Sermon: A new creation (II Cor 5:16-21)

GOD'S EXTREME MAKEOVER
(II Cor 5:16-21)

pdf

Dr. Paul Manuel—2015

Some people will make a career change not necessarily for greater remuneration but in order to do what they enjoy.

Bumping into an old girlfriend, Tom told her that he had given up a boring and unfulfilling accounting job to do what he loved: writing. “That’s terrific!” she said, “I really admire a person who follows his dream. Tell me, have you sold anything yet?” “Sure have,” Tom replied…. “My house, my car, my stocks and bonds.”

Some career changes come at a price, but they are still fulfilling. Paul made a career change when he switched from opposing Christ to promoting him.ⁱ It was a change that cost him dearly, but it was a change he found ultimately fulfilling, and it resulted in God’s Extreme Makeover.ⁱⁱ

In chapter 5 of Paul’s second letter to the church at Corinth, the apostle presents life in stark, either/or contrasts. He talks about…

• Our earthly tent (mortal body) versus our heavenly home (glorified body vv.1-4),
• Being in the body versus being with the Lord (vv. 6-10),
• What is plain to God versus what is plain to us (v. 11),
• The old that has gone versus the new that is coming (v. 17).

It is the old versus the new that Paul treats in this passage, and in three sections he emphasizes what is new about the provision God offers that the apostle himself has experienced.

For the first makeover provision God offers…

I. Paul has adopted a new perception of life (vv. 16-17).

2 Cor 5:16 …from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way,ⁱⁱⁱ we do so no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation;^iv the old has gone, the new has come!

Before his coming to faith in Jesus, Paul had a very narrow way of looking at things.^v

A. His former viewpoint was worldly.

Like most people today, he saw life here and now as most important, despite the fact that his pharisaic beliefs put a premium on life after death and on a reward for one well-lived. His narrow world view changed, however, when he recognized Jesus not as a pretender but as the messiah. Now Paul has a much different appreciation of what is most important.…

B. His current viewpoint is godly.

Now he takes a long view, preparing for what lies ahead, conducting his life so that what he does has eternal significance.^vi The “new creation” Paul cites here entails a transformation he also advocates in other letters:

I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. 2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. (Rom 12:1-2a)

[P]ut off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; …be made new in the attitude of your minds; and…put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. (Eph 4:22b-24)

Through Christ, Paul has adopted a new perception of life, one that sets aside worldly matters in favor of godly concerns, and it is a perception Paul would recommend for you. This is how Paul evaluates others, not superficially but carefully.

There is a common assumption that Christians are not to be judgmental, that they (we) must not criticize others. In support of this notion, proponents appeal to such passages as…

Luke 6:37a Do not judge, and you will not be judged.

Yet it is just such a relativistic attitude that represents a worldly point of view. Moreover, Luke is probably presenting only a partial record of what Jesus said because, by itself, it gives the impression that Christians are not to be at all disapproving of others. Were that the case, then we would have to accept even sinful actions. Furthermore, such a view would contradict passages that require us to render judgments (condemnation) of wrong thinking or bad behavior. As Paul states elsewhere…:

2 Cor 10:5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

1 Tim 5:20 Those who sin are to be rebuked publicly, so that the others may take warning.

Jesus advocates a nuanced approach to rendering criticism, as he says in…

John 7:24 Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment.

You must be careful not careless in your criticism of others, yet you must not be silent in the face of sin.^vii This is part of the new perception on life Paul has developed.

For the second makeover provision God offers…

II. Paul has developed a new appreciation for life (vv. 18-19).

2 Cor 5:18 All this is from God, who reconciled^viii us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ,^ix not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.

God has provided a truly welcoming entry to heaven by changing our formerly hostile status, as Paul writes also to the church in Rome: “when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son.” (Rom 5:10) We do not always appreciate the drastic nature of this change, of how God regarded us before Jesus saved us.

[We were] gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts…. [Therefore, w]e were by nature objects of wrath. (Eph 2:3)

[We] were alienated from God and were enemies …because of []our evil behavior. (Col 1:21)

Being subject to His extreme anger, we were doomed to suffer perdition for all eternity. It was a truly dreadful fate that we could not alter. Then…

A. God reconciled us through Christ.

…and immediately everything changed. We were suddenly God’s friends. More than that, we were His heirs, “heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ” (Rom 8:17a),^x in line to receive countless riches and endless blessing. More even than that, we were given the privilege of helping others realize the same change we experienced. In this way…

B. God reconciles others through us.

It is a wonderful opportunity to be involved with God’s grand endeavor, reconciling “all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through [Jesus’] blood, shed on the cross” (Col 1:20). This is the ministry Paul describes here, the same ministry in which you also have a role.

Our appreciation of reconciliation is generally limited by our own experience, the extent to which we have been able to mend fences with others. Jesus addresses our need to do this, to keep relations with others in good repair:

…if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift. (Matt 5:23-24 )^xi

Here and elsewhere Paul addresses your need to do this also with God. One critical difference is that as much as it is within your power to fix a damaged relationship, you must. That is, it does not matter who is to blame for harming the relationship; you must make the first attempt to repair it, not wait for the other party. When the damage is to your relationship with God, especially as it determines your eternal destiny, you cannot repair it; so there is no going first. Thankfully, God can repair it, and He has already made the first move:^xii

God was pleased to [make] peace through his blood, shed on the cross. Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation…. This is the gospel that you heard…and of which I, Paul, have become a servant. (Col 1:19-23)

“Reconciliation is an accomplished fact on God’s side, yet it must be embraced on [man’s] side” (Harris 2005:438). Moreover, God’s first move is the only move you will ever need for reconciliation with Him: Christ’s once-for-all sacrifice.^xiii This is how Paul has developed a new appreciation for life.

For the third makeover provision God offers…

III. Paul has received a new commission in life (vv. 20-21).

Most people belong to some organization, a group of individuals that have a common purpose. These groups may be benevolent (e.g., Shriners) or malevolent (e.g., Mafia), and they may be quite large (e.g., a coalition of nations). Any such group unites around a single cause even when there are other differences among individual members. You are probably part of at least one such organization (presumably, nothing like the Mafia), but you are also part of something much bigger: the kingdom of God, composed of “a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language” (Rev 7:9a).^xiv As part of that group, you have a common purpose, which is to praise our God.^xv It is also to promote our God, as Paul says here.

2 Cor 5:20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.^xvi We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Paul states that he and Timothy (2 Cor 1:1) are “ambassadors” (diplomats, emissaries, delegates), whose task is to convey God’s offer of forgiveness to others.^xvii

An ambassador acts and speaks not only on behalf of but in the place of the sovereign from whom he has received his commission It is his duty to proclaim faithfully and precisely the message entrusted to him by his sovereign. Accordingly there is a real sense in which he is the voice of the sovereign he represents. (Hughes 1962:209-210)

Although we may not be apostles as Paul and Timothy are, still…

A. Christ made us his representatives.

So, we must “always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks [us] to give the reason for the hope that [we] have.” (1 Pet 3:15b)

Paul then makes two important theological assertions about Jesus, both of which accord with what others have said:

• The first assertion is about the purity of his life, that it was without sin. The author of Hebrews agrees:^xviii

Heb 4:15b …we have [a high priest] who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin.

• The second assertion is about the efficacy of his death, that his sacrifice was sufficient for our sin. The apostle John agrees:^xix

1 John 2:2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also the sins of the whole world.

Yet beyond these two characteristics of Jesus’ ministry, the purity of his life and the efficacy of his death, he did even more than secure our pardon.

B. Christ imputed [to] us his righteousness.

As Paul said elsewhere: “This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.” (Rom 3:22)^xx Not only has God cancelled the penalty for our sin, He has removed whatever stigma might remain and has replaced it with a righteousness that is beyond our ability to produce. As we stand before the judgment seat of God, we will have assurance of His pardon and of our place in His kingdom.

Even if you are not an apostle, you must be ready to testify about your faith in God, but you must do so with compassion (not confrontation).^xxi As Paul writes to Timothy:

Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. And the Lord’s servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will. (2 Tim 2:23-26)

This may mean, despite the urgency of your message—that the gospel is a matter of life and death—your immediate task, what you must do first is not talk but listen.

In this second letter, Paul describes for the believers at Corinth the change God has wrought in him and in them because of Jesus. This change cost our savior dearly, but it was a change he found ultimately fulfilling, and that ultimately resulted in God’s Extreme Makeover for us.

For the Bibliography and Endnotes, see the pdf here.