2 Corinthians 5:8
“We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.”
King James Version (KJV)
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Paul, longing to be clothed with his heavenly dwelling, expresses confident willingness to leave this earthly life in order to be at home with the Lord.
What Does 2 Corinthians 5:8 Mean?
Paul faces death with confidence, willing rather to be absent from the body and present with the Lord. The word "confident" means courageous, of good cheer -- a settled assurance, not anxious dread. Paul has been describing the longing to be clothed with a heavenly dwelling; here he expresses his preference plainly. To depart this earthly life is to be at home with the Lord, and that prospect fills him not with fear but with good courage.
The verse speaks of two locations for the believer: present in the body and absent from the Lord's visible presence, or absent from the body and present with Him. Paul's confidence rests on the relationship itself -- being "present with the Lord" is the great gain. He does not romanticize death, but he refuses to fear it, because the One he has trusted is on the other side of it. This courage flows directly from the previous verse: a life walked by faith can face its end by faith too. For believers grieving or facing their own mortality, the verse offers steadying assurance. The destination is not the unknown but the known and beloved Lord. Paul's hope was not in escaping the body for its own sake, but in being brought into the nearer presence of Christ, where faith gives way to sight at last.
In the Original Language
The verb tharreo (θαρρέω) means to be confident, of good courage, and ekdemeo (ἐκδημέω) means to be away from home, here from the body.
Cross References
“For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better:”
- Philippians 1:23
“And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”
- John 14:3
“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.”
- Psalm 23:4
Application
Let the certainty of being present with the Lord turn fear of death into confident hope, both for yourself and for those you grieve.