In heaven we will be clothed with our heavenly dwelling. 'The Lord Jesus Christ … by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body' (Phil. 3:20-21). What is mortal is going to be 'swallowed up by life' (v. 4). The expression 'swallowed up' points to the dramatic nature of the change. Paul has in prospect our glorification, something for which spiritually healthy Christians increasingly long.

Glorification is the term used to describe Christians' ultimate complete conformity to the image of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious work that will take place at his coming (Col. 3:4, 1 John 3:2). It is the logical outcome of predestination, calling and justification, a consequence so certain that it can be described as having already taken place (Rom. 8:30). 'My thoughts, and the deepest places of my soul are torn with every kind of tumult until the day when I shall be purified and melted in the fire of Your love, and wholly joined to You,' Augustine declared. 'God … has made us for this very purpose' (v. 5). He redeemed us with this glorious end in view.

The guarantee of this wonderful prospect is the Holy Spirit given to every believer. He is 'a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come' (v. 5). This picture of the deposit is worthy of exploration, since it helps us to understand an important aspect of his ministry. Through familiarity it is possible to overlook the greatness of God's generosity in the gift of the Spirit. He is the Third Person of the Trinity, and he possesses all the attributes of God. He lives within us as believers and makes our bodies his temple. Without his indwelling, we would not be God's children. Without his living within us, we would not possess spiritual life.

That he lives in us, however, is the proof and promise of what God is yet going to give us. Having begun a good work in us, he guarantees its completion (Phil.1:6), and his Holy Spirit is the divine workman. The Spirit prepares us for glory. Even as the Spirit raised our Lord Jesus from the dead, so he will raise our bodies. The Spirit witnesses to us that glory is our home, and that where our Saviour is, we now belong. This provides a tremendous ground for encouragement, no matter how fierce may be the spiritual battle with the god of this world, or how many the difficulties we face as we proclaim the gospel of our Saviour.

We have already identified truths we know about our human existence and our heavenly destiny. We possess, however, both knowledge and confidence (v. 6). Confidence springs from knowledge. We have sure grounds to be confident because of what we clearly know.

We know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord (v. 6). We cannot be in two places at once! While alive in this world we cannot be at the same time in heaven.

Our confident assurance concerning the future means we would prefer to be away from the body and to be at home with the Lord. Paul's opening up of his heart's desires to the Philippians explains what he means. He writes, 'For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labour for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far, but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body' (Phil. 1:21-24). His words here in 2 Corinthians 5 and Philippians 1 point to the immediate presence of a Christian's soul with the Lord Jesus at the moment of death. The New Testament assumes that death means conscious entry at once into the Lord's presence – to be at home with him. 'At home with the Lord' (v. 8) is a delightful expression. When we are away from home, we long to be just there! Home for the Christian is where Jesus is.

We cannot see our heavenly home. We cannot see our Saviour, the Lord Jesus. We cannot see the glory that is before us. God-given faith, nurtured by the Holy Spirit, however, makes us increasingly more sure of the unseen than of the seen. This reminds us of our Saviour's words, such as 'Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you' (John 14:1-2). He encourages us to live in the light of such a promise. Although we cannot see our Saviour, the Holy Spirit makes us so sure of him that we 'are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy' (1 Pet. 1:8). As Moses did, we may persevere because with another kind of sight altogether we see him who is invisible (Heb. 11:27). Although our physical eyes cannot now see the promised glory, the Holy Spirit teaches us that sanctification is glory begun as we become more and more like the Lord Jesus in life and character (2 Cor. 3:18). This ability to live by faith, and not by sight, provides another explanation for our not being overcome by discouragement as we exercise the ministry of the new covenant.

When we live by faith with the prospect of eternal glory, one ambition alone is appropriate: 'we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it' (v. 9). Before we were believers, we had either no ambitions or perhaps too many, with most motivated by human selfishness. As Christians we ought to be ambitious – ambitious to please our Lord and Master. Paul made this his aim.

As we recall our conversion, we recognise how radically our ambitions changed. We may not have appreciated their revolutionary nature at the time, but there was no doubt about it. Our new sense of indebtedness to God and awareness of our Saviour's grace produce a gratitude that shows itself in determination to please the Lord. Life is simplified because we know that to please him puts everything else in its proper place. For us to live has become Christ (Phil. 1:21).

The certainty of the coming judgment underlines the wisdom of this determination. 'For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due to him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad' (2 Cor. 5:10).

The One who will judge all human beings is our Lord Jesus, and the judgment seat is his (v. 10). While, as believers, our salvation at the judgment is not in doubt, our receiving of our Saviour's 'Well done, good and faithful servant' may be. Each of us will receive what is due for the things we have done in the body, whether good or bad (v. 10). Our body is the sphere in which we now live and do either good or evil. It is the instrument by which we may honour the Lord Jesus (Phil. 1:20). We shall be judged therefore for the use of our body and its energies. The doctrine of careful and exact retribution is plainly taught throughout the Bible, as here.

The key issue at the judgment for everyone will be the possession of faith in the Lord Jesus and the new covenant. The key issue for all who have entered the new covenant through faith in him will be their obedience to the stewardship of that new covenant. Only one thing guarantees our hearing our Master's 'Well done' (Matt. 25:21, 23): making it daily our ambition to please him.