SSL 11 - 2 Cor. 5:16-21; 6:1-2
Prayers & Announcements
Last Week: In 2 Cor. 4:5-18 the general theme of the lesson was Do Not Lose Heart. Paul never gave up. One of the things that kept him moving forward was his perspective, eternal rather than temporal, not on what is seen but on what is not seen. Points of application: 1. When God calls us to serve in Christian ministry, He also gives us the strength needed to persevere in the face of hardship and even persecution. Although our physical bodies deteriorate as we age, we should never lose heart because God is renewing our inner selves every day. 2. As human vessels, we Christians are weak and short-lived, but we contain a mighty power-sharing the Gospel-to bring tremendous glory to God. On the flip side, if we, as the body of Christ, don't use this power to produce followers in faith, the church is one generation away from extinction. Ask yourself how many churches close their doors every year? 3. The main purpose of our Christian ministry, whatever form it may take, is that the grace we experience individually will be multiplied through many others who believe. The multiplication of our grace will keep adding to God's glory-our ultimate reason for being. 4. Like Paul, the real focus of our lives shouldn't be on the hear and now-the hardships we endure to serve Christ in a fallen world; instead, our focus should be on the eternal things to come-the full restoration of ourselves at the resurrection and the fulfillment of God's purpose in history. On a practical level, this is our ability to perceive the future through "eyes of faith." Faith can remove our anxiety about the future because it gives us the "assurance of things hoped for, [and] the conviction of things not seen. Heb. 11:1.
This Week: We move forward to 2 Cor. 5:16-21; 6:1-2 in which the chief theme is the New Covenant ministry of reconciliation. Underlying much of 2 Cor. is the fact that false apostles (described as "deceitful workers masquerading as Christ's apostles" (2 Cor. 11:13) have organized significant opposition to Paul's ministry and generally claim that he is an imposter (2 Cor. 6:8). When, in this lesson, we hear Paul talk about reconciliation (vv.18-19), and God "having committed to us the word of reconciliation (v.19), and his claim to be an ambassador of Christ (v.20), we should keep in mind that he's making these statements, in part, as a response to the opposition that he's been facing in the Corinthian church.
Read 2 Cor. 5:16-17 - Not From A human Point Of View
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. 17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.
v. 16: "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 wayno longer" - Paul, because Christ died for his sake, he no longer regards anyone "according to the flesh." In practical terms, it means he no longer views people by worldly standards-wealth, beauty, political influence, power, etc. These are concerns of the "natural" person. The reason for this change in viewpoint is that Paul sees all things in the world as passing away. In the end, wealth, beauty, and power will be short-lived. Christ has come to point us to eternal values and offer us eternal life. When Paul says he's "known Christ according to the flesh," he's referring to his view before he was converted, when he regarded Jesus as a blasphemer and His crucifixion as just punishment. Many people today see Jesus Christ "according to the flesh." They see Him as a famous teacher, an enlightened visionary, or at very least, a noteworthy figure in history. They don't recognize Him as God's only begotten Son. When Paul says, "we know Him in this way no longer," he's referring to his personal encounter with the risen Christ on the Damascus Road, when his spiritual eyes were opened (Acts 9:17).
v. 17: "Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he isa new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come" - The term "in Christ" is significant. It signifies an all-encompassing relationship with Christ that involves being "justified" (made righteous) as a free gift rather than an achievement, which makes all of us equal at the foot of the cross. None of us can boast. A "new creature (or creation)" refers to the principle of regeneration-when we are "in Christ," we not just forgiven but regenerated as a new creation which lives eternally. The phrase, "the old things have passed away...new things that have come," refers to a new age that, in a sense, is yet to come, insofar as we still live in the same old world, one that is still opposed to God. But Paul is pointing to a new reality in which Christ's coming divided history into "Before Christ" and "After Christ," which means we no longer have to look for a Messiah, a Savior, because he has come. Things will not be completed until He comes again.
Read 2 Cor. 5:18-19 - God Reconciled Us To Himself Through Christ
18 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.
v.18: "Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation" - The concept of "reconciliation" is important in all of Paul's writings. The term means a change of relationship from bad to good-from opposition to friendship. Between nations, it involves establishing peace where there was previously war between them. In the context of Christianity, we must note that it is God who reconciled us, restored our relationship with Him by bringing about a change in our lives. This is not something we could have done for ourselves. It required God's initiative because our sinfulness was incompatible with God's holiness. God accomplished this through Jesus Christ, His Incarnation, Crucifixion, and Resurrection. The "ministry of reconciliation" identifies a particular kind of service which calls on all of those "in Christ" to be reconcilers, to help reconcile (1) people to people and (2) people to God.
v.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" - Paul makes it perfectly clear that God is the initiator in the reconciliation scenario, and that Christ is the agent through whom God accomplishes this reconciliation. The Greek word used here for "trespasses," paraptoma, means sins but also extends to simple mistakes, something common to all of us. Yet, God's reconciliation covers all wrongdoing, even the smallest, unintentional mistakes. It makes us acceptable-fit to be brought into God's holy presence. The term "word of reconciliation," defines the ministry of reconciliation as one in which God uses the preached word to reconcile men and women to Himself.
Read 2 Cor. 5:20-21 - Ambassadors For Christ
20 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.
v. 20: "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" - The Greek word for "ambassador," presbeuo, translates as one who acts with wisdom and authority and is the same word used for elder. An ambassador can generally be defined as a representative who acts for a ruler (i.e., king, president, etc.). An ambassador does not create the terms of reconciliation but is only authorized to deliver the message of the ruler. With the phrase, "as though God were making an appeal through us," Paul portrays himself as an ambassador for Christ who had been entrusted to deliver the Gospel message given to him-the message is from God; Paul is only the messenger. With the statement, "we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled," Paul raises two questions: (1) Will the Corinthians respond to God's offer of reconciliation, yes or no-in effect, will you be saved? (2) If the Corinthians to whom Paul is writing are already Christians, why weren't they reconciled to God previously? This question is related to sanctification: although we are saved, sin is an ongoing problem, thus reconciliation is an ongoing process. We know the Corinthian church had multiple problems-was guilty of many sins-so the process is far from complete. Members of any church must strive daily to sanctify themselves by coming to God's well to drink of the forgiveness and reconciliation that God has made possible.
v. 21: "He made Him who knew no sin to besin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" - Along with Jn. 3:16, Bible scholars consider this verse to be one of the most important in all of Scripture for understanding the logic of the Gospel. This means that Christ, the only entirely righteous one ("who knew no sin"), at the cross, took our sin upon Himself ("to be sin on our behalf") and endured the punishment we deserved-i.e., death and separation from God. By this divine exchange, Jesus made it possible for us to receive His righteousness ("so the we might become the righteousness of God in Him") and thereby be reconciled to God. Therefore, our standing and our acceptance before God are solely in Christ and is made freely available to us only because of God's initiative of divine grace. So ask yourself, why did God send His Son to save us? Because we are incapable of saving ourselves.
Read 2 Cor. 6:1-2 - Do Not Receive God's Grace in Vain
1 And working together with Him, we also urge you not to receive the grace of God in vain- 2 for He says, "AT THE ACCEPTABLE TIME I LISTENED TO YOU, AND ON THE DAY OF SALVATION I HELPED YOU." Behold, now is "THE ACCEPTABLE TIME time," behold, now is "THE DAY OF SALVATION"-
v. 1: "And working together with Him, we also urge you not to receive the grace of God in vain-" - The Greek verb used for "urge," parakaleo, means to invite with a strong sense of urgency and the Greek word for "grace," charis, means something that's not earned but accepted as a free gift of God's mercy and faithfulness. Paul's statement in this verse suggests that a person who turns back from Christ shows that his or her initial reception of grace was not real but in vain; they have not accepted the gift unconditionally and are still living for themselves, not Christ. Thus, Paul is exhorting the Corinthians who fall into this category not to reject the free gift that God has offered them.
v.2: "for He says, "At the acceptable time I listened to you, And on the day of salvation I helped you." Behold, now is "the acceptable time," behold, now is "the day of salvation"- Here we see Paul quote Isa. 49:8, which, in its original context, was news of Israel's impending release from the Babylonian Exile. Paul borrows the verse as a parallel that speaks of the salvation God has made available to all through Christ. In reference to "ACCEPTABLE TIME," the Greek word used for "time," kairos, means a significant moment of time as opposed to chronos, which refers to the time of day. So when Paul uses the phrase "acceptable time," he's telling these Christians about a particular moment in history-the crucifixion and the resurrection-when God listened to them and helped them. Taking it a step further, Paul is saying that NOW is the acceptable time-Now is the day of salvation for these Corinthian Christians-and NOW is the kairos, the significant moment that will determine their eternal destiny.
Comment: If it sounds as if Paul is calling on us to grit our try and try harder to be "good," then we are missing the point of the lesson. Paul intends for us to see the world in a completely new way, so that our actions will stem from this new understanding, not trying harder. Paul wants us to be so thoroughly transformed that we become members of a "new creation" (v. 17).
APPLICATION-there are three essential elements of the work of reconciliation:
1. We must accurately understand what has gone wrong between people, God, and creation. If we truly don't understand the ills of the world, then we can't bring genuine reconciliation any amore than an ambassador can effectively represent one country to another without knowing what's going on in both. From this viewpoint (how God see it), "ill" means sin bondage and eternal separation from God-in short, the world God created has fallen.
2. We must love other people and work to benefit them rather than judge them. If we condemn people in our workplaces or withdraw from the daily places of life and work, we are regarding people from a human point of view, i.e., "according to the flesh." If we love the people we work among and try to improve our workplaces, products, and services, then we become agents of Christ's reconciliation.
3. Being the seeds of God's new creation, requires, of course, that we remain in constant fellow- ship with Christ. If we do these things, we will be in a position to bring Christ's power to reconcile the people, organizations, places, and things of the world so that they too can become members of God's new creation.
