2 Corinthians 5: Stanly Community Church

Transcription

1 The wonder of Christ s incarnation is not only that God the Son assumed the likeness of humanity but that, in His humanity, He died for our sins. Likewise, to be a Christian is more than just believing the historic record of Jesus Christ. As a sinner, you must embrace Him as the Son of God who sacrificed His sinless life to reconcile you to the Father. This is the emphasis of Paul s words in Second Corinthians 5: In the broader context, the apostle is speaking of God s sovereignty in the salvation of sinners. That is, in order to reconcile rebellious human beings to Himself, God had to graciously provide a perfect sacrifice for their sins which resulted in their justification. That sacrifice was His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. He then had to draw sinners to the Savior He provided with the Gospel message of reconciliation. The representation of that message is the purpose of the Church collectively and each believer individually. Paul devoted himself to that very ministry. The faith that leads to eternal life with God sees the Lord and Savior in this light. It is transforming and lifechanging faith. To know Christ in that way to be in Him provides a new relationship with God and a new purpose for being in this world. It is important to be reminded of this, especially as we commemorate the incarnation and birth of Christ here at Christmas.! 1

2 Christmas: Reconciled to God A New Relationship (vv a) Paul s ministry as an apostle was always being criticized. Although the Corinthians were very familiar with Paul s teaching and manner life (6:3-11), the attacks were so fierce that he felt the need to defend his credibility as one who ministered to them. However, he does not write to justify himself personally, but to clarify his love for them in Christ. Indeed, everything he had endured was for the sake of the Lord s Church. Paul s passion was not only for people to be reconciled to God but to equip believers to serve with him as those who proclaimed the Gospel. Thus the spiritual maturity of the Church was of utmost importance a concern made most clear throughout the letter. The good news of reconciliation with God through faith in His Son was, therefore, central in the apostle s ministry. As he discusses the nature of his service, he emphasizes the message of Christ in the passage at hand. He saw it as his duty to represent the Lord by proclaiming the Gospel, and he wanted to discharge it faithfully. His goal was to please the Lord by faithful service for an eternal reward that would further glorify God (vv. 9-11).! 2

3 So, as he says in 5:12, he wanted the church to be able to boast only in the sincerity of his ministry. That was something his opponents obviously lacked, and he hoped the Corinthians would see the contrast. Whether people thought him to be incompetent or not (v. 13), there should be no question as to his faithfulness in the Gospel. Paul was motivated to love and serve the Corinthians because of the love Christ demonstrated in His death and resurrection (vv ). Our Lord s sacrifice on the cross secured eternal life for everyone who died to sin through faith in Him. Paul argues that, if we have died to sin, we must then live for God and not for ourselves. After all, Christ s love for His people compelled Him to give His life on their behalf. Therefore, how can we who are Christ s do anything less than faithfully represent Him? Again, this sharply contrasted with the selfish socalled ministry of the apostle s critics. Those who opposed Paul knew about Christ only according to the flesh (v. 16). That is, they knew about the historical Jesus, but they did not have a relationship with Him. Although religious, their efforts at ministry were skewed by a worldly philosophy. The apostle s life and ministry was drastically different from theirs because his relationship with God gave him an entirely new perspective. He also did not regard anyone from a purely human standpoint. His ministry was motivated by Christ s example, and he now saw sinners through the Lord s eyes.! 3

4 Like all believers, Paul had once known Christ according to the flesh. He saw the Lord Jesus only through the lens of a fallen nature that led him to a false, works-centered religion (Phil. 3:4-6). But that ended at his conversion (Acts 9:1-22). His old point of view ceased to exist when he believed the Gospel, repented of sin and placed his faith in the Lord Jesus ( know Him thus no longer ). He could then say, But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ (Phil. 3:7-8). The power of God was at work through the Gospel to save Paul as it is for anyone who turns from sin to Jesus Christ (Rom. 1:16). True Christians are no longer in sin but in Christ as stated in verse 17. That little phrase sums up the new relationship of a believer to God. It is in Christ that we are justified, sanctified and ultimately glorified. Every aspect of our salvation is found in Christ. We do not simply know about Him, but we are inseparably linked to God in Him! That is something that only God can accomplish.! 4

5 In Christ, the believer becomes a new creation. This is synonymous with Christ s teaching about the new birth of the believer by the power of the Holy Spirit (Jn. 3:3-21; Titus 3:5). The fallen human spirit, which is dead toward God (Eph. 2:5; Col. 2:13), is born again (i.e. re-born) with a new nature by the supernatural working of God. The Holy Spirit Himself creates a new desire to know God and do His will (Eph. 2:1-3; 1 Pet. 1:23; 1 Jn. 2:29; 3:9; 5:4). Christians are dead to sin and alive to God (Rom. 6:11-14). Our new nature instantly places us at war with the desires of the weak flesh (Matt. 26:41). It is incumbent upon us to then (by the Spirit s power) control and use our body in service to God (Rom. 12:1-2). The Spirit of God is constantly at work in us to help us in this endeavor by appealing to our nature as God s children with God s Word (Phil. 2:12-13). So Paul is saying that a Christian will see things from God s point of view. The false teachers in Corinth and other churches were, therefore, not in Christ. It was a simple test, which they obviously failed. For the apostle and the true believers in Corinth, the old things of their unregenerate life had passed away. That is, their old beliefs and priorities were no longer a factor in their way of thinking and living. Yes, they still struggled with the weakness of the flesh (Rom. 7), but their nature, and thus their perspective ( all things ), had become new (v. 17b). They now desired God and His will (Matt. 6:33).! 5

6 Paul concludes his point on the believer s new relationship with God by emphasizing that it is entirely a work of Lord ( all things are of God ). We have absolutely no input into the equation. It is God alone who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ (v. 18a). We were alienated from the life of God by our sin (Eph. 4:18). But, as the apostle says in Ephesians 2:13, now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. If we have a new relationship with God because we are reconciled to Him through Christ, then we can never look at people in any other way than He looked at us as sinners in need of salvation. We see Christ and others from God s perspective, and that can never change. Our new relationship now gives us a new purpose. A New Purpose (vv. 18b-21) Like Paul, all Christians come to see that their eternal purpose is not to live for themselves but for Christ as His representatives. God, who gave His Son as a sacrifice for sin to reconcile us to Himself, has now given us the ministry of reconciliation (v. 18b). We know that Christ is God incarnate. Thus Paul goes back to the sovereignty of the Lord in salvation. He clarifies his previous statement by saying in verse 19: that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself.! 6

7 This is how God can both remain just in relation to our sins and also be the Justifier of the sinner (Rom. 3:26). We cannot atone for our sins because we are wholly defiled by them. However, God s sinless Son could make atonement by giving His life in place of ours the just for the unjust (1 Pet. 3:18). As Paul says in verse 21: He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. The Son of God bore our sins on the cross as God the Father poured out His wrath in sufficient measure to satisfy His justice. Our trespasses (i.e. our violations of His law; v. 19b) can now be forgiven. They are no longer imputed to the believer but to Christ who bore the penalty on the cross. This means that our sins are no longer counted or considered as ours, and we are declared righteous (justified in God s sight). The resulting forgiveness reconciles us to God and automatically enlists us in His service as those who are to make known the word of reconciliation (v. 19c). For this reason, Paul calls us ambassadors for Christ (v. 20). An ambassador represents the greater authority who sends him by conveying his lords terms verbatim to the intended audience. In this case, it is God who is seeking to reconcile us to Himself. And His terms for reconciliation are repentance from sin and faith toward Christ in return for forgiveness, a new relationship of life with Him, and a renewed purpose for our existence.! 7

8 As the Lord s ambassadors, believers are to earnestly desire the salvation of sinners and sincerely appeal to them to be reconciled to God. That is the only reason He has left us in this world. It is not enough to simply call ourselves Christians and attend church; it is not enough to celebrate the incarnation of our Lord. We must communicate the Gospel in a compelling manner by word and deed at all times. We are to live as examples of God s power to transform sinners into reconciled servants via the Gospel. Our new relationship to God requires and enables us to fulfill that purpose. We cannot simply call Jesus Lord and then ignore doing His will (Lk. 6:46). Yet that is what the false teachers and their followers were doing in Corinth. The spent their time attacking Paul and tearing down the church rather than building it up and equipping believers to be better ambassadors. They were contradicting God s purpose for sending His Son into the world! Unlike his detractors, Paul took his ambassadorship very seriously, and he carried it out passionately, as though God were pleading through [him]. He knew that whenever a Christian speaks the truth of the Gospel, it is God begging and calling sinners to be reconciled to Himself. Therefore, the apostle emphatically concludes: we implore on Christ s behalf, be reconciled to God.! 8

9 The word you does not actually appear in the text of verse 20. Paul was not appealing to the Corinthian Christians, since they had already believed the truth. Rather, he is saying that his entire purpose in life was to speak for God with the same compassion and urgency toward sinners that Christ Himself demonstrated. Christ came into the world to reconcile to God all who believe the Gospel. He came to die the death we deserve so that our sins might not be any longer counted against us. And everyone who believes that wonderful good news is born again and eager to tell others that they, too, can be made new. Does that describe you? Most people who celebrate the Christmas holiday will have no idea who Jesus Christ truly is. Yes, they may know about Jesus in the manger. They may even understand the concept that He is God who became a man. They may also have knowledge of His death and resurrection. But many will sadly not embrace Him as the Son of God who came as the sacrifice for sin to reconcile us the heavenly Father. Do you have a right relationship with God through faith in Christ? Are you reconciled to the Father in the Son? Do you see Christ and other people from God s perspective? Are you a faithful ambassador of the Gospel? These are the reasons we commemorate the incarnation and birth of our Lord and Savior!! 9