Followers of Jesus are ambassadors of Jesus who are to represent Jesus as we speak and act on His behalf...

This week we have been looking at 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. The Apostle Paul revealed that it was the love of Jesus drove him to tell others about Jesus. 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 then explained and unpacked the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel to the members of the church at Corinth.

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.

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. We see Paul reveal this reality for us beginning in 2 Corinthians 5:18-19:

Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, ¹⁹ namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.

Now what is so interesting here is that when Paul uses the word reconciled here, this word, in the language that this letter was originally written in, means to exchange hostility for a friendly relationship. So if Paul was writing this letter in the language that we use in our culture today, these verses might sound something like this:

“This new life that we have with God is all a result of what God has done for us. Because when we were hostile to God and at odds with God, God chose to exchange that hostility for a friendly relationship through Jesus death on the cross, in our place, for our selfishness and rebellion. 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, we have been given the opportunity to be the vehicle that he uses to reestablish a broken relationship between those around us who are far from God and God. We have been given the opportunity to proclaim that God’s transformational activity through Jesus that provides all humanity the opportunity to exchange hostility toward God for a friendly relationship with God. By believing, trusting, and following Jesus, God no longer counts our rebellion against us because Jesus has already paid the penalty that was counted against us. And if that was not enough, God has also entrusted us with the responsibility to proclaim to the world that God desires to exchange hostility toward God for a friendly relationship with God through what He has done for us through Jesus.”

Paul then hammered home 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. And in hammering home his point, we see Paul point to the idea of being an ambassador in such a way that answers the question “What is the position of an ambassador?” So let’s discover that answer in verse 20-21:

Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. ²¹ He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Here we see Paul paint a powerful word picture for the members of the church at Corinth when it came to the kingdom mission that they had been given and were now passing on to followers of Jesus throughout history: “We are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us.” Now in the first century, just as it is today, an ambassador is a representative of someone who speaks or acts on that their behalf.

So with this statement, Paul is revealing for followers of Jesus throughout history the reality that they have been given the position of ambassador for Jesus by Jesus. Paul is revealing the reality that, as followers of Jesus, we have been positioned by Jesus in such a way so as to live our lives in a way that speaks and acts on Jesus behalf.

Paul then proclaimed to the members of the church at Corinth, and humanity throughout history, the message that he was to deliver from Jesus as an ambassador that was representing Jesus. Paul, acting on Jesus behalf, appealed and begged that those who would read this letter would exchange their hostility toward God for a friendly relationship with God. Paul then provided the reason why humanity throughout history could have the opportunity to exchange their hostility toward God for a friendly relationship with God: “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

In other words, God gave Jesus, who was without sin, the kingdom mission to enter into humanity so the He could live the life we were created to live but refused to live, and then willingly allow Himself to be treated as though He lived our selfish and sinful lives, by dying on the cross, in our place, for our selfishness and rebellion, so God the Father could treat us as though we lived Jesus perfect life and enter into a right relationship with Him. You see Paul, along with other early followers of Jesus, recognized that they had been positioned to speak and act on Jesus behalf so that all humanity would have an opportunity to exchange hostility with God for forgiveness and the relationship with God that they were created for.

And it is here that we discover the timeless answer to the question “What is the position of an ambassador?” And that timeless answer is this: Followers of Jesus are ambassadors of Jesus who are to represent Jesus as we speak and act on His behalf. Just was it was for the Apostle Paul and early followers of Jesus; just as it has been for followers of Jesus throughout history; followers of Jesus are ambassadors of Jesus who are to represent Jesus as we speak and act on His behalf.

The timeless reality is that, as followers of Jesus, we have been rescued from something and we have been rescued for something. We have been rescued from a position of hostility against God to a position of being and ambassador for God. As followers of Jesus, the selfless love of Jesus should compel and motivate us to live our lives as an ambassador of Jesus 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 Jesus.

As followers of Jesus, we have been given the opportunity to be an ambassador for Jesus that proclaims that God’s transformational activity through Jesus provides all humanity the opportunity to exchange hostility toward God for a friendly relationship with God. And as followers of Jesus, we are to recognize that we have been positioned to speak and act on Jesus behalf so that all humanity would have an opportunity to exchange hostility with God for forgiveness and the relationship with God that they were created for.

Again, if you do not buy the whole Jesus, Bible, church thing, your are off the hook when it comes to what we are talking about. You do not have to do a single thing that Paul is saying here. But this is why followers of Jesus seem to be so committed and so persistent when it comes to inviting you to church. This is why followers of Jesus seem to be so committed and persistent about inviting you to their community group or to an event involving other followers of Jesus.

The reason why followers of Jesus seem to be so committed and so persistent in their invitation to you is because they have been give the responsibility to be an ambassador that speaks and acts on Jesus behalf. However, if you consider yourself a follower of Jesus; if you consider yourself a Christian, this is not a suggestion. This is a position that we have been given.

So with that in mind, here is a question to consider: If you consider yourself a follower of Jesus, do you realize that that you have been given the position of being an ambassador for Him? And how are you responding to the position that you have been given as an ambassador for Jesus? Do you speak and act in a way that represents Jesus well?

Because, the timeless reality is that followers of Jesus are ambassadors of Jesus who are to represent Jesus as we speak and act on His behalf…