2 Cor. 5.18-21
If asked for a concise, biblical definition of the gospel, indeed, a definition of Christianity itself, one could hardly be faulted for pointing to the following paragraph in 2 Corinthians 5.
“All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Cor. 5:18-21).
One could (and probably should) spend weeks in this text. It is a rich and wide-ranging treasure house of theological truth. But the more I think about it, the more I’m convinced that the brief comments of James Denney will suffice. After reading them, I strongly suspect you’ll agree. So, I ask that you do more than merely read his words (please, for your own sake, don’t skip over them). Meditate on the profound implications of what he says. I’ll interject a few relevant comments along the way.
Denney begins with a question, the answer to which is foundational to understanding the core of Christianity:
What is it that makes a Gospel necessary? What is it that the wisdom and love of God undertake to deal with, and do deal with, in that marvelous way which constitutes the Gospel? Is it man's distrust of God? Is it man's dislike, fear, antipathy, spiritual alienation? Not if we accept the Apostle's teaching. The serious thing which makes the Gospel necessary, and the putting away of which constitutes the Gospel, is God's condemnation of the world and its sin; it is God's wrath, 'revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men' (Rom. 1:16-18). The putting away of this is 'reconciliation'; the preaching of this reconciliation is the preaching of the Gospel.”
Here Denney touches on something rarely considered by most Christians. Let me put it in slightly different terms. From what is it that we need to be saved? Certainly not “from ourselves” (although one often hears such language, even in the church). Most Christians would say: from hell. In a sense, they are correct. But why is hell a threat, and what is it that accounts for the existence of hell and the experience of those who end up there?
The answer, as Denney points out, is divine wrath. Our only hope is for God to save us from God! This is the great glory of the gospel, that God in his grace takes action in Christ to save us from God in his wrath. God is not pitted against himself in this marvelous act of mercy, for God honors God when his love makes provision to satisfy the demands of his wrath.
Divine justice and its expression in divine wrath against sin, to use Paul’s words, calls for the reckoning or “counting” of our trespasses “against” us (2 Cor. 5:19). So how is it that, instead, I am forgiven the guilt of these wicked deeds? The answer of the apostle, in v. 21, is that God “made him [Jesus] to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” Don’t ever think that the love of God means that the wrath of God was ignored. Because God is just and righteous, there must be a reckoning or “counting” of trespasses. But because God is loving and gracious, the “counting” or “imputing” and the punishment it entailed fell on Christ.
I’ve often said to people that the reason why the psalmist declares that God “does not deal with us according to our sins” (Ps. 103:10) is because God dealt with Jesus according to our sins! Grace and mercy do not mean that sin is not dealt with, as if to suggest God merely swept our sins under the carpet of his compassion and ignored the horrid offense of our rebellion. Far from it! God the Father “counted” our trespasses against God the Son and in doing so brought about the reconciliation.
This “counting” or “reckoning” of our sins against him is what he means in v. 21 when he speaks of Jesus being “made to be sin” on our behalf. Paul is talking about the liability to suffer the penal consequences of the law. Our guilt, incurred because of our trespasses, has been imputed to him so that we, through faith in his sufferings on our behalf, might have his righteousness imputed to us!
We must not overlook the fact that all this was achieved by him who “knew no sin”. That as God he is without sin goes without saying, “but what is of vital importance for us and our reconciliation is that as Man, that is, in His incarnate state, Christ knew no sin, for only on that ground was He qualified to effect an atonement as Man for man" (Philip Hughes, 212).
Now, back to Denney:
“When St. Paul says that God has given him the ministry of reconciliation, he means that he is a preacher of this peace. He ministers reconciliation to the world. . . . It is not the main part of his vocation to tell men to make their peace with God, but to tell them that God has made peace with the world. At bottom, the Gospel is not good advice, but good news. All the good advice it gives is summed up in this – Receive the good news. But if the good news be taken away; if we cannot say, God has made peace, God has dealt seriously with His condemnation of sin, so that it no longer stands in the way of your return to Him; if we cannot say, Here is the reconciliation, receive it, -- then for man's actual state we have no Gospel at all.
When Christ's work was done, the reconciliation of the world was accomplished. When men were called to receive it, they were called to a relation to God, not in which they would no more be against Him – though that is included – but in which they would no more have Him against them. There would be no condemnation thenceforth to those who were in Christ Jesus" (James Denney).
Becoming the “righteousness of God” (v. 21) is not simply a tall order, but an impossible one. Yet, there he says it: in Christ Jesus we have “become the righteousness of God”!
As inconceivable as it may seem, from a human point of view, "such we are in the sight of God the Father as is the very Son of God himself. Let it be counted folly or frenzy or fury or whatever. It is our wisdom and our comfort; we care for no knowledge in the world but this: that man hath sinned and God hath suffered; that God hath made himself the sin of men, and that men are made the righteousness of God” (Thomas Hooker).
What a glorious gospel indeed!
- Sam Storms
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Saturday, January 5, 2008
Man's Glory vs. God's Glory
"The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament shows forth His handiwork. Day to day they utter speech and night after night they show forth knowledge."- Ps. 19: 1-2
During the last quarter of 2007, I was preaching in an eastern state in the U. S one weekend. On that Saturday evening, I was invited to dinner in a home up in the mountains. I enjoyed a special meal with some godly believers that evening and true fellowship for 3 hours together. On the spiritual level, the time together was truly Christ-centered and truly edifying.
On the human level, there were two things that stood out. The meal together was simply outstanding in every way. You could not have purchased in an expensive restaurant a meal that could have exceeded it.
Secondly, the house itself had cost six million dollars to build. I had not been in one ever that could compare to it. Needless to say, it was quite amazing and somewhat out of my league. The beauty, the architecture, and the furnishings were as impressive as anything I had seen in any human building. I went away from the evening struck with feelings concerning what man can accomplish. The house had a glory all its own. But I also went away from the evening with my heart free and centered on Christ, His presence and His grace. And for that, I felt grateful.
Then on Sunday afternoon, after preaching, I drove out of those mountains, headed south for 3 hours to the airport. As I drove through amazing beauty with blazing sunshine, blue skies, and awe-inspiring scenery all around, it was as if God began to say to my heart, "Yesterday, you saw what man can do-- now I will remind you what I have done!"
The secenery was breath-taking; God's fingerprints and handiwork were everywhere; God was speaking and it was very loud! "You've seen man's glory this weekend- now see Mine!" So as I listened to hymns, sang to Him, prayed, and worshipped the Saviour, the reality and wonder of what God has done and can do bacame fresh again to my heart because I was seeing His glory in the earth that afternoon.
I boarded a flight for home around 5:00 pm that afternoon, flying west toward Dallas. Sitting by the window on the right side of the plane, about half way home, I began to notice the curvature of the earth in the west, with the sunset setting the entire horizon ablaze with deep red tones; I had not seen a sunset like it from the air in a long time; the entire western horizon was like it was all on fire; no sight or scene on earth could have compared to it.
My heart went up to the One who had created it all and was holding it all together right then by the very word of His power. Twenty hours earlier, I had seen man's glory; now as I sat looking out the plane's window, I was beholding the very glory of God from 37,000 feet, a display that words could never adequately express nor could the human mind take in.
But His big show wasn't over yet. As the evening darkness set in approximately an hour before arriving in Dallas, I look out my window and saw a bright light reflecting off the plane's wing. Looking up, I was seeing the brightest blazing white full moon that I could ever remember. It wasn't yellow or mild, but brillantly white. Perhaps it seemed brighter because I was almost 40,000 feet higher than normal. But its brightness and whiteness was almost surreal. It was more glorious than I had ever seen the moon.
As I sat there, the Father's presence filled my mind and heart, and was powerfully around me, clearly saying to me, "You saw yesterday what man can do-- today you have seen what I have done and continue to do! And I made it for Me and for you."
Suddenly, the house I had seen the day before honestly seemed like a few match sticks; it had faded from my view and I was no longer impressed; for I had seen the building skills and the handiwork of an eternal and heavenly Being who daily reveals a glory than man can never touch or comprehend!
I came away from the time with a new question in my heart-- Which affects and impresses me the most- what man can do or what God can do? What a contrast- man's glory vs. God's glory; when one really sees it, there is no comparison!
- Mack T.
During the last quarter of 2007, I was preaching in an eastern state in the U. S one weekend. On that Saturday evening, I was invited to dinner in a home up in the mountains. I enjoyed a special meal with some godly believers that evening and true fellowship for 3 hours together. On the spiritual level, the time together was truly Christ-centered and truly edifying.
On the human level, there were two things that stood out. The meal together was simply outstanding in every way. You could not have purchased in an expensive restaurant a meal that could have exceeded it.
Secondly, the house itself had cost six million dollars to build. I had not been in one ever that could compare to it. Needless to say, it was quite amazing and somewhat out of my league. The beauty, the architecture, and the furnishings were as impressive as anything I had seen in any human building. I went away from the evening struck with feelings concerning what man can accomplish. The house had a glory all its own. But I also went away from the evening with my heart free and centered on Christ, His presence and His grace. And for that, I felt grateful.
Then on Sunday afternoon, after preaching, I drove out of those mountains, headed south for 3 hours to the airport. As I drove through amazing beauty with blazing sunshine, blue skies, and awe-inspiring scenery all around, it was as if God began to say to my heart, "Yesterday, you saw what man can do-- now I will remind you what I have done!"
The secenery was breath-taking; God's fingerprints and handiwork were everywhere; God was speaking and it was very loud! "You've seen man's glory this weekend- now see Mine!" So as I listened to hymns, sang to Him, prayed, and worshipped the Saviour, the reality and wonder of what God has done and can do bacame fresh again to my heart because I was seeing His glory in the earth that afternoon.
I boarded a flight for home around 5:00 pm that afternoon, flying west toward Dallas. Sitting by the window on the right side of the plane, about half way home, I began to notice the curvature of the earth in the west, with the sunset setting the entire horizon ablaze with deep red tones; I had not seen a sunset like it from the air in a long time; the entire western horizon was like it was all on fire; no sight or scene on earth could have compared to it.
My heart went up to the One who had created it all and was holding it all together right then by the very word of His power. Twenty hours earlier, I had seen man's glory; now as I sat looking out the plane's window, I was beholding the very glory of God from 37,000 feet, a display that words could never adequately express nor could the human mind take in.
But His big show wasn't over yet. As the evening darkness set in approximately an hour before arriving in Dallas, I look out my window and saw a bright light reflecting off the plane's wing. Looking up, I was seeing the brightest blazing white full moon that I could ever remember. It wasn't yellow or mild, but brillantly white. Perhaps it seemed brighter because I was almost 40,000 feet higher than normal. But its brightness and whiteness was almost surreal. It was more glorious than I had ever seen the moon.
As I sat there, the Father's presence filled my mind and heart, and was powerfully around me, clearly saying to me, "You saw yesterday what man can do-- today you have seen what I have done and continue to do! And I made it for Me and for you."
Suddenly, the house I had seen the day before honestly seemed like a few match sticks; it had faded from my view and I was no longer impressed; for I had seen the building skills and the handiwork of an eternal and heavenly Being who daily reveals a glory than man can never touch or comprehend!
I came away from the time with a new question in my heart-- Which affects and impresses me the most- what man can do or what God can do? What a contrast- man's glory vs. God's glory; when one really sees it, there is no comparison!
- Mack T.
Man's Glory vs. God's Glory
"The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament shows forth His handiwork. Day to day they utter speech and night after night they show forth knowledge."- Ps. 19: 1-2
During the last quarter of 2007, I was preaching in an eastern state in the U. S one weekend. On that Saturday evening, I was invited to dinner in a home up in the mountains. I enjoyed a special meal with some godly believers that evening and true fellowship for 3 hours together. On the spiritual level, the time together was truly Christ-centered and truly edifying.
On the human level, there were two things that stood out. The meal together was simply outstanding in every way. You could not have purchased in an expensive restaurant a meal that could have exceeded it.
Secondly, the house itself had cost six million dollars to build. I had not been in one ever that could compare to it. Needless to say, it was quite amazing and somewhat out of my league. The beauty, the architecture, and the furnishings were as impressive as anything I had seen in any human building. I went away from the evening struck with feelings concerning what man can accomplish. The house had a glory all its own. But I also went away from the evening with my heart free and centered on Christ, His presence and His grace. And for that, I felt grateful.
Then on Sunday afternoon, after preaching, I drove out of those mountains, headed south for 3 hours to the airport. As I drove through amazing beauty with blazing sunshine, blue skies, and awe-inspiring scenery all around, it was as if God began to say to my heart, "Yesterday, you saw what man can do-- now I will remind you what I have done!"
The secenery was breath-taking; God's fingerprints and handiwork were everywhere; God was speaking and it was very loud! "You've seen man's glory this weekend- now see Mine!" So as I listened to hymns, sang to Him, prayed, and worshipped the Saviour, the reality and wonder of what God has done and can do bacame fresh again to my heart because I was seeing His glory in the earth that afternoon.
I boarded a flight for home around 5:00 pm that afternoon, flying west toward Dallas. Sitting by the window on the right side of the plane, about half way home, I began to notice the curvature of the earth in the west, with the sunset setting the entire horizon ablaze with deep red tones; I had not seen a sunset like it from the air in a long time; the entire western horizon was like it was all on fire; no sight or scene on earth could have compared to it.
My heart went up to the One who had created it all and was holding it all together right then by the very word of His power. Twenty hours earlier, I had seen man's glory; now as I sat looking out the plane's window, I was beholding the very glory of God from 37,000 feet, a display that words could never adequately express nor could the human mind take in.
But His big show wasn't over yet. As the evening darkness set in approximately an hour before arriving in Dallas, I look out my window and saw a bright light reflecting off the plane's wing. Looking up, I was seeing the brightest blazing white full moon that I could ever remember. It wasn't yellow or mild, but brillantly white. Perhaps it seemed brighter because I was almost 40,000 feet higher than normal. But its brightness and whiteness was almost surreal. It was more glorious than I had ever seen the moon.
As I sat there, the Father's presence filled my mind and heart, and was powerfully around me, clearly saying to me, "You saw yesterday what man can do-- today you have seen what I have done and continue to do! And I made it for Me and for you."
Suddenly, the house I had seen the day before honestly seemed like a few match sticks; it had faded from my view and I was no longer impressed; for I had seen the building skills and the handiwork of an eternal and heavenly Being who daily reveals a glory than man can never touch or comprehend!
I came away from the time with a new question in my heart-- Which affects and impresses me the most- what man can do or what God can do? What a contrast- man's glory vs. God's glory; when one really sees it, there is no comparison!
- Mack T.
During the last quarter of 2007, I was preaching in an eastern state in the U. S one weekend. On that Saturday evening, I was invited to dinner in a home up in the mountains. I enjoyed a special meal with some godly believers that evening and true fellowship for 3 hours together. On the spiritual level, the time together was truly Christ-centered and truly edifying.
On the human level, there were two things that stood out. The meal together was simply outstanding in every way. You could not have purchased in an expensive restaurant a meal that could have exceeded it.
Secondly, the house itself had cost six million dollars to build. I had not been in one ever that could compare to it. Needless to say, it was quite amazing and somewhat out of my league. The beauty, the architecture, and the furnishings were as impressive as anything I had seen in any human building. I went away from the evening struck with feelings concerning what man can accomplish. The house had a glory all its own. But I also went away from the evening with my heart free and centered on Christ, His presence and His grace. And for that, I felt grateful.
Then on Sunday afternoon, after preaching, I drove out of those mountains, headed south for 3 hours to the airport. As I drove through amazing beauty with blazing sunshine, blue skies, and awe-inspiring scenery all around, it was as if God began to say to my heart, "Yesterday, you saw what man can do-- now I will remind you what I have done!"
The secenery was breath-taking; God's fingerprints and handiwork were everywhere; God was speaking and it was very loud! "You've seen man's glory this weekend- now see Mine!" So as I listened to hymns, sang to Him, prayed, and worshipped the Saviour, the reality and wonder of what God has done and can do bacame fresh again to my heart because I was seeing His glory in the earth that afternoon.
I boarded a flight for home around 5:00 pm that afternoon, flying west toward Dallas. Sitting by the window on the right side of the plane, about half way home, I began to notice the curvature of the earth in the west, with the sunset setting the entire horizon ablaze with deep red tones; I had not seen a sunset like it from the air in a long time; the entire western horizon was like it was all on fire; no sight or scene on earth could have compared to it.
My heart went up to the One who had created it all and was holding it all together right then by the very word of His power. Twenty hours earlier, I had seen man's glory; now as I sat looking out the plane's window, I was beholding the very glory of God from 37,000 feet, a display that words could never adequately express nor could the human mind take in.
But His big show wasn't over yet. As the evening darkness set in approximately an hour before arriving in Dallas, I look out my window and saw a bright light reflecting off the plane's wing. Looking up, I was seeing the brightest blazing white full moon that I could ever remember. It wasn't yellow or mild, but brillantly white. Perhaps it seemed brighter because I was almost 40,000 feet higher than normal. But its brightness and whiteness was almost surreal. It was more glorious than I had ever seen the moon.
As I sat there, the Father's presence filled my mind and heart, and was powerfully around me, clearly saying to me, "You saw yesterday what man can do-- today you have seen what I have done and continue to do! And I made it for Me and for you."
Suddenly, the house I had seen the day before honestly seemed like a few match sticks; it had faded from my view and I was no longer impressed; for I had seen the building skills and the handiwork of an eternal and heavenly Being who daily reveals a glory than man can never touch or comprehend!
I came away from the time with a new question in my heart-- Which affects and impresses me the most- what man can do or what God can do? What a contrast- man's glory vs. God's glory; when one really sees it, there is no comparison!
- Mack T.
Friday, January 4, 2008
Behold! A New Creation!
2 Cor. 5.17
Few things are more frustrating than the gradual erosion of meaning in Christian language. For example, I often wonder if the people who applaud the hymn Amazing Grace have any idea of what they are singing. Do they know what it means, biblically speaking, to be a “lost” “wretch” in need of “salvation”? Sadly, the notion of divine “grace” that redeems from sin and delivers from eternal wrath, apart from human works, has been domesticated, secularized, and emptied of its theological significance.
Much the same is true of being “born-again”. Those who claim to have experienced the “new birth” often equate it with the regret they feel for their most recent DUI or arrest for drug possession. When faced with public reproach and possible jail time, professional athletes and morally retarded pop-culture icons find it useful to affirm they’ve “found God” through some ill-defined “new birth” religious encounter.
How far and away different that is from the imagery employed by Paul in 2 Corinthians 5:17 –
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”
Although he doesn’t use the terminology of being “born again”, he surely has in view the same concept as Jesus (John 3:3-8) and Peter (1 Peter 1:23) and John (1 John 2:29; 3:9; 5:1) when he speaks of a “new creation” for those who are “in Christ” (2 Cor. 5:17).
There is a strong likelihood that Paul's language here of a "new creation" is also an allusion to the "new heaven and new earth" of Revelation 21-22. If so, his point would be that our experience of the new birth is a personal prelude to the corporate and cosmic dimensions of the new creation that will come when Christ does. Simply put, the glory of the age to come has impinged upon or broken into the present. We are re-born microcosms of the eschatological macrocosm!
That being said, we can’t escape the individual and personal focus that Paul has in view in this text, as seen in his emphasis on “anyone” who is “in Christ” being a new creation. Earlier in 2 Corinthians 4:6 Paul portrayed the conversion experience as a creative act of God comparable to the original creation of light out of darkness. Here he returns to that theme with added emphasis on the transformed nature and newness of the person who is the object of his saving action.
This “new creation” or "new birth" or “regeneration” (cf. Titus 3:5) or being "born again" does not mean merely the mending of one's ways, the changing of bad habits, or embracing a new list of do's and don'ts. It refers to a radical, pervasive spiritual re-creation of the inner being.
No wonder Paul calls for our undivided attentiveness to this glorious truth with the declarative: “Behold!” Be stunned, be very stunned! That you are an utterly new creation, the spiritual product of the gracious and life-giving power of God, is a breathtaking reality. Behold! Stop and consider this remarkable and triumphant truth. Don’t pass it by with only a casual glance. Give it the focus it is due. Behold!
Could it be that many Christians struggle and languish because they fail to grasp the far reaching and spiritually radical implications of being a “new creation”? Could it be that some of you live unnecessarily enslaved to “old things” because the truth of v. 17 has never been given the weight it ought to bear? That’s right, unnecessarily enslaved. You need not live in bondage to “old things”, be they stubborn habits or deceptive values or destructive relationships or wrong-headed beliefs. The God who was kind enough and strong enough to create you anew is equally committed to supplying you with the resources and energy to live consistently with what you are. You are now “in Christ”! You are now “a new creation”!
What are the “old things” that hold you back and keep you down? Are you still beholden to false beliefs about your personal identity? Have you failed to realize that you are a child of God, not of Satan, and are adopted into his family, destined to reign with Christ as a co-heir in the kingdom of heaven? Have you failed to realize that you are reckoned as righteous in God’s sight, fully and forever forgiven of all your sins, sealed and filled with the Spirit of promise and power?
The “old” things have passed away. So stop living as if they had any claim on your life. “New things” have come: a new covenant (Luke 22:20; Heb. 8:8), a new creation (Gal. 6:15), a new humanity (Eph. 2:15), a new name (Rev. 2:17; 3:12), a new city (Rev. 3:12; 21:2), as well as a new standing, a new power, a new hope, and a new destiny. Resist the temptation to reduce being born again to a momentary existential crisis or a convenient religious enlightenment, neither of which yields the fruit of the Holy Spirit and a passionate pursuit of Jesus Christ and his glory in all things. Behold! If you are truly in Christ you are a new creation. Behold!
There is no escaping the fact that Paul has in view a complete and pervasive restructuring of your life, your values, and your agenda for the future, as well as your identity as a redeemed image-bearer. The conditions, relationships, worldly perspectives, and carnal principles that once dominated your life are the “old things” that have “passed away.” All thinking and willing and feeling and judging are now governed by a new and undying power.
Don’t embrace the pernicious lie that life will never change or that sinful circumstances will always dominate your existence. The enemy would have you believe that spiritual growth is an elusive dream and the future is a dark and endless repetition of past failures. To that, Paul would say to you in no uncertain terms, “Behold! If you are in Christ you are a new creation!”
I’m not advocating a “power of positive thinking” approach to life, as if by merely willing yourself to believe the best that all of life will automatically change. Don’t mistake my exhortation for the gushing, semi-religious, feel-good nonsense that certain (here to remain unnamed) preachers deliver monotonously each week to millions of gullible viewers. I’m speaking about the grace-grounded, blood-bought power of a new life in Christ that enables you to embrace with joy the forgiveness of sins and to welcome with a cross-centered confidence the trials and sufferings that will inevitably come your way.
Countless internet commercials, roadside billboards, radio advertisements and more than a few deceptive TV evangelists compete for your attention every moment of the day, promising you an enticing but ultimately false future (for a small fee, of course, or a “seed-faith” donation to the “ministry”) that will supposedly enable you to escape the rut of your past and present.
Don’t believe them! There is only one voice and one glorious truth worthy of your faith. “Behold! Take note of this one, marvelous truth! If you are in Christ, you are a new creation. The old, by the mercy of Christ, has passed away. The new, because of the cross of Christ, has come!”
- Sam Storms
Few things are more frustrating than the gradual erosion of meaning in Christian language. For example, I often wonder if the people who applaud the hymn Amazing Grace have any idea of what they are singing. Do they know what it means, biblically speaking, to be a “lost” “wretch” in need of “salvation”? Sadly, the notion of divine “grace” that redeems from sin and delivers from eternal wrath, apart from human works, has been domesticated, secularized, and emptied of its theological significance.
Much the same is true of being “born-again”. Those who claim to have experienced the “new birth” often equate it with the regret they feel for their most recent DUI or arrest for drug possession. When faced with public reproach and possible jail time, professional athletes and morally retarded pop-culture icons find it useful to affirm they’ve “found God” through some ill-defined “new birth” religious encounter.
How far and away different that is from the imagery employed by Paul in 2 Corinthians 5:17 –
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”
Although he doesn’t use the terminology of being “born again”, he surely has in view the same concept as Jesus (John 3:3-8) and Peter (1 Peter 1:23) and John (1 John 2:29; 3:9; 5:1) when he speaks of a “new creation” for those who are “in Christ” (2 Cor. 5:17).
There is a strong likelihood that Paul's language here of a "new creation" is also an allusion to the "new heaven and new earth" of Revelation 21-22. If so, his point would be that our experience of the new birth is a personal prelude to the corporate and cosmic dimensions of the new creation that will come when Christ does. Simply put, the glory of the age to come has impinged upon or broken into the present. We are re-born microcosms of the eschatological macrocosm!
That being said, we can’t escape the individual and personal focus that Paul has in view in this text, as seen in his emphasis on “anyone” who is “in Christ” being a new creation. Earlier in 2 Corinthians 4:6 Paul portrayed the conversion experience as a creative act of God comparable to the original creation of light out of darkness. Here he returns to that theme with added emphasis on the transformed nature and newness of the person who is the object of his saving action.
This “new creation” or "new birth" or “regeneration” (cf. Titus 3:5) or being "born again" does not mean merely the mending of one's ways, the changing of bad habits, or embracing a new list of do's and don'ts. It refers to a radical, pervasive spiritual re-creation of the inner being.
No wonder Paul calls for our undivided attentiveness to this glorious truth with the declarative: “Behold!” Be stunned, be very stunned! That you are an utterly new creation, the spiritual product of the gracious and life-giving power of God, is a breathtaking reality. Behold! Stop and consider this remarkable and triumphant truth. Don’t pass it by with only a casual glance. Give it the focus it is due. Behold!
Could it be that many Christians struggle and languish because they fail to grasp the far reaching and spiritually radical implications of being a “new creation”? Could it be that some of you live unnecessarily enslaved to “old things” because the truth of v. 17 has never been given the weight it ought to bear? That’s right, unnecessarily enslaved. You need not live in bondage to “old things”, be they stubborn habits or deceptive values or destructive relationships or wrong-headed beliefs. The God who was kind enough and strong enough to create you anew is equally committed to supplying you with the resources and energy to live consistently with what you are. You are now “in Christ”! You are now “a new creation”!
What are the “old things” that hold you back and keep you down? Are you still beholden to false beliefs about your personal identity? Have you failed to realize that you are a child of God, not of Satan, and are adopted into his family, destined to reign with Christ as a co-heir in the kingdom of heaven? Have you failed to realize that you are reckoned as righteous in God’s sight, fully and forever forgiven of all your sins, sealed and filled with the Spirit of promise and power?
The “old” things have passed away. So stop living as if they had any claim on your life. “New things” have come: a new covenant (Luke 22:20; Heb. 8:8), a new creation (Gal. 6:15), a new humanity (Eph. 2:15), a new name (Rev. 2:17; 3:12), a new city (Rev. 3:12; 21:2), as well as a new standing, a new power, a new hope, and a new destiny. Resist the temptation to reduce being born again to a momentary existential crisis or a convenient religious enlightenment, neither of which yields the fruit of the Holy Spirit and a passionate pursuit of Jesus Christ and his glory in all things. Behold! If you are truly in Christ you are a new creation. Behold!
There is no escaping the fact that Paul has in view a complete and pervasive restructuring of your life, your values, and your agenda for the future, as well as your identity as a redeemed image-bearer. The conditions, relationships, worldly perspectives, and carnal principles that once dominated your life are the “old things” that have “passed away.” All thinking and willing and feeling and judging are now governed by a new and undying power.
Don’t embrace the pernicious lie that life will never change or that sinful circumstances will always dominate your existence. The enemy would have you believe that spiritual growth is an elusive dream and the future is a dark and endless repetition of past failures. To that, Paul would say to you in no uncertain terms, “Behold! If you are in Christ you are a new creation!”
I’m not advocating a “power of positive thinking” approach to life, as if by merely willing yourself to believe the best that all of life will automatically change. Don’t mistake my exhortation for the gushing, semi-religious, feel-good nonsense that certain (here to remain unnamed) preachers deliver monotonously each week to millions of gullible viewers. I’m speaking about the grace-grounded, blood-bought power of a new life in Christ that enables you to embrace with joy the forgiveness of sins and to welcome with a cross-centered confidence the trials and sufferings that will inevitably come your way.
Countless internet commercials, roadside billboards, radio advertisements and more than a few deceptive TV evangelists compete for your attention every moment of the day, promising you an enticing but ultimately false future (for a small fee, of course, or a “seed-faith” donation to the “ministry”) that will supposedly enable you to escape the rut of your past and present.
Don’t believe them! There is only one voice and one glorious truth worthy of your faith. “Behold! Take note of this one, marvelous truth! If you are in Christ, you are a new creation. The old, by the mercy of Christ, has passed away. The new, because of the cross of Christ, has come!”
- Sam Storms
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Seeing Others Spiritually
2 Cor. 5.16
What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think about the death and resurrection of Christ? I suspect that most would point to such truths as the forgiveness of sins, or the fact that in his death the wrath of God was satisfied, or that we are redeemed and Satan is defeated and heaven is secured. Surely, all these and countless other truths are the consequence of what Christ accomplished on our behalf.
But what are the implications of his atoning work for how we relate to other people? What are the horizontal effects of what he achieved at Calvary? Does the cross have any meaningful influence on how we think of others and how we relate to them?
My reason for asking this question is something Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5:16, a verse often overlooked in favor of the glorious assertion that precedes it in vv. 14-15 and the monumental declaration that follows in v. 17. It’s all too easy for v. 16 to get lost in the valley, as it were, overshadowed by the towering twin peaks of what comes before and what follows.
In 2 Corinthians 5:14-15 we read of the love of Christ revealed in his death for sinners and their new life in him. In 2 Corinthians 5:17 we are told that because of this remarkable achievement, all who are now “in Christ” are “a new creation” in which the “old” has passed away. A marvelous pair of theological truths indeed! But we dare not ignore the equally profound practical implications that flow from them.
I’m alerted to this by the word “therefore” in v. 16. There is obviously a significant conclusion to be drawn from the fact that Christ died for all so that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for Christ who died for them and was raised again. And here it is:
“From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer.”
Christ’s redemptive sufferings on Paul’s behalf have done far more than simply alter his relationship with God. Yes, his sins are forgiven and all guilt is washed away. He is justified, adopted, and destined for eternal bliss. But it is also the case that, because of what Christ has achieved in his atoning death, Paul has experienced a radical and far-reaching transformation in his relationship with other people. And so should we.
“Therefore,” says Paul; because of the love of Christ revealed in his death for me I no longer regard or evaluate or assess people “according to the flesh” (v. 16a). What does the apostle mean by this?
The phrase, “according to the flesh,” has been interpreted in countless ways. The consensus today is that it has nothing to do with the so-called sinful nature or sensual passions, but rather means “in accordance with the standards and values that derive from living as if physical life in this world is all that exists” (Hafemann, 242).
Before his encounter with Christ on the road to Damascus, Paul (then Saul) evaluated other people on the basis of external and worldly standards. Of greatest concern to him were such things as: “What is your nationality? Are you a Jew or a Gentile? Are you educated or ignorant? Are you wealthy or poor? Are you male or female? Are you circumcised? Are you “barbarian, Scythian, slave, [or] free” (Col. 3:11).
Let’s be honest. We all have our own personal standards of judgment. We unconsciously appeal to certain criteria to evaluate the worth of people in our world. It may be the color of their skin or their financial portfolio. How often do we draw conclusions based on physical attractiveness or style of dress? Other criteria that inform our assessment include such things as political party affiliation, social influence, educational achievement, nobility of birth, bloodline, verbal eloquence, athletic prowess, and the list could go on.
For Paul, perhaps the most important distinction that governed his pre-Christian value system was whether one was a Jew or a Gentile. But the blood of the cross has forever obliterated any spiritual significance in that racial difference (Eph. 2:11-22). While one’s ethnicity remains (in that sense I will always be a Gentile and Paul will always be Jew), it has lost any value in determining one’s status with God or place within his kingdom. The only relevant factor is one’s relationship with Christ. Indeed, “if anyone is in Christ,” as Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” And one critical element of the “old” that has passed away is the appeal to external, worldly, physical, or ethnic standards for determining what is worthy of our devotion or who is qualified to inherit the promises of God.
I want to be perfectly clear. I am an American citizen. I love my country. I cherish my heritage. I am as patriotic as the next guy (perhaps more so). And if the need should arise, I would happily fight in defense of this land and the freedom that it affords. But I have a deeper connection with and a greater commitment to Christians in Russia and Iraq than I do to non-Christians in America. My primary, foundational, and fundamental allegiance is to the universal body of Christ, the church. I am first and foremost a citizen of heaven (Phil. 3:20). My greatest allegiance is to “the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem” (Heb. 12:22), and only secondarily to Washington, D.C.
The apostle Paul was born a Jew, “of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews” (Phil. 3:5). But that was of absolutely no importance and carried no weight when it came to his relationship with God or his inheritance within the kingdom of the promises that God had made. All that mattered, said Paul, was whether or not you are “in Christ Jesus” by faith (Gal. 3:26). And “if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise” (Gal. 3:29), regardless of your ethnicity (“Jew or Greek”), your social status (“slave or free”), or your gender (“male or female”).
Everything must now be viewed in light of the “new creation” that has come with the redemptive work and resurrection life of Christ! Conversion for each of us entails a radically transformed standard for assessing what is valuable and true and deserving of our allegiance and sacrifice.
In the second half of v. 16 Paul extends this principle to his relationship with Christ himself. “Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh,” says Paul, “we regard him thus no longer” (v. 16b).
Did Paul know of Jesus prior to his conversion? Certainly he had heard of him. Jesus spent considerable time in Jerusalem during his years of public ministry, as did the young rabbi, Saul of Tarsus. Whether or not he met him personally prior to his Damascus Road experience is not stated (but is doubtful, in my opinion). But v. 16 has nothing to do with whether or not Paul had personal knowledge of Jesus during his earthly life or whether or not he was interested in the historical facts concerning Jesus’ existence in Palestine. Nor is Paul referring to knowing “Jesus” in his humanity as over against knowing him in his exalted and supernatural status as risen “Christ”.
Rather, here (v. 16b) Paul is repudiating his pre-Christian evaluation of Jesus. Before conversion he saw him as a blasphemer, a “misguided messianic pretender, [and] a crucified heretic” (Harris, 429; cf. Acts 22:3-4; 26:9-11). He now sees him as the Son of God in human flesh whose death on a cross is the power of God unto salvation.
To what extent do worldly or merely human standards still govern and shape how you evaluate other people? What criteria do you employ: ethnic, financial, and physical, or spiritual, biblical, and moral? Whom do you admire: the self-centered, “successful” reprobate, or the humble and rarely recognized servant of others? Why are you attracted to them (or, conversely, repulsed): is it the color of their skin or the character of their soul? What matters most: the flag that flies over their country or the faith that resides in their heart?
If you are “in Christ” then all things are new (v. 17), including how you think, feel, and will, as well as the basis on which you judge, assess, and evaluate. May the truth of the cross and the principles of the Spirit govern our perspective on others, rather than the warped ways of this fallen world.
- Sam Storms
What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think about the death and resurrection of Christ? I suspect that most would point to such truths as the forgiveness of sins, or the fact that in his death the wrath of God was satisfied, or that we are redeemed and Satan is defeated and heaven is secured. Surely, all these and countless other truths are the consequence of what Christ accomplished on our behalf.
But what are the implications of his atoning work for how we relate to other people? What are the horizontal effects of what he achieved at Calvary? Does the cross have any meaningful influence on how we think of others and how we relate to them?
My reason for asking this question is something Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5:16, a verse often overlooked in favor of the glorious assertion that precedes it in vv. 14-15 and the monumental declaration that follows in v. 17. It’s all too easy for v. 16 to get lost in the valley, as it were, overshadowed by the towering twin peaks of what comes before and what follows.
In 2 Corinthians 5:14-15 we read of the love of Christ revealed in his death for sinners and their new life in him. In 2 Corinthians 5:17 we are told that because of this remarkable achievement, all who are now “in Christ” are “a new creation” in which the “old” has passed away. A marvelous pair of theological truths indeed! But we dare not ignore the equally profound practical implications that flow from them.
I’m alerted to this by the word “therefore” in v. 16. There is obviously a significant conclusion to be drawn from the fact that Christ died for all so that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for Christ who died for them and was raised again. And here it is:
“From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer.”
Christ’s redemptive sufferings on Paul’s behalf have done far more than simply alter his relationship with God. Yes, his sins are forgiven and all guilt is washed away. He is justified, adopted, and destined for eternal bliss. But it is also the case that, because of what Christ has achieved in his atoning death, Paul has experienced a radical and far-reaching transformation in his relationship with other people. And so should we.
“Therefore,” says Paul; because of the love of Christ revealed in his death for me I no longer regard or evaluate or assess people “according to the flesh” (v. 16a). What does the apostle mean by this?
The phrase, “according to the flesh,” has been interpreted in countless ways. The consensus today is that it has nothing to do with the so-called sinful nature or sensual passions, but rather means “in accordance with the standards and values that derive from living as if physical life in this world is all that exists” (Hafemann, 242).
Before his encounter with Christ on the road to Damascus, Paul (then Saul) evaluated other people on the basis of external and worldly standards. Of greatest concern to him were such things as: “What is your nationality? Are you a Jew or a Gentile? Are you educated or ignorant? Are you wealthy or poor? Are you male or female? Are you circumcised? Are you “barbarian, Scythian, slave, [or] free” (Col. 3:11).
Let’s be honest. We all have our own personal standards of judgment. We unconsciously appeal to certain criteria to evaluate the worth of people in our world. It may be the color of their skin or their financial portfolio. How often do we draw conclusions based on physical attractiveness or style of dress? Other criteria that inform our assessment include such things as political party affiliation, social influence, educational achievement, nobility of birth, bloodline, verbal eloquence, athletic prowess, and the list could go on.
For Paul, perhaps the most important distinction that governed his pre-Christian value system was whether one was a Jew or a Gentile. But the blood of the cross has forever obliterated any spiritual significance in that racial difference (Eph. 2:11-22). While one’s ethnicity remains (in that sense I will always be a Gentile and Paul will always be Jew), it has lost any value in determining one’s status with God or place within his kingdom. The only relevant factor is one’s relationship with Christ. Indeed, “if anyone is in Christ,” as Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” And one critical element of the “old” that has passed away is the appeal to external, worldly, physical, or ethnic standards for determining what is worthy of our devotion or who is qualified to inherit the promises of God.
I want to be perfectly clear. I am an American citizen. I love my country. I cherish my heritage. I am as patriotic as the next guy (perhaps more so). And if the need should arise, I would happily fight in defense of this land and the freedom that it affords. But I have a deeper connection with and a greater commitment to Christians in Russia and Iraq than I do to non-Christians in America. My primary, foundational, and fundamental allegiance is to the universal body of Christ, the church. I am first and foremost a citizen of heaven (Phil. 3:20). My greatest allegiance is to “the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem” (Heb. 12:22), and only secondarily to Washington, D.C.
The apostle Paul was born a Jew, “of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews” (Phil. 3:5). But that was of absolutely no importance and carried no weight when it came to his relationship with God or his inheritance within the kingdom of the promises that God had made. All that mattered, said Paul, was whether or not you are “in Christ Jesus” by faith (Gal. 3:26). And “if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise” (Gal. 3:29), regardless of your ethnicity (“Jew or Greek”), your social status (“slave or free”), or your gender (“male or female”).
Everything must now be viewed in light of the “new creation” that has come with the redemptive work and resurrection life of Christ! Conversion for each of us entails a radically transformed standard for assessing what is valuable and true and deserving of our allegiance and sacrifice.
In the second half of v. 16 Paul extends this principle to his relationship with Christ himself. “Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh,” says Paul, “we regard him thus no longer” (v. 16b).
Did Paul know of Jesus prior to his conversion? Certainly he had heard of him. Jesus spent considerable time in Jerusalem during his years of public ministry, as did the young rabbi, Saul of Tarsus. Whether or not he met him personally prior to his Damascus Road experience is not stated (but is doubtful, in my opinion). But v. 16 has nothing to do with whether or not Paul had personal knowledge of Jesus during his earthly life or whether or not he was interested in the historical facts concerning Jesus’ existence in Palestine. Nor is Paul referring to knowing “Jesus” in his humanity as over against knowing him in his exalted and supernatural status as risen “Christ”.
Rather, here (v. 16b) Paul is repudiating his pre-Christian evaluation of Jesus. Before conversion he saw him as a blasphemer, a “misguided messianic pretender, [and] a crucified heretic” (Harris, 429; cf. Acts 22:3-4; 26:9-11). He now sees him as the Son of God in human flesh whose death on a cross is the power of God unto salvation.
To what extent do worldly or merely human standards still govern and shape how you evaluate other people? What criteria do you employ: ethnic, financial, and physical, or spiritual, biblical, and moral? Whom do you admire: the self-centered, “successful” reprobate, or the humble and rarely recognized servant of others? Why are you attracted to them (or, conversely, repulsed): is it the color of their skin or the character of their soul? What matters most: the flag that flies over their country or the faith that resides in their heart?
If you are “in Christ” then all things are new (v. 17), including how you think, feel, and will, as well as the basis on which you judge, assess, and evaluate. May the truth of the cross and the principles of the Spirit govern our perspective on others, rather than the warped ways of this fallen world.
- Sam Storms
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Valley of Vision: Who Made Me to Know You?
Who made me to know you, but You
When dead in sin You gave me new life
Now my heart is filled with love for You-- Jesus
Father, thank you for Your Spirit's work in me
For opening my eyes to the Christ of Calvary
Jesus, You gave Your life in exchange for mine
Now I will live for You who died-- Jesus
You placed a crown of grace on my head
You covered me in robes of righteousness
Forever I will always be yours-- Jesus
Father, thank you for Your Spirit's work in me
For opening my eyes to the Christ of Calvary
Jesus, You gave Your life in exchange for mine
Now I will live for You who died-- Jesus
When dead in sin You gave me new life
Now my heart is filled with love for You-- Jesus
Father, thank you for Your Spirit's work in me
For opening my eyes to the Christ of Calvary
Jesus, You gave Your life in exchange for mine
Now I will live for You who died-- Jesus
You placed a crown of grace on my head
You covered me in robes of righteousness
Forever I will always be yours-- Jesus
Father, thank you for Your Spirit's work in me
For opening my eyes to the Christ of Calvary
Jesus, You gave Your life in exchange for mine
Now I will live for You who died-- Jesus
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Valley of Vision: The Precious Blood
Before the cross I kneel and see
The measure of my sin
How You became a curse for me
Though You were innocent
The magnitude of Your great love
Was seen in full degree
When righteous blood, the crimson spill,
Rained down from Calvary
O, the precious blood
That flows from Mercy's side
Washed away my sin
When Christ my Saviour died
O, the precious blood
Of Christ the crucified
It speaks for me before Your throne
Where I stand justified.
And who am I that I should know
This treasure of such worth?
My Saviour's pure atoning blood
Shed for the wrath I'd earned
For sin had stained my every deed
My every word and thought
The wondrous love that makes me one
Your priceless blood has bought
O, the precious blood
That flows from Mercy's side
Washed away my sin
When Christ my Saviour died
O, the precious blood
Of Christ the crucified
It speaks for me before Your throne
Where I stand justified
A crown of thorns
His hands and feet
A body bruised
And mercy's plea
O, the precious blood
That flows from Mercy's side
Washed away my sin
When Christ my Saviour died
O, the precious blood
Of Christ the crucified
It speaks for me before Your throne
Where I stand justified
The measure of my sin
How You became a curse for me
Though You were innocent
The magnitude of Your great love
Was seen in full degree
When righteous blood, the crimson spill,
Rained down from Calvary
O, the precious blood
That flows from Mercy's side
Washed away my sin
When Christ my Saviour died
O, the precious blood
Of Christ the crucified
It speaks for me before Your throne
Where I stand justified.
And who am I that I should know
This treasure of such worth?
My Saviour's pure atoning blood
Shed for the wrath I'd earned
For sin had stained my every deed
My every word and thought
The wondrous love that makes me one
Your priceless blood has bought
O, the precious blood
That flows from Mercy's side
Washed away my sin
When Christ my Saviour died
O, the precious blood
Of Christ the crucified
It speaks for me before Your throne
Where I stand justified
A crown of thorns
His hands and feet
A body bruised
And mercy's plea
O, the precious blood
That flows from Mercy's side
Washed away my sin
When Christ my Saviour died
O, the precious blood
Of Christ the crucified
It speaks for me before Your throne
Where I stand justified
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)