2 Corinthians 5
2 Corinthians 5:1-21
1 For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
2 For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven,
3 if indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked.
4 For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life.
5 Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.
6 So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord.
7 For we walk by faith, not by sight.
8 We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.
9 Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him.
10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.
11 Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are well known to God, and I also trust are well known in your consciences.
12 For we do not commend ourselves again to you, but give you opportunity to boast on our behalf, that you may have an answer for those who boast in appearance and not in heart.
13 For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; or if we are of sound mind, it is for you.
14 For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died;
15 and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.
16 Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer.
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
18 Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation,
19 that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.
20 Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.
21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
There is a pleasing of God and preparation for His presence that has everything to do with who we choose to live for. Though His part is complete and there is nothing else we can do to acquire what He has already purchased for us, what we do in these bodies still determines the trajectory of our lives – either with Him in glory or eternally with the alternative that has been our passion. What He is saying in vs 17 isn’t a truth that just anyone can claim. It’s the observance of one who no longer lives according to the flesh in their own life. By choosing fellowship with the Holy One over fellowship with the world, they have put to death the evil works of the flesh. This is the incredible purpose of Jesus’ death – not to disable the significance of our actions, but to make it possible for them to be righteous and holy simply by our choice of fellowship. Where there are still flesh-driven choices, this clearly indicates who we’ve been reconciled with – the flesh or Jesus. While our choices are critical in deciding our eternal destination, they cannot be altered by teaching or condemnation. This only empowers them. This is the case against any law in the flesh. It’s not the actions of the flesh that determine righteousness. It’s the fellowship of the heart. To be near Him is to be far from anything that would displease Him. We don’t live in righteousness from the determination of our flesh, but from the yielding of our flesh to the passion of our heart. The focus will then be only on knowing Him with full confidence in what happens to our old passions at His side. This pursuit of Him alone will also be the only way others can truly know Him through us. It’s the smell of Him and not the preaching against hell that compels rather than pushes people to being right with Him – forever…
The MEV says that God entrusted us with His message of reconciliation! The word entrusted means: to commit to another with confidence.
God has made committed His message of reconciliation to us with confidence that we will be willing and obedient to deliver His message to a lost and blinded world!
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