Thomas Aquinas Commentary 2 Corinthians 5:1-4

"For we know that if the earthly house of our tabernacle be dissolved, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal, in the heavens. For verily in this we groan, longing to be clothed upon with our habitation which is from heaven: if so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked. For indeed we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened; not for that we would be unclothed, but that we would be clothed upon, that what is mortal may be swallowed up of life." — 2 Corinthians 5:1-4 (ASV)

After commending the ministry of the New Testament for its dignity and use, the Apostle now commends it for its reward. Although he had already said something about the reward, it was partial and incomplete, so now he discusses it at greater length. He does three things: first, he discusses the reward; second, he discusses the preparation for and reception of the reward (v. 9); and third, he discusses the cause of both the preparation and the expected reward (v. 18). Regarding the first point, he mentions the expected reward and then expresses a desire for it (v. 2).

Since the awaited reward is of inestimable heavenly glory, he says, For we know. A Gloss [Lombard] suggests this means God works a weight of glory in us because this glory will be not only in our souls but also in our bodies. The Apostle says, For we know, meaning we are certain—because we already possess it in hope—that if our earthly tent, which is the body, is destroyed, we have a building from God. As has been said, a person can be called a "mind," since that is the most important part of a human being. This mind relates to the body as a person relates to a house. Just as a person living in a house is not destroyed when the house is, but continues to exist, so also when the body is destroyed, the mind—that is, the rational soul—is not destroyed but continues to exist.

The body, therefore, is called the earthly tent we live in, as in Job 4:19: Those who dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, who are crushed before the moth. When the Apostle says this tent is destroyed, he means it is dissolved. We know, he says, that we have a building from God, prepared by God. This building is a house not made with hands—meaning it is not a work of man or nature, but an incorruptible body that we will one day assume. It is "not made with hands" because the incorruptibility of our bodies results from divine action alone, as Philippians 3:21 says: He will change our lowly body to be like his glorious body. It is eternal in the heavens, meaning it is a house prepared for us from all eternity, as in Isaiah 33:20 (Vulgate), A tabernacle that shall never be destroyed in heaven, and Matthew 5:12, Your reward shall be great in heaven. This exchange—receiving a heavenly home for an earthly one—is what Job desired when he said, All the days of my service I would wait, till my release should come (Job 14:14).

This explanation is based on a Gloss, but it does not align with the Apostle’s meaning or with what comes before and after this passage. The Apostle is dealing with one continuous subject and would not interject another topic here. Therefore, let us examine what the Apostle truly means. He wants to show that the saints are right to endure the tribulations that destroy this present life, because doing so results in obtaining glory immediately—not a glorified body, as the Gloss suggests.

So he says: the reason we endure these things is that we know—we hold it as certain—that if the earthly tent we live in (the body) is destroyed (corrupted by death), we have at once, not in hope but in reality, a better house. This is a building, a house not made with hands, which is heavenly glory, not a glorified body. Of this house, John 14:2 says, In my Father’s house are many rooms. This house is from God and not made with hands because eternal glory is God Himself, as it says in Psalm 31:2: Be a rock of refuge for me, a strong fortress to save me. It is eternal in the literal sense because it is the eternal God. It is in the heavens, meaning on high, because as soon as the body is dead, the holy soul obtains this glory in reality, not just in hope. For even before the body is dissolved, we already have this home in hope.

Thus, the reward of the saints is wonderful and desirable because it is heavenly glory. The Apostle connects the desire of the saints with this reward, saying, Here indeed we groan, and long to put on our heavenly dwelling. In this section, he does three things. First, he expresses the desire of grace for its reward. Second, he shows that the desire of grace is held back by the desire of nature (v. 4). Third, he shows that the desire of grace overcomes the desire of nature (v. 6).

The desire of grace is fervent: Here indeed we groan, and long to put on our heavenly dwelling. It is as if he is saying: this is the real proof that we have a house not made with hands, because if the desire of nature is not in vain, much less is the desire of grace. Therefore, since we have a most fervent desire of grace for heavenly glory, it cannot be in vain. This is what he means when he says, we groan; that is, groaning, we desire with our soul's desire because we are delayed, as in Psalm 120:5: Woe is me that I sojourn in Meshech. We groan, I say, and long to put on our dwelling, which is the enjoyment of glory that is from heaven, or heavenly. It is called a dwelling because the saints dwell in that glory as their place of consolation, as in Matthew 25:21: Enter into the joy of your Lord. By saying to put on, he is stating that the heavenly home he spoke of is not something separate from a person, but something that inheres in them. For a person is not said to "put on" a house but rather clothes; they inhabit a house. In this way, the Apostle shows that the desire is for something that inheres (because it is "put on") and also for something that contains and exceeds (because it is "inhabited").

But because he did not merely say "put on" (indui), but "put on over" (superindui), he gives the reason for this when he says, so that by putting it on we may not be found naked. It is as if he is saying: if the soul were to put on a heavenly dwelling in such a way that the earthly dwelling were not taken off—that is, if our body were not dissolved by death—then attaining that heavenly dwelling would be to be put on over. But because it is necessary to be stripped of the earthly dwelling to put on the heavenly one, it cannot be a putting on over, but simply a "putting on." Hence he says, so that by putting it on we may not be found naked. It is as if he means: we would indeed be "putting on over" if we were found clothed and not naked. For a naked person is not said to be "clothed over," but simply "clothed."

However, a Gloss [Lombard] explains it as a spiritual garment, saying: "We desire to be clothed over, and this will indeed happen, but only on the condition that we are found clothed with virtues, and not naked and lacking them." Of this clothing, Colossians 3:12 says: Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, lowliness, meekness, and patience. This implies that no one will attain this glory unless they possess the virtues. But this explanation does not seem to align with the Apostle’s intention.

Thus, the desire of grace burns for its reward, but it is held back by the desire of nature. The Apostle shows this when he says, For while we are still in this tent, we sigh with anxiety. In this, he first shows the condition of our natural desire, and second, he shows that even this condition is from God (v. 5).

The condition of this desire is natural, and it delays the desire of grace because we would prefer to be found clothed and not naked. That is, we would prefer that the soul attain glory without the body being dissolved by death. The reason for this is that the soul has a natural desire to be united to the body; otherwise, death would not be a punishment. This is what he says: For while we are still in this tent—meaning, while we live in this mortal body, as in 2 Peter 1:14: Since I know that the putting off of my body will be soon—we sigh. This sighing is inward, in the heart, not an outward cry, as in Isaiah 59:11: We moan and moan like doves. We are burdened because it is hard to think of death, and it is against our desire that we cannot attain glory without the body being put off.

This is so contrary to our natural desire that, as Augustine says, not even old age could remove the fear of death from Peter. And so he says, not that we would be unclothed of our earthly tent, but that we would be further clothed with super-heavenly glory—or, according to a Gloss, with a glorified body. But because it might seem unfitting for the body to be both corruptible by its nature (if it had not been dissolved) and glorified, the Apostle mentions how he would like this to happen, saying, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. It is as if he is saying: we do not desire to be "clothed over" in such a way that the body remains mortal, but in a way that glory removes all corruption from the body without its prior dissolution. Hence he says, so that what is mortal—that is, the very corruption of the body—may be swallowed up by life, which is glory. As it is written, Death is swallowed up in victory (1 Corinthians 15:54).