Albert Barnes Commentary 2 Corinthians 5:7

"(for we walk by faith, not by sight);" — 2 Corinthians 5:7 (ASV)

For we walk. To walk, in the Scriptures, often means to live, to act, or to conduct oneself in a certain way (Romans 6:4).

It refers to the fact that life is a journey, or a pilgrimage, and that the Christian is traveling to another country. The meaning here is that we conduct ourselves in our course of life with reference to the things that are unseen, and not with reference to the things that are seen.

By faith. This means in the belief of those things which we do not see. We believe in the existence of objects that are invisible, and we are influenced by them. To walk by faith is to live in the confident expectation of things that are to come, in the belief of the existence of unseen realities, and allowing them to influence us as if they were seen.

The people of this world are influenced by the things that are seen. They live for wealth, honor, splendor, praise, for the objects which this world can provide, and as if there were nothing unseen, or as if they ought not to be influenced by the things that are unseen.

The Christian, on the contrary, has a firm conviction of the reality of the glories of heaven, of the fact that the Redeemer is there, and of the fact that there is a crown of glory. He lives and acts as if that were all real and as if he saw it all. The simple account of faith, and of living by faith, is that we live and act as if these things were true, and allow them to make an impression on our mind according to their real nature .

It is contrasted with living simply under the influence of things that are seen. God is unseen—but the Christian lives, thinks, and acts as if there were a God, and as if he saw Him. Christ is unseen now by the physical eye, but the Christian lives and acts as if He were seen; that is, as if His eye were known to be upon us, and as if He was now exalted to heaven and was the only Savior.

The Holy Spirit is unseen, but the Christian lives and acts as if there were such a Spirit, and as if His influences were necessary to renew and purify the soul. Heaven is unseen, but the Christian lives, thinks, and acts as if there were a heaven, and as if he now saw its glories.

He has confidence in these and in similar truths, and he acts as if they were real. If people could see all these things—if they were visible to the naked eye as they are to the eye of faith—no one would doubt the propriety of living and acting with reference to them.

But if they exist, there is no more impropriety in acting with reference to them than if they were seen. Our seeing or not seeing them does not alter their nature or importance, and the fact that they are not seen does not make it improper to act with reference to them.

There are many ways of being convinced of the existence and reality of objects besides seeing them. It may be as rational to be influenced by reason, judgment, or strong confidence as it is to be influenced by sight. Besides, all people are influenced by things which they have not seen.

They hope for objects that are future. They aspire to happiness which they have not yet seen. They strive for honor and wealth which are unseen and in the distant future. They live and act—influenced by strong faith and hope—as if these things were attainable. They deny themselves, labor, cross oceans and deserts, and breathe in disease-ridden air to obtain those things which they have not seen and which, for them, are in the distant future.

And why should not the Christian endure similar labor, and be willing to suffer in a similar way, to gain the unseen crown which is incorruptible and to acquire the unseen wealth which the moth does not corrupt? Furthermore, people of this world strive for those objects which they have not seen, without any promise or assurance that they will obtain them.

No being able to grant them has promised these things to them; no one has assured them that their lives will be extended to obtain them. In a moment they may be cut off and all their plans frustrated. Or they may be utterly disappointed and all their plans fail. Or, if they gain the object, it may be unsatisfactory and may provide no pleasure such as they had anticipated. But this is not so for the Christian. He has:

1. The promise of life.
2. He has the assurance that sudden death cannot deprive him of it. It at once removes him to the object of pursuit, not from it.
3. He has the assurance that when obtained, it will not disgust, satiate, or decay, but that it will meet all the expectations of the soul and will be eternal.

Not by sight. This may mean either that we are not influenced by a sight of these future glories or that we are not influenced by the things which we see. The main idea is that we are not influenced and governed by sight. We are not governed and controlled by the things we see, and we do not see those things that actually influence and control us. In both cases, it is faith that controls us, and not sight.