For we know that if ¹the ^aearthly ^btent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house ^cnot made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 For indeed in this house we ^agroan, longing to be ^bclothed with our dwelling from heaven, 3 inasmuch as we, having put it on, will not be found naked. 4 For indeed while we are in this tent, we ^agroan, being burdened, because we do not want to be unclothed but to be ^bclothed, so that what is ^cmortal will be swallowed up by life. 5 Now He who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who ^agave to us the Spirit as a ¹pledge.

6 Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that ^awhile we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord— 7 for ^awe walk by faith, not by ¹sight— 8 we are of good courage, I say, and ^aprefer rather to be absent from the body and ^bto be at home with the Lord. 9 Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be ^apleasing to Him. 10 For we must all appear before ^athe judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for ¹his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.

11 Therefore, knowing the ^afear of the Lord, we persuade men, but we are made manifest to God; and I hope that we are ^bmade manifest also in your consciences. 12 We are not ^aagain commending ourselves to you but are giving you an ^boccasion to be proud of us, so that you will have an answer for those who take pride in appearance and not in heart. 13 For if we ¹are ^abeside ourselves, it is for God; if we are of sound mind, it is for you. 14 For the love of Christ ^acontrols us, having concluded this, that ^bone died for all, therefore all died; 15 and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer ^alive for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.

16 Therefore from now on we recognize no one ^1aaccording to the flesh; even though we have known Christ ²according to the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer. 17 Therefore if anyone is ^ain Christ, ¹he is ^ba new creature; ^cthe old things passed away; behold, new things have come. 18 Now ^aall these things are from God, ^bwho reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ^cministry of reconciliation, 19 namely, that ^aGod was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, ^bnot counting their trespasses against them, and ¹He has ²committed to us the word of reconciliation.

20 Therefore, we are ^aambassadors for Christ, ^bas though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be ^creconciled to God. 21 He made Him who ^aknew no sin to be ^bsin on our behalf, so that we might become the ^crighteousness of God in Him.

For we know that if the ^aearthly ^btent our physical body which is our house is torn down through death, we have a building from God, a house ^cnot made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 For indeed in this house we ^agroan, longing to be ^bclothed with our immortal, eternal celestial dwelling, 3 so that by putting it on we will not be found naked. 4 For while we are in this tent, we ^agroan, being burdened often weighed down, oppressed, not that we want to be unclothed separated by death from the body, but to be ^bclothed, so that what is ^cmortal the body will be swallowed up by life after the resurrection. 5 Now He who has made us and prepared us for this very purpose is God, who ^agave us the Holy Spirit as a pledge a guarantee, a down payment on the fulfillment of His promise.

6 So then, being always filled with good courage and confident hope, and knowing that ^awhile we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord— 7 for ^awe walk by faith, not by sight living our lives in a manner consistent with our confident belief in God’s promises— 8 we are as I was saying of good courage and confident hope, and ^aprefer rather to be absent from the body and ^bto be at home with the Lord. 9 Therefore, whether we are at home on earth or away from home and with Him, it is our constant ambition to be ^apleasing to Him. 10 For we believers will be called to account and must all appear before ^athe ¹judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be repaid for what has been done in the body, whether good or ²bad that is, each will be held responsible for his actions, purposes, goals, motives—the use or misuse of his time, opportunities and abilities.

11 Therefore, since we know the ^afear of the Lord and understand the importance of obedience and worship, we persuade people to be reconciled to Him. But we are plainly known to God He knows everything about us; and I hope that we are ^bplainly known also in your consciences your God-given discernment. 12 We are not ^acommending ourselves to you again, but are giving you an ^boccasion to be rightfully proud of us, so that you will have an answer for those who take pride in outward appearances the virtues they pretend to have rather than what is actually in heart. 13 If we are ^aout of our mind just unstable fanatics as some critics say, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for your benefit. 14 For the love of Christ ^acontrols and compels us, because we have concluded this, that ^bOne died for all, therefore all died; 15 and He died for all, so that all those who live would no longer ^alive for themselves, but for Him who died and was raised for their sake.

16 So from now on we regard no one ^afrom a human point of view according to worldly standards and values. Though we have known Christ from a human point of view, now we no longer know Him in this way. 17 Therefore if anyone is ^ain Christ that is, grafted in, joined to Him by faith in Him as Savior, he is ^ba new creature reborn and renewed by the Holy Spirit; ^cthe old things the previous moral and spiritual condition have passed away. Behold, new things have come because spiritual awakening brings a new life. 18 But ^aall these things are from God, ^bwho reconciled us to Himself through Christ making us acceptable to Him and gave us the ^cministry of reconciliation so that by our example we might bring others to Him, 19 that is, that ^aGod was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, ^bnot counting people’s sins against them but canceling them. And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation that is, restoration to favor with God.

20 So we are ^aambassadors for Christ, ^bas though God were making His appeal through us; we as Christ’s representatives plead with you on behalf of Christ to be ^creconciled to God. 21 He made Christ who ^aknew no sin to judicially be ^bsin on our behalf, so that in Him we would become the ^crighteousness of God that is, we would be made acceptable to Him and placed in a right relationship with Him by His gracious lovingkindness.

For we know that if ¹the ^aearthly ^btent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house ^cnot made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 For indeed in this we ^agroan, longing to be ^bclothed with our dwelling from heaven, 3 inasmuch as we, having put it on, will not be found naked. 4 For indeed while we are in this tent, we ^agroan, being burdened, because we do not want to be unclothed but to be ^bclothed, so that what is ^cmortal will be swallowed up by life. 5 Now He who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who ^agave to us the Spirit as a ¹pledge.

6 Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that ^awhile we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord— 7 for ^awe walk by faith, not by ¹sight— 8 we are of good courage and ^aprefer rather to be absent from the body and ^bto be at home with the Lord. 9 Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be ^apleasing to Him. 10 For we must all appear before ^athe judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for ¹his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.

11 So then, knowing the ^afear of the Lord, we persuade men, but we ¹have been made manifest to God; and I hope that we ²have been ^bmade manifest also in your consciences. 12 We are not ^aagain commending ourselves to you but are giving you an ^bopportunity to boast of us, so that you will have an answer for those who boast in appearance and not in heart. 13 For if we ¹are ^aout of our mind, it is for God, or if we are of right mind, it is for you. 14 For the love of Christ ^acontrols us, having concluded this, that ^bone died for all, therefore all died. 15 And He died for all, so that they who live would no longer ^alive for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.

16 Therefore from now on we recognize no one ^1aaccording to the flesh; even though we have known Christ ²according to the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer. 17 Therefore if anyone is ^ain Christ, he is ^ba new creation; ^cthe old things passed away; behold, new things have come. 18 Now ^aall these things are from God, ^bwho reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ^cministry of reconciliation, 19 namely, that ^aGod was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, ^bnot counting their transgressions against them, and ¹He has ²committed to us the word of reconciliation.

20 So then, we are ^aambassadors for Christ, ^bas God is pleading through us. We beg you on behalf of Christ, be ^creconciled to God. 21 He made Him who ^aknew no sin to be ^bsin on our behalf, so that we might become the ^crighteousness of God in Him.