Daily Bread 2011 - 2 Corinthians 5
Daily Bread 2011 – 2 Corinthians 5
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin[a] for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
What Does This Mean For Us?
Paul introduces two wonderful concepts to us today, “Regeneration and Reconciliation”. In verse 17, he says, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old has gone and the new has come.” Through the work of Christ everything about us has changed. We have a new heart, a new will, a new peace and a new joy. This is also the sense in which we are “born again”. We are born again to the power of the Holy Spirit. This is an inside job. Although we may look the same on the outside, we have been transformed to think new thoughts, value new things, and have hope for eternal life. The Spirit inside of us testifies to this fact, so that it is not just fickle emotion, but a transformation of all we believe about life, love and God.
Secondly, we see this idea of reconciliation. Reconciliation is a banking term rooted in the debtor/creditor relationship. When one owes a debt the only way to make good is to make payment, so the account can return to good standing. The only problem is our debt was the debt of our sin, and we could not redeem ourselves, we needed someone else to reconcile our account to God. That person was/is Christ who became for us our justification, or righteousness. Meaning Jesus, who had no sin/debt, whose account was clean, needed to make payment to make us right with God through the free and sacrificial gift of His life, death and resurrection. This is the sense in which Jesus is our redeemer, for He has bought back our relationship/account with God through His perfect sacrifice which makes us right in God’s sight. Since it is a free gift, our debt is a debt of gratitude for the free gift that has set us free from our natural standing which leads to death, and made us sons and daughters of God and inheritors of eternal life.
What Does This Mean For Us?
Both from an organic/ontological standpoint (regeneration), and a relational standpoint (reconciliation), Jesus has provided for us everything we need to be in a “perfect relationship” with God. This is the Good News. As we fully understand all that God has done for us, and God’s motivation (love), we are compelled like Paul to want to share this Good News with the whole world. How could we not? The key to Paul’s passion and zeal were his understanding of what God did for him in Christ. And the same is true for us. Take a moment to reflect on the regeneration and reconciliation that God freely gave you in Christ effected through His Spirit. Take time to thank God and then share this Good News with those God calls you to!
Heavenly Father, how great a love you have given us that we would be called Your children, inheritors of Your eternal kingdom, by Your grace through Your Son Jesus Christ. We are forever grateful that we have been reconciled to You through the cross, and want to be so transformed by Your love that we might be your ambassadors in the world, bringing this message of reconciliation. In Your name, Amen.
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin[a] for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
What Does This Mean For Us?
Paul introduces two wonderful concepts to us today, “Regeneration and Reconciliation”. In verse 17, he says, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old has gone and the new has come.” Through the work of Christ everything about us has changed. We have a new heart, a new will, a new peace and a new joy. This is also the sense in which we are “born again”. We are born again to the power of the Holy Spirit. This is an inside job. Although we may look the same on the outside, we have been transformed to think new thoughts, value new things, and have hope for eternal life. The Spirit inside of us testifies to this fact, so that it is not just fickle emotion, but a transformation of all we believe about life, love and God.
Secondly, we see this idea of reconciliation. Reconciliation is a banking term rooted in the debtor/creditor relationship. When one owes a debt the only way to make good is to make payment, so the account can return to good standing. The only problem is our debt was the debt of our sin, and we could not redeem ourselves, we needed someone else to reconcile our account to God. That person was/is Christ who became for us our justification, or righteousness. Meaning Jesus, who had no sin/debt, whose account was clean, needed to make payment to make us right with God through the free and sacrificial gift of His life, death and resurrection. This is the sense in which Jesus is our redeemer, for He has bought back our relationship/account with God through His perfect sacrifice which makes us right in God’s sight. Since it is a free gift, our debt is a debt of gratitude for the free gift that has set us free from our natural standing which leads to death, and made us sons and daughters of God and inheritors of eternal life.
What Does This Mean For Us?
Both from an organic/ontological standpoint (regeneration), and a relational standpoint (reconciliation), Jesus has provided for us everything we need to be in a “perfect relationship” with God. This is the Good News. As we fully understand all that God has done for us, and God’s motivation (love), we are compelled like Paul to want to share this Good News with the whole world. How could we not? The key to Paul’s passion and zeal were his understanding of what God did for him in Christ. And the same is true for us. Take a moment to reflect on the regeneration and reconciliation that God freely gave you in Christ effected through His Spirit. Take time to thank God and then share this Good News with those God calls you to!
Heavenly Father, how great a love you have given us that we would be called Your children, inheritors of Your eternal kingdom, by Your grace through Your Son Jesus Christ. We are forever grateful that we have been reconciled to You through the cross, and want to be so transformed by Your love that we might be your ambassadors in the world, bringing this message of reconciliation. In Your name, Amen.
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