New Eyes, New Life, New Mission

2 Corinthians 5:16-21

A verse you are probably familiar with is 2 Corinthians 5:17. Quoting from the ESV, it says “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”  This verse teaches us about the new birth we have in Christ and about how when we are united with Christ through faith, he gives us a new life, a life being regenerated by the Holy Spirit.

What we may not be aware of is that the larger context of this verse is about how we ought to look at one another.  Paul very gently scolds the Corinthians letting them know that the attitudes of some toward him are not correct but go against the love of God.

Slowly 2 Corinthians has been building to a point.  Knowing we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, Paul and his companions are motivated to persuade others into following Christ as well.  We should do the same.  We are to share the gospel with sincerity and a clear conscience – clear of deceit, manipulation, and selfish gain.  For it is the love of Christ that is to control us.  We are to no longer live for ourselves or serve our own interests, but we are to live as servants of Christ loving others and persuading them to serve Him.  To do so, we should no longer look at others according to fleshly / carnal ways.  Instead we need to recognize that those who are in Christ are new creation, the old has passed away and a new work from God has begun in their life.

15 And he died for all so that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for Him who died for them and was raised.  16 So then, from now on we recognize no one according to the flesh.  Even if we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him this way no longer.  17 For this reason, if anyone is in Christ, that one is new creation. The old has passed away, behold the new has come.  18 Now all these are from God who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 namely, that through Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not calculating their trespasses against them and entrusting to us the word of reconciliation.  20 Therefore we are ambassadors on behalf of Christ as though God were making an appeal through us, we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.  21 He who knew no sin became sin for us so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.

New Perspective Because of Christ

We begin with verse 15 because it establishes an important point. Since Jesus died for all to restore a relationship with God, how we live should be different from how we lived before we knew Christ.  We should no longer live for ourselves but for him who loved us, suffering, dying, and rising from the grave in order to make us whole again.

Verse 16 – And he died for all so that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for Him who died for them and was raised.

Verse 16a – “So then, from now on we recognize no one according to the flesh.”

· We should look at others through a different with a different shade of color - crimson.  This is how God now sees us.  The crimson blood of the Savior has washed away our sins.  We should put on crimson shades as well and see others as individuals for whom Christ died.  This is one of the ways we are to be different – new creation.

· We should no longer look at others according to the flesh, meaning according to human standards – outward and physical appearances.  This is seeing things from a carnal perspective.

· Being carnal was a big problem in Corinth.  Paul calls them fleshly (carnal) in 1 Corinthians 3:1-3.  They were carnal because they treated one another as competitors and judged the motives of others considering how people measured up to their expections.  They were critical of one another and of Paul.

Verse 16b – “Even if we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him this way no longer.”

· Paul knows what it was to view others in a fleshly way.  When Jesus walked the earth, He was mis-judged by many.  Most of the Pharisees considered Jesus to be a charlatan and a blasphemer.  The fact that Jesus was crucified (hung on a tree) only cemented their view that Jesus was cursed by God and not God’s Anointed Savior.  Death by hanging from a tree was a particular punishment reserved for those who are cursed by God.

· Paul raged against those who preached Jesus.  He went from house to house and Acts 8:3 says Paul ravaged the church and threw both men and women into jail.  Paul only new about Christ from a fleshly / carnal perspective until one day Jesus met him on the road to Damascus.  And now Paul knows Jesus this way no longer.

Verse 17 – “For this reason, if anyone is in Christ, that one is new creation. The old has passed away, behold the new has come.”

· Paul’s assumption here is that if anyone is in Christ, this should bring about a radical change in a person’s life.

· John 3:3 – Jesus said, Truly, truly I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.  Romans 6:4, Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.

· This is why we are no longer to look at others in a fleshly way.  We need to recognize the work God is doing in a person’s life.

The Ministry of Reconciliation

“18 Now all these are from God who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that through Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not calculating their trespasses against them and entrusting to us the word of reconciliation.

· God is in the business of reconciliation.  Reconciliation is restoring friendly relations between two parties in conflict.

· The need is for us to be restored before God, not for God to be restored to us.  We have wronged Him.  Reconciliation is something we cannot do on our own because all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God – because of our transgressions and iniquity, we fall short of His righteousness and holiness. 

· “The “Word of God”, Jesus – who is God (John 1:1), became flesh – human (John 1:14).  In Jesus we see the glory of God – He is full of grace and truth.

· In order for us to be reconciled to God, the curse of death we all are under had to be paid (the wages of sin is death).  The message of reconciliation is that God became one of us and took upon himself the punishment for our sins.  Reconciliation with God required a substitute to stand in our place.  God did this himself in Jesus.

· 1 John 3:1 is fitting to quote here: “See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us that we should be called ‘Children of God’”

The phrase “God was reconciling” is in the imperfect tense, the incomplete past-tense.  Scripture could say ‘God reconciled’, which would indicate that the job was complete.  But it isn’t.  Reconciliation takes two.  God has reached out to us and has the work of reconciliation through Christ.  But we need to do our part, which is to believe in Jesus and turn away from our rebellion toward God.

The ministry (service) of reconciliation continues today.  All believers have been entrusted with this ministry. 

So in verse 20 we read, “Therefore we are ambassadors on behalf of Christ as though God were making an appeal through us, we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.”

Paul applies this truth to himself.  This is how the church in Corinth should view him and what he is doing.  But Paul also applies it to all believers who read this letter.  We are God’s ambassadors – God’s emissaries residing in a foreign land – a world hostile toward God – sent on a mission of reconciliation.

The Gospel Message In One Sentence

21 He who knew no sin became sin for us so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.”

· Jesus took on our sin as a substitute so that we can take on His righteousness and be reconciled before God.

There is much to take away from this passage:

· Don’t hold someone’s past against them if they are in Christ.

· Avoid pride and division based on human status.

· See fellow believers as God sees them, REDEEMED, RECONCILED, and RENEWED.

· Be about the business of God – reconciliation, sharing with others the message of peace with God through Christ.

Amen.