(For we walk by faith, not by sight:)
What does 2 Corinthians 5:7 mean?
The believer not only is well assured by faith that there is another and a happy life after this is ended, but he has good hope, through grace, of heaven as a dwelling-place, a resting-place, a hiding-place.
Key themes
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Keep this verse inside 2 Corinthians 5:6-10 and alongside a few nearby related passages.
Commentary on 2 Corinthians 5:7
(For we walk by faith, not by sight:) For we walk - To walk, in the Scriptures often denotes to live, to act, to conduct in a certain way; see the notes on Romans 4:12 ; Romans 6:4 . It has reference to the fact that life is a journey, or a pilgrimage, and that the Christian is traveling to another country. The sense here is, that we conduct ourselves in our course of life with reference to the things which are unseen, and not with reference to the things which are seen. By faith - In the belief of those things which we do not see.
Context in 2 Corinthians 5
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2 Corinthians 5 belongs to the middle movement of the book, especially the section often described as reconciliation and the new covenant. Second Corinthians is Paul’s deepest letter on apostolic suffering, consolation, generosity, reconciliation, and the paradox of strength in weakness. Read this chapter with the wider themes of weakness, ministry, and reconciliation in view so the individual verses keep their proper weight.
Related topics
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Passages on trusting God, receiving Christ, persevering without sight, and the relation between faith and lived obedience.
What Scripture reveals about heaven, the dwelling place of God, the promise of eternal rest, and the hope of being with Christ forever.
A collection of passages on hope under pressure, future inheritance, resurrection expectation, and confidence in God’s final faithfulness.
Bible verses about suffering and trials
Key passages on grief, endurance, lament, divine mystery, and the Christian claim that suffering is neither final nor meaningless.
Key passages on God's unmerited favour, the grace of Christ, salvation by grace through faith, and how grace transforms the way believers live.
Passages on strength from God, courage under pressure, endurance in weakness, and the difference between divine strength and self-confidence.
Who quoted 2 Corinthians 5:7?
Find out who used 2 Corinthians 5:7 in their speeches and writings. Which famous people quoted 2 Corinthians 5:7?
William J. Clinton used 2 Corinthians 5:7 in Remarks Celebrating the 160th Anniversary of the Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church.
John F. Kerry used 2 Corinthians 5:7 in Remarks at East Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Cleveland, Ohio.
APP: Remarks at East Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Cleveland, Ohio »