“For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens” (2 Corinthians 5:1 ESV).
Although Paul the Apostle is primarily known to us as a teacher, an evangelist, and the human author of the Biblical books that bear his name, Acts 18:1-3 tells us he was a tentmaker by trade. In fact, the Scriptures tell us that Paul often employed his professional skills to provide for his needs while pursuing God’s call to teach and evangelize.
Therefore, it should come as no surprise that Paul turned to the familiar image of a tent to illustrate the temporary nature of physical life. One commentator expands on Paul’s use of this illustration and explains why it served to communicate this idea so effectively…
“The word… ‘tent’ …is as good a symbol of that which is transient and temporary as could be imagined. Paul was a tentmaker, and this is exactly the type of metaphor that should have been expected from him; and, added to that was the fact of Israel’s having dwelt in tents during the forty years of the wilderness wanderings. No tent could last permanently when exposed to the elements; and the same is true of people’s mortal bodies when exposed to the inevitable erosion of time.” (1)
On the other hand, the image chosen to illustrate the concept of eternal life is a building or a house. Unlike a tent (or a jar made from clay, to borrow another of Paul’s illustrations), the idea of a building communicates the qualities of strength, permanence, structure, and endurance. Thus, the resurrected glorified body (represented by the image of a house in this analogy) will be suited for eternal life with the eternal Creator.
The excellence and quality of this eternal home is guaranteed by the fact that its construction has been managed by the Master Architect, a builder whose abilities far excel those possessed by even the most skilled craftsmen. As Jesus once promised His disciples…
“In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:2-3).
(1) Coffman, James Burton. “Commentary on 2 Corinthians 5”. “Coffman Commentaries on the Old and New Testament”. <http://classic.studylight.org/com/bcc/view.cgi?book=2co&chapter=5&verse=1>. Abilene Christian University Press, Abilene, Texas, USA. 1983-1999.