God’s Ambassadors (Part 2)
2 Corinthians 5:18-6:2
Paul constantly faced criticism and accusations from fellow Christians who doubted him as a leader. Paul wants the Corinthian Church to accept him and the role God has given him as a spiritual leader. In this passage, Paul continues to defend himself. He opens his heart to the Corinthian congregation to a degree not found in his other letters.
As Paul shares his story, there is a great deal for us to take from this passage and apply it to our lives.
In this passage, Paul is describing a role God has given to him.
God has given us a similar role.
2 Corinthians 5:18-6:2 (NLT)
We Are God’s Ambassadors (Part 2)
18 And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. 19 For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. 20 So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” 21 For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.
6:1 As God’s partners, we beg you not to accept this marvelous gift of God’s kindness and then ignore it. 2 For God says,
“At just the right time, I heard you.
On the day of salvation, I helped you.”
Indeed, the “right time” is now. Today is the day of salvation.
Examine the scriptures:
2 Corinthians 5:18-6:2 (NLT)
We Are God’s Ambassadors (Part 2)
18 And all of this is a gift from God,
Previous verse:
2 Corinthians 5:17 NLT
17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!
- Anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!
“All of this” simply put is salvation.
Ephesians 2:8
8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.
2 Corinthians 4:6 NLT
6 For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.
- God saved us by his grace. And we can’t take credit for this.
(God) who brought us back to himself through Christ. (True reconciliation)
God (Christ) does the work.
1 John 4:10 NLT
10 This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.
1 Peter 2:24 NLT
24 He personally carried our sins
in his body on the cross
so that we can be dead to sin
and live for what is right.
By his wounds
you are healed.
Ephesians 2:11-19 NLT
Oneness and Peace in Christ
11 Don’t forget that you Gentiles used to be outsiders. You were called “uncircumcised heathens” by the Jews, who were proud of their circumcision, even though it affected only their bodies and not their hearts. 12 In those days you were living apart from Christ. You were excluded from citizenship among the people of Israel, and you did not know the covenant promises God had made to them. You lived in this world without God and without hope. 13 But now you have been united with Christ Jesus. Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to him through the blood of Christ.
14 For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us. 15 He did this by ending the system of law with its commandments and regulations. He made peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in himself one new people from the two groups. 16 Together as one body, Christ reconciled both groups to God by means of his death on the cross, and our hostility toward each other was put to death.
17 He brought this Good News of peace to you Gentiles who were far away from him, and peace to the Jews who were near. 18 Now all of us can come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us.
19 So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family.
Romans 5:9-11 NLT
9 And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation.
10 For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. 11 So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.
- Reconciliation: a broken relationship restored.
And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. 19 For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation.
What an assignment!
2 Corinthians 4:7 NLT
7 We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. …
Luke 2:10-11 NLT
10 but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. 11 The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!
We have the message of a Savior, a message of reconciliation.
- We have been given the wonderful message of reconciliation.
Remember, God does the work.
20 So we are Christ’s ambassadors;
A “messenger” (not a Savior)
God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!”
- We are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!”
Romans 3:23 NLT
23 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.
Romans 6:23 NLT
23 For the wages of sin is death, (separation from God)
21 For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.
John 3:16 NLT
16 “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
6:1 As God’s partners, we beg you not to accept this marvelous gift of God’s kindness and then ignore it.
We are both a messenger and an encourager.
Do not ignore this marvelous gift.
An initial, apparent acceptance of God’s grace was not real.
or
Saved, but hindered by false teachers.
1 Thessalonians 3:5 NLT
5 That is why, when I could bear it no longer, I sent Timothy to find out whether your faith was still strong. I was afraid that the tempter had gotten the best of you and that our work had been useless.
Matthew 13:1-23 NLTParable of the Farmer Scattering Seed
1 Later that same day Jesus left the house and sat beside the lake. 2 A large crowd soon gathered around him, so he got into a boat. Then he sat there and taught as the people stood on the shore. 3 He told many stories in the form of parables, such as this one:
“Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seeds. 4 As he scattered them across his field, some seeds fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate them. 5 Other seeds fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seeds sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow. 6 But the plants soon wilted under the hot sun, and since they didn’t have deep roots, they died. 7 Other seeds fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants. 8 Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted! 9 Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.”
10 His disciples came and asked him, “Why do you use parables when you talk to the people?”
11 He replied, “You are permitted to understand the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven, but others are not. 12 To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given, and they will have an abundance of knowledge. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them. 13 That is why I use these parables,
For they look, but they don’t really see.
They hear, but they don’t really listen or understand.
14 This fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah that says,
‘When you hear what I say,
you will not understand.
When you see what I do,
you will not comprehend.
15 For the hearts of these people are hardened,
and their ears cannot hear,
and they have closed their eyes—
so their eyes cannot see,
and their ears cannot hear,
and their hearts cannot understand,
and they cannot turn to me
and let me heal them.’
16 “But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. 17 I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, but they didn’t see it. And they longed to hear what you hear, but they didn’t hear it.
18 “Now listen to the explanation of the parable about the farmer planting seeds: 19 The seed that fell on the footpath represents those who hear the message about the Kingdom and don’t understand it. Then the evil one comes and snatches away the seed that was planted in their hearts. 20 The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy. 21 But since they don’t have deep roots, they don’t last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God’s word. 22 The seed that fell among the thorns represents those who hear God’s word, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life and the lure of wealth, so no fruit is produced. 23 The seed that fell on good soil represents those who truly hear and understand God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!”
2 For God says,
“At just the right time, I heard you.
On the day of salvation, I helped you.”
Indeed, the “right time” is now. Today is the day of salvation.
Isaiah 49:8 NLT
Promises of Israel’s Restoration
8 This is what the Lord says:
“At just the right time, I will respond to you.
On the day of salvation I will help you.
I will protect you and give you to the people
as my covenant with them.
Through you I will reestablish the land of Israel
and assign it to its own people again.
- Do not accept the marvelous gift of God’s kindness and then ignore it.
the “right time” is now.
James 1:22
22 But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.
- But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.
