2 Corinthians 5:11-17

2 Corinthians 5:11-17  Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade men.  What we are is plain to God, and I hope it is also plain to your conscience.  We are not trying to commend ourselves to you again, but are giving you an opportunity to take pride in us, so that you can answer those who take pride in what is seen rather than in what is in the heart.  If we are out of our mind, it is for the sake of God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you.  For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died.  And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.  So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view.  Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer.  Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 

This is Mom filling in for Dad this morning, so if anything seems heretical, don't hold him accountable, but remember I often throw in a few thoughts on a daily basis.  One thing Paul is saying in today's passage is that whatever state we are in, we are Christ's.  He says whether I am in my right mind or out of my mind, it is for God.  I am committing all to him and to the church I serve, the  people I am trying to convince of the hope we have in Christ Jesus.  He writes that it is Christ's love alone that moves me, controls me, and gives me the motivation to do all that I do, and any other purpose in life is now false and empty to me.  Because Christ died and rose from the grave, Paul died to the old man, the fleshly man, and he is now alive to God.  Because of this reality, he wants the Corinthians to realize they should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.  To Paul, accepting this position of new life in Christ was essential to growth, to victory over sin, and to rightly discerning the working of the Holy Spirit in ourselves and in others.

An important aspect of new life in Christ is how we see others in the body of Christ.  Tuesday night at women's Bible study, I was saying how thankful I am to be a part of the body of Christ.  As I come together with other believers, I find strength, hope, courage, faith, and joy in the Lord.  Fellow Christians build me up.  John wrote, If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his son cleanses us from all sin.  (1 John 1:7)  That fellowship is healing and restorative.  We learn how to love and to forgive.  We grow in our faith, and we teach each other and share the "good news."  God uses us to smooth off the rough edges and turns ordinary rocks into beautiful gems in the tumbler of interaction in the body of Christ.  As I spoke with the ladies, I said it is so important that we do not know each other according to our faults or our weaknesses.  If we know each other by our weaknesses, then all we will be able to see are each other's faults, and we will not be able to love and to defend one another.  But if we know each other according to our strengths in the Lord, then we will see Christ in each other and we will shield and defend each other; we will hardly even notice when our brother or sister does it wrong.  When we regard others in the body from a heavenly point of view through Christ's eyes of love, we will stand our ground in defending them and come to their aid in the time of trouble or need.

Paul spoke directly to this when he encouraged the Corinthians not to live for themselves but for Christ.  But he did not stop at that, but went on to add: So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view.  He was instructing these Christians to get their eyes on the right issues, to find a godly perspective.  What have we been looking at lately?  When we are born again and become new creations, Paul says, the new has come.  The KJV reads, all things are become new.  That means we have new eyes, new ears, a new way of thinking and speaking, a new way of reacting to people and situations.  Also at Bible study, I mentioned that when we love people, we do not allow others to tear them down because the people we love are too precious to us to allow that.  We say, "If you knew her the way I do, you would not say that about her.  When you are with me, please do not talk like that about her because it hurts me.  She is my friend."  That is how we feel about Christ and that is how we should feel about one another.  Do we fail?  Of course we do, and we let each other down sometimes, but we should let Christ's blood cover those sins, start over, and move on.  So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view.  Jesus said they will know us by our love. . .  Blessings, Mom (Jacqueline)