Created For Good Works

Let’s look a little more closely at the process of the new creation as Paul describes it in Second Corinthians chapter 5 and the verses that we just looked at.

As I see it, there are three successive phases. First of all, sin must be dealt with. Sin is the great barrier between God and man. As long as sin remains undealt with in our lives, we have no access to God. And furthermore, God has no access to us in the way that He needs access to change us from within by that creative act that we’re speaking about.

So, first of all, we have to let God deal with sin. We have to turn from our own rebellion and self-will and stubbornness. And we have to come to God through Jesus Christ, believing that Christ, on the cross, bore the penalty for our sins, that God judged our sin in Christ, and that as we turn to God for mercy and forgiveness through Christ, we are reconciled to God. And in this way, sin is taken away. We have access to God. God has access to us.

The next phase is the creative act of God. God recreates us from within. Solomon, the wisest of all men, said,

“Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.”

In other words, everything that’s going to happen in your life originates from your heart. And that’s where God starts with the new creation, in the heart.

He creates you anew. The light of Christ shines into your heart. All the dark shadows from the past are dispelled. Guilt and fear and loneliness and unforgiveness are dispelled by that glorious light. And then God works outward from your heart into every area of your life. And you begin to realize that you’re changing in so many ways. Other people begin to realize that you’re changing. It’s a creative work of God, but it starts from within.

And then, as this creative work of God proceeds, the third phase is that God commits to us, in turn, the ministry of reconciliation. I express it this way: we are reconciled reconcilers. Paul says that we are Christ’s ambassadors. That’s an exciting statement. Have you ever thought what an ambassador is? He’s the official representative of a government in the territory of another government. He’s not just a private individual. He’s a very important person because of his position.

As long as he operates in accordance with the directions that he receives from his government, he has tremendous authority. In fact, an insult to an ambassador is treated as an insult to the government that he represents. And when he speaks, he doesn’t speak merely as a private individual, but he speaks with the authority of his government behind him. And that’s what God intends us to be in this world. We are Christ’s ambassadors. We’re the official representatives of the government of heaven on earth.

And as long as we operate in full accordance with the directions that we receive from our heavenly government, then all the authority of heaven is behind us. And any insult or mistreatment we receive is treated by heaven as an insult or a mistreatment of that whole heavenly government.

Do you remember what Jesus said to Saul of Tarsus in that encounter on the Damascus Road? He said,

“‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’”

Saul didn’t realize that when he attacked those Christians, he was attacking Jesus Himself. What Saul did against the Christians was reckoned as being against Jesus because the Christians were God’s ambassadors. And you and I today are God’s ambassadors in this present, corrupt, and evil world. We represent the government of heaven.

Just one more scripture, Matthew 4:19. As Jesus called the first disciples, He said to them,

“‘Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.’”

That’s what comes after the new creation. First, we commit our lives to God through Christ. We yield ourselves to Him. Then Jesus says, “Now follow me. I have a new plan for you. I’ve got something for you that you would never have thought of yourself.” He said to those first humble fishermen at the Sea of Galilee, “I’ll make you something different. Not just ordinary fishers, but fishers of men.” That’s another way of speaking about the ministry of reconciliation, bringing men to God through Jesus Christ.

What I want to say is this: it’s not what we are that matters, it’s what Jesus will make us.