NEW

Reconciliation

v17 is the main point...Paul says God gave the ministry of reconciliation

Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Commentary Commentary

Christians have been called by their King to serve as ambassadors in a world that is in rebellion against Him. However, God has given His representatives a message of peace and reconciliation. In this way, believers are God’s ambassadors, whose mission is to implore people to be reconciled to God, to listen to the forgiving voice of their Creator

We have seen and will continue to see that through the new covenant in Christ and the Holy Spirit indwelling are God’s powerful provision for us in our lives and our inefficiencies and weaknesses!

4 things that compel Paul and should compel us-esv says control

The Fear of the Lord compels the ministry of reconciliation

we persuade others-

fear of death?

fear for our judgement?-loss of reward,

fear for the unbelievers judgement?- eternal damnation=alienation form God due to sin

Love of Christ compels-controls us-the ministry of reconciliation

the love of Christ was put on the greatest display possible- in His public trial and death

There is an immensity and intensity of His love

immensity=in number=He loves the world-we no longer see people as a tool-Olympic games- mockery of the last supper-Those are the ones Jesus said, from the cross, Father forgive them...

intensity=He loves ME!!-you-God is longsuffering

ALL= died for all.....that those who live would live for Him-=new creation

Application compels us to the ministry of reconciliation

we are a NEW CREATION-the old has passed ....behold....the new has come

there is or should be a radical reorientation of priorities

Ephesians 2:1–10 MSG

It wasn’t so long ago that you were mired in that old stagnant life of sin. You let the world, which doesn’t know the first thing about living, tell you how to live. You filled your lungs with polluted unbelief, and then exhaled disobedience. We all did it, all of us doing what we felt like doing, when we felt like doing it, all of us in the same boat. It’s a wonder God didn’t lose his temper and do away with the whole lot of us. Instead, immense in mercy and with an incredible love, he embraced us. He took our sin-dead lives and made us alive in Christ. He did all this on his own, with no help from us! Then he picked us up and set us down in highest heaven in company with Jesus, our Messiah. Now God has us where he wants us, with all the time in this world and the next to shower grace and kindness upon us in Christ Jesus. Saving is all his idea, and all his work. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It’s God’s gift from start to finish! We don’t play the major role. If we did, we’d probably go around bragging that we’d done the whole thing! No, we neither make nor save ourselves. God does both the making and saving. He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing.

Authority of God to be an ambassador of reconciliation compels us to go

Paul says this is the gift from God. v18-20

it was for our sake