What does 2 Corinthians 5:5 mean?

Paul has expressed his own desire to leave behind the tent of his dying, sin-saturated body and to occupy an eternal body that will exist forever. He is confident that this will bring an end to the burden of life on this side of eternity and the "groaning," the longing to be with God, that comes with it. In truth, this is the desire rooted in every believer in Jesus Christ. Why? Because that eternal life is what we are destined for.

Paul says here that God has been preparing Christians for this transformation all along. It is the joyful fate of every believer. It is among the reasons many come to faith in Christ in the first place: to experience the painless, deathless, fearless glory of eternity as He meant for us to experience it since the very beginning.

How do we know it's really coming? Paul writes that God's Holy Spirit within us is His promise that we will reach that day. He has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. Every person who trusts in Jesus for salvation receives an indwelling of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit seals us for that day of redemption (Ephesians 4:30). This is the second time that 2 Corinthians has described the Spirit's place in a Christian's life in this way (2 Corinthians 1:22). It is one of the reasons Christians can be confident that our eternal destiny with God is secure, no matter the circumstances of our lives on this side of heaven.