Intentional Missions
Tim Melton
2 Corinthians 5:17-21
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
In this verse Paul is writing to the church in Corinth which he had begun, years before. Many of them had come from a pagan background and their lives had been dramatically changed by the saving grace of Jesus Christ. Paul is taking them back to this fact.
In this verse Paul is taking them back to their identity in Christ. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. It is the same for us. In the words of scripture, we who were strangers have been brought near. We who had been orphaned have now been adopted. We who were exiles have now been made citizens. We who were slaves have now been made sons. We who were lost have now been found. We who were cast out have been brought in. We who were enemies have now been reconciled to God.
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.
Through the death and resurrection of Christ, God has reconciled us to Himself. We who were condemned and separated have now been made right with God. We have been reconciled so that we can be reconcilers.
In the words of Jesus, ''As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you (John 20:21b).'' This is our destiny, our calling, our purpose, our identity. We must not reduce missions down to what we do, we must first recognize that it is who we are. In Christ, we are children of light (John 12:35-36) and by definition we were made to shine.
We see this imagery of light throughout scripture. 1 Peter 2:9 declares, ''But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of ...
Tim Melton
2 Corinthians 5:17-21
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
In this verse Paul is writing to the church in Corinth which he had begun, years before. Many of them had come from a pagan background and their lives had been dramatically changed by the saving grace of Jesus Christ. Paul is taking them back to this fact.
In this verse Paul is taking them back to their identity in Christ. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. It is the same for us. In the words of scripture, we who were strangers have been brought near. We who had been orphaned have now been adopted. We who were exiles have now been made citizens. We who were slaves have now been made sons. We who were lost have now been found. We who were cast out have been brought in. We who were enemies have now been reconciled to God.
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.
Through the death and resurrection of Christ, God has reconciled us to Himself. We who were condemned and separated have now been made right with God. We have been reconciled so that we can be reconcilers.
In the words of Jesus, ''As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you (John 20:21b).'' This is our destiny, our calling, our purpose, our identity. We must not reduce missions down to what we do, we must first recognize that it is who we are. In Christ, we are children of light (John 12:35-36) and by definition we were made to shine.
We see this imagery of light throughout scripture. 1 Peter 2:9 declares, ''But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of ...
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