2 Corinthians 5:16 (DBY)

Passage

So that *we* henceforth know no one according to flesh; but if even we have known Christ according to flesh, yet now we know [him thus] no longer.

Nearby Context

2 Corinthians 5:14 For the love of the Christ constrains us, having judged this: that one died for all, then all have died;

2 Corinthians 5:15 and he died for all, that they who live should no longer live to themselves, but to him who died for them and has been raised.

2 Corinthians 5:16 So that *we* henceforth know no one according to flesh; but if even we have known Christ according to flesh, yet now we know [him thus] no longer.

2 Corinthians 5:17 So if any one [be] in Christ, [there is] a new creation; the old things have passed away; behold all things have become new:

2 Corinthians 5:18 and all things [are] of the God who has reconciled us to himself by [Jesus] Christ, and given to us the ministry of that reconciliation:

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "henceforth", "flesh", "even", "known", "christ", "thus", and "longer". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "henceforth" and "flesh", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 15's "and he died for all that they..." into verse 17's "So if any one be in Christ...", so "henceforth" and "flesh" 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 "henceforth" and "flesh" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.