Anchor Leg
Thesis: It is our job as the reconciled in Christ to minister and proclaim the possibility of reconciliation to God among our generation.
Objective: Challenge believers to live, minister, and speak as though they are the best, last chance people will have to be reconciled to God.
- Our perspective is changed (16).
- We had a worldly perspective on self (“we regard no one from a worldly point of view”; Our point of view on ourselves was formerly affected by the world. We thought of ourselves as special, or not. The truth is, God loved us so much that He died for us, to fix our problem of sin and enable us to have eternal life, which is characterized by a real relationship with Him.).
- We had a worldly perspective on people (“we regard no one from a worldly point of view”; Our point of view on others was formerly affected by the world, which compelled us to think some more important than right, and others less. The truth is, Christ died for all because all were so important to God (v 15).).
- We had a worldly perspective on Jesus (“we once regarded Christ in this way...”; Our point of view on Jesus was formerly affected by the world. We thought of Him as an abstract concept, a good teacher, or an unreachable God. The truth is, He is not only real, but loved us so much that He came, died on a cross to have a relationship with us.).
- Our identity is changed (17).
- We are a new creation (“if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation;” From the very moment that we choose to believe in Jesus and step into His life, ordering our lives by His command and teaching and pursuing a real relationship with Him, He recreates us from the inside out, restoring us to our original masterpiece status).
- The old is gone (“the old has gone;” The instant that Jesus comes into our lives, who we were is thrown out. The old, flawed, inadequate, broken, sinful self is eliminated once and for all. NOTICE: the verb here is in aorist tense, indicating single-point action.).
- The new is come (“the new has come!” From the instant that Jesus comes into our lives, He starts the process of recreating and renewing us, reconstructing us in His likeness throughout the rest of our lives. NOTICE: the verb here is in perfect tense, indicating that the process started in the past but continues to affect the present.).
- Our mission is changed (18-21).
- None of this is our doing (“All this is from God” (18); If we are to truly embrace our new identity in Christ, then we must recognize that we were utterly incapable of fixing our problem of sin on our own. It had to be done by God.).
- We are reconciled to God (“who reconciled us to himself through Christ” (18); If we are to truly embrace our new identity in Christ, then we must recognize that key to the whole thing is that our relationship with God has been restored. He loves us, and we are now capable of loving Him. And as such, we should want nothing more than to have everyone reconciled to God.).
- We have a ministry (“gave us the ministry of reconciliation” (18); As the reconciled, God gives to us the task of ministering to others so that they, too, may be reconciled to Him. NOTICE that ministry is an action in which you actively seek to meet others' needs.).
- We have a message (“he has committed to us the message of reconciliation” (19); As the reconciled, God gives to us the task of proclaiming the possibility of reconciliation. NOTICE that the message comes after the ministry. We can't proclaim reconciliation until we demonstrate it.).
- We are Christ's ambassadors (“we are therefore Christ's ambassadors” (20-21); As the reconciled, it is our task to represent Jesus – His ideas, His commands, His hands, His feet, Him – to the world.).
- Conclusion: When Jesus ascended into heaven and met Moses, Moses congratulated Him on a job well done but wondered what the plan was for propagating this newfound movement now that He was in heaven. Jesus answered that He had given that task to a bunch of ragtag men, women, and children and that there was no backup plan. You see, Jesus recognized that faith isn't a sprint or even a marathon. It's a relay. The baton is handed from generation to generation of believers, with each responsible for carrying it as though they are the anchor leg.
Ryrie
(11) fear = “be in awe of the Lord (Christ) in view of His judging us.”
(11) “we try to persuade men to be reconciled to God.”
(13) “out of our mind” = “we went mad, probably referring to some specific occasion when paul's critics charged him with madness.”
(13) Jesus was also charged with being mad in Mark 3:21
(14) “For Christ's love compels us” ->“Christ's love for us (and possibly it may also mean our love for Christ).”
(14) “compels us” = “keeps us within bounds.”
(14) “Believers are regarded by God as having died in hrist so that they may be able to live to please Him (Rom 6:8).”
(15) “Christ's death was, in part, for the purpose of bringing His followers into the experience of unselfish living for others.”
(16) “Before his conversion, Paul regarded Christ as merely another man.”
(17) “the old has gone” is in aorist tense, indicating that salvation brings a decisive change.
(17) “the new has come” is in perfect tense, indicating the continuing effect of new life in Christ.
(17) “The grace of God not only justifies but also makes a new creation, which results in changed style of life.”
(18) “reconciliation involves a changed relationship because our trespasses are not counted against us (v 19). We are now to announce to others this message of God's grace.”
(19) “The death of Christ 'changed' (the meaning of 'reconcile') the position of all people (not only the elect) from being enemies (Rom 5:10) to being savable (though actual salvation does not come until one believes, v 20).”
(21) “Here is the heart of the gospel: The sinless Savior has taken our sins that we might have God's righteousness.”
(11) The fear here is “as the one to whom we are accountable.”
(11) “Paul needs to persuade some members of the Corinthian church that he, not any of the false teachers who have invaded their ranks, is their authentic apostle.”
(12) “The pretension of the false apostles is a superficial front; their concern is not with spirituality that is true and deep, but with money and popularity and self-importance.”
(13) “Probably Paul's enemies were asserting that he was suffering from religious mania, pointing perhaps to the sensational conversion he claimed to have experienced on the road to Damascus and to what they regarded as his insane way of life. If this is to be out of his mind, Paul does not deny it, for this whole letter shows how willingly and joyfully he endured affliction for the gospel. That, however, was essentially a matter between him and God. On the other hand, there was nothing that could be called eccentric about his manner of presenting the gospel to the Corinthians, for in this he had been, and continued to be, sensible and sober-minded, avoiding flowery rhetoric and all forms of sensationalism.”
(14) Christ's love was demonstrated in his death for us, though it could also mean our love for Christ.
(14) one = “the incarnate Son”
(14) “For all mankind, demonstrating the unlimited scope of the atonement and thus making it possible for everyone to die to self and come alive to God.”
(14) “Because Christ died for all, he involved all in his death.”
(14) “For some [Christ's] death would confirm their own death, but for others (those who by faith would become united with him) his death was their death to sin and self; i.e., their sanctification, so that they now live in and with the resurrected Christ.”
(16) “Paul is admitting that before his conversion he held views of Christ that were 'worldly,' based on purely human considerations.”
(17) To be in Christ is to be “united with Christ through faith in him and commitment to him.”
(17) “Redemption is the restoration and fulfillment of God's purposes in creation, and this takes place in Christ, through whom all things were made and in whom all things are restored or created anew.”
(18) “God takes the initiative in redemption, and he sustains it and brings it to completion.”
(18) “We who are the recipients of divine reconciliation have the privilege and obligation of now being, like Paul in a sense, the heralds and instruments in God's hands to minister the message of reconciliation throughout the world.”
(20) “Even believers must continually affirm their acceptance of God's grace.”
(21) “A summary of the gospel and its logic. Christ, the only entirely righteous one, at Calvary took our sin upon himself and endured the punishment we deserved, namely, death and separation from God. Thus, by a marvelous exchange, he made it possible for us to receive all his righteousness – both imputed and imparted – and thereby be reconciled to God. Our standing and our acceptance before God are solely in him.”
(21) “Again, all this is God's doing; all this is freely available to all who believe because of the initiative of divine grace.”
- Ryrie, Charles C. Ryrie Study Bible Expanded Edition. Chicago: Moody Press, 1994.
- Barker, Kenneth, ed. Reflecting God Study Bible. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 2000.