"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." (2 Corinthians 5:17-21)
The person who experiences genuine conversion of heart through the transforming power of the Holy Spirit will by definition become a “new creation." This does not mean one can achieve a state of sinlessness perfection at conversion or by the end of his life, but ceases to approach the things of this world in carnal terms. We throw away the “old man” when we abandon our former sinful lifestyles by the grace of God (Ephesians 4:24). All of this takes place as a consequence of the Holy Spirit indwelling Himself in us.
In the context of 2 Corinthians 5:17-21, the word “reconcile” describes resolving hostility between two enemy parties. The problem is not with God, but on our end with our persistent opposition to Him. We have rejected His righteous teachings and principles. Reconciliation involves a change of heart and mind that only God Himself can accomplish for us through the propitiatory work of Christ (Romans 5:9-10).
The Lord has appointed all members of His church to function as His representatives on earth. He has given to us the responsibility of handling the “ministry of reconciliation,” which is the preaching of the gospel. It is the proclamation of the good news that the Son of God has forever put away sin through His sacrifice on the cross at Calvary. He is by no means an ordinary man, but God in the flesh.
To not impute sin against us means that God does not keep a record of it to condemn us (Romans 4:4-7; 2 Corinthians 5:19). Further, the present tense verbs found in 2 Corinthians 5:19 denote continuous action (1 John 1:9). “The ministry of reconciliation” consists of the “ambassadors for Christ,” which are the people who have been brought to spiritual life by the power of the Holy Spirit. It is God who does the reconciling work, not us (v. 18). Therefore, the text of 2 Corinthians 5:17-21 reinforces the concept of justification without meritorious works.
The text being discussed reveals three aspects of imputed righteousness, which are 1.) God imputes not our iniquity, 2.) sin is imputed to Christ, and 3.) His foreign righteousness is imputed to our account. In addition, it is important to highlight the symmetrical correspondence of the wording found in verses nineteen and twenty-one: “…not counting their trespasses against them…he made him to be sin who did not know sin, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him.”
In other words, the spotless Lamb of God was “made sin” (i.e. our sins are not imputed against us), and His righteousness (i.e. the righteousness of God) was credited to us. Christ is our merciful substitute, in the same manner that the Apostle Paul desired that any of Onesimus’ (Philemon’s runaway slave) possible wrongdoings be charged against him instead (Philemon 18). From the perspective of justification, this text tells us that our righteousness is based on the righteousness of Jesus Christ (Romans 3:24-25). From the viewpoint of sanctification, His righteousness is applied to us daily.
The person who experiences genuine conversion of heart through the transforming power of the Holy Spirit will by definition become a “new creation." This does not mean one can achieve a state of sinlessness perfection at conversion or by the end of his life, but ceases to approach the things of this world in carnal terms. We throw away the “old man” when we abandon our former sinful lifestyles by the grace of God (Ephesians 4:24). All of this takes place as a consequence of the Holy Spirit indwelling Himself in us.
In the context of 2 Corinthians 5:17-21, the word “reconcile” describes resolving hostility between two enemy parties. The problem is not with God, but on our end with our persistent opposition to Him. We have rejected His righteous teachings and principles. Reconciliation involves a change of heart and mind that only God Himself can accomplish for us through the propitiatory work of Christ (Romans 5:9-10).
The Lord has appointed all members of His church to function as His representatives on earth. He has given to us the responsibility of handling the “ministry of reconciliation,” which is the preaching of the gospel. It is the proclamation of the good news that the Son of God has forever put away sin through His sacrifice on the cross at Calvary. He is by no means an ordinary man, but God in the flesh.
To not impute sin against us means that God does not keep a record of it to condemn us (Romans 4:4-7; 2 Corinthians 5:19). Further, the present tense verbs found in 2 Corinthians 5:19 denote continuous action (1 John 1:9). “The ministry of reconciliation” consists of the “ambassadors for Christ,” which are the people who have been brought to spiritual life by the power of the Holy Spirit. It is God who does the reconciling work, not us (v. 18). Therefore, the text of 2 Corinthians 5:17-21 reinforces the concept of justification without meritorious works.
The text being discussed reveals three aspects of imputed righteousness, which are 1.) God imputes not our iniquity, 2.) sin is imputed to Christ, and 3.) His foreign righteousness is imputed to our account. In addition, it is important to highlight the symmetrical correspondence of the wording found in verses nineteen and twenty-one: “…not counting their trespasses against them…he made him to be sin who did not know sin, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him.”
In other words, the spotless Lamb of God was “made sin” (i.e. our sins are not imputed against us), and His righteousness (i.e. the righteousness of God) was credited to us. Christ is our merciful substitute, in the same manner that the Apostle Paul desired that any of Onesimus’ (Philemon’s runaway slave) possible wrongdoings be charged against him instead (Philemon 18). From the perspective of justification, this text tells us that our righteousness is based on the righteousness of Jesus Christ (Romans 3:24-25). From the viewpoint of sanctification, His righteousness is applied to us daily.
good, you understand it pretty well.
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