|
|||
 |
The text stands in the setting of a church row between the Corinthians
and Paul. To be exact, the Corinthians were questioning Paul’s conduct,
if not his character (1:15-19). He was, they alleged, unstable, always changing
his plans, never coming to them when he said he would. Paul replies to this
in 1:1—2:13 by giving an account of his movements and the reasons for
them. But from 2:14—7:3 he launches into a defense of his gospel which
is also a defense of himself as an apostle (4:1-2). The two things stand or
fall together. If Paul is a true apostle, then his message is also true.
This carries a crucial implication for the Corinthians’
attitude to Paul. Central to Paul’s gospel is the message of reconciliation.
The gospel of reconciliation applies not only to human relations with God;
it also applies to believers’ relationships with each other. Indeed,
the latter is the evidence and validation of the former. Not only so, but
since Paul has been entrusted with the message of reconciliation (5:18c, 19c)
it follows that the apostolic role is validated by God (6:11-13; 7:2-4).
This, then, is the overall setting of the text. Verses 18-21
however, have all of the marks of a refined theological statement of the New
Testament Church’s understanding of the Christian view of reconciliation.
If a pollster were to question a representative group of individuals
as to what the world needs most today, it would be difficult to believe that
reconciliation, peace, removal of strife, war, enmity would not figure largely
on the list. The yearning for peace, harmony, reconciliation runs the whole
gamut from the smallest social units to the largest. Alienation between marriage
partners, war between tribes and nations, fractured race relations: all bear
witness to the agony and pain of strife and to the need of reconciliation.
And what of alienation from God? “The modern man is not
worrying about his sins,” said a twentieth-century social prophet and
writer, George Bernard Shaw. I am not so sure. I have no doubt that there
are numbers of people today who are not worrying about their sins. It is possible
to bludgeon the conscience so that it does not function any more, and woe
to any that are in that perilous condition. But most people in moments of
quietness are uneasy about the wrongs they have done, and cannot bear to think
too long about what God will do when they finally face him.
In Christ, God has inaugurated a new creation. Old value systems
have been changed. Old ways of living have been made new. And Paul maintains
that this vast change is the result of God’s reconciling work in Christ.
At the risk of oversimplification one may say that at least three truths are
affirmed in this connection.
1. The reconciliation is the work of God. Human sin has placed
humankind in a state of not only alienation but condemnation. If there is
to be reconciliation God must make the first move.
2. The reconciliation is of the world: “In Christ God was
reconciling the world to himself.” That is to say, we are not dealing
here primarily in the realm of feelings or dispositions, though these will
change in consequence as we shall see. We are dealing here primarily with
a changed state of relations between God and humanity. The heart of this changed
state of relations is that God no longer holds the sins of sinners against
them (19b).
3. The reconciliation is made possible through the sacrificial
death of Christ (21). The sin which occasioned both the alienation between
the sinner and God, as well as the divine condemnation, is removed through
Christ who is made an atoning sacrifice for us. The expression [God] “made
[Christ] to be sin,” which parallels Romans 8:3, echoes Isaiah 53:10
where the servant is made “an offering for sin” (cf. Isa. 53:6).
The key to the whole argument of verses 18-21 is: “Be reconciled
to God” (20). Reconciliation that remains one-sided is not reconciliation
at all. God has acted and removed the barrier making it possible for the sinner
to come to him: he no longer counts their trespasses against them. The sinner
must now lay hold upon God’s gift in repentance and gratitude, “so
that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (21b). Here, what
God has done for the world becomes real for the individual. It is remarkable
that, in describing the meaning of the reconciliation of the world to God,
Paul does so in terms of the removal of sin and the gift of righteousness.
Thus the personal application of this passage reaches its climax. While the
third person of the possessive adjective and pronoun is used in verse 19b:
“not counting their trespasses against them,” the first person returns
immediately: “We are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his
appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God”
(20). Reconciliation includes the world of the individual and the personal
if it is to have its full meaning.
(For a sermon example
from this text go to www.preachersmagazine.org and click on “Sermons”)
Reconciliation is a theme that is very close to the human heart. Everyone
has experienced it or the need for it on some level. It is also a theme that
is close to the human conscience both on the human plane and on the divine.
There is therefore a very ready point of contact for the preacher when he
preaches the message of reconciliation.
Two opposite mindsets confront the preacher when he proclaims
this message. One is that sin is so dire and deep that no reconciliation is
possible. In the end only the Holy Spirit can convince the sinner of the truth
of God’s gracious offer. What the preacher can do is underscore the declarations
of the text: that God has taken the initiative to make reconciliation possible;
that it is all his doing; and that it was for the whole world, not just a
few favored souls.
The opposite mindset is that which takes reconciliation for
granted, presuming upon the grace of God. The nineteenth-century French philosopher
Heine gave it classic expression: “God will forgive me: that’s his
occupation.” What is called for here is stress upon the cost of reconciliation.
Forgiveness may be free, but it is not cheap. It was wrought at the cost of
the life of the Son of God.
Finally, the overriding call of the text must be given its due place: the urgent, impelling invitation: “Be reconciled”. The language of entreaty, of imploring, pleading must be the note on which the sermon ends. “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” (20).