II Corinthians 5:20 Ambassadors For Christ

Introduction:

Christians are called to minister the gospel for Kingdom advancement in the world.

Last Sunday we saw that we are to be salt and light in the world. We are to season the earth and be light for the world so they can see Christ being lived out through us in our actions and in what we proclaim.

Our text this morning demonstrates this by putting our ministry in a context that is more common to the political arena where dignitaries would negotiate and act on behalf of heads of state. I am referring to the Ministry of an Ambassador. Look to the first half of verse 20:

I. The Ministry of an Ambassador (20a).

Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us.

Like a president appoints an ambassador as his representative, God has entrusted His disciples to be His ambassadors in the world.

We are to be conduit. Like in my house there is conduit.

Conduit is the pipe that the wires that carries the electrical power actually run through. The electrical power is running across the wires inside the conduit.

An Ambassador for Christ is the conduit for ministry in the world.

Now some would attempt to argue that this was referring to only those original disciples in the first century and it is not something that can be applied or expected to be lived out by the average Christian.

Certainly those first century disciples were ambassadors for Christ and they appealed to people on behalf of Christ; just as Paul is doing to those in Corinth.

But there is application to every believer functioning as Christ’s representative in the world. If this were not true none of us would be Christians today.

This is because once the first century disciples died out there would have been no one else left to be Ambassadors for Christ.

The Great Commission would have never picked up any momentum at all. Missionaries and evangelist would have been irrelevant and Spiritual gifts would have been obsolete.

The Holy Spirit would not need to empower people for ministry at all. But what we see in Church history is just the opposite. We see God using His Church in the world to minister on His behalf on a global scale.

This is because the ministry of an ambassador is still ongoing up to this very day and it is a ministry that we are all called and commanded to engage in. (Tim Tebo Ex.)

It is a concept that is embodied in the Great Commission to make disciples of all nations. The shorthanded version of that is exhibited in Crete Church’s mission motto: “Connect, Renew and Go”

Christian you can be an Ambassador for Christ on an airplane during a crisis but you can also be an ambassador by setting across a table at a coffee shop (Edge) or over the backyard fence in conversation with your neighbor.

But what is it that we are trying to communicate in such conversations with people in the world? Well Christian, at the heart of the ministry of an Ambassador is the primary message of an Ambassador. Look at the second half of verse 20:

II. The Message of an Ambassador (20b).

We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

The message of an Ambassador is a message of reconciliation. The specifics that Paul has in mind here are seen from the context starting back up in verse 16.

In verse 16* we are told believers now have a common identity in the world. Your ethnic background or your so called social class or any other aspect of your fleshly and human existence is no longer the ultimate basis of your identity.

Verse 17* tells us why. It is because a transformation has taken place and believers are now in Christ. The old man is gone and the new man has come. A transformation has taken place.

Verses 18-19* gives us the source that made this all possible. It is God who is the source of this reconciliation that took place through Christ. And He has given this ministry of reconciliation to us.

This is the substance of our message as Ambassadors for Christ. This is the basis for why we “implore” others.

The Greek term for “implore” denotes the idea of pleading with someone on behalf of Christ. God making His appeal through us for others to be reconciled to God. We are the conduit through whom the power flows.

It is verse 21 that tells us the nature of the power that is running through the conduit (read verse 21). It is the doctrine of double imputation.

Our sin was imputed to Christ and Christ’s righteousness is imputed to us through faith alone.

This is the meat and potatoes of the gospel and you don’t have the gospel without double imputation. Simply because there is no basis for the blood atonement of Christ to be effectual.

This is what makes the gospel exclusive on a global front. Not just for the Jew but for the Gentile too. For all the nations of the world. No religion on planet earth has double imputation.

Christian we must keep the atonement in the gospel of the Cross. Without it there is no basis for sinners to be reconciled to God.

And without Christ taking our sin upon Himself and imputing His righteousness to us there is no payment made on our behalf. And no legal basis for our reconciliation to God.

And no reconciliation to one another due to our being in Christ (16).

And no hope of transformation from the old to the new (17).

And no ministry to be done (18-19).

Visiting my gay friend and his partner in their home. Their main problem is not a moral one. Their main problem is that they are unregenerate and they are separated from God.

I was with them for about 7 hours. It was at first a conversation about their lifestyle but almost immediately it turn into a conversation on the existence of God and His character and nature and how sin has brought the separation.

It was a fun conversation to have. They wanted to invite the atheist next door to join. Eventually she came over and became a part of the conversation. (Sounds like a joke)

Someone asked me: “How do you keep your cool in such a context?” It was not the holiness and righteousness of Brett Revlett that was being defended that day.

Truth be told if it was not for the grace of God in the double imputation of the atonement I would be no different than they are. We all would. We are just beggars trying to tell other beggars where to find the bread.

As ambassadors we are not the condemners of unbelievers, we are the ones who plead for them to be reconciled on the basis of the gospel. God is the one who judges and the one who will make it effectual in His time according to His providence.

As an ambassador we have to be true to the message of the gospel which calls sinners to faith and to repentance from their sin.

Conclusion

Unbeliever God is calling you again through the gospel to believe and turn from your sin. He is calling you to trust in Christ alone by faith for your salvation.

Christian if this table doesn’t remind us of the basis of our ministry and message as Ambassadors then it doesn’t remind us of anything.

We are called to examine our hearts before God in preparation for this table.

Confess and receive His grace!

I Corinthians 11:27-31 Let’s Pray

No closed /only for believers.