God's Word for Me Today
Tuesday, September 11, 2001
Focus: Our Mission: Sharing the New Life of Jesus Christ
A note about online study
Introduction to God's Word for Me Today
My Prayer Today
Heavenly Father, as I open Your Word today, thank you for providing me the opportunity to read it freely and of being your ambassador in our world. Use Your Holy Spirit to imprint Your Word on my heart and life that all I am, and all I do today may bring you glory and show others who You are. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
God's Word for Me Today: 2 Corinthians 5:16-21
16So we have stopped evaluating others by what the world thinks about them. Once I mistakenly thought of Christ that way, as though he were merely a human being. How differently I think about him now! 17What this means is that those who become Christians become new persons. They are not the same anymore, for the old life is gone. A new life has begun! 18All this newness of life is from God, who brought us back to himself through what Christ did. And God has given us the task of reconciling people to him. 19For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. This is the wonderful message he has given us to tell others. 20We are Christ’s ambassadors, and God is using us to speak to you. We urge you, as though Christ himself were here pleading with you, “Be reconciled to God!” 21For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.
Questions for Reflection
When you first meet a person, how do you usually evaluate them? What do you notice first?
If you could be an ambassador to any nation, which nation would you choose?
Questions for Exploration
Why did Paul stop evaluating Jesus by worldly standards? (5:16-17)
What does it mean to be “reconciled” to God? (5:18-19)
How does God reach the world with the message of the new life Jesus came to give us? (5:20) KEY VERSE
How are we made right with God? (5:21)
Questions for Understanding
What does Paul mean when he says that when we become Christians we become new persons? In what sense are we new?
Who is the source of our new life? What is the connection between God and Jesus Christ according to this text?
Paul tells us that Christ who never sinned, became the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ. How important is it, then, that Jesus lived a sinless life?
Questions for Application
To whom will you be Christ’s ambassador today?
What one action will you take today to demonstrate the new life that you have received through Jesus?
How will you show your gratitude to Jesus today for being the offering for your sin?
Think about the New Life!
The Apostle Paul points out two crucial realities about our new life in Jesus Christ in today’s Scripture. First, we’re told that ANYONE can have the new life, and that once we receive it we are brand new people. The old life is GONE. That’s a reality that’s too good to be true, isn’t it? All the “stuff” that we don’t like about ourselves, all the sin that has blocked our relationship with God is GONE. We’re not just renovated, not just fixed up, but NEW PEOPLE! Living as new people is a challenge, isn’t it? While we’re new, we usually live in the same environment, with the same people, and often with folks who don’t accept that we’ve been transformed, because on the outside we look the same. The transformation that Jesus brings works from the inside out, so sometimes it can take a while for others to see it.
The second reality helps us to live into the first one more quickly. Paul tells us that we are “ambassadors” for Christ. What’s an ambassador? A person who represents one nation to another. In our case we get to represent the Kingdom of God to our world, usually starting with our families, our classmates, our co-workers and those in our immediate geographic area. An ambassador carries the authority of the nation (or Kingdom) he or she represents. Therefore, we carry the authority of Jesus and the Kingdom of God as we live out our ambassadorship in the world. Paul makes a key point about our ambassador ship: God is making HIS appeal to the world THROUGH us! Wow! That means if folks are going to know what Jesus is like, what the Kingdom of God is like, they’ll know it THROUGH us. You may be thinking, “I don’t want the job of ambassador for the Kingdom of God. The reality is if we’ve received the new life Jesus offers, we already ARE ambassadors for Him. The only question is whether we’re going to be effective or ineffective ambassadors, enthusiastic or apathetic ambassadors for Him.
When you woke up this morning were you consciously aware that you were an ambassador for Jesus Christ in the world, that God is making His appeal to the world through YOU? If not, now would be a great time to consciously take on that role. You’re equipping yourself to be an effective ambassador for Christ, even as you read, study and pray at this moment!
“Heavenly Father, thank you for making me an ambassador of Jesus to the world. Empower me by your Holy Spirit that I may live fully and faithfully for you as your enthusiastic and effective representative each person you put in my sphere of influence today! In Jesus’ name. Amen."
To view the studies for other days, visit the God's Word for Me Today calendar.