2 Corinthians 5:16-21 Study Guide: New Creation in Christ

Community Group Study Guide — New Creation in Christ

2 Corinthians 5:16-21

Study Information:

Can people change? This is a question we ask subconsciously about others and even ourselves. It is possible to think that certain types of people are too far from God because of their sin or we can even hold our own past sin against ourselves instead of realizing how Christ has made us new. The gospel promises us that we can change and that God makes us new people in Christ. Jesus shared the news of the kingdom of God with the tax collector, prostitute and the Pharisees because all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. It has been said that the church is a hospital for sinners and not a museum of saints, so when we look around the church on a Sunday morning we are all in need of God’s grace. Yet, it is easy to judge one another’s growth and spiritual maturity by outwards appearances. It may be more helpful to think about where they started and where they are at now, because that measures progress. Some of us enter the hospital with deeper wounds and in need of more “care,” but we are all patients and Christ is the great physician (Mark 2:17). In our passage, Paul challenges us to not judge one another according to outward appearances, to remember that we are a new creation in Christ and to embrace our ministry of reconciliation.

No Longer Judging According to the flesh

2 Corinthians 5:16-17

There is a tendency to assess someone’s relationship with God based on outwards things we can see. On one hand spiritually mature people bear good fruit, so we should expect as someone grows in their relationship with God that there will be some visible evidence of that. Yet, as followers of Jesus we should be really careful to not judge or compare people “according to the flesh” because looks can be deceiving. Some people may look polished, serve whenever there is a need and give generously and still be far from God’s kingdom. Such was the situation in Corinth with the false teachers who gave powerful messages and seemed to look the part but were far from God’s kingdom. Jesus gave a warning in Matthew 7:21-23 that there will be many people who say “Lord Lord, didn’t we cast out demons in your name and do mighty works?” And yet Christ will say to them, “depart from me for I never knew you.” They likely looked the part, but were far from God’s kingdom. If we judge others according to the flesh we can actually have a really narrow picture of what God is doing and focus mostly on just “visible” sins. Or we can assign more value to the person who looks put together.

Paul admitted that he once even judged Christ according to the flesh and was wrong. Before becoming a Christian, Paul considered Christ a cursed false Messiah which is why he persecuted the church so strongly. On the outside Jesus just seemed like some poor nobody who grew a following and was finally stopped by the religious leaders. To judge Christ according to the flesh mean that Jesus’s suffering, dying and being crucified was proof enough for Paul that Jesus was not the Christ. In Galatians 3:10-14 Paul explained some of his rationale because the Law taught that if someone was hanged on a tree they were cursed by God. It would take Paul a personal encounter with Jesus to full understand that Jesus going to the cross was him taking the curse that we deserved upon himself (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Instead everyone who is in Christ is a new creation. The old is gone, the new has come. The gospel promises that God makes people new. If you are a Christian God’s creative power is at work in you. This means that your past sin does not define you and that the possibility of change is fueled and empowered by the God who made the universe at the word of his power. The gospel promises the possibility of a fresh start and new life. Your past sin and old life does not define you.

The Ministry of Reconciliation

2 Corinthians 5:18-21

Being a new creation means that we are forgiven and restored to God in friendship. Paul wrote that in Christ, God has reconciled the world to himself (2 Cor 5:19).  The gospel promises forgiveness, trust and warmth in relationship with God again. Rather than hiding from God in the garden like Adam and Eve, we’re invited to see God as Father and friend. This reconciliation is possible because God no longer counts out trespasses against him through the ministry of Christ. When someone repents of their sin and puts their faith in Jesus God no longer counts their trespasses against them. The Psalmist says that as far as the east is from the west so far has God removed our trespasses from us (Psalm 103:12).

This reconciliation is possible because Christ took on the curse of sin for us so that we could become the righteousness of God (2 Cor 5:21). Martin Luther called this the “great exchange” meaning that Christ took our sin and credited us his righteousness. In this exchange, Christ paid the penalty of our sin so God’s justice was satisfied and then we were credited as righteous or blameless in God’s sight. Christ experience shame, suffering and death so we could have life and freedom.

Being a new creation, reconciled to God changes out attitudes towards other. God has given us a new ministry in Christ to be part of his mission to reconcile others to himself. Paul used the image of an ambassador to describe this ministry. In the ancient Roman world this word was used to describe an envoy from one nation to another, often sent by the Emperor. Paul wants us to picture out lives as being citizens of heaven, an envoy of God, with the message of the good news that God is reconciling the world to himself in Christ. We get to be in this world, but not of this world with a message of hope in Christ.

We can take part in this ministry of reconciliation as we serve and share Christ in many ways but here are a few examples. First, we should not prejudge who will be open to the gospel or not. To not judge according to the flesh means that we should not size people up based on outward appearances and freely share the gospel with those who seem far from God and those who may look a bit more spiritually put together on the outside. Second, remember our vision to pray for 1000 people in the South County to come to faith in Christ and our call to action to pray for 10 people by name? If God is reconciling the world to himself and we are ambassadors, we can be part of that mission as we continue to pray. Often as we pray we are more aware of opportunities around us to share the gospel and God uses our prayers as he softens hearts. Finally, if God does not count our trespasses against him, this is an invitation to give ourselves and other followers of Jesus some grace. This does not mean we take holiness less seriously, but the only one holding your sin against you is the devil as an accuser. We can confess our sin, repent, remind ourselves of the forgiveness we have in Christ and move forward rather than holding onto the “old that has passed away.”

At your community group:

Take 15-20 minutes to share about how God has been at work in your life, prayer concerns and pray for one another.

How did God speak to you through the scripture and the sermon this week?

Discussion Questions:

2 Corinthians 5:16-21

What do you think Paul meant by “not regard according to the flesh?” How did Paul regard Jesus according to the flesh?

Paul wrote that in Christ we are a new creation. What did Paul mean by the old passing away and the new coming?

What are some reasons Paul used the image of an ambassador to described the ministry or reconciliation?

How can you take part in God’s ministry of reconciliation this week?