This
week we are addressing the question “what
is the position of an ambassador?”, by looking at a section of a letter that
was written by a man we know today as the Apostle Paul that is recorded for us
in the New Testament of the Bible, called the book of 2 Corinthians. Yesterday
we saw the Apostle Paul reveal the
motivation that drove him and other early followers of Jesus to share the
claims of Christ and the message of the gospel with those who were far from
God. The love of Jesus compelled and motivated Paul and other early followers
of Jesus to share God’s message of rescue through the claims of Christ and the
message of the gospel throughout the known world.
Paul’s point to the
members of the church at Corinth, and to followers of Jesus throughout history,
is that just as Jesus placed humanity before Himself as He placed Himself on
the cross in our place, as followers of Jesus we are to place Jesus before
ourselves and live our lives in way that reveals and reflects Jesus and that is
engaged in the kingdom mission that we have been given by Jesus. As followers
of Jesus, the selfless love of Jesus should compel and motivate us to live our
lives in a way that places Jesus as large and in charge of our lives and that
shares that claims of Christ and the message of the gospel with those around us
who are far from God.
Today, we see Paul
further unpack how the love of Jesus compelled and motivated Paul and other
early followers of Jesus to share God’s message of rescue through the claims of
Christ and the message of the gospel throughout the known world in 2 Corinthians
5:16:
Therefore from now on we recognize no one
according to
the flesh; even though we have known Christ according
to the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer.
Here we see the
Apostle Paul reveal for us the reality that as a result of all that Jesus had
done to selflessly place humanity before Himself as He placed Himself on the
cross in our place; as a result of how the love of Jesus compelled and
motivated Paul and other early followers of Jesus to engage in the kingdom
mission that they had been given by Jesus, they recognized no one according to
the flesh. In other words, Paul and
other early followers of Jesus relationship with Jesus and one another was not simply
an earthly relationship that would be confined to their time together here on
earth.
And as a result, Paul
and other early followers of Jesus did not view their relationship with Jesus
and one another from a human point of view that was focused on externals. You
see, even though Paul and other early followers of Jesus came to a knowledge of
Jesus while Jesus was here on earth, Jesus death and resurrection forever changed
how they came to view and relate to Jesus. Paul then revealed exactly how their
view and relationship with Jesus was forever changed as a result of all that
Jesus had done to selflessly place humanity before Himself as He placed Himself
on the cross in our place in 2 Corinthians 5:17:
Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the
old things
passed away; behold, new things have come.
Now to fully
understand what Paul is communicating here, we first need to understand what
Paul means when he uses the phrase “in Christ”. With this phrase, Paul is
revealing for us the reality that the reason why followers of Jesus are new
creatures is due to God’s activity through Jesus Christ that results in our
relationship with Jesus Christ. We are new creatures as a result of being
transformed by God's transformational activity in our lives through Jesus. As a
result of what God has done for us through Jesus life, death, and resurrection,
we receive a new heart and a new spirit, as the Holy Spirit takes up residence
in our lives.
Now the big fancy
church mumbo jumbo talk word for this is the word regeneration. That is what
Paul means when he says that if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature. As
followers of Jesus we have been transformed by Jesus so that we can experience
a relationship with God through Jesus. You see, when God the Father looks at us
as followers of Jesus, He does not simply see us. Instead, He sees us in
Christ.
Right now, in a
mystical and spiritual way, God the Father sees you, in Christ, in Heaven. As followers of Jesus we
are part of the church, which is the body of Christ here on earth. As followers of Jesus we are part of the
church, which is the body of Christ here on earth. But even now, we are
mystically and spiritually a part of the body of Christ in Heaven. Our old
lives prior to Jesus are fading away in the rearview mirror of our lives. We
now have a new life that provides us a new hope and a new future with God as a
result of our relationship with Jesus.
Friday, we will see
Paul continue to reveal this reality and its implications when it comes to
being an ambassador…
No comments:
Post a Comment