II Corinthians 5:6-17

Scripture:                     II Corinthians 5: 6 - 17

Year B

June 12-18

Title: Being In Christ

June 14, 2015

Cross~Wind

            I would like to try something a little different today. I would simply like to discuss with you this passage of scripture. At the same time, studying this passage has made me reflect upon some quite personal and important matters.

            Going deeper

The first part of this reading makes me reflect upon death, life, and the Christian hope.

You see, it seems like death is powerful and final. Granted, sometimes death is release, either due to illness or to age. For many of us, death seems like the most powerful thing in the universe. The question regarding whether death is the most powerful force in the universe reminds of a well known poem by John Donne (1572-1631).

 

Holy Sonnets: Death, be not proud

Death, be not proud, though some have called thee

Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so;

For those whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow

Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me.

From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be,

Much pleasure; then from thee much more must flow,

And soonest our best men with thee do go,

Rest of their bones, and soul's delivery.

Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men,

And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell,

And poppy or charms can make us sleep as well

And better than thy stroke; why swell'st thou then?

One short sleep past, we wake eternally

And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die.

            I wonder if you and I will let what Paul says about death sink in to our souls today.

One of the things Paul is discussing in this part of his letter is that following Jesus can be difficult. It was difficult enough for Paul that it led to several times when he was near death. All of this led him to reflect upon the hope that he had Christ. 

We find in 5:6-10 that Paul has confidence in the Christian hope. The hope enables him to endure repeated hardships, and this certainty of future resurrection propels him to continue his mission with boldness. Though he is facing opposition from some in the Corinthian community, the apostle does not shy away from revealing the persecution that has accompanied his preaching of the gospel and uses the severity of his affliction to exemplify the sincerity of his motives to bring the Corinthians life in Christ.

⁶ So we are always confident; even though we know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord-- ⁷ for we walk by faith, not by sight.

[Though Paul would rather be with Christ than bound to a body that has been afflicted, persecuted, and struck down (4:7-10; 5:8-9), the apostle’s hope allows him to be of good courage (5:6, 8) and urges him to live in a manner pleasing to God (5:9). The view that some form of resurrection occurs at death, so that body and soul do not experience separation, finds some support here.[1] Note the confidence Paul has that his death will bring him closer to the Lord. Of course, we cannot know everything about what happens when we die, but Paul has every confidence that he will be with the Lord.]

[Further, hope reaches beyond what is present to something that is not yet visible.[2] We have knowledge now, in other words, because we walk by faith and not by sight. Only in faith that does not have its possibility in any form of sight can our walk be strong, pursuing the way in this time. If faith does not awaken our walk and the Holy Spirit does not make our walk strong, this weakness will be fatal. Even in the strength of its faith, it is weak in the fact that its faith is not sight. It must be content to move in faith and without any kind of sight from the first to the last coming of Jesus Christ.[3]]

⁸ Yes, we do have confidence, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. ⁹ So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. ¹⁰ For all of us must appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may receive recompense for what has been done in the body, whether good or evil.

[This passage can make it appear that Paul is looking negatively upon the body. We would be missing his point. Rather, the passage is full of hope that if something happens to this earthly tent, in the preaching of the gospel, then there is divine assurance of life with God. Life will swallow up death. Paul knows that as long as he is still awaiting Jesus’ return he must continue his perilous task to rescue others from death in order to guide them to life in Christ. He lives in the “meantime” — the tension of longing for Christ’s return and the duty of sharing this good news with others. The dilemma here is quite similar to Paul’s words in Philippians 1:23b-24: “my desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better; but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for you.” He makes no attempt to conceal his longing and sighing for the latter. Yet, he finds only a relative and not an absolute place for this desire. The conclusion is that we labor in the context of acceptance by the Lord.[4]]

[So many people seem to lead their lives as if they are accountable to no one. We need to restore our sense of accountability to each other. Most importantly, we need to restore our awareness of our accountability to God. Ever before Paul is the knowledge that Christ will return and will judge so that everyone will receive payment for what they have done in the body. The point here is that the judgment of God will bring to light who are righteous and who are sinners.[5] Paul was convinced that those related to Jesus Christ by faith and baptism already has assurance of participation in the new life that has broken in with the resurrection of Christ. Yet, he still expected that we must appear before the judgment seat of Christ in order to receive what is due for things done in this life, whether good or bad.[6] Jesus Christ will execute judgment, probably affirmed due to the equation of Jesus with the Son of Man.[7]]

            The second part of this passage deals with the difference Jesus now makes for humanity. You see, even though the world could not know this yet, God had done so something new in Jesus of Nazareth that changes everything for humanity. It changes our relationship with God, with each other, and even with ourselves. The fact that the world does not know this truth yet gives us our mission as a denomination to make disciples for Jesus Christ to transform the world.

.  ¹¹ Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we try to persuade others; but we ourselves are well known to God, and I hope that we are also well known to your consciences. ¹² We are not commending ourselves to you again, but giving you an opportunity to boast about us, so that you may be able to answer those who boast in outward appearance and not in the heart.

In verses 11-19, Paul is giving a summary of the meaning of Christian ministry.

[Paul then seizes another opportunity to stress the purity of his motives, since others have questioned them. He reminds them of his faithfulness so that they have cause to be proud. Yet, God knows them well.]

[Paul thinks the perils he and his company have experienced demonstrate the sincerity of his message.]

¹³ For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. ¹⁴ For the love of Christ urges us on, because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died.

[Apparently, some have accused of Paul and his team of being crazy. If so, they are crazy for God. The extent to which they are in their right mind, they are so for them. We are rapidly approaching a time when many will consider it to be crazy to taking following Jesus seriously.]

[This simple statement has stimulated much thought theologically. The Protestant theology of the Enlightenment did not take into sufficient account the fundamental significance of the death of Christ for the Pauline thought of the reconciling of the world by God.[8] Maybe some of us have fallen into that trap as well. For Paul, the death of Christ for us changes everything. We could go back to Isaiah 53:12, that the Servant of the Lord will carry the burden of the sins of the people. For Paul, in the cross we see the love of Christ. The death of Christ represents the death of all human beings before God. Barth will stress what Jesus Christ was and is for us in his suffering and death. Of note, he says that the suffering is of a man, but in such a way that this human action and suffering has to be represented and understood as the action and passion of God in all of its historical singularity, and in such a way that it changes the human situation, whether people are aware of it or not. The situation changes objectively, even if not yet subjectively. In the torture, crucifixion, and death of this one Jew we do not deal with just any suffering, but with the suffering of God. We are also dealing with sin. What takes place here is reconciliation with God, conversion to God, and harmony between God and world. In Christ, humanity becomes the friend of God, rather than an enemy of God. Christ becomes the human partner of God in a new covenant. In Christ, God has ended humanity as sinners by taking sin within God.[9] Barth is aware that he has raised the question of what this objective action in Christ long ago means for the individual today. In particular, he will discuss the contemporaneous quality of Jesus Christ with us and therefore overcoming the temporal barrier between Jesus and us. He stresses that we come here to the problem of decision. God has turned toward us and is in fellowship with us, but the question remains as to what this means for us today.[10] Inclusive representation makes Jesus the representative of all humanity. Pannenberg sees that in Paul, the death of Christ includes ours in such a way as to change its character. By the linking of our death to that of Christ in the act of baptism, our death takes on a new sense that it does not have of itself. It becomes death in hope.[11]]

¹⁵ And he died for all, so that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but for him who died and was raised for them.

[Paul exhorts them to live sacrificially, even as he has served them in his ministry. The expiatory nature of the death of Jesus is present in that his death preserves people for eternal life in the judgment of God. All believers experience this freedom through anticipation and participation in the future of eternal life. This thought leads from the exclusive sense of dying in the place of another to the inclusive thought of the meaning of the death of Jesus “for us.”[12]]

¹⁶ From now on [based on the death of Jesus], therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view [according to the flesh]; even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way.

[Now, “we” no longer know him in that way. For Jesus, his death was the transition from his individual human life to embrace divine Sonship. His human life becomes significant as he offers it up for the sake of God and in the service of the coming reign of God. Therefore, Paul no longer understands anyone from a human point of view, that is, as they are in themselves. By accepting the death of his individual human life, Jesus made room for that of others. In fact, other people, whether they know it or not, Paul sees in light of Jesus Christ. Through the death of Christ, they share in the friendly relation to God and the inheritance of the reign of God.[13]]

¹⁷ So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!

[His point is that Christians need to look at the world differently due to the cross. The transformation of the world that occurred in the cross brings a new perspective to the world and to the Christian. The present is different from the past due to the cross. The conclusion of Paul is that if anyone is “in Christ,” (suggesting intimacy between believers and Christ) he or she is a new creation. This surely means that one is “already” a new creation.[14] As they no longer look at Christ from the standpoint of fleshly human existence, they must not look at themselves or each other from simply a fleshly and human point of view. Everything old has passed away. Everything has become new. Converts would have found life in Christ to be a constant source of daily blessings, as the body of believers provided help and support to the community. The old things no longer attract them, and new things have taken place through Christ. Barth stresses that being a new creation finds fulfillment in vocation, in the investment of the believer in the new clothing or armor of God. Such a person is at peace with God and neighbor and a new view of self.[15] Paul continues that the Corinthians must relate to each other the way they would relate to the risen Christ. Since they do not look at Christ from a human point of view, they must not look at each other from a human point of view as well.]

Conclusion

Some of us here today may be seekers. We are not sure if we really want to follow Jesus, and we are definitely not sure if we want something as intimate as being “in Christ.” Let me assure that it will be OK if you commit yourself to this path. It is exciting, it will call for constant renewal change, it will be difficult, and it has a tremendous hope of life eternal with God.

Some of us have been Christians for such a long time that we need to take a pause and ask ourselves if we are really living of the newness of this creation, or if we allowed the “old way of life” to return.

Some of us need to ask ourselves if we Christ has changed things so much for us that we cannot look upon anyone from a human point of view. We see them as one for whom Christ gave his life.

Once there was a little bunny who wanted to run away.
So he said to his mother, “I am running away.”
“If you run away,” said his mother, “I will run after you.
For you are my little bunny.”

“If you run after me,” said the little bunny,
“I will become a fish in a trout stream 
and I will swim away from you.”

“If you become a fish in a trout stream,” said his mother,
“I will become a fisherman and I will fish for you.”

“If you become a fisherman,” said the little bunny,
“I will become a rock on the mountain, high above you.”

“If you become a rock on the mountain high above me,”
said his mother, “I will become a mountain climber,
and I will climb to where you are.”

“If you become a mountain climber,”
said the little bunny,
“I will be a crocus in a hidden garden.”

“If you become a crocus in a hidden garden,”
said his mother, “I will be a gardener. And I will find you.”

“If you are a gardener and find me,”
said the little bunny, “I will be a bird
and fly away from you.”

“If you become a bird and fly away from me,”
said his mother, “I will be a tree that you come home to.”

“If you become a tree,” said the little bunny,
“I will become a little sailboat,
and I will sail away from you.”

“If you become a sailboat and sail away from me,”
said his mother, “I will become the wind
and blow you where I want you to go.”

“If you become the wind and blow me,” said the little bunny,
“I will join a circus and fly away on a flying trapeze.”

“If you go flying on a flying trapeze,” said his mother,
“I will be a tightrope walker,
and I will walk across the air to you.”

“If you become a tightrope walker and walk across the air,”
said the bunny, “I will become a little boy
and run into a house.”

“If you become a little boy and run into a house,”
said the mother bunny, “I will become your mother
and catch you in my arms and hug you.”

“Shucks,” said the bunny, “I might just as well
stay where I am and be your little bunny.”

And so he did.
“Have a carrot,” said the mother bunny.

---

[1] Pannenberg, Systematic Theology Volume 3, 578.

[2] Pannenberg, Systematic Theology Volume 3, 174.

[3] Church Dogmatics II.1 [25.2] 53, IV.1 [62.3] 728.

[4] Church Dogmatics III.2 [47.5] 640.

[5] Pannenberg, Systematic Theology Volume 1, 209.

[6] Pannenberg, Systematic Theology Volume 3, 568.

[7] Pannenberg, Systematic Theology Volume 3, 613.

[8] Systematic Theology Volume 2, 407.

[9] Church Dogmatics IV.1 [59.2] 244-56.

[10] Church Dogmatics IV.1 [59.3] 293-5.

[11] Systematic Theology Volume 2, 429-30.

[12] Pannenberg, Systematic Theology Volume 2, 420.

[13] Pannenberg, Systematic Theology Volume 2, 433-4.

[14] Barth, Church Dogmatics IV.1 [59.3] 321.

[15] Church Dogmatics IV.3 [71.3] 530, 661.