Building

In its figurative use, "building" names the believer's coming heavenly dwelling — the permanent house that takes the place of the earthly tabernacle when this body is dissolved.

A Building from God, Eternal in the Heavens

Paul sets the present body and its future successor side by side: "For we know that if the earthly house of our tabernacle is dissolved, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal, in the heavens" (2 Cor 5:1). The present body is the earthly tabernacle, subject to dissolution. Its replacement is described by four qualifiers — God-sourced, not made with hands, eternal, in the heavens. The figure of "building" carries those qualifiers: the coming dwelling is divinely constructed, unbuilt by human hands, undecaying, and heavenly in location.