suffer us." We groan because we long. Rev., longing. The compounded preposition ejpi does not mark the intensity of the desire, but its direction.

To be clothed upon [επενδυσασθαι] . Only here and ver. 4. Compare ejpenduthv fisher's coat, Joh 21:7 (see note). Lit., to put on over. The metaphor changes from building to clothing, a natural transformation in the mind of Paul, to whom the hail - cloth woven for tents would suggest a vesture.

House [οικητηριον] . Not oijkia house, as ver. 1. This word regards the house with special reference to its inhabitant. The figure links itself with building, ver. 1, as contrasted with the unstable tent.

From heaven [εξ ουρανου] . As from God, ver. 1.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.