“From now on, then, we do not know anyone in a purely human way. Even if we have known Christ in a purely human way, yet now we no longer know Him like that. (2 Corinthians 5:16 CSB)
Christians are human beings, and we relate to one another as human beings. But we do not relate to one another in a “purely human” way. Something has happened to us that has changed how we relate to one another and to all people. Paul points out two truths that help us understand.
If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. Old things have passed away, and everything is new. When we came to faith, we received Christ into our hearts, and we spiritually entered into Christ. When this happened the old “purely human” way of relating to others, along with our views of the world changed. Basically, these died. The old set died. We were “born again.” Everything became new. So now, we see people and our world through a new set of eyes, through the eyes of God.
As a result of this change, God imparted a ministry to us. Since we were reconciled to God, He gave us a ministry of reconciliation. A “ministry” is a way of serving. We serve God now as His ambassadors. We represent Him and His desire to reconcile the world to Himself, so that sin may be destroyed. This means that we have a clear, god-given task before us, and that task is to proclaim a message of reconciliation to our world, inviting people to turn from sin and its destructiveness and toward faith and the life of fulfillment it brings.
Lord, May we daily walk in this new way, continually laying aside and leaving behind the old ways. Help us to engage fully in this ministry of reconciliation You have called us to. Amen.
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