For we know that if our house, our tent, here on earth is destroyed, we have a building from God, an everlasting house not made with hands, in the heavens.
For indeed, while we are in this tent we continually groan, longing to be clothed with our habitation that is from heaven,
because truly, after we are clothed, we will not be found naked.
For indeed, we who are in this tent continually groan, being burdened, not that we want to be unclothed, but to be clothed; so that what is mortal is swallowed up by life.
Now the one who prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the spirit as a guarantee of what is to come.
Therefore we are always confident, even though we know that while we remain at home in the body we are away from home—away from the Lord
(for we walk by trust, not by sight).
We are confident, I say, and would prefer instead to be away from this home, out of the body, and to be at home with the Lord.
And so we also make it our aim, whether at home or away from home, to be pleasing to him.
For we must all appear and be exposed before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be repaid for the things done in the body, according to what he has made a practice of doing, whether good or evil.
The Ministry of Reconciliation
Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we are persuading others. Now we have been made completely visible to God, and I hope that we have been made visible to your consciences also.
We are not commending ourselves to you again, but are giving you an opportunity to boast about us, so that you will have a response to those who take pride in appearance, and not in heart.
For if we are out of our mind, it is to God, or if we are in our right mind, it is for you.
For the love of Christ urges us on, because we have concluded this: that one died in place of everyone, therefore everyone died.
And he died in place of everyone so that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but to him who died in their place and was raised.
So then, from now on we regard no one by the standards of the flesh (even though we have known Christ by the standards of the flesh, yet now we know him that way no more).
So then, if anyone is in union with Christ, he is a new creation, the old things have passed away, behold, things have become new.
But all this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and gave to us the ministry of reconciliation,
that is, that God was reconciling the world to himself through Christ, not counting their transgressions against them, and has committed to us the message of reconciliation.
Therefore, we are ambassadors on behalf of Christ, God, as it were, making his appeal through us. We implore on behalf of Christ, “Be reconciled to God!”
He made him who did not know sin to be a sin offering on our behalf, so that, through union with him, we would become the righteousness of God.