"The Terror Of The Lord"

"Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences." (2 Corinthians 5:11) First off, anytime we see the word 'therefore', we must ask, 'What is it there for?'. In this instance, it is there to express the upcoming point, and the fact that we know the 'terror of the Lord'; and it is also there to summarize the illustrated points that were previously made: those points about us being "confident", and "willing", and that "we may be accepted of Him". To really understand what Paul means by "terror of the Lord", we need to back up to the point about "not being found naked", which he spoke of in verse 3. We must understand that there is a quality which we have as a Believer in Jesus Christ; which is something that each and every Believer has in common, and that is Jesus Christ. Because we are all the Body of Christ, we are all to be clothed in Him; to put forth the image and the persona of a Child of God. Now; and here comes the dirty part; what is expected of us, and what we do, are sometimes two very different things, because the body in which we currently dwell does not always agree with the Body we are to process. So, as we live out our lives in Christ, our burden is to strive to be clothed in such a way, that our mortality is swallowed up in eternal life; in other words, 'we walk the talk'! But more than that, we are in the fear of 'being found naked', which means that we are fearful that when this body is dissolved, we will be found to have not been clothed in Christ!!! And you know what happens when you are naked, all your imperfections are revealed; ouch! Therefore! "Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord", "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". (v. 11a & 4) Now then; what we have been given to do, and must come to Know, has been manifested within us by the Holy Spirit; which Paul declares in verse 5, "Now He that hath wrought (prepared) us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest (promise or guarantee) of the Spirit". It is because of the Holy Spirit which dwells in us, and the fact that He does not agree with this world, that "Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord".(v. 6) Which then causes us to desire to be present with the Lord; which means that we are free from this body; which Paul declares in verse 8; however, in verses 9 and 10, Paul concludes the thought about being found naked, with, "Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of Him. For we must all appear before the Judgement Seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in His Body (the Body of Christ), according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad." (To be hashed out latter!)