2 Corinthians 5:6 (KJV)

Passage

Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord:

Nearby Context

2 Corinthians 5:4 For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life.

2 Corinthians 5:5 Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit.

2 Corinthians 5:6 Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord:

2 Corinthians 5:7 (For we walk by faith, not by sight:)

2 Corinthians 5:8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "therefore", "always", "confident", "knowing", "whilst", "home", "body", and "absent". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "therefore" and "always", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 5's "Now he that hath wrought us for..." into verse 7's "For we walk by faith not by...", so "therefore" and "always" belong inside that flow. In 2 Corinthians context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "therefore" and "always" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.