We Are Ambassadors of Christ, Servants of God
What does it mean to follow Jesus? It means we are ambassadors of Christ and servants of God. We live for the Lord and others. We no longer live for ourselves. We no longer live according to the expectations, criteria, and standards of this world. And what Paul explains in 2 Corinthians about his ministry applies also to our lives and ministries as ambassadors of Christ and servants of God.
2 Cor. 5:11-13 — Therefore, because we know the fear of the Lord, we seek to persuade people. But what we are is known (open, plain, revealed) to God, and I hope it is known also to your conscience. We are not commending ourselves to you again, but giving you an opportunity to be proud of us (boast about us), so that you may have a reply for those who take pride in (boast about) the outward appearance (what is seen) rather than in the heart. For if we are out of our mind, it is for God; if we have a sound mind, it is for you.
1. What We Are Is Known
What we are is known, open, plain, revealed, clear to God and should be to others. Paul’s ministry was under attack. People in the Corinth church were saying that he is not a true apostle. They denied his authority, questioned his motives and integrity, and discredited his teachings. They were doing this because Paul was not living, behaving, teaching, and serving according to the expectations and norms of the Corinthian society and culture. They looked at Paul and his ministry from a worldly and human point of view. They looked at the outward appearances, at his performance. But Paul was not singing and dancing to the tune of the surrounding culture. So, he had to defend his ministry. This was painful for him because as a humble servant he did not like to do that, but he was forced to commend himself and his team, to show that they are authentic servants of God.
What we are, who we are is known, open, plain to God. He knows our hearts. What we are should be known, clear to others. Is it? Is it revealed, known to others what we are? Are we living and serving in such a way that the world and the people around us know that we are kingdom people, ambassadors of Christ, and servants of God? Or do we put obstacles, stumbling blocks, in their paths? How can we show, demonstrate, what we are? We should learn from Paul.
The first question is, what motivates us? Why are we living the Christian life of self-giving service to others? Paul begins his defense by making clear his motivations. Because we know the fear of the Lord, we persuade others. His first motivation, driving force, for his ministry, is the fear of the Lord. This refers back to verses 9-10 — So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.
This fear of the Lord is knowing that all of us, every single human being, will appear before the judgment seat of Christ. For us, believers who are in Christ, this is a holy fear filled with trust and love, awe and reverence for our Lord. This fear causes us to serve Him in love with complete devotion. This fear is filled with the hope we have in Christ, the hope of the resurrected life and glory that awaits us. This hope makes us bold to persuade others to come to Christ. This fear is not a paralyzing terror but an awe-filled reverence for the sacredness of our service. Our lives and service in this world have eternal consequences. Therefore, we are bold and persuade others to share with them the hope and love we have in Christ.
Paul’s second motivation, and also ours, is the love of Christ. 2 Cor. 5:14-17 — For Christ’s love compels us (controls us), because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. So from now on, we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
2. The Love of Christ Compels & Controls Us
The love of Christ is the driving force behind our service and obedience to Christ. This is the knowledge and experience of Christ’s love for us. The love that drove Him to the cross to die for us. He died for all, and through repentance and faith in Him, we have all died in Him.
Christ’s death on the cross for all shatters the illusion of the world that self-centered living is normal and the right way to live. On the cross, the pursuit of sinful humankind for self-interest was killed by Christ’s act of self-giving, self-sacrificing love. His life of love, the resurrected, new life, was now kindled, recreated in us. We no longer live for ourselves but for Him and for others. We are free to live for a different purpose and with different goals than the world, because the old has gone, the new is here. We are new creations in Christ. The Cross and Resurrection have brought an end to our former lives. Our union with Christ ushers us into a totally new sphere of existence. We are new humans with a new identity (Galatians 2:20) and we belong to another world, the kingdom of heaven.
So, we look at the world, at life, and others from a radically new, totally different point of view. We no longer regard them from a worldly perspective, but from a kingdom, heavenly perspective. We see others through the eyes and heart of God. When we look at fellow believers we see a new creation. We see Christ in that person. When we look at unbelievers we see the possibility of a new creation. We see someone whom God loves. We see someone for whom Christ died, someone to whom He wants to give new life. That should excite and motivate us to reach out to all unbelievers, to persuade them, to call out to them — Be reconciled to God!
Thus, the energy to get up and live the Christian life and serve others comes not from a sense of duty, but from our response of love to the love of Christ who died and was raised for us.
But we must remember that this is all God’s work. 2 Cor. 5:18-6:2 — All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 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. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. As God’s co-workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain. For he says, “In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.” I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.
We have seen the motivations, the driving forces, for Paul’s and our ministry. Now he comes to what and who we are. We are ambassadors of Christ.
3. We Are Ambassadors of Christ
Because of his unfailing love and in his amazing grace, God reconciled the world to himself in Jesus Christ. God gave this ministry of reconciliation to us. God committed this message of reconciliation to us. Jesus Christ suffered, died, and rose from the dead. We are to preach repentance for the forgiveness of sins in his Name to all nations. We are his witnesses (Lk 24:46-48). We are to make disciples of all people. We are ambassadors of Christ, representing Him to the world in our lives, and presenting Him to people in our service to others, calling out to them, “Be reconciled to God! Now! Today is the day of salvation. Don’t wait!”
In Christ, we have become the righteousness of God. We have received the new life. We have been made right with God, and the holiness, righteousness of God has been stamped on our new lives. Therefore, we must make sure that we do not receive the grace of God in vain. When we live for ourselves and not for Christ and others, when we do not love as Christ loves us, when we do not live out the new life we have in Christ, when we are not living out the grace we have received, then we are receiving God’s grace in vain. This is important because we are servants of God who are living in grace and living out grace to others.
2 Cor. 6:3-13 — We put no obstacle (stumbling block) in anyone’s way (path), so that no fault may be found with our ministry (will not be discredited/blamed), but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, by afflictions, by hardship, by difficulties, by beatings, by imprisonments, by riots, by labors, by sleepless nights, by times of hunger, by purity, by knowledge, by patience, by kindness, by the Holy Spirit, by sincere love, by the message of truth, by the power of God; through weapons of righteousness on the right hand and the left, through glory and dishonor, through slander and good report; as deceivers yet true; as unknown yet recognized; as dying and look—we live; as being disciplined yet not killed; as grieving yet always rejoicing; as poor yet enriching many; as having nothing yet possessing everything.
4. We are Servants of God
We are servants of God, serving and living for the Lord and others in everything and in every way. We must commend ourselves, that is, show, demonstrate, that we are servants of God, and make sure that in all situations and in all we do, we do not put stumbling blocks in people’s way to reconciliation with God. We must make sure that we don’t hinder God’s work of grace in anyone by discrediting our ministries.
To be servants of God, to live the Christian life of self-denial and service is not easy. Like Paul, we will experience many difficulties, hardships, and persecution. It does involve hard work, sleepless nights, and times of hunger. How can we do it? By purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, sincere (genuine) love, truthful speech, and with the weapons of righteousness on the right hand and the left. That means both for defense (left hand) and offense (right hand). The righteousness of God defends, protects us. No matter what the world throws at us, it will not change who we are, children of God, saved, forgiven, and made righteous in Christ. Living out righteousness, the kingdom life, is our offense. “Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day He visits us” (1 Pet 2:12).
Thus, we are ambassadors of Christ, servants of God who endure through difficulties, hardships, suffering, and persecution by persevering in faithfully living the kingdom life we have received in Christ. Of course, we cannot do this on our own. This is made possible by the power of God through the Holy Spirit. The power of God will empower us when we keep our eyes fixed on the Lord, abide in Christ, and walk in step with the Holy Spirit. The troubles and suffering we experience will show, demonstrate God’s power and draw us nearer to Christ.
Each and every one of you is an ambassador of Christ, a servant of God, God’s co-worker. That’s why I said last week that you are heroes in God’s Story and that you are. We are not, cannot be, nor should we strive to be heroes of the world. But we can live lives of service, loving God and others. We are heroes in God’s mission because we are ambassadors of Christ, servants of God, His co-workers, and through us God is appealing to the world, crying to the people, “Be reconciled to God.”