2 Corinthians 5:16-21, A New Creation

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. 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. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Believers must not regard anyone in the same way as they did when they were not in Christ. Knowing Christ according to the flesh might mean 1) evaluating him from a purely human point of view, which means he was a failure in regard to the expectation of the messiah as a warrior king; 2) knowing him according to worldly standards, or 3) knowing him from outward appearance, which I believe is probably the best understanding per the suffering servant of Isaiah 53:2-3. Paul is again pointing to the fact that the Corinthian converts were still looking at people from a worldly perspective and through their social lenses. If a person is in Christ, not only does one’s worldview change, but one realizes the world itself has changed as a result of Christ’s death and resurrection. There is no business as usual any longer. The point being that the Corinthians should stop evaluating Christ and others by worldly standards.

All these things have happened because God has taken up the work of reconciliation. God is the initiator of the process. Had God not sent the Son to die, humans could not have been reconciled to God, regardless of our desire or good will and works. God was in Christ accomplishing all of this. The work of and through Christ was at the initiative of God and no one else. Christ is the divine agent of the Father. Calling himself an ambassador, Paul implicitly makes his authority clear. He has God’s endorsement and his authority, so much so that it is as if God made the appeal himself. To the degree, then, that the Corinthians are alienated from Paul, they are alienated from God.

The sinless one has been made sin, so that believers might become the righteousness of God, not just positionally but conditionally as well. In this verse Paul has produced a theology of atonement and justification. God the Father made Jesus to be treated like sin even though he had no sin. God did this for our sake. In essence, we traded our sinful nature for Christ’ righteous nature. We are credited with his righteousness while he takes the punishment for our sins. This verse sets up the need for personal holiness that Paul will take up in chapter 6, our reading for next week.

Reflection:

Almighty and everliving God, in your tender love for the human race you sent your Son our Savior Jesus Christ to take upon him our nature, and to suffer death upon the cross for our sins in great humility: Mercifully grant that we may walk in the way of his suffering, and also share in his resurrection.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. 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. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Believers must not regard anyone in the same way as they did when they were not in Christ. Knowing Christ according to the flesh might mean 1) evaluating him from a purely human point of view, which means he was a failure in regard to the expectation of the messiah as a warrior king; 2) knowing him according to worldly standards, or 3) knowing him from outward appearance, which I believe is probably the best understanding per the suffering servant of Isaiah 53:2-3. Paul is again pointing to the fact that the Corinthian converts were still looking at people from a worldly perspective and through their social lenses. If a person is in Christ, not only does one’s worldview change, but one realizes the world itself has changed as a result of Christ’s death and resurrection. There is no business as usual any longer. The point being that the Corinthians should stop evaluating Christ and others by worldly standards.

All these things have happened because God has taken up the work of reconciliation. God is the initiator of the process. Had God not sent the Son to die, humans could not have been reconciled to God, regardless of our desire or good will and works. God was in Christ accomplishing all of this. The work of and through Christ was at the initiative of God and no one else. Christ is the divine agent of the Father. Calling himself an ambassador, Paul implicitly makes his authority clear. He has God’s endorsement and his authority, so much so that it is as if God made the appeal himself. To the degree, then, that the Corinthians are alienated from Paul, they are alienated from God.

The sinless one has been made sin, so that believers might become the righteousness of God, not just positionally but conditionally as well. In this verse Paul has produced a theology of atonement and justification. God the Father made Jesus to be treated like sin even though he had no sin. God did this for our sake. In essence, we traded our sinful nature for Christ’ righteous nature. We are credited with his righteousness while he takes the punishment for our sins. This verse sets up the need for personal holiness that Paul will take up in chapter 6, our reading for next week.

Reflection:

Almighty and everliving God, in your tender love for the human race you sent your Son our Savior Jesus Christ to take upon him our nature, and to suffer death upon the cross for our sins in great humility: Mercifully grant that we may walk in the way of his suffering, and also share in his resurrection.