We are ambassadors for Christ

2 Corinthians 5:11-21 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade people, but we are well known to God; and I hope that we are also well known in your consciences. ¹² We are not commending ourselves to you again, but are giving you an opportunity to be proud of us, so that you will have an answer for those who take pride in appearance and not in heart. ¹³ For if we have lost our minds, it is for God; if we are of sound mind, it is for you. ¹⁴ For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; ¹⁵ and He died for all, so that those who live would no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose on their behalf.

¹⁶ Therefore from now on we recognize no one by the flesh; even though we have known Christ by the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer. ¹⁷ Therefore if anyone is in Christ, this person is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. ¹⁸ Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, ¹⁹ namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their wrongdoings against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.

²⁰ Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. ²¹ He made Him who knew no sin to be sin in our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

In today’s text it says: The love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, so that those who live would no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose on their behalf… Therefore if anyone is in Christ, this person is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. Christ died for us so that we could live, not as we were, no longer for ourselves, but rather as a new creation in Him, living for Him. In John 8:12 Jesus says: “I am the Light of the world; the one who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.” If we say that we love and live for Christ, we cannot continue to walk in or embrace the darkness. In Matthew 5:14-16 Jesus says: “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Your light must shine before people in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”

The text says: Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their wrongdoings against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. He made Him who knew no sin to be sin in our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. We cannot be reconciled to God and His righteousness and continue to reconcile ourselves to the immorality of the world. James 4:4 says: You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.  If we are reconciled to God, then like Jesus we are to call the world to become reconciled to Him also. In Luke 5:32, when asked about His association with sinners and outcasts, Jesus said: “I have not come to call the righteous to repentance, but sinners.”

Again, the text says: Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.  An ambassador is a person who lives in a foreign kingdom in order to represent their own kingdom in that land. We live in the kingdom of the world, but we are to be ambassadors of the kingdom of God. An ambassador does not hide the fact that they represent their own kingdom. They do it boldly and proudly. Far too many Christians today are more like secret agents for Jesus rather than ambassadors. They hide their allegiance to the kingdom of God and try to blend into the kingdom of the world. Rather than boldly and proudly representing their kingdom, they act as if they are ashamed.  In Luke 9:26 Jesus says: “Whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory and the glory of the Father and the holy angels.”  The distinction between darkness and light is becoming ever clearer to those who know the Light. In Matthew 28:18-20 Jesus commissions us as His ambassadors and instructs us saying: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to follow all that I commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. Your kingdom is my kingdom. By the power of the  Holy Spirit, may I be a bold ambassador, shining Your light in the darkness of the world. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors, and call them to be reconciled to You. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.