2 Corinthians 5:6 (DRB)

Passage

Therefore having always confidence, knowing that while we are in the body we are absent from the Lord.

Nearby Context

2 Corinthians 5:4 For we also, who are in this tabernacle, do groan, being burthened; because we would not be unclothed, but clothed upon, that that which is mortal may be swallowed up by life.

2 Corinthians 5:5 Now he that maketh us for this very thing is God, who hath given us the pledge of the Spirit,

2 Corinthians 5:6 Therefore having always confidence, knowing that while we are in the body we are absent from the Lord.

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

2 Corinthians 5:8 But we are confident and have a good will to be absent rather from the body and to be present with the Lord.

Study Lenses

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

The nearby context moves from verse 5's "Now he that maketh us for this..." into verse 7's "For we walk by faith and not...", so "therefore" and "having" 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 "having" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.