Ambassadors & Righteousness

Ambassadors

All of this newness is from God who has reconciled us to himself through Christ and as those who have been reconciled to God we have been given the ministry of reconciliation in other words every believer has a mission the same exact mission to tell others of the good news of Jesus Christ thus we our ambassadors for Christ and ambassador is an officially designated representative who is authorized to speak in a foreign land on behalf of the country by which he has been sent therefore we must speak faithfully for the one who sent us since we are Christ ambassadors God is making his appeal through us we are to share the message of reconciliation urging all sinners to be reconciled to God because through the atoning work of Christ he is not counting their trespasses against them there is no more glorious news to be proclaimed scripture declares that God wants everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth God the father desires that all people would hear and understand the gospel so that they may have the opportunity to believe for eternal life the son of God died on the cross to make this possible but he isn't coming down from heaven to do the witnessing directly instead he has committed the message to us our job as his ambassadors is to carry out that mission and proclaim this message to the world

we are ambassadors for Christ: Paul sees that he serves in a foreign land as the representative of a King. The King has a message, and Paul is delivering that message as though God were pleading through us.

There is so much to the idea of being ambassadors! An ambassador does not speak to please his audience, but the King who sent him. An ambassador does not speak on his own authority; his own opinions or demands mean little. He simply says what he has been commissioned to say. But an ambassador is more than a messenger; he is also a representative, and the honor and reputation of his country are in his hands.

. Ambassadors: This is a glorious title for Paul and the other apostles. However, it is not more glorious or more stunning than the thought of God, out of love, pleading to man. Why should God plead for us? We implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God: As an ambassador Paul makes a simple, strong, direct plea: be reconciled to God.

This makes it clear that the work of reconciliation mentioned previously in the chapter does not work apart from our will and our choice. Who are the ones reconciled to God? Those who have responded to Jesus' plea, made through His ambassadors. This makes it clear that it is we who must be reconciled to God, not He to us. We are the party in the wrong. Who is Paul imploring? The you of we implore you was added by the translators. Paul may have said, "We implore the whole world on Christ's behalf," or he may have said, "We implore you Corinthian Christians on Christ's behalf." The thought is valid either way, and both ideas may be in mind.

Be reconciled: We are not commanded to do the work of reconciliation between man and God. He has done the work; it is merely ours to embrace and receive. "It is not so much reconcile yourselves as 'be reconciled.' Yield yourselves to him who round you now the bands of a man would cast, drawing you with cords of love because he was given for you… Submit yourselves. Yield to the grasp of those hands which were nailed to the cross for you." (Spurgeon)

Righteousness

2 Corinthians 5:21 CSB

21 He made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Here Paul stresses the fact that Christ had no personal sin in His life. This qualified Him to become a sin offering. The word used here is the same as the word for sin in the Greek , conveying the thought of being on our behalf Having assumed the punishment of our sin for us, He made it possible for man to become, through faith, the righteousness of God in him. This is the fruit of our participation in the merits of His death, and the result of our union with Him. Thus grace reigns “through righteousness unto eternal life” (Rom. 5:21 Our sin is imputed to Him; His righteousness is imparted to us[1] . Him who knew no sin: The idea that any man could be sinless was foreign to Jewish thinking. Despite that, no one challenged Jesus when He claimed to be sinless

Romans 5:21 CSB

21 so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace will reign through righteousness, resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

john 8.46

John 8:46 CSB

46 Who among you can convict me of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me?

He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us: Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Paul carefully chooses his words. He does not say Jesus was made to be a sinner. Jesus never became a sinner, but He did become sin for us. Even His becoming sin was a righteous act of love, not an act of sin.

Jesus was not a sinner, even on the cross. On the cross, the Father treated Him as if He were a sinner, yet all the while, sin was "outside" of Jesus not "inside" Him and it was not a part of His nature (as it is with us). "Christ was not guilty, and could not be made guilty; but he was treated as if he were guilty, because he willed to stand in the place of the guilty. Yea, he was not only treated as a sinner, but he was treated as if he had been sin itself in the abstract. This is an amazing utterance. The sinless one was made to be sin." (Spurgeon)

. He made Him: We note that well. This was the work of God Himself! The Father and the Son (and the Spirit as well) were in perfect cooperation in the work on the cross. This means that the work of atonement on the cross was the work of God. "If God did it, it is well done. I am not careful to defend an act of God: let the man who dares accuse his Maker think what he is at. If God himself provided the sacrifice, be you sure that he has accepted it." (Spurgeon) d. That we might become the righteousness of God in Him: Jesus took our sin, but gave us His righteousness. It is a tremendous exchange, all prompted by the love of God for us!

i. "Not only does the believer receive from God a right standing before him on the basis of faith in Jesus (

Philippians 3:9 CSB

9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own from the law, but one that is through faith in Christ—the righteousness from God based on faith.

), but here Paul says that 'in Christ' the believer in some sense actually shares the righteousness that characterizes God himself.

This is the whole truth of justification stated simply: Our sins were on Jesus, and His righteousness is on us. And, "As Christ was not made sin by any sin inherent in him, so neither are we made righteous by any righteousness inherent in us, but by the righteousness of Christ imputed to us.

2 Corinthians 5:16–21 CSB

16 From now on, then, we do not know anyone from a worldly perspective. Even if we have known Christ from a worldly perspective, yet now we no longer know him in this way. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, and see, the new has come! 18 Everything is from God, who has reconciled us to himself through Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation. 19 That is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and he has committed the message of reconciliation to us. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us. We plead on Christ’s behalf, “Be reconciled to God.” 21 He made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.