Paul continues to defend the integrity of his ministry. In the process, we encounter some of the clearest teaching on the central message of Christianity. So, let’s start in 5:16 and read to 6:2. Hear the word of the Lord…

¹⁶ 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. ¹⁷ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. ¹⁸ All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; ¹⁹ 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. ²⁰ Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. ²¹ For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. ¹ Working together with him, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain. ² For he says, “In a favorable time I listened to you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you.” Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.

South Africa, 1995. Nelson Mandela is president. Apartheid is over. But decades of legally sanctioned racial prejudice left relationships in shambles. Also, what about the wide-spread criminal offenses by white Afrikaners during apartheid? Would South Africa hold their own version of Nürnberg Trials, prosecuting the perpetrators who acted so wickedly against their fellow man?

Mandela took a different approach. He established a commission to expose the truth about gross violations of human rights. Nearly 22,000 victims told their stories. Trials were held. Perpetrators confessed their crimes. Over 1,500 amnesties were granted. The government also determined reparations for victims. Mandela called it the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the aim being to restore friendly relations between white Afrikaners and black South Africans. The aim was noble, the success limited.

Reconciliation is something desired by many. But it’s just so complicated. How do you mend something so torn? Where do you start when offenses include so many layers of pain? And what about the wrongs committed—is there no payment to be made? How can two enemies come together in such peace? The chasm seems too vast.

But the chasm we often feel in human relationships—that chasm exists because an even greater chasm exists in our relationship with God. The chasm between humans versus the chasm between us and God, is like comparing a crack in the sidewalk to the Grand Canyon. In our sinful state, we have spurned our Maker. We have defied his law. Our sins, Isaiah tells us, have put a separation between us and God. He says, “Your sins have hidden God’s face from you.” James tells us that “whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” How can sinful people (like us) be reconciled to a holy God? How do you mend something so torn? And what about our wrongs? Is there no payment to be made in restoring peace?

The chasm is too great for any human commission—not to mention that humans in their sin, want nothing to do with a holy God. And, left to us, we lack the ability to please God. If anyone would cross the chasm to reconcile us, it would have to be God himself in sheer mercy, love, compassion. The apostle Paul was commissioned to announce that God has in fact crossed that chasm. Paul announced this message in what he called “the ministry of reconciliation.” When we consider the ministry of reconciliation, at least three key components should come to mind.

The Ministry of Reconciliation Starts with God

Number one, it starts with God. He is the source, the initiator, the primary actor in reconciliation. We see that implicitly when Paul uses the language of new creation in verse 17. In the Old Testament, only God is Creator. He gives life to all things. And when our sin breaks all things, he’s known as the one who will re-make all things. A new heaven, a new earth, a new city—“I create,” God says through Isaiah. Not man. Also, implicitly, in 6:1 Paul speaks of the “grace of God.” Grace is all about God’s initiative to save us. It’s his free and extravagant generosity in Christ.

But God’s initiative is also seen explicitly. Verse 18, “all this is from God.” “He through Christ reconciled us.” Verse 19, “in Christ God was reconciling the world.” Verse 21, “[God] made Jesus to be sin who knew no sin.” Then, after his work in Christ is complete, God also entrusts the ministry of reconciliation to Paul (verse 19). More than that, God is even doing the speaking. Verse 20: “God making his appeal through us.” Paul opens his mouth. Paul shares good news. Paul uses his will and mental faculties to persuade. But God stands behind his words, appealing for sinners to come.

Reconciliation always starts with God. In fact, Paul wouldn’t have a ministry of reconciliation if God hadn’t first reconciled him. God is the initiator. He is the one showing mercy. He is the one looking on our helpless state and choosing to love us. He is the one crossing the chasm created by our sin. The ministry of reconciliation isn’t telling people all they need to do to earn their way to God. It announces how God has come to us, to meet with us, to rescue us.

Also—more pertinent to Paul’s defense in 2 Corinthians—God stands behind Paul’s ministry. Some had started doubting this. They started comparing Paul with others who appeared stronger when Paul’s sufferings looked weak. The others boasted of great rhetorical skill while they put down Paul saying, “his speech was of no account.” In response, Paul emphasizes it twice in verses 18-19: “God gave us the ministry of reconciliation…[God was] entrusting to us the ministry of reconciliation.”

If they wanted to know what God was saying, they should listen to Paul and not these other pretenders. God was making his appeal through the suffering and weak apostle. Paul’s ministry of reconciliation starts with God.

The Ministry of Reconciliation Centers on Christ’s Saving Work

But what else do we learn about the ministry of reconciliation? It centers on Christ’s saving work. At least three big ideas stand out, the first being new creation. Look at verses 16-17. “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.” That phrase, “according to the flesh” isn’t referring to mere humanity, as if Paul no longer regards Christ to be a man. The better sense is that Paul no longer views Christ (or anybody else) from a worldly/sinful point of view.

Prior to his conversion, Paul viewed Christ not as Savior and Lord but as a blasphemer, as someone who deserved crucifixion. He also mocked and persecuted those followed Jesus. But then Christ saved Paul. His eyes were opened to the truth. Not only did it change his perspective about Jesus; it changed his perspective about others.

Paul was a completely new creation. God re-made him into something he wasn’t before. “Therefore,” he says, “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

That’s a remarkable statement—because the idea of new creation was such a vast and comprehensive expectation. God once told Israel in Isaiah 65:17-18, “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in that which I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy, and her people to be a gladness.” Such promises were unimaginable after their return from exile. All they could see were the results of war, bloodshed, political upheaval, religious apostasy, broken relationships. Could God really restore things to that extent—the people themselves would become gladness?!

That was the promise. It’s also a hope that Revelation describes for the very end of history. The Lord will return and transform the world into a new garden-like paradise where God’s glory covers the earth, and his people are at rest from all their sorrows. Well, Paul is saying that anyone who is “in Christ”—meaning, anyone who’s united to him by faith; if you have a relationship with Jesus, you become an outcropping of that new creation. Jesus’ work started the age of new creation, and those in Christ get brought into his work of new creation. They belong to a new reality that’s already replacing the old, broken order. This is no “turning over a new leaf.” It’s not starting fresh with better daily habits. New creation means you have a new nature, a new will, a new moral outlook, new affections—all that looks more like the age to come.

What causes a persecutor (like Paul) to become a preacher of Jesus? New creation. What makes a committed Muslim change from calling Jesus a mere prophet to calling Jesus Lord? New creation. What leads a skeptical lawyer from dismissing Christianity to defending the truthfulness of Jesus’ resurrection? New creation. What causes a Jewish believer to share table fellowship with a Gentile believer? New creation. What makes people love their enemies and do good to their persecutors? New creation. The saving work of Jesus is extensive and deep. He can change anyone.

Do you have regrets? Do you ever look at your life and think, “What a waste! Look at this mess I’ve made. Look at these relationships I’ve destroyed.” “I shouldn’t have said those things. I shouldn’t have viewed her that way—she’s my sister in Christ.” “I wish I would’ve done more when they were at home.” If you’re remotely alert to these kinds of regrets, don’t let them drive you to despair and hopelessness. Take them to the God of new creation. He turns ashes into beauty. He speaks light into darkness. He calls into being things that didn’t exist. New creation hope is available to anyone in Christ.

Another big idea in Christ’s saving work is reconciliation. Look at verses 18-19. “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…”

According to verse 19, what’s our big problem? We have trespasses. Trespass is another word for wrongdoing. It has to do with violating a moral standard. In this case, we’ve violated God’s moral standard. We’ve acted unlawfully by what he calls right and wrong. And that means we deserve his punishment.

It also means that our trespasses separate us from God. If you think of the many pictures in Scripture, what do they tell us? Adam’s trespass put him outside the Garden. The tabernacle had layers to show how access to God was broken. Israel’s sin drives them outside the land. The priest’s idolatry resulted in God’s glory departing. Those who oppose Christ will eventually be cast outside God’s city. Sin’s worst consequence is that it separates us from God. So, condemnation and separation—that’s what happens when God holds our trespasses against us.

But here’s the good news: God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them. This is book-keeping language.[i] If an accountant assessed our moral and spiritual state, we’re in the red—way in the red In terms of God’s righteousness, we have zero. Our side of the line shows nothing but sin and loads of debt. Even though that’s our condition, God doesn’t count those sins against the people he reconciles to himself. He exchanges the hostility for friendship.

And he does that for all kinds of wicked people. Jews and Gentiles, rich and poor, men and women, adults and children, Africans and Arabs, Americans and Chinese, people from every tribe, tongue, language, nation, educated and uneducated, whether you grew up religious or pagan, whether you bowed to a chunk of cash or chanted “Allahu akbar!”—God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself (that kind of world!). He’s not only the cause of reconciliation; he’s also the end: to himself, it says. It’s not “Alright, I made some amends, and I’ll tolerate your existence in heaven.” No, he brings us to himself, to the throne of glory, to the eternal joys of divine fellowship in the Trinity.

Now, as a righteous Judge, how can he do that? How can he not count our trespasses against us? What about the punishment for our wrong? Any judge worth his salt can’t just overlook wrongs. Verse 21 answers our questions with a third big idea in Jesus’ saving work: imputation. He says, “For our sake [God] made [Christ] to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” Isaiah 53 promised a unique Suffering Servant who does two things for us. One, the Lord lays on him the iniquity of us all—he’s like the sacrifices in the Old Testament where the sins of the people are transferred to the animal before it’s slaughtered (Isa 53:6). Two, he would make many to be accounted righteous (Isa 53:11).

Paul is pointing out these two realities in the work of Jesus. Some have called it “the great exchange”—all our sins go on Jesus, and all his righteousness goes on us. This is the answer to how the righteous Judge doesn’t count our trespasses against us and declares us righteous and upholds his own righteousness in doing so. God makes Christ to be sin—not meaning that Christ becomes a sinner but meaning that our sin gets imputed to Christ. Christ becomes our sin without himself being inherently sinful.

Do you sense the weight of that claim? How appalled we are when someone attributes to us wrongs we haven’t committed. How passionate we are to defend the innocent when others treat them as guilty—and rightly so. But are you struck by those words: “God made him who knew no sin to be sin.” The holy Son of God. No inherent sin. No actual sin. Comprehensively pure in thought, word, deed, desires. Unwaveringly, he loved the Lord his God with all his heart, mind, soul, and strength. Never once did his will flinch to the right or left of what his Father ordered for him.

God treated this one as if he stole from his neighbor, as if he lied to his parents, as if he indulged in pornography, as if he yelled at his kids, as if he squandered his time, cheated on his spouse, idolized his nation, oppressed the poor, grumbled at work, gossiped about others, craved the praise of man. God took all the sins of all his people across all of time—he put them on Christ and treated his Son as if they were his, that he might bear the penalty in our place.

Christ becomes our sin without himself being inherently sinful. That shapes how we understand the next line: we become the righteousness of God without ourselves being inherently righteous. The righteousness is outside us. It belongs to Christ, but God counts it as ours. God treats us like we’re the righteousness of God. It’s not that the righteousness gets disconnected from Christ and given to us, but that in union with Christ himself God views his righteousness as belonging to us.

It’s like an indebted poor woman, who then marries a generous, rich king. Not only does her new husband clear her debts, but all the treasures of his kingdom become hers since she is “one flesh” with him. In union with Christ, God not only clears your debt; he also gives you the treasures of his righteousness. You sang it earlier: “Completely known, completely loved / I’m covered by my Savior’s blood. / I’m robed in white, and God is pleased / To see His Son when He looks on me.”

The Ministry of Reconciliation Implores Others

That’s worth singing about. It’s also worth telling others about. That brings us to a final component in the ministry of reconciliation: it implores others to respond to God’s saving work in Christ. In verse 20, Paul calls himself an ambassador. Others have observed that in the ancient world (like now), being an ambassador involved several things. For starters, you were “commissioned for a special assignment;” and that’s certainly the case with Paul. In the immediate context God entrusted him with apostleship and the ministry of reconciliation. An ambassador also “represented the sender;” and he “exercised the authority of the sender.” To disregard the ambassador was to disregard the sender. In this case, to disregard the message of Paul was to disregard Jesus.

But as Jesus’ ambassador what is Paul’s message? What does he say to people? Verse 20, “Be reconciled to God.” Now, it’s possible that he’s speaking to the Corinthians; and the ESV takes it that way by supplying the “you” in “We implore you.” But the “you” doesn’t appear in Greek like it does in 6:1 (“we implore you,” and there the Christians in Corinth are certainly in view). Still, perhaps some were proving not to be Christians by the way they doubted Paul; and now Paul is calling them to be reconciled in the sense of returning to the true gospel Paul has delivered.

However, Paul could also be describing his evangelistic ministry of broadcasting the gospel to a non-Christian audience: “On behalf of Christ, we implore: be reconciled to God!” “That’s what we do,” in other words. “We implore people. That’s our job ambassadors. That’s what characterizes this ministry of reconciliation: We want people all over to hear the good news and be reconciled to God through Jesus.” Perhaps that’s Paul’s point: he’s summarizing his appeal to a broader non-Christian audience. And that certainly would fit his evangelism throughout the book of Acts.

Either way, by the time you get to 6:1, it’s clear that Paul’s ministry of reconciliation also has serious implications for Christians. He says, “Working together with [God], we [apostles] appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain.” What does it mean to “receive the grace of God in vain”? It means that your encounter with God’s grace in the gospel comes to nothing. You hear it. Maybe you even receive it as a better message than others you’ve heard. It might even excite for a while. But as soon as someone starts tickling your ears with something else, you abandon God’s grace.

Jesus illustrated this with the parable of the four soils—some hear the gospel and Satan immediately snatches away the seed. Others hear the gospel and receive it with joy. But it never really takes root in their lives; and when times get tough, they abandon it. And others hear the gospel, but then the cares and riches of the world choke the word and it proves unfruitful. Paul’s warning them: make you sure you haven’t received God’s grace in vain, such that it bears no fruit in your life.

Why? Why such urgency? Why be reconciled to God? Why does he implore and appeal? Why does he warn? Because now is the day of salvation. In verse 2, he quotes Isaiah 49:8. Isaiah 49 belongs to a series of prophecies that expose Israel the nation as an unfaithful servant. But Isaiah also introduces another servant-individual; and this servant will be faithful. He will bring justice to the nations (Isa 42:1). God will give him as a covenant for Israel. He’ll also be a light for the nations (Isa 42:6). And through this servant, God’s salvation would reach “the end of the earth” (Isa 49:6).

What’s Paul’s point? Jesus is the true and faithful Servant. Through his death and resurrection, Jesus has become our covenant, our light, our rescue. God has started the “day” of salvation, a that day lasts until Jesus returns. You are living in that day: “Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” Don’t wait around. Everybody should be running to Jesus for reconciliation and then living for Jesus in reconciliation, spreading his reconciliation to others.

So, how about you? Are you reconciled with God? Listen, if this is your first time in church, or maybe you’ve been here for years—maybe you just come because that’s what mom and dad do on Sundays. Your sins have separated you from God; and there’s only one way to be reconciled to God: believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. No other religion will do. Nobody else has this message of reconciliation.

All other religions are based on your obedience. In Hinduism, one seeks to escape the cycle of reincarnation through works, knowledge, devotion. Islam has submission along with its five pillars—profession, prayer, alms, fasting, pilgrimage. Yet even then, there’s never assurance that your submission is enough. In Judaism, the major problem is exile, and the solution is law-keeping. Buddhism has the noble eightfold path. Many tribal religions have their ongoing rituals to keep the gods happy. In Mormonism, passage to eternal life comes only to those with faith and obedience to the laws. Outside of those, social media is filled with people and politicians who have mastered the art of heaping guilt on everybody not like them. There’s a constant stream that says, “You’re not good enough, do more. You’re not accepted unless you’re doing what I’m doing.”

Here’s the far better news of Christianity. In the moment you’re united to Christ by faith, God not only takes away your sins; he also imputes Christ’s obedience to your account. And in so doing, God the Creator reconciles you to himself. So, don’t wait around. Believe in Jesus Christ and you will be reconciled to God.

If you’re already reconciled to God, don’t receive the grace of God in vain. How is the Lord’s grace changing you? Are you taking Paul’s message to heart? For instance, if we returned to verse 16, has the grace of God changed how you view others? What about fellow Christians—do you view them as new creations? No matter what background, economic level, social status, personality traits that annoy you—if they’re in Christ, God has made them a new creation. He will complete his work. Think of what we’ll all be like in the New Heaven and New Earth.

Or what about people outside the church—how do you see them? Do you measure them by external appearances—how they look, what they wear, who they hang with? Or is your biggest concern their spiritual condition, whether they’re in Christ or not? Do you find yourself backing away from evangelism opportunities because you think, “Nah, I don’t think they’d listen to me” or “Nah, they look like they’ve got a pretty good life” or “Nah, he’s Muslim, Hindu, progressive. There’s no way he’ll believe.” But viewing people that way is inconsistent with what we believe about God’s grace. He can change anybody’s life. He’s in the business of making new creations in Christ.

Or what about the ministry of reconciliation in verse 20? Paul implores people. Do you implore people? Do you speak to them about God’s work of reconciliation? Yes, Paul writes from his role as apostle and ambassador. But we might say that Paul represents an entire foreign office, an embassy of diplomats and officials who participate in the same ministry of reconciliation. That’s us as we follow Paul. In 1 Corinthians 11:1, Paul says “Imitate me as I imitate Christ.” In Ephesians 6:17, we put on as shoes the readiness given by the gospel of peace (6:17). We run to announce the good news.

So, in what ways has God’s grace taken effect such that you are working to spread the message of reconciliation? If you’re in Christ, you can do this. If you think about it, you already spread news all the time—news about how much better this Whole 30 diet made you feel; news about how good the cookies were after you finished the diet; news about a promotion at work; news about your team clinching their division; news about the season finale of your favorite show; news about something you read in a book; news about a pregnancy or a new grandbaby—all of which are just fine. These are good gifts; and God has made them both to enjoy and to give him thanks.

But comparatively speaking, isn’t the news about Jesus’ saving work infinitely better than all these other things? Nelson Mandela had his Truth and Reconciliation Commission. God has a greater commission, one that spanned the greatest chasm to reconcile man to God. Church, you are Christ’s commission. You are Christ’s embassy on earth. You represent a foreign power that’s just and holy and loving and good. You have a message from the King of a far better country. And his message is that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself.

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[i] This is the same accounting, book-keeping, imputation language that Paul uses in Romans 4:5—Abraham’s faith is credited, or counted for righteousness.