Study Guides

← Back to Study Guides

Power in Weakness | Prepared by God for Something Greater

October 12, 2025
2 Corinthians 4:16-5:10

4 ¹⁶So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. ¹⁷For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, ¹⁸as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

5 ¹For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. ²For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, ³if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. ⁴For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. ⁵He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.

⁶So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, ⁷for we walk by faith, not by sight. ⁸Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. ⁹So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. ¹⁰For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.

Download .pdf

Purpose

To discover and experience Jesus Christ in our midst

To cultivate mutually encouraging relationships

To participate in God’s mission to the world

Opening Prayer

Responsive Prayer — Psalm 16

I bless the Lord who gives me counsel;

    In the night also my heart instructs me.

I have set the Lord always before me;

    Because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.

Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices;

    My flesh also dwells secure.

For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol,

    Or let your holy one see corruption.

You make known to me the path of life;

    in your presence there is fullness of joy;

    At your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Summary

We are continuing our fall sermon series, Power in Weakness, during which we’re looking at Paul’s second epistle to the Corinthians, appropriately considered Paul’s most painful, personal, and passionate letter. In this week’s section of the letter, Paul returns to the theme that has run throughout chapters 3 and 4: the nature of Christian ministry under the new covenant. Because Christ has secured eternal glory for his people, believers can persevere through present suffering with confidence and hope. “So we do not lose heart,” Paul writes (2 Cor. 4:16), even as the outer self “wastes away.” The “outer self” and “inner self” are not two separate entities in a Platonic sense, but rather two perspectives on human existence. One is characterized by mortality and decay, the other by the transforming work of new creation in Christ (2 Cor. 3:18; Romans 8:11; Westminster Shorter Catechism [WSC] 35). The contrast between “momentary light affliction” and an “eternal weight of glory” (2 Cor. 4:17) shows that present suffering, though real, is temporary and for the purpose of preparing believers for something far more substantial. This echoes Romans 8:18, where Paul writes, “the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” The believer’s endurance flows not from stoic denial of all passions but from faith in the unseen, eternal realities of God’s promises (2 Cor. 4:18; Ephesians 1:3; Colossians 3:1–2; Hebrews 11:1).

In 2 Corinthians 5:1–5, Paul deepens the metaphor by describing earthly life as dwelling in a “tent” — a temporary shelter that will one day give way to a “building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” This image recalls Israel’s tabernacle in the wilderness, a temporary structure pointing to the long-lasting nature of God’s earthly temple in Zion (Exodus 25–27; 1 Kings 8:27–30) and anticipates the final permanent “dwelling place of God” with his people in the new creation (Revelation 21:3). Our groaning in this present tent reflects a longing for the resurrection body, when what is mortal will be “swallowed up by life” (2 Cor. 5:4). The Spirit, given as a guarantee (2 Cor. 5:5; cf. 1:22; Ephesians 1:13–14), assures believers that this hope is certain. As the Westminster Confession of Faith 32.2 teaches, on the last day “all the dead shall be raised up with the self-same bodies, and none other, although with different qualities, which shall be united again to their souls forever.” Thus, the believer’s present groaning is not despair but homesickness for the eternal dwelling secured by Christ.

Finally, in verses 6–10, Paul draws out the ethical implications of this hope. Because we “walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Cor. 5:7), believers can live in confident obedience, whether “at home or away,” aiming to please the Lord (2 Cor. 5:9; Philippians 1:21). Our longing for the eternal does not lead to disengagement from the present but rather fuels faithful service in it. Knowing that “we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ” (2 Cor. 5:10), we live with reverent accountability to the one who has redeemed us. The hope of future glory empowers steadfastness in present weakness, reminding believers that every act of faithfulness, every moment of endurance, witness, and love, has eternal significance. As the WSC 1 reminds us, “Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.” Because Christ has secured our glory, we persevere through our pain with confidence, looking not to what is seen and temporary but to what is unseen and eternal, for the glory of God and for our enjoyment of him.

Discussion Questions

1. Looking at the Bible

• From the passage, share with the group some key phrases or ideas that stood out to you.

2. Looking at Jesus

At Central we believe that all of Scripture points to Jesus. In other words, Jesus is the theological center of the Bible. Every passage not only points to Jesus, but the grand narrative of the Bible also finds its fulfillment in the person and work of Jesus.

• The Gospel writers go out of their way to emphasize Jesus’ bodily resurrection when he appears to his disciples (Luke 24:36-49, John 20:19-29). How does Jesus’ bodily resurrection serve as the foundation for the hope that Paul is writing about?

3. Looking at Our Hearts

• Paul’s primary encouragement is that believers are called “not to lose heart” (4:16) and to “always be of good courage” (5:6). Share some situations (and the accompanying fears or emotions) when you feel tempted to lose heart.
• How might this passage challenge or encourage us in those situations? 
  

4. Looking at Our World

• A theme of this passage is our groaning and eager expectation of the “eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison” (4:17). Does our city long for “unseen” things or do they seem content with the “seen” things (4:18)? Why or why not?
  
• How might we share our eternal hope with those closest to us?

Prayer

• View Study Guide Notes