Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary 2 Corinthians 5:10

"For we must all be made manifest before the judgment-seat of Christ; that each one may receive the things [done] in the body, according to what he hath done, whether [it be] good or bad." — 2 Corinthians 5:10 (ASV)

Verse 9 follows vv.1–8 in much the same way as an ethical imperative frequently follows a doctrinal indicative in Paul’s letters (“You are...; therefore be!”; see comment on Ro 12:1). After stating profound doctrinal facts (vv.1–8), Paul shows their implications for present behavior (v.9). His constant ambition to please Christ (v.9) resulted directly from his awareness that death would terminate his relative exile from Christ and would inaugurate his walking in the realm of sight in the presence of the Lord (vv.6–8). Entertaining the hope of intimate communion with Christ after death (v.8) naturally prompts the desire to gain acceptance in his eyes especially before death (cf. Galatians 1:10; Colossians 1:10; 1 Thessalonians 4:1), through “things done while in the body.” In v.10 we find a second and secondary reason for Paul’s eager striving to win Christ’s approval: his accountability to Christ (v.10) requires his compulsory attendance before the “judgment seat” (GK 1037) of Christ. From 1 Corinthians 4:5 we know that this not only requires us to appear in the court of heaven (cf. Romans 14:10), but also involves both the divine illumination of what has been hidden by darkness and the exposure of one’s secret aims and motives. The person thus scrutinized will then receive an equitable and full recompense.

Of whom is this attendance required? While it is true that all people are accountable to God their maker and judge (Romans 2:1–11), Paul is here thinking primarily, if not exclusively, of each Christian’s obligation to “give an account of himself of God” (Romans 14:12). Appearance before Christ’s tribunal is the privilege of Christians. His judgment is concerned with the assessment of works and, indirectly, of character, not with the determination of one’s eternal destiny. Judgment on the basis of works is not opposed to justification on the basis of faith. Delivered from “observing the law” (Romans 3:28), Christians are presently committed to “work produced by faith” (1 Thessalonians 1:3). Not all verdicts on the Judgment Day, however, will be comforting (see comment on 1 Corinthians 3:15).

The bema (judgment seat) of the city of old Corinth is still visible (Paul adopts this word for “the judgment seat of Christ” in v.10).