II Corinthians 5:7 · Bible study
2 Corinthians 5:7 Commentary: Faith vs. Sight
Greek · 11 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Explore 2 Corinthians 5:7: walking by faith contrasted with sight (Greek eidos). Understand believers' present state between resurrection and full vision.
Research Summary
- Meaning: Believers live their entire lives based on trust in unseen realities, not on outward appearances.
- Key words: Walk (peripateo, continuous action of life); Faith (pistis, trust); Sight (eidos, outward form).
- Main debate: None significant; interpretation focuses on the nature of faith vs. vision in the present age.
- Theological theme: The tension between the “already” and “not yet” of Christian hope.
- Best use: Encouraging perseverance by grounding confidence in God’s promises and the Spirit’s guarantee.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
For we walk by faith, not by sight.
WEB World English Bible 2000
for we walk by faith, not by sight.
KJV King James Version 1769
(For we walk by faith, not by sight:)
ASV American Standard Version 1901
(for we walk by faith, not by sight);
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
for through faith we walk, not through sight--
Darby Darby Bible 1890
(for we walk by faith, not by sight;)
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
(For we walk by faith and not by sight.)
Translations in other languages (10 available)
( Porque por fe andamos, no por vista;)
(Pois andamos pela fé, e não pela vista).
car nous marchons par la foi et non par la vue,
denn wir wandeln im Glauben, und nicht im Schauen.
(Want wij wandelen door geloof en niet door aanschouwen.)
(poiché camminiamo per fede e non per visione);
(Bo przez wiarę chodzimy, a nie przez widzenie).
ибо мы ходим верою, а не видением, —
因 我們行事為人 是憑著 信心，不是 憑著 眼見。
(For we are walking by faith, not by seeing,)
Verse in Context
Original Language (Koine Greek)
New Testament · Koine Greek · II Corinthians 5:7
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
The commentators agree that this verse contrasts two ways of living: faith and sight. Faith is the governing principle of the Christian life, based on trust in unseen realities. The Greek word for sight, eidos, means “appearance” or “form,” not the act of seeing. Vincent argues that faith is contrasted with the actual appearance of heavenly things. Barnes describes walking by faith as living under the influence of unseen glories, as if they were real. Calvin emphasizes that faith perceives what is hidden and reaches toward future things. The verse explains why believers are “absent from the Lord” while still confident: they live by faith, not by the full vision that awaits them at Christ’s return. This present state is one of trusting the testimony of God and the earnest of the Spirit, as Clarke notes, rather than seeing the promised realities face to face.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Low
What is clear: The verse teaches that the Christian life in this age is governed by faith in God's promises, not by direct visual experience of heavenly realities.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning of 'sight' (eidos) | Christians agree the Greek word refers to outward appearance or form, not the act of seeing. Faith is contrasted with the visible manifestation of heavenly things. | Some traditions emphasize this means faith implicitly includes a kind of seeing (e.g., seeing Him who is invisible), while others stress the sharp contrast: faith is not vision at all. |
| Present state of believers | All affirm that believers now live in faith, not full vision, and await the eschatological sight of God. | Catholic and Orthodox traditions highlight the role of the Eucharist and icons as mediating a foretaste of vision, while Protestant traditions stress the sole sufficiency of faith in the Word. |
| Role of the Spirit's earnest | The down payment of the Spirit (v.5) is the guarantee and enablement for walking by faith. | Pentecostal traditions see this as a present experience of spiritual gifts that offer a taste of heavenly realities; Reformed traditions emphasize the Spirit's work in producing faith itself. |
| Application to suffering | This verse is a ground for endurance and hope in trials. | Some see it primarily as comfort for personal mortality; others apply it to corporate suffering and the groaning of creation. |
Historical & Cultural Context
II Corinthians 5:7 sits within a section where Paul is defending his apostolic ministry and the hope of resurrection. In chapter 4, he contrasts temporary, visible afflictions with the eternal weight of glory (2Co 4:17-18). Chapter 5 introduces the metaphor of a tent (the mortal body) and a building from God (the resurrection body). Paul speaks of groaning under the burden of this tent, longing to be clothed with the heavenly dwelling (vv.2-4). The down payment of the Spirit is given as a guarantee of this future reality (v.5). Then in v.6 he writes, “Therefore we are always confident and know that while we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord.” Verse 7 is a parenthesis explaining that this absence is because “we walk by faith, not by sight.”
The cultural background includes the Old Testament motif of life as a journey or pilgrimage. The Israelites wandered in the wilderness, living by faith in God’s promises (Dt 12:9). First‑century readers would have understood “walk” as a metaphor for one’s entire way of life, as Barnes and Gill point out. Paul’s opponents likely demanded visible credentials, but Paul insists that the Christian life is guided by the unseen. The reference to “sight” (Greek eidos) means outward appearance, not the act of seeing. Cambridge Bible notes this, connecting it to 1 Corinthians 13:12 where we see in a mirror dimly now, but then face to face.
Thus the verse grounds the believer’s present experience: we are absent from the Lord in terms of direct vision, but God has given us faith as the instrument to navigate this interval, sustained by the Spirit’s earnest.
Textual Notes
Reception History
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- Faith is a way of walking, not a single decision. The present tense of “we walk” (Greek peripateo) describes the continuous rhythm of daily life. Faith governs every step, not just crisis moments.
- Sight means appearance, not vision. The Greek word eidos refers to the outward form of things. Faith is not merely weaker than vision; it is a different way of knowing, one that trusts what is unseen.
- This walk is marked by confident hope. Because we have the Spirit as a down payment and a building from God, we can be bold even while absent from the Lord. The tension between confidence and absence is resolved by faith.
Five-point outline
- The present state: we are in the body, absent from the Lord (v.6).
- The stance: walking (continuous action) by faith.
- The orientation: toward the unseen, eternal realities (2Co 4:18).
- The contrast: not by sight (outward appearance, not the act of seeing).
- The motivation: the earnest of the Spirit and the promised heavenly dwelling.
Illustration hooks
- An airplane pilot navigating by instruments through thick cloud. He trusts the gauges, not what he can see outside. Faith is trusting God’s promises when circumstances are foggy.
- A child trusting a parent’s promise to pick her up from school. She does not see the parent coming yet, but she waits in confidence because she knows the one who promised.
- Driving through a tunnel. You cannot see the exit, but you know the tunnel ends and you will emerge. The present ‘darkness’ of life’s trials is temporary.
Questions your congregation is asking
- How can I be confident when I don’t “feel” God’s presence?
- What does it mean to walk by faith in practical, daily decisions?
- How do I handle doubts when God seems distant or silent?
Leading a Discussion
This verse appears in a passage where Paul explains why believers can be confident even while absent from the Lord. The key contrast is between “walking by faith” and “walking by sight.” In Greek, “sight” (eidos) means appearance, not the act of seeing. Faith trusts what is not yet visible. Use the questions below to explore what this means for your life together.
Discussion questions
- Read 2 Corinthians 5:1-10. What is Paul’s main argument for confidence in the face of suffering and death?
- How does verse 7 function as an explanation of verse 6? What does “walking by faith” add to the idea of being “absent from the Lord”?
- The Greek word for “sight” is eidos, meaning outward appearance. Why is it important that Paul contrasts faith with appearance rather than with the act of seeing?
- Look at 1 Corinthians 13:12. How does that verse connect to our passage? What does “face to face” vision imply about our present knowledge?
- In what areas of your life do you feel the tension between trusting God’s promises and relying on what you can see?
- How does the “down payment of the Spirit” (v.5) help you walk by faith?
- What would change if you truly believed that the unseen eternal realities are more solid than the visible world?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Deuteronomy 12:9 | for you haven’t yet come to the rest and to the inheritance which Yahweh your God gives you. |
| Romans 8:24 | For we were saved in hope, but hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for that which he sees? |
| Romans 8:25 | But if we hope for that which we don’t see, we wait for it with patience. |
| I Corinthians 13:12 | For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I will know fully, even as I was also fully known. |
| II Corinthians 1:24 | We don’t control your faith, but are fellow workers with you for your joy. For you stand firm in faith. |
| II Corinthians 4:18 | while we don’t look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal. |
| Galatians 2:20 | I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. That life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself up for me. |
| Hebrews 10:38 | But the righteous one will live by faith. If he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.” |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
9 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke explains that faith in this life fills the role of direct vision, which believers will fully receive in the future world. He emphasizes that God makes faith more convincing by giving the Spirit as an earnest, a foretaste of that coming glory.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes explains that living by faith means being shaped by unseen realities as if they were visible, while the world is governed only by what it can see. Faith gives the same force to God, Christ, heaven, and future glory that sight gives to material things. Acting on unseen truths is no less rational than striving for any distant hope.
Calvin's Commentaries Reformed 1564
Calvin explains that believers are currently absent from the Lord because they walk by faith, not sight. Faith perceives what is hidden from human view and reaches toward future realities that do not yet appear. This is why believers often seem like the dead or forsaken, yet they must hope against hope.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
The commentator notes that the Greek word translated as sight actually refers to the thing seen, not the act of seeing. This clarifies why believers are currently absent from God: they do not yet see heavenly realities directly but only perceive them dimly from a distance.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
(For we walke by faith, and not by sight.)
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill describes faith as the soul's eye, hand, and foot—a steady, continued act of believing that looks to Christ and glimpses unseen eternal glories. Yet this faith-sight is still dim, not the full face-to-face vision of heaven. Faith itself will one day be turned into that sight.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
JFB stresses that walking by faith means living by trust in the unseen hope of eternity, not by the outward appearance of present circumstances. Faith is our assigned duty in this life; full sight or vision is reserved as our reward in the life to come.
Vincent's Word Studies Evangelical 1887
Vincent stresses that the correct rendering of the Greek phrase is "appearance," not "sight" in the sense of vision. Faith here is contrasted not with seeing generally but with the actual visible form of heavenly realities. He argues the Revised Version's marginal reading should become the main text.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley draws a careful distinction: faith is a real kind of seeing the invisible God, yet it remains far below the direct vision we will have in eternity. It sits above unaided reason but below full sight, making our present knowledge of God genuine but incomplete.