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2 Corinthians 5:1

Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is dismantled, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.
2 Corinthians 5:1 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB For we know that if the earthly house of our tent is dissolved, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal, in the heavens.
  • KJV For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
  • NKJV For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
  • NASB For we know that if our earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made by hands, eternal in the heavens.
  • NLT For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

Even if the body ('earthly tent') dies, believers have an eternal, God-made dwelling in heaven. Death is not loss but gain for the Christian.

Overview

Paul likens the mortal body to a temporary tent and the resurrection body (or heavenly dwelling) to a permanent house 'not made with hands.' This assurance rests on God's promise and Christ's resurrection. Believers can face death with confidence because something eternal awaits them.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 23

  • Job 19:25–26But I know that my Redeemer lives, and in the end He will stand upon the earth.
  • 1 Jn 3:2Beloved, we are now children of God, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that when Christ appears, we will be like Him, for we will see Him as He is.
  • 2 Pet 1:13–14I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of my body,
  • 2 Cor 4:7Now we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this surpassingly great power is from God and not from us.
  • Heb 9:24For Christ did not enter a man-made copy of the true sanctuary, but He entered heaven itself, now to appear on our behalf in the presence of God.
  • 1 Cor 15:46–48The spiritual, however, was not first, but the natural, and then the spiritual.
  • John 14:2–3In My Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?
  • Heb 11:10For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
  • Heb 9:11But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that have come, He went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made by hands and is not a part of this creation.
  • Job 4:19how much more those who dwell in houses of clay, whose foundations are in the dust, who can be crushed like a moth!
  • 1 Pet 1:4and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, reserved in heaven for you,
  • 2 Cor 5:4So while we are in this tent, we groan under our burdens, because we do not wish to be unclothed but clothed, so that our mortality may be swallowed up by life.
  • Mark 14:58“We heard Him say, ‘I will destroy this man-made temple, and in three days I will build another that is made without hands.’”
  • Gen 3:19By the sweat of your brow you will eat your bread, until you return to the ground—because out of it were you taken. For dust you are, and to dust you shall return.”
  • 1 Jn 3:14We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. The one who does not love remains in death.
  • 2 Pet 3:11Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to conduct yourselves in holiness and godliness
  • Job 30:22You snatch me up into the wind and drive me before it; You toss me about in the storm.
  • Col 2:11In Him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of your sinful nature, with the circumcision performed by Christ and not by human hands.
  • 1 Cor 3:9For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.
  • 1 Jn 3:19And by this we will know that we belong to the truth, and will assure our hearts in His presence:
  • 1 Jn 5:19–20We know that we are of God, and that the whole world is under the power of the evil one.
  • 2 Tim 1:12For this reason, even though I suffer as I do, I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him for that day.
  • Ps 56:9Then my enemies will retreat on the day I cry for help. By this I will know that God is on my side.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

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Commentaries & study tools

Christ at the center

In Christ all God's promises are 'Yes and Amen'; though rich, he became poor to make us rich, and in him God reconciles the world, making us new creations.

How 2 Corinthians 5:1 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.