“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! 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.” 2 Corinthians 5:16-21, NIV

Ministry is a sacred calling. Whether it be pastoral ministry, chaplaincy, counseling, or teaching, we are called to participate in God’s task of redemption. The problem is that we can often lose our focus. In the daily grind of our callings, we sometimes forget the task to which we are called. Do we want to grow a large church? Do we want to be head chaplain, or attain status as a master teacher? When we lose our focus, we jeopardize our ministries. This is a danger that could have confronted Paul. In Corinth Paul was being criticized for the inadequacy of his presentation. In 2 Corinthians 2:5-11, we see the Apostle’s advice about a member of the community who had opposed him. This opposition was stinging, yet the community would rebuke the opponent. Paul expresses his own forgiveness to the opponent, and recommends the community do the same.

Why is it that Paul can be so gracious? Part of the reason is that he has a proper understanding of who Christ is. In the past, Paul would have viewed people “according to the flesh” or, as the NIV puts it, “a worldly point of view.” At one time he would have even viewed Christ, “according to the flesh,” or, “from a worldly point of view.” When was this? Was it during his time as a persecutor of the church? Was it in his early ministry? Certainly, from a “worldly point of view” one would not have seen anything special in a Galilean carpenter executed as an insurrectionist. But when the scales fell off Paul’s eyes, both figuratively and literally (See Acts 9:18, he could see who Jesus truly is, the Messiah, who has called us into reconciliation with God and with each other).

What is the result of a proper understanding of Christ? First, we see in 2 Corinthians 5:17 that people are made new in Christ. English translations don’t usually convey the full impact of this verse. Literally, it reads: “If anyone be in Christ: New Creation!” This is a bold statement. The fact is God makes all things new. This is because as we see in 5:18, God was in Christ, and because of this, God is reconciling the world to God’s own self. God has also given his ministers, his church, this same ministry. We are ambassadors for Christ, sharing in the work of reconciliation.

How does this recognition impact our ministries? First, we get our eyes off ourselves. We no longer consider the worth of our ministries as “according to the flesh,” or “according to a worldly point of view.” There is something greater that needs to be considered. Our task is not to be “successful” in the world’s sense of success. As Christ’s ambassadors, we are to recognize two things. First, God made the sinless one sin. Jesus bears our sin. The result is we are to become God’s righteousness. We are to become the righteousness of God, God’s own dikaiosunē. On this basis, we proclaim God’s message of reconciliation. Our first focus must be on reconciling people to God. Only then can we be reconciled to one another when we no longer look at each other “according to the flesh,” or, “from a worldly point of view.”

What does this mean? In this day of polarization, we often want to look at externals. Can I only fellowship with people whose politics, or worship style, or social status agrees with mine? Do I consider people from a human point of view, or do I see them the way God sees them? Is my primary mission to conform people to my opinions, or to be what God has called them to be? Do I want to make people in my own image, or do I want them to be Christ’s new creation? It is only when we abandon looking at people from a “human point of view” that we can become Christ’s ambassadors, trusting in God to bring about God’s “New Creation.” Let us be bold enough to be Christ’s ambassadors as we minister in our Lord’s name. Amen.