2 Corinthians 5:7
“(For we walk by faith, not by sight:)”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →Context
In a passage about confidence beyond this life, Paul inserts this maxim to explain how believers live now while still absent from the Lord's visible presence.
What Does 2 Corinthians 5:7 Mean?
We walk by faith, not by sight -- this brief parenthesis is one of Scripture's clearest summaries of the Christian life. "Walk" describes the whole manner of living, the daily steps of conduct and decision. Paul says the believer's walk is governed by faith, by trust in God and His promises, rather than by sight, by what can be seen and immediately verified. While we are away from the Lord's visible presence, faith is how we proceed.
This does not mean believing without reason; it means trusting the unseen God and His revealed word even when circumstances are not yet visible or understood. The contrast picks up the previous chapter's distinction between the seen and the unseen: if the eternal things are real but invisible, then the only way to live toward them is by faith. Sight wants proof in hand before it moves; faith takes God at His word and walks forward. Paul, longing to be at home with the Lord yet still in the body, is describing his own pilgrim posture -- pressing on toward a destination he cannot yet see. Every believer lives this way: step after step taken not because the whole road is visible, but because the One who calls us is trustworthy. To walk by faith is to let confidence in God, not the evidence of the eyes, set the direction of life.
In the Original Language
The verb peripateo (περιπατέω), "to walk about," describes one's whole way of life, governed here by pistis (πίστις), faith, rather than eidos (εἶδος), sight or appearance.
Cross References
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
- Hebrews 11:1
“For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?”
- Romans 8:24
“Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:”
- 1 Peter 1:8
Application
When you cannot see the whole road ahead, take the next step trusting God's character and word rather than waiting for proof in hand.