we are confident, I say, and pleased rather to be absent from the body and present with the Lord.
Paul is writing about death and what lies beyond it. His words raise two questions: what happens to a believer between death and resurrection, and how anyone can face death with courage instead of dread.
The Words: Home and Away
Paul's two words are pictures of a house. Older translations print them as "present" and "absent," and one writer, speaking at a graveside, explains them:
In this passage the word translated "present" means "at home with," and the word translated "absent" literally means "to be away from home." Our beloved sister was taken from us so suddenly three days ago. She is clearly away from home as to the body, since we have put it in the grave. But that she is at home with the Lord is not evident if we judge by sight or appearances. It is only as we walk by faith that this fact becomes real to us.
The Ground of the Confidence
One writer traces that confidence to what God has already done and given:
God has prepared all of us Christians for the house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. He has not given it to us yet, but He has prepared us for it. He has also given us the Spirit as the pledge. This is what gives me confidence. He calls it "our house," not my house. So I have two certainties. I am prepared for it, and I know it now while I am here, because God has given me the Holy Spirit.
Another writer asks where such willingness comes from, and answers from Christ's death:
It is unusual to find men willing to be absent from the body. Even the devil once said, "All that a man has he will give for his life." So we have to ask what the ground of the apostle's confidence was. His own words in Romans 5:8 tell us all we need to know: "God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Know this and believe it, and all dread of death leaves the soul.
"Willing Rather" — Preferred, Not Desired
Paul does not say he wants to die. He says he prefers it to staying here:
The apostle never says that he desired to be absent from the body, but that he was willing rather. That is, it was not the object of his desire, but he preferred it to being in the body… He knew God had prepared him for this glory, and he had received the Spirit as the pledge. So if death did come, he was no less confident. And please remember that he had actual death right in front of his eyes.
What he actually longed for stands a few verses earlier, and it is something better still:
Here he speaks of what is best of all. "We groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling… not that we would be unclothed" — that is, death and the separate state — "but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life." He longed for the change at Christ's coming.
Between Death and Resurrection
One writer describes where believers are now, and what they still wait for:
Paul's confidence was such that he was willing — more than willing, pleased — to be absent from the body and present with the Lord. This is his portion today, and the portion of all who have died in the faith of Christ. They are absent from the bodies which have been laid in the grave, waiting for the moment when they will be clothed in bodies of glory. But even now they are present with the Lord, in all the conscious blessedness of His presence.
One writer warns against two opposite mistakes:
On one side, there is no excuse for the unbelief which makes everything of going to be with Christ after death. It stops short of the only adequate answer: our resurrection and change at Christ's coming. On the other side, it is a real slight on God's grace and on Christ's redemption to darken the state of the soul apart from the body, so as to heighten the splendour of the resurrection morning… To be with Christ is far better than remaining in the flesh, though far short of the triumph we shall share when He comes.
The Effect on Life Now
This prospect also shapes life now:
The prospect braced up the soul of the apostle, stirring him to tireless zeal in everything he did, so that he sought only the approval of Christ. In fact, this is exactly what it does for us. It enables us to bring all our actions into the light of His presence now, and helps us to do them for Him and to Him. This is where our strength lies.
Summary
- Home — "Present" and "absent" are house words. Away from the body means at home with the Lord. Faith sees this, not sight.
- Ground — Courage rests on what God has done. He prepared us for glory and gave the Spirit as the pledge, and Christ died for sinners.
- Preference — Paul does not desire death; he prefers it to staying. His full hope is resurrection and change at Christ's coming.
- Interval — Those who have died are with the Lord now, awake to His presence, still waiting for bodies of glory. Writers warn against both overstating and darkening this state.
- Result — This hope is not idle comfort. It fuels a life aimed at pleasing Christ, doing everything in the light of His presence.