2 Corinthians 5: We Are Ambassadors

The "Las Vegas" of first century Rome has been on a long journey. The Apostle Paul is encouraging them to forgive one another, know who they are in Christ, keep their lives holy, and stay unified.

Strength in weakness. Jesus is the God of All Comfort! This is the central message of 2 Corinthians. Throughout the letter Paul turns upside down our natural expectations of the way life works. Contrary to the way the world and our own human hearts naturally function, God takes what is low, despised, and weak to accomplish his purposes.

Key Verse:

(2 Corinthians 1:3-4)God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. 4 He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.

Let’s read it together.

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The More We Dig. The More We Find.

Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome to Bible Breakdown Podcast
• 0:23 We Are Ambassadors: 2 Corinthians 5
• 4:10 Our Earthly Bodies vs Spiritual Bodies
• 8:50 Living for Christ, Not Ourselves
• 13:01 Our Task of Reconciliation
• 16:25 Your Purpose as God's Ambassador

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:02

Hey everyone and welcome to the Bible Breakdown podcast. In this podcast, we will be breaking down the Bible one chapter a day. Whether you are a new believer or have been following Christ for a while, we believe that you will learn something new and fresh every single day. So thank you for joining us and let's get into breaking down the Bible together.

Speaker 2: 0:23

Well, hello everybody, welcome back to the Bible Breakdown Podcast with your host, pastor Brandon, today, 2 Corinthians 5, and if I could give this one a title, it would be we Are Ambassadors. We are ambassadors. Well, what is the definition of an ambassador? An ambassador is the highest-ranking diplomat that has been sent from one country to another. It's the highest ranking diplomat sent from one country to another, and when that person is in that other country, they still act as though they're from their country of origin. They may live in this new place, but their allegiance is still to the original country, and so they are representing that country in everything that they do, and it is an honor to represent their home nation to that new country. And that is what God says that we are. What an honor and a privilege, and we're going to get into that in just a moment. But, as always, if you like what we're doing here, make sure you like, share and subscribe to the YouTube channel. Leave us a comment. Let us know how you're engaging with God's word. Also, be sure to subscribe to this. That's right below this video on the right. It really helps us get that on the road to 1,000 subscribers. Also, if you're listening to the podcast. I love you so much. Thank you for listening to this podcast. Make sure you leave us a five-star review. It really helps us in the algorithm. And then also our rallying point the Bible breakdown discussion. Thank you so much for engaging with us there. Leave us a picture of yourself. We would love for you to introduce yourself. Give us a picture. Let us know a little bit about you so we know who we are engaging with every day in God's work.

Speaker 2: 1:55

I'm going to tell you something the more we dig, the more we find. I just feel like I have this honor In my mind. I have this idea that as you're opening up your Bible to 2 Corinthians 5, it's like we're sitting around a coffee table. I've got my cup of coffee, you've got yours, we get our Bibles together and we just get to gush about God's Word for a little while. What a wonderful way we get to do that. I've heard from some of you that you read and listen to this as soon as you get up in the morning. I've had some people say that I get to go with you on your way to work, which is awesome. Please keep your eyes on the road so that you and I both make it there together. And then some people tell me that you listen to this right before you go to bed, which, I'll be honest with you, that's weird for me because I can't imagine myself being there right beside you and saying this almost as though it's like a bedtime story. But when we go through the Old Testament, that's what I like it is. So if you have your Bibles in 2 Corinthians, chapter 5, what we've been doing here is, this is the fourth letter that Paul has actually written to the church.

Speaker 2: 2:54

At Corinth and Corinth man, they go through all the trouble. I mean, remember, corinth is like the Las Vegas of the first century Roman Empire, and so on the surface it's a big party. Underneath is a lot of diversity, a lot of conflict, a lot of stuff. And so the first book or letter we have of the Corinthians that has survived with us, that was inspired of the Holy Spirit. Paul's being rough with them. He's like, hey, you guys have got to straighten up right. Well then, over the course of the next season they really repented of their sin. They really a long way. And now Paul is trying to comfort them and say hey, man, god is the God of all comfort. That's the theme of 2 Corinthians no-transcript in our life, and we have to remember that there's a time to call each other out, there's a time to repent, and then there's a time to offer forgiveness and a time to mend fences where possible and, of course, to also remember who we are in Christ. And that's what chapter five is all about.

Speaker 2: 4:09

2 Corinthians, where Paul has been talking about how we have now the glory of God in our lives and he said it's like jars of clay with gold on the inside that we all look normal to everybody else as a matter of fact, some of us look like we're a cracked jar of know, all of that but on the inside is something amazing, something eternal, and he's going to continue to do that in talking about how we have new bodies spiritually and that we are God's ambassadors into the world. So this is an amazing chapter. We're going to read it and let the Lord just speak to us through this, on the God of all comfort, just comforting our soul in what we can't see, but what God is doing in the spiritual world all around us. So here we go. 2 Corinthians 5, verse 1 says this For we know that when this earthly tent, this earthly body that we live in is taken down. That is, when we die and we leave this earthly body, we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself. Now pause.

Speaker 2: 5:11

Now the reason why Paul would use this idea of tents and all that is. Paul's trade was a tent maker, which would mean he's kind of a handyman, kind of a fix-it man, and one of the things he would do in this dry era climate is some people would have, you know, homes that you would think of in that climate, but then also we'd have people that would have tents and stuff, and so Paul would be just like a handyman who would fix these things and do these different, you know odd jobs, that kind of guy. So this made sense to him in how he would explain it. So he said when we die, our physical bodies return to the dust of the ground, but we have a spiritual side of us that lives forever.

Speaker 2: 5:50

I've heard it said like this everybody me and you has a body. We are a soul and we are a spirit. So we are a spirit. Excuse me say it another way around we are a spirit, we have a soul and we live in a body. So the lowest part of us is our physical body. Our soul is what some people would call our mind, our will and our emotions, but then our spirit is that part of us that is made in the likeness and image of God, and it's the one that controls all those things.

Speaker 1: 6:21

Now.

Speaker 2: 6:21

I know that's very complicated to even go there, but the idea, the bottom line of it is, is our bodies are made of flesh and blood and so when our bodies die, it returns to the dust of the ground. There's nothing eternal about our physical body, but our spiritual body is what lasts forever. And he said when we die physically, our spiritual body takes over. Verse two we grow weary in our present bodies, for we long to put on our heavenly body like new clothing, for when we put on our heavenly bodies, we will not be spirits without bodies, for we live in this earthly body. We groan and sigh, but it's not that we want to die or get rid of these bodies that clothe us. Rather, we want to put on our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by life. God himself has prepared this for us and as a guarantee, he has given us his Holy Spirit. Now what did Paul say? He said you know, as we live in this human body, we have aches, we have pains, we have broken bones, we have all these different things, and there's a part of us that just grows weary, just grows weary of not getting enough sleep and dealing with all these different things we have to deal with. He said but one day, when we die, we're going to get rid of this earthly body and we're going to be a spirit and have a spiritual body. And he says the guarantee that this is true is that God has given us his Holy Spirit to live inside of us. It's that part of us that, when we encounter God's presence, when we feel God's goodness around us, when we feel the assurance of our salvation, that is God's Spirit living inside of us, within us. And he's saying that, knowing that you have that experience, that you have that, is a guarantee that all of this is true. That other words, there's something transcendental that is bigger than all of us, if you've ever, you know, experienced the presence of God. It is a reminder that there's so much more to our life than just what we can experience with our five senses, that there is a spiritual world all around us. And every once in a while, when he allows our five senses to encounter the spiritual world, it is a reminder that there's so much more going on than what we normally can see.

Speaker 2: 8:29

Verse six says this we are always confident, even though we know that as long as we live in these bodies. We are not at home with the Lord, for we live by believing, not by seeing. Yes, we are fully confident that we would rather be away from these earthly bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord. So, whether we are here in this body or away from this body, our goal is to please Him, for we must all stand before Christ and be judged, and we will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil that we have done in this earthly body. Now, before we move on, that comes from a question where many people have said that the only way you can get into heaven is by having a relationship with Jesus Christ, by declaring Christ as Lord, and then, by doing that, our affections and our nature is changed and we want to live according to the goodness of God. And so they say that at some point, though, all of the things that we do will be tested by God.

Speaker 2: 9:30

Now, not at all having to do with getting into heaven. You don't get into heaven by doing anything good. You get into heaven because of what Christ has done, but at some point there'll be rewards in heaven. There'll be an opportunity to have these rewards in heaven that then you can turn and give to God in worship and a lot of theologians think that this verse is kind of talking about that, that whatever we deserve for good or evil, we will have what we have done in earthly bodies when we have done that.

Speaker 2: 9:55

And so there is this theological idea when we get to heaven, there's only one question that matters to get to heaven, and that is what did you do with Jesus? And the answer needs to be you made him your Lord and your Savior. And then the second question will be what did you do with the opportunities I gave you? And now that one doesn't have to do with going to heaven, it has to do with rewards in heaven, and so that's where a lot of that comes from, and I would encourage you to dig deeper on that and to find other scriptures in the Bible that either support it or maybe don't support it, and the more you dig, the more you'll find. Let's keep going. Verse 11, because we understand our fearful responsibility to the Lord, we work hard to persuade others. God knows. We are sincere, and I hope you know this too. We are commending. Are we commending ourselves to you again?

Speaker 2: 10:38

No for we have given you a good reason to be proud of us, so you can answer those who brag about having a spectacular ministry rather than having a sincere heart. If we seem that we are crazy, it is to bring glory to God, and if we are in our right minds, it is for your benefit. Either way, christ's love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life. He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them. That is why, by the way, pause when Paul just said that those who believe in Christ now live for Christ. That's why some people say you can pray the prayer of salvation but not actually get saved. I don't know if you've ever heard that before, but what that means is I can pray the prayer of salvation all I want to, but if it's just empty words, if it's just something I say and I don't actually mean it in my heart, then it's not going to change anything. But when I mean it and I truly give my life to God, then a supernatural change comes over me and I go from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light and my affections begin to change. And I want to serve the Lord, I want to live for the Lord. That's why, if you ever had someone who said well, man, I prayed a prayer a long time ago, but nothing really happened, then it would be you prayed a prayer a long time ago, you didn't actually give your life to Christ. And the difference is because when you mean it, when you truly mean it, then something supernatural comes and now you live for Christ and those who were dead were now raised to life.

Speaker 2: 12:21

Let's finish this up verse 16. So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ from merely a human point of view, but how differently we know him now. That's the difference between just praying a prayer but now knowing Christ, verse 17. This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone and the new life has begun.

Speaker 2: 12:48

And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciliation, of reconciling people to him, for God who is in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting these people's sins against them. He gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. We are Christ's ambassadors. God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead. Come back to God, for God made Christ, who neverned, to be the offering of sin for us so that we could be made right with God through Christ.

Speaker 2: 13:29

In other words, what Paul is saying is God does this amazing thing for you, and then he offers you the opportunity to enter back into your world as his ambassador and say look at what God has done in my life, and if God has done it for me, I know he can do it for you. So what does that mean for us today? Well, remember God is the God of all comfort, and what that means is is that God loves you more than you can imagine, and his plan for you doesn't just exist in this life, but it exists throughout eternity. That when you die one day and I hope for all of us it's a very, very, very, very long way away but when you do that, you still have eternity to look forward to an eternal life with God, and that should bring us hope. But then also to realize that God has a plan for you.

Speaker 2: 14:14

Right now, I can't tell you how many times people ask me as a pastor. You know, pastor, I have no idea what God wants me to do and I say I do. Well, what could that possibly be? Well, there's probably a lot of things he wants you to do, but one of the things he wants you to do is he wants you to know him personally. But then, once you do, you've got an amazing job. You are Christ's ambassador. You've been empowered to make a difference, and that difference making is when you go to people and you say come back to God, come back to him. If God did this in me, he can do this in you. So, no matter who you are, no matter what season of life you're in, no matter where you're living and I'm so blessed to know we have people now all over the United States and a couple people internationally who are listening, but it don't matter, no matter who you are, wherever you're listening from.

Speaker 2: 14:57

Here's the truth. You have a purpose, and, among many other things, that purpose is your purpose is to Share the love of Christ with everyone you meet in your everyday life, the same joy that you've experienced, even if you're not experiencing it right now, but the simple joy of knowing God, the simple knowing that God is for you and not against you, that you have a purpose, and the purpose is not to change a single person's life. That's God's job. Your job is not fruitfulness you can't control fruitfulness. You can control faithfulness. Your job is to be faithful, to share the love of Christ with others, and God takes care of fruitfulness. So God loves you more than you can imagine, and God has a plan for you.

Speaker 2: 15:48

Let's pray together, god. Thank you so much for today. Thank you for your goodness, your kindness. Thank you, lord, that you are for us. Thank you that you are the God of all comfort. My prayer today, god, is we'll realize that nobody watching or listening to this is without purpose, that we have more purpose than we can imagine, and because of that, that fills us with hope, because you have not forgotten us. Thank you for that. In Jesus' name, we pray Amen. Have not forgotten us. Thank you for that. In Jesus' name, we pray Amen. Don't forget. God's word says in 2 Corinthians 1,. God is the source of all comfort and he comforts us in all of our troubles so that we can comfort others. What have you learned about the comfort of God today, and what can you do and who can you share that with today? I love you. I'll see you tomorrow no-transcript.