INTRODUCTION
In this article, I will be using 2 Corinthians 5:17-20 as my textual area. I believe it is important to immediately note the Apostle Paul’s statement in verse 18, “And all things are of God, . . .” By that emphasis, the apostle is showing that our reconciliation to God is a sovereign, monergistic act on our Creator’s part. It is important to note that every part of our reconciliation is the result of His eternal decree entered into amongst the members of the Godhead before the foundation of the world. God supplied our reconciliation through the death of His only begotten Son. He then, through the power of the Third Person, the Holy Spirit, regenerated us, gave us faith, presented the gospel message to us, drawing us to Christ and imputing Christ’s righteousness to us.
After speaking of God’s sovereignty in “reconciling the world unto himself...” and having “committed unto us the word of reconciliation,” the apostle states in verse 20, “Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.” The word translated “ambassador” is from the Greek word from which we get our term presbytery. It has several meanings: first, from Thayer’s concordance, it means “to be older, prior by birth or in age.” Thus, we would notice it is used in reference to those who are more experienced in life by way of age and time. The word also has the meaning of “those who preside over assemblies (or churches). The NT uses the term bishop, elders, and presbyters interchangeably.” Then, more importantly, it is used of those who declared “ambassadors for Christ.”
By definition, an ambassador is an authorized representative. They are assigned to represent their home country’s interests in foreign countries with divers cultures. The word “ambassador” is used in one other New Testament passage found in Ephesians 6:18-20. In this passage, the apostle is asking the Ephesian saints to pray for him “that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak” (Ephesians 6:19-20, emphasis added). The one phrase in verse 20 tells of an ambassador’s responsibility to his sovereign. He has one message and is not permitted to manipulate it. He cannot apply to it his own opinion. He cannot add anything to it, nor can he take anything away from it. Paul’s sovereign was Christ, and the message he preached was given to him “by the revelation of Jesus Christ” (Galatians 1:12).
TWO WAYS TO LOOK AT THIS
First, Paul and his companions are the ambassadors for Christ. You will notice the terminology the apostle uses in 2 Corinthians 5:18-20. The apostle writes:
And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God (Emphasis added).
When we see Paul using the words “us” and “we,” in the first sense he is speaking of himself and his companions. They are the ones charged with the obligation to preach “the word of reconciliation.” There are four mentioned with regard to Corinth: Paul, Timothy, Silas and Titus. Second Corinthians 1:19 states, “For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us, even by me and Silvanus and Timotheus, was not yea and nay, but in him was yea.” Silvanus is Silas. Then we notice in 2 Corinthians 2:12-13 the following:
Furthermore, when I came to Troas to preach Christ’s gospel, and a door was opened unto me of the Lord, I had no rest in my spirit, because I found not Titus my brother: but taking my leave of them, I went from thence to Macedonia.
Paul expected to receive a report on Corinth from Titus in Troas. It was there that Paul received the vision to “. . . Come over into Macedonia, and help us” (Acts 16:9). Then in 2 Corinthians 7:5-6, Paul gives more clarification.
For, when we were come into Macedonia, our flesh had no rest, but we were troubled on every side; without were fightings, within were fears. Nevertheless God, that comforteth those that are cast down, comforted us by the coming of Titus (Emphasis added).
We noted previously that “All things are of God” in 2 Corinthians 5:18 and emphasized the Sovereignty of God over all things. In Acts 18 we learn that in some sense the Apostle Paul was fearful. I suppose the Judaizers who pursued Paul wherever he went may have had something to do with this. The Scriptures are not clear about this. However, we notice in Acts 18:9 that the Lord spoke to Paul in the night by a vision. There the Lord says to him, “Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace: For I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee: for I have much people in this city.” God is sovereign over all things, even the gospel. Here in verse 9, He assures that those chosen in Christ who resided in Corinth received the gospel of reconciliation by His chosen ambassador Paul. It is impossible to avoid this truth.
In this first instance, the ambassador is an official office initiated by the call of God into the ministry of His precious Word.
The second way to look at this is to note that all who are new creatures in Christ are ambassadors. Second Corinthians 5:17 states, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” When the Jewish converts to Christianity were persecuted by the Jews and especially the Apostle Paul, Acts 8 notes the following:
And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles. . . . Therefore they that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the word (Verses 1 and 4, emphasis added).
Every one of us are representatives of our heavenly King. Believers are encouraged to grow from the milk to the meat in their knowledge of Christ. Colossians 1:10 confirms this stating the following, “That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God.” We cannot be effective ambassadors for Christ if we do not have an adequate knowledge of Him. The Apostle Peter emphasizes the necessity of this when he writes, “But grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18). Paul emphasizes in Ephesians that “ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called” (Ephesians 4:1).
CONCLUSION
The message of reconciliation is not limited to the official office of elder or bishop. Ambassadorship is not restricted to the official office of elder or bishop. We are all called to be ambassadors for Christ and are privileged to be His representatives while we dwell on this earth. May Christ be pleased in all that we do. 10 Verses To Kickstar