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Celebrating our Newness in Christ

Our Sufficiency in Christ By Dustin Folden Bible Text: 2 Corinthians 5:14-21 Preached On: Sunday, January, 1, 2017 Faith Church 5526 State Road 26 E Lafayette, IN 47905 Website: http://www.faithlafayette.org/church Online Sermons: http://www.sermonaudio.com/faithlafayette

Good morning…I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas…even if there were difficult aspects, I hope this year you grew even more appreciative of God’s gift of sending His son to save His people from their sins. Lord willing next Week Pastor Viars will lead us in our yearly kickoff Sunday where we focus on “Where are We? Where Have We Been? And Where are we Going? I hope you will plan to be here for that key message next Sunday. In the meantime, I get the privilege of starting the New Year. And going into the New Year…I have a very serious question to ask you.

1. By a show of hands how many of you like camping? 2. How many do not like camping? 3. How many don’t like raising their hands?

Don’t worry none of you have made a new year’s resolution to go camping more often… Some people love camping, some hate it, but regardless of where you fit on the spectrum…I think it is safe to say that no one really enjoys setting up the tent.

1. Have you ever set up the tent it in the dark, on uneven ground, when it is raining and wet, and you forgot how to start and maybe a piece is missing?

2. Also a tent is fragile, the wind can blow it over, it is not necessarily warm, and it definitely is not safe as far as bear proof goes.

3. Things you don’t hear around the campfire…, “I just got the best sleep of my life in this tent”.

Do you know that Paul in 2 Corinthians Chapter 5 describes our earthly life, our earthly bodies as a tent. Before we get to our main text, listen to what Paul says in 5:1…

“For we know that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For indeed in this house we groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven, inasmuch as we, having

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put it on, will not be found naked. For indeed while we are in this tent, we groan, being burdened, because we do not want to be unclothed but to be clothed, so that what is mortal will be swallowed up by life. Now He who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave to us the Spirit as a pledge.” (2 Corinthians 5:1–5)

1. Paul worked as a tentmaker, so he is very familiar with tents, and he uses it to illustrate

something important…having an eternal perspective in an earthly body.

Now imagine if you were on a camping trip (its your new year’s resolution remember), and you begin to look at your tent, like it is your house. You think to yourself.. I am going to live in this tent forever…that is as good as it is going to get.

1. You might do 1 of 2 things…you may just give up and say what is the point of living if I’m in a tent….

2. or you might try to upgrade your tent…buy the second vestibule, try to install a sink and flat screen and lazy boy…

{point} - But just think about trying to make the tent something it is not…a permanent home when the tent is just a temporary living situation as you wait to go to your real home. Do you ever look at your earthly life like that?

1. Expecting it to be everything you want it to be…easy, comfortable, and perfectly safe… 2. Then do you become disillusioned with life when things don’t seem to work out that

way 3. or do you work really hard to try to control everything and force things to be just how

you want them to be…for a while…until you are not able to maintain it.

I believe that is what Paul is trying to help the Corinthians see in his second letter. He wants to help them look at the suffering of life through their relationship with Christ…

That is why he opens this letter by saying, “For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ.” (2 Corinthians 1:3–5)

He then implores them to look at this earthly life, this tent with an eternal perspective.

(2 Corinthians 4:18) - “while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”

Paul is saying look at this world, this life, with an eternal perspective that is based on our relationship with Christ. Going into the New Year, I hope this message will help you focus on celebrating our relationship with Christ and all the newness it brings.

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Celebrating Our Newness in Christ (2 Cor. 5:14-21) With that in mind open your bibles to 2 Cor chapter 5 on page 142 in the bible under the chair in front of you. Read 2 Cor 5:14-21…with our time remaining lets look at … Three Ways to Live Out Our New Life in Christ 1. Be controlled by the Love of Christ. (14-15)

2 Corinthians 5:14-15 For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf. Do you like it when someone tries to control you…dictate what you do? - No one likes being controlled by someone else, especially someone who is unkind,

unreasonable and takes advantage of you… - What if the control is for your good? Have you ever walked on one of those suspension

bridges where they have to clip you to the bridge, or rode a roller coast where they have to buckle you in. If you are with a guide/attendant you would say…I will do whatever you tell me to do so I don’t die. You will let them control you…

If someone is going to celebrate new life in Christ they are going to be willing to be controlled….they will submit themselves to an authority above themselves that knows what’s best.

The reason this is different than other earthly forms of control, is this is a Lord who loves us…the Love of Christ is to control us…

- The love of Christ is another way of saying the gospel...Jesus dying on the cross for us.

- Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

Isn’t it amazing that God says, what is to control you, is the love of Christ.

1. Think about all the things that we tend to be controlled by… 2. The fear of other people’s opinion 3. Our own desires…getting what we want only to find it really didn’t satisfy us.

Ask yourself how often those lead us through life well…

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It may be good for you to jot down in the margin of the notes…what tends to control

you…how do you know what tends to control you?….well ask yourself…what will you drop everything for…what will you get angry about…what will you make time for?

Think about what is competing with the Love of Christ to control you…the start of this year is a great time to grow in allowing the Love of Christ to control you more than other things…

So what does that control look like…well it means you are to…

a. Live for Him not for yourself

God commands us to do this, but he reminds us what He did first…namely that He died…and when it says “He died for all therefore all died”…the text is viewing us as if we had died…as if we had received the punishment of death for our sins. Don’t we have a gracious God, who not only gives us commands, but gives reasons why we should follow His commands? Not only that, but the Lord’s commands are not burdensome, but they are actually the pathway to Joy.

Cf. John 15:10–11 “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. “These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.”

If we are going to be controlled by the Love of Christ…it means we take a very counter cultural approach to life…we don’t live for ourselves… That is what Paul highlighted earlier in the chapter when he said…

c.f. 2 Corinthians 5:9 Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him.

He is saying no matter where we are, in this earthly tent or not…our goal is to please Him, to live for His honor and glory, not our own. That goal, that focal point is to control us, direct us, and guide us through life.

When you hike it is easy to get lost…

- so you often look at a landmark behind you and in front of you to reference as you walk over difficult terrain.

- These two points are to control or guide your path to keep you headed in the right direction.

I think this is a good metaphor for the Christian life…

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- Earlier in the chapter Paul talks about the fact that we will all appear before the judgment seat of Christ and the Lord will judge if we were pleasing to Him in various aspects of our life.

- This is not to earn salvation, but the opportunity to steward our life so that we hear well done my good and faithful servant.

So the landmark in front of us is the judgment seat of Christ…my goal, my aim, my ambition to be pleasing to Him….to become more like Christ. So I look at the choices right in front of me and I ask….

- Will this please God cf. 2 Cor 5:9, - what commands did he give that I can obey right now. - Commands like let your words always be seasoned with salt so you will give grace to

those who hear… - I am going to stand before him one day and give account for the words I just said…were

they filled with grace… …but it is not always obvious what is pleasing to the Lord or maybe I don’t have a command come to mind right away. So I need to also look back…I need to look back to the Love of Christ that is to control me.

- is this action consistent with what Christ did for me by dying on the cross. He sacrificed to serve me…is this choice one where I am sacrificing what I want to serve others and honor the Lord. Is what I am doing loving?

We need to be constantly looking forward…will this please God,

- and also constantly looking back…does this action, do these steps, these words flow out of an appreciation for the Love of Christ and what He did for me.

Then guess what I am not looking at…

- do I like how rough this road is… - am I going to enjoy this,… - what will make me happy. - Do I deserve this. - How can I make things better for me…

when I am using all my energy to navigate this life looking forward to pleasing the Lord and looking back at the Love of Christ motivating me and controlling me…

- I have very little time and energy left to live for myself… - and then navigating this life while not easy can have purpose and contentment, instead

of walking the destructive path of entitlement and self-focus.

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I think it is good for us to think about this as the 9:30 service. We have a unique opportunity to live this out together each Sunday.

- What would it be like if we started the week as a group of people controlled by the love of Christ and not living for ourselves…I think it would bleed into Monday, and Tuesday and throughout the week.

What does that look like as a member of the 9:30 service….

- Well I think it starts at home and in the car…I would encourage every head of household to lead the family in a prayer on the way to church that focused on being controlled by the Love of Christ and not living for yourself.

- “Lord, help us focus on living for you and no ourselves this morning. Help us be

prepared to worship you with passion, learn more about you and change to be like you. Help us to look to minister to someone else today.

When you don’t live for yourself…that means you need to look for other people…and interact with them. You see most of you sit in the same area, and that is good, because when someone new is in your area, you can recognize that they are new and engage them in conversation….if you are here early enough to engage them in conversation?

- I would like to challenge you in the New Year to be able to speak 2 meaningful sentences about everyone who sits around you. If you can share 2 meaningful sentences about them, you probably can remember their name.

- To do that it means you would need to get here early, be prayerful and purposeful from

the car and in (night before), and be on the lookout for new folks and sit by folks who are sitting alone.

- I know that if you come early looking to show love to someone else, it will bring you Joy,

purpose, and it will be an evidence of you being controlled by the Love of Christ.

What is the motivation…it is not simply that your service pastor who loves you is shepherding you…the ultimate motivation is…

b. Because Christ died and rose

If Christ did that for you…will you celebrate your relationship with Christ each and every day with a focus on what you can do to live for him, because He died for you?

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He came down to earth to serve you, and it was not comfortable for him….well that act of love is to control you so you don’t live for yourself…that should start on Sunday morning and go throughout the week. T: When you are controlled by the love of Christ, it not only directs how you live, but it effects how you view life. The second way to Live Out Our New Life in Christ is to

2. Adopt a new perspective (16-17)

That starts when you…

a. Recognize you have a new Identity

2 Corinthians 5:16-17 Therefore from now on we recognize no one according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer. Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. Paul is saying he does not view people or himself through simply an earthly, fleshly perspective…or how they look. Some people define their identity solely through the lens of how they think other people view them. Apparently some of the Corinthians are being influenced by folks who as Paul says in v12… “take pride in appearance and not in heart”. He is saying in v16 we don’t look at each other based on the earthy tent… As you read the letter to the Corinthians It seems as if Paul is constantly being questioned if what he is saying is legit, as if people look at Paul’s life and see a humble tentmaker, one who has been beaten and imprisoned multiple times, who is not a strong orator and one could conclude… well he is not this polished guy oozing with success so why should I listen to him and live this life to please Christ that involves suffering and groaning in an earthly tent.

- Its temping to say, Maybe living for myself and getting whatever I can get is better, it sure looks better.

- Paul is saying that they don’t even think about Christ just through his earthly

life…after all he was a man of sorrows, a suffering servant, he died…but that was not the end.

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- But Paul views Him as the resurrected Lord who everyone is to live for…and that

effects how we view ourselves…our identity. If anyone is ‘in Christ’, he is a new creature… That means that we must view ourselves through the lens of being ‘in Christ’…being in union with the resurrected Lord…

- in other words it is to have a radical effect on the way we live life… - so much so that old ways of living are replaced by new things…. - we will talk about these new things in a minute…but the key is that I view myself

as a new creature. How do you view yourself?

- Do you view yourself through how nice of clothes you wear, - if you seem like you are super organized and have everything together… - do you view yourself as someone who is successful and by their job or education

should be respected by your peers, family and neighbors… Or do you simply view yourself as someone who is ‘in Christ’, and

- someone who now has a radically reoriented your life… - someone who is excited about new things… heavenly things, rather than simply

being excited about earthly things. This perspective also includes how you should…

b. View the World through the lens of New Life in Christ

Notice this not only effects how you view yourself, it effects how you view others. It says, if ‘anyone’ is in Christ. Paul’s gaze is wider than just himself or just the Corinthians…and in verse 16 he says we don’t recognize ‘anyone’ according to the flesh.

o You see it would have been very tempting for the Corinthians to view people who look good as the ones they should listen to and model their lives after….many people in the ancient near east viewed suffering as a curse from God, so why should they follow someone who is suffering, they have nothing to offer me to get the most out of life.

That view of life is very dangerous, because then you may look to surround yourself with people who appear to be successful with the hopes that they will influence/help you and that you will be successful.

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o This is why one of the first things you ought to do as you get to know someone is ask them about their relationship with the Lord…when did you first became a Christian. When did you first hear the gospel? When did you trust Christ?

o Instead of just asking someone where they work, where they are from, where

they went to school, what they do for a living…we need to view each other as new creations in Christ…so in order to do that, we need to learn when a person became a new creation.

This helps you in two ways. 1. First it helps you guard against comparing yourself to others. It can be tempting to

think a person looks like they are doing so well, they are so happy… a. I want to ask about a person’s relationship with God, not assume everything

is great or that everything is bad….that also helps me focus on my relationship with Christ, not if I look good in front of others.

2. It helps you appreciate someone who is suffering well, and it helps you suffer well

with the comfort available in Christ. a. Paul suffered well, but people looked at Paul and they thought, why should

we listen to you…or give you our attention. Behold new things have come….new things are where…did you get a new bedroom set, new jacket…new promotion…new what?

b. New system of what is important. c. If someone is struggling with life and suffering and you take the time to learn

how they are persevering because of their relationship with Christ and how they are longing for heaven and cultivating a deeper love for Christ…you will not only be blessed, but you will be viewing them in a Christ centered way, not the prideful appearance of this earthly world.

T: If you have this Christ centered view, you can then embark on the mission the Lord has called you to. The third way we can celebrate our newness in Christ…

3. Embrace your new mission (18-21)

a. A ministry of reconciliation

2 Corinthians 5:18-19 Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.

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The word reconcile is a great word that shows how gracious and powerful our God is… in the original languages it means the exchange of hostility for a friendly

relationship1 It is someone who was an enemy is now a friend…and even more so a servant entrusted with a valuable purpose. (cf. Rom 5:8, Col 1:13)

o It would be like Football QB Tom Brady, becoming an Indianapolis Colt…actually it would be more like the Patriots Mascot becoming the Coach of the Colts. The mascot is totally unqualified, and he embodies all that is against the home team…exactly like us…that is what it means to be reconciled and then given the ministry of reconciliation.

We are not reconciled to just change sidelines, but to get into the game and serve the resurrected Lord. If I view myself as someone who has been reconciled…someone who has a right relationship with God…it changes how I view life….remember when it said behold…new things have come…what are these new things. Well the text says ‘these things’ are from God who reconciled us to himself…so he acted, he bridged the gap, he rescued us, and made us to be able to be in his presence because we are new creatures in Christ. In order to embrace our mission, our ministry…we need to focus first on how God reconciled us through Christ and is in Christ reconciling the world to himself….that is his mission that he calls us to be an active part of. The ones who needed to be reconciled where reconciled by God and then given a ministry to reconcile others. It is sort of like a game of octopus tag…you know how one person is it, and when you tag someone, then you become part of the octopus. You just changed from running from God, to sharing the gospel with others It is important to note that the word of reconciliation entrusted to us, has very little to do with us or our ability or skill…it is us testifying to what the Lord has done and what the Lord is doing...he is reconciling the world to himself and not counting their transgressions against them.

1 Arndt, W., Danker, F. W., & Bauer, W. (2000). A Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament and other early Christian literature (3rd ed., p. 521). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

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Notice the text doesn’t emphasize teaching people how to not trespass God’s law, although that is important, but the ministry of reconciliation is about telling people that God has made a way to not count their trespasses against them. If we are in Christ…We are….

b. Ambassadors for Christ

2 Corinthians 5:20-21 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

o Notice Paul does not give his readers an application to be an ambassador…he says we are ambassadors…God chooses to make His appeal through those he reconciled.

o It is important to understand that an ambassador is sent to a foreign country to

represent His country. There are two important things to point out here. 1. This means this world, this tent is not your home you are a foreign dignitary, an

ambassador with the utmost honor, because of who you represent. a. But you are sent to a hostile people that need to be reconciled.

2. We are to make an appeal…we are not to force or manipulate but to even beg

people, plead with them to be reconciled to God.

a. This has the idea of caring for people, wanting what is best for them…wanting them to be reconciled…but it assumes something…

b. It assumes you know if a person is reconciled or not…it assume you look at people through the grid of are they in Christ or not…

c. If you think about your family & friends through the question…are they in

Christ…you can focus on appealing to them wisely and humbly,

i. instead of …do I like hanging out with them, do they frustrate me, do I covet what they have, am I trying to pride fully show off and get their approval…

ii. all of that doesn’t matter….my mission as an ambassador

matters….God is making an appeal through me…and I need to

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know about a personals relationship with God if I am going to encouraged them to be reconciled.

d. Let me ask you…when is the last time you begged someone to be reconciled

to Christ? When is the last time you encouraged a friend of yours to come to church with you to learn about God’s love for them.

i. This New Year my guess is the Lord will place you right around people who need to be reconciled, because he is in progress of reconciling the world to himself through Christ…

ii. Don’t think that because the church does outreach, that equates to you fulfilling your responsibilities as an ambassador.

iii. Guess what you are His ambassador…no you don’t get a cool car or diplomatic immunity from traffic laws…but you are called to make an appeal to those around you to be reconciled to God.

The passage ends with a reminder of the gospel…how a person is reconciled to God.

- Christ, the one we are “in” is the one who knew no sin…he was made to be sin on our behalf.

- What does it mean for him to be sin… - well as Pastor Viars pointed out last week…it means he was our substitute…

o he took the penalty of sin for us…he took the eternal wrath of God at the cross that was meant for us.

So that in Christ….we would be viewed as righteous…we would have a standing before God that would give us the security to then make an appeal to others. [develop the gospel]

1. perhaps you are here today, and God is making an appeal to you, and you need to be reconciled to God…he sent Christ to take your punishment so you could have a relationship with God.

2. Christian friend – will you go into the New Year with a fresh take on how your relationship with Christ is to govern you this year…if it has been years since you trusted Christ…will you treat being an ambassador as the new and amazing honor that it is every day.

So it is a new year, and a great opportunity to start the year off right…by celebrating our newness in Christ by…

1. Being controlled by the Love of Christ – allow the gospel to guide you to live for the one that died for you.

2. Adopt a new perspective. – view yourself as in Christ, and continue to affirm that is what is most important about you, not how you look to others.

a. Then commit to looking at others in the same way…that means getting to know the people you sit around and hearing their story, and then…

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3. Be an ambassador wherever God has called you… a. Make an appeal for people to be reconciled because you want to celebrate the

new life that is available to all that God is reconciling to himself.