2Cor 5:20 | KingComments | STEP | Through the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus, God showed how He judges everything on earth. Since the fall of man God is not able to find anything here in which He could have His joy. Soon after the fall God had to testify that the wickedness of man was great on the earth. Of the earth He had to conclude that it was corrupt in His sight and filled with violence ( ). That never changed since then, although God gave man countless blessings. The greatest blessing, doubtless, is that the Lord Jesus came to the earth. How many blessings He spread around Him! But what did men do? They filled up the measure of their wickedness by crucifying Him. Now even for God the measure is filled up and reached a stage where He really couldn’t do anything more with man at all. Fallen man is set aside. He is no longer useful. . Then God starts working in a different and new way. He makes all those who believe in the Lord Jesus a new creation. As for God the one who believes that the Lord Jesus died and rose again is placed in another area. There the way of living is totally different, with a completely different attitude and motives and a different goal. Your relationship with your family members and your neighbors has changed. You recognize no one according to the flesh. What does that mean? Do you now need to no longer listen to your parents, your teachers or your boss? Do you now have nothing to do with what others say? No, this is not what is meant here. ‘Recognizing no one according to the flesh’ means you view people around you and things around you from your new position and not any longer in the earthly way. You are still living on the earth and you are standing in earthly relationships, but you yourself are a new creation. Paul even goes to the extent of saying that he now knows Christ in a way other than what is according to the flesh. What he means is that he didn’t see Christ as Man on the earth but as the glorified Lord in heaven. For when the Lord Jesus came with the purpose of being accepted by His people, they rejected Him. Consequently the establishment of His kingdom on earth is postponed and now He is in heaven. The old things have passed away, for God does not expect anything from man anymore. God tried everything to bring something good out of man but without result. For the Christian everything is new. He is connected to and made one with a Christ in heaven and not on earth. His life’s realm is where Christ is because he is in Christ. This is how God sees you also. . God Himself invented all. He found a solution to bring you into this new position. With your old nature you couldn’t be placed in Christ. Therefore God reconciled you to Himself. Reconciliation is a necessity when there is enmity between two parties. There was hostility between God and man. God was not man’s enemy, but man was God’s enemy. Man became the enemy of God by his sins. It is not God Who must be reconciled to man but conversely man must be reconciled to God. Man could not provide a solution but God provided one for him in Christ. Reconciliation proceeded from God. The power of reconciliation is such that God changed man, His enemy, into His friend. Through Christ God brings the reconciled man to a new relationship with Himself. Isn’t that great? Paul draws the conclusion that the ministry of reconciliation has been given to him. In a certain sense you also may draw this conclusion. The one who is reconciled will testify to it. . That Christ was in the world is proof that God wanted to reconcile the world to Himself. By sending His Son into the world God made a reconciling gesture to the world. The reconciliation itself was to take place only through the work of the Lord Jesus on the cross. He came to reconcile and not to impute to men their transgressions and to settle with the world. The Lord Jesus said: “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him” ( ). But the world did not know Him. That’s why reconciling the world is still future. The Lord Jesus as the Lamb of God has already accomplished the requirements for this reconciliation on the cross of Calvary ( ). Also Colossians 1 speaks about the future reconciliation of the world ( ). The verses following show that reconciliation already applies to all who have accepted the Lord Jesus ( ). The ministry of reconciliation consists in carrying out “the word of reconciliation” in word and life, which means the preaching concerning reconciliation. The message must now be carried out by all who are reconciled. You know what it means to be reconciled. You were an enemy of God and the wrath of God rested on you. But by Him you have been made a new creation in Christ. . You are still in a world hostile to God, and Christ expects that you are acting as an ambassador here. An ambassador is the one who represents the interests of his own country in another country and gives an impression as good as possible of his home country in the foreign land. In the same way you are here as an ambassador for Christ. You have the great privilege and the great responsibility to represent Christ here and bring His message in word and deed. God wants to appeal through your whole life to the conscience of the people who are to be reconciled to Him. But God does not want this to be done in a haughty manner. You can talk to people persuasively and confront them with the truth of God in a way that scares them, but you always must take care that you give your message with all humility in agreement with the spirit of the One Whom you represent. That’s why it says: “We beg you on behalf of Christ.” This kind of persuading is unfamiliar to the world where people want to persuade with impressive arguments and evidences to degrade and discredit others. . “Be reconciled to God” is an invitation from the God of heaven and earth Who gave His own beloved Son to death. God not only gave Him to death but put to death His Son Himself. The Lord Jesus is here referred to as the One “who knew no sin”. He was the sinless One. He had nothing to do with sin and had no part in it. Therefore He was the delight of God in His whole life as He had always been in heaven before He became Man. This unique Man was made sin by God. That did not happen in His life time on earth but only in the three hours of darkness on the cross. There He was identified with sin that found its way into the world. There the complete wrath of God against sin was turned on Him. There sin was judged and blotted out before the face of God. That the righteousness of God manifested itself in the judgment of His Son is seen in everyone who has accepted reconciliation. God is righteous when He sees you in Christ because Christ made all well for you. God relates everything to that. All that God made of you, you are because of the work of Christ. How much we have to think about and to thank God for. What reasons we have to tell others about it! Now read 2 Corinthians 5:16-21 again. Reflection: How can you be an ambassador for Christ?

‏ 2 Corinthians 5:20

In Christ a New Creation

Through the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus, God showed how He judges everything on earth. Since the fall of man God is not able to find anything here in which He could have His joy. Soon after the fall God had to testify that the wickedness of man was great on the earth. Of the earth He had to conclude that it was corrupt in His sight and filled with violence (Gen 6:5-11). That never changed since then, although God gave man countless blessings.

The greatest blessing, doubtless, is that the Lord Jesus came to the earth. How many blessings He spread around Him! But what did men do? They filled up the measure of their wickedness by crucifying Him. Now even for God the measure is filled up and reached a stage where He really couldn’t do anything more with man at all. Fallen man is set aside. He is no longer useful.

2Cor 5:16-17. Then God starts working in a different and new way. He makes all those who believe in the Lord Jesus a new creation. As for God the one who believes that the Lord Jesus died and rose again is placed in another area. There the way of living is totally different, with a completely different attitude and motives and a different goal. Your relationship with your family members and your neighbors has changed. You recognize no one according to the flesh.

What does that mean? Do you now need to no longer listen to your parents, your teachers or your boss? Do you now have nothing to do with what others say? No, this is not what is meant here. ‘Recognizing no one according to the flesh’ means you view people around you and things around you from your new position and not any longer in the earthly way. You are still living on the earth and you are standing in earthly relationships, but you yourself are a new creation. Paul even goes to the extent of saying that he now knows Christ in a way other than what is according to the flesh. What he means is that he didn’t see Christ as Man on the earth but as the glorified Lord in heaven. For when the Lord Jesus came with the purpose of being accepted by His people, they rejected Him. Consequently the establishment of His kingdom on earth is postponed and now He is in heaven.

The old things have passed away, for God does not expect anything from man anymore. God tried everything to bring something good out of man but without result. For the Christian everything is new. He is connected to and made one with a Christ in heaven and not on earth. His life’s realm is where Christ is because he is in Christ. This is how God sees you also.

2Cor 5:18. God Himself invented all. He found a solution to bring you into this new position. With your old nature you couldn’t be placed in Christ. Therefore God reconciled you to Himself. Reconciliation is a necessity when there is enmity between two parties. There was hostility between God and man. God was not man’s enemy, but man was God’s enemy. Man became the enemy of God by his sins. It is not God Who must be reconciled to man but conversely man must be reconciled to God.

Man could not provide a solution but God provided one for him in Christ. Reconciliation proceeded from God. The power of reconciliation is such that God changed man, His enemy, into His friend. Through Christ God brings the reconciled man to a new relationship with Himself. Isn’t that great?

Paul draws the conclusion that the ministry of reconciliation has been given to him. In a certain sense you also may draw this conclusion. The one who is reconciled will testify to it.

2Cor 5:19. That Christ was in the world is proof that God wanted to reconcile the world to Himself. By sending His Son into the world God made a reconciling gesture to the world.

The reconciliation itself was to take place only through the work of the Lord Jesus on the cross. He came to reconcile and not to impute to men their transgressions and to settle with the world. The Lord Jesus said: “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him” (Jn 3:17).

But the world did not know Him. That’s why reconciling the world is still future. The Lord Jesus as the Lamb of God has already accomplished the requirements for this reconciliation on the cross of Calvary (Jn 1:29). Also Colossians 1 speaks about the future reconciliation of the world (Col 1:20). The verses following show that reconciliation already applies to all who have accepted the Lord Jesus (Col 1:21-22).

The ministry of reconciliation consists in carrying out “the word of reconciliation” in word and life, which means the preaching concerning reconciliation. The message must now be carried out by all who are reconciled. You know what it means to be reconciled. You were an enemy of God and the wrath of God rested on you. But by Him you have been made a new creation in Christ.

2Cor 5:20. You are still in a world hostile to God, and Christ expects that you are acting as an ambassador here. An ambassador is the one who represents the interests of his own country in another country and gives an impression as good as possible of his home country in the foreign land. In the same way you are here as an ambassador for Christ. You have the great privilege and the great responsibility to represent Christ here and bring His message in word and deed. God wants to appeal through your whole life to the conscience of the people who are to be reconciled to Him.

But God does not want this to be done in a haughty manner. You can talk to people persuasively and confront them with the truth of God in a way that scares them, but you always must take care that you give your message with all humility in agreement with the spirit of the One Whom you represent. That’s why it says: “We beg you on behalf of Christ.” This kind of persuading is unfamiliar to the world where people want to persuade with impressive arguments and evidences to degrade and discredit others.

2Cor 5:21. “Be reconciled to God” is an invitation from the God of heaven and earth Who gave His own beloved Son to death. God not only gave Him to death but put to death His Son Himself. The Lord Jesus is here referred to as the One “who knew no sin”. He was the sinless One. He had nothing to do with sin and had no part in it. Therefore He was the delight of God in His whole life as He had always been in heaven before He became Man.

This unique Man was made sin by God. That did not happen in His life time on earth but only in the three hours of darkness on the cross. There He was identified with sin that found its way into the world. There the complete wrath of God against sin was turned on Him. There sin was judged and blotted out before the face of God.

That the righteousness of God manifested itself in the judgment of His Son is seen in everyone who has accepted reconciliation. God is righteous when He sees you in Christ because Christ made all well for you. God relates everything to that. All that God made of you, you are because of the work of Christ.

How much we have to think about and to thank God for. What reasons we have to tell others about it!

Now read 2 Corinthians 5:16-21 again.

Reflection: How can you be an ambassador for Christ?