He Is Shown Through Us
WRITTEN BY DREW MATZ
Identity Series
“In Jesus, God was accomplishing many things, but nothing is more important than the fact that he was reconciling all of creation to himself. Apart from him, all things perish – but in him, we have eternity, identity, and the friendship of God…”
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From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
Explanation:
Sometimes it is easy for Christians to miss the all-encompassing nature of what Jesus has done. We tend to focus on Jesus’ ministry while sometimes neglecting the more cosmic and grand scale of his work. Paul begins to unpack that concept for us here in his second letter to the Corinthians by reminding us what Jesus’ death and resurrection mean – not just for us personally, but on the universal scale. For Paul, to understand others according to the flesh is to understand them according to the world, to the things that are passing away. Their identity “according to the flesh” is only death, destined to fall away. Paul reminds us that by reckoning people in light of the risen Jesus, they take on a new identity that inhabits a new creation. In Jesus, God was accomplishing many things, but nothing is more important than the fact that he was reconciling all of creation to himself. Apart from him, all things perish – but in him, we have eternity, identity, and the friendship of God.
Connection:
What does it mean to know yourself? Most of our society operates on the assumption that we really know who we are. Facebook, YouTube. Snapchat… all our contemporary social media cashes in on our confidence that we know ourselves so well that we are prepared to share it with the world. While we may have no problem broadcasting everything about ourselves to total strangers, one must wonder why we are so eager to win the approval from others? Why go through all the effort to win the attention of others, many of whom we barely know, much less talk to.
We might say then that the desperation for the approval of others is merely a symptom of our own alienation from God and from one another. As we make our way through the hazards of this life, we strive to understand ourselves and search endlessly for any sense of identity and security. We live our lives in search of life itself - for some semblance of purpose that will make everything make sense and worthwhile. Jesus knows about our desperate hearts, and here's the thing he needs us to understand. We don't find out who we are by chasing life in all of its pitfalls and disappointments. No, we discover who we are in denying ourselves. We discover who we are by sacrificing our own desires. We discover who we by nothing short of death, by remembering that we have been crucified with Christ. It Is no longer you who lives - but the risen son of God in you, and in me. Amen.
Action:
1. Reappraise -
In our world, it is easy to fall into the temptation of people-pleasing. When we crave the admiration and esteem of others, it is usually because we are insecure in who we believe ourselves to be. Therefore, take a step back and hear the word of the Lord, who has set you apart and marked you as his own. You no longer live, but Christ lives in you (Gal 2:20). How does that change your perception?
2. Be Reconciled -
Paul speaks here of being reconciled to God. It may be useful to reflect on what it means to be reconciled to God, and how might that change the way we think of ourselves, our life, and our vocation. If we believe that we have been reconciled to God, would we approach things the same way?
3. Become an Ambassador -
It is interesting to note that Paul calls us ambassadors for Christ, and that God makes his appeal through us (v. 20). Thus, embrace this calling from God to reach out to others who are lost and in need of the Gospel.