Have you ever wondered what believers in Jesus should be involved in? What should our focus be? Does the Bible tell us? The scripture says, ‘Seek first the kingdom of God’ (Matthew 6:33) Why did He tell us this? Why didn’t the Lord just save us and just take us to heaven? There must be a reason. Second Corinthians speaks of the ministry of reconciliation. According to the Word, every believer has this ministry. What is that ministry and how can we fulfill it?

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What Is Our Role On Planet Earth?

Find Out What the ‘Therefore’s Are There for

2 Corinthians 5:17-19 (KJV) 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.

• We can start by looking at the first word in this section of verses, the word ‘therefore’.
• A good rule of thumb when it comes to understanding scripture is when you see the word ‘therefore’ find out what it’s therefore.
• If you read the entire fifth chapter of 1 Corinthians you will find four layered ‘therefore-s’.
  • ‘Therefore’ if anyone is in Christ in verse seventeen.
  • ‘Therefore’ we regard no one according to the flesh in verse sixteen.
  • ‘Therefore’ all have died in verse fourteen.
  • ‘Therefore’ knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others in verse eleven.
• Looking at it all together.

2 Corinthians 5:11–17 (ESV) 11 Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others. But what we are is known to God, and I hope it is known also to your conscience. 12 We are not commending ourselves to you again but giving you cause to boast about us, so that you may be able to answer those who boast about outward appearance and not about what is in the heart. 13 For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. 14 For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; 15 and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised. 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.

• The layered ‘therefore’s’ take you back to verse ten.

2 Corinthians 5:10 (ESV) 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.

• In verse ten, the verse starts with a ‘For’ instead of a ‘therefore’ which, in English, is the same thing, a conjunction.
• And so now we have to go back one more verse to find the beginning of the thread.
• In verse nine, the verse starts with a ‘So’ which is again a conjunction and so now we have to go back to verse eight.
• Verse eight is the last statement on Paul’s discussion of our glorified bodies.

2 Corinthians 5:8 (NKJV) 8 We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.

• Since it’s the last thought, you will find that you have to go back to verse one to get at Paul’s original point about the Ministry of Reconciliation.

The Ministry of Reconciliation and Our Glorified Body

• The Ministry of Reconciliation finds its root in the promise of our glorified body.
• In verses one through five, God has put within the heart of man a hunger and a longing for our heavenly body.
• We are prepared for this and the Spirit of God is in us to witness this.
• Because of this news, we are of good courage (verse six).
• We need to be.
• There is a whole lot in life we will encounter which will cause us to be tempted to be discouraged and to lose focus on the heavenly prize.
• And so in order to avoid losing that focus, verse seven reminds us that this walk is a faith walk.

2 Corinthians 5:1–7 (NKJV) 1 For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven, 3 if indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked. 4 For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life. 5 Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. 6 So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. 7 For we walk by faith, not by sight.

• We walk by faith, not by sight.
• Walking by faith, not by sight is focal point one.
• Believers in Jesus shouldn’t walk by the things they see.
• All of which means, stay in your Bibles because there’s a lot of things in the world which present themselves to the senses.
• Nevertheless, despite what we see, we refuse to be moved by them because we know a glorified body is waiting for us.
• However, we have a second point of focus.
• And here we meet up with this first conjunction in verse nine.

2 Corinthians 5:9 (NKJV) 9 Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him.

• These conjunctions are conclusions you should come too because of the promise in the first eight verses.
• Second Corinthians five is a spiritual trail.
• It’s a thought progression.
• And the thought progression is this: ‘because we have this promise of a glorified body, there are certain ways we as believers choose to conduct themselves.
• We make it our aim to be pleasing to Him.
• The Greek word ‘aim’ means to aspire to a cherished desire or a lofty goal.
• Our lofty goal is to live to please Him.
• How do we please Him?
• One way is of course ‘walking by faith’.

Hebrews 11:6 (NKJV) ⁶ But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

• But the next verse in Second Corinthians five gives us a second reason why we want to live to please the Lord.

2 Corinthians 5:10 (ESV) 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.

• We want to please Him because we are ALL going to stand in front of Him and give an account for our life.
• Above all else, we want that meeting to go well.
• Therefore… now we get to it in verse 11.

2 Corinthians 5:11 (NKJV) ¹¹ Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are well known to God, and I also trust are well known in your consciences.

• In next week’s post, we will continue on with what it means to walk out the ministry of reconciliation.

Call to Action:

Our future is bright. Our future in Him is great. Get all in in your devotion to Jesus and to fulfilling God’s plan for your life.

Question: What are thoughts and expectations of the glorified body Jesus has waiting for you? Please leave your comments in the comments section below.