Fashioned for righteousness
2 Corinthians 5.21— 21 God For our sake God made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we

might become the righteousness of God.

In the final verses of this chapter, Paul creates a summation of all his thoughts so far and centres them around the act of God that is crucial for our salvation—the cross. Paul declares that we are ambas- sadors for Christ. It is important to note how Paul understood the word Christ. Naturally, this can
get lost in our English language. For Paul, ‘Christ’ was not simply a pronoun but rather a title, a sig- nifier of who Jesus is. Christ is Messiah, King, ruler of Israel and even more than that, as is echoed throughout the Psalms, king of the world. No wonder Paul was compelled to drive forward in the mission of Christ—that all people should be reconciled back to God.

And why? Not only because of the extraordinary act of grace that was demonstrated on the cross but also, that we might become the righteousness of God. To understand this lets consider what Paul also wrote in Romans. The righteousness of God signified God’s faithfulness to his promises. The promises he made to Abraham, Moses, David and now, through Christ in his life, death and res- urrection.

And now to us. An incredible mission awaits us. As Paul called the Corinthians to prepare and ready themselves to become the embodiment of the promises and faithfulness of God, so now that charge is with us also.

Stop and breathe.
Holy Spirit, may we be a community of believers that ready themselves to be ambassadors for Je-

sus. Open our ears, sharpen our eyes, ready our hearts.

Samuel continues our series on the Finite and the Infinite.

Fashioned for creation
2 Corinthians 5.17—17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the

new is here!

As Paul was writing in a society where there were clear and distinct roles and a hierarchy, he purposefully chooses to use the word ‘anyone’. This same inclusive language was used to describe the outpour-
ing of the Spirit on all flesh in Joel’s prophecy. He sets aside the societal norms by which people are judged and classified to declare that anyone who chooses to believe, follow and love Christ, creates

a burst of new creation upon the earth. By God’s Spirit, new creation occurred when Christ was raised from the dead and now that same creative Spirit is the agent of change in us, as that same Spirit propels us to Christ.

Sometimes, we speak of heaven as though it is the ultimate escape route out of this life. But, as was described earlier in this third movement, our mission here is not to escape but to transform and be a part of the renewal of this earth. It is because the Spirit is at work in us that we become the agents of change where heaven touches earth.

When you and I engage in acts of social justice, compassion, love and sharing the gospel message, we take part in as one writer described, God’s symphony. The work of reconciliation (the reconnec- tion and healing of the broken relationship between God and his creation) was one of Paul’s, and our, main tasks. We read in John 3:16 that this great mission of reconciliation is only possible through the death and resurrection of Christ. And now, this great mission has been entrusted to us—the church and bride of Christ.

Stop and breathe.
Holy Spirit, breath of the living God, may you renew me and in so doing, may the world also be renewed.

Fashioned for hope

2 Corinthians 5.14-15 — 14 For Christ’s love urges us on, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. 15 And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.

At the heart of who Paul is and what he is about is the strong sense that he has been gripped by the grace and love of God. This is so evident when we analyse some of his letters, where he clearly got so carried away sharing all that God has done and will do, that he forgets some of the standard rules of rhetoric and writing. I love it!

His central motif and message is love. It is the love of Christ that both contains and constrains, it is a driving love, passionate and ultimately that which fuels him to the goal and mark at which he is aiming. He goes way beyond just the church of Corinth but much wider. When Paul entered a vil- lage or town where they had never heard the gospel, his longing was to explain to them how deeply they are loved by Christ.

In 2005, Tommy Tenney wrote a book called God Chasers. Following an extraordinary move of God, in a church where he was the visiting preacher, he urges his readers to lose the complacency of having a polished church, with polished people and a polished pastor with their polished mes- sage. He writes, ‘God is tired of having long distance relationships with His people. He was tired of it thousands of years ago in Moses’ day, and He is tired of it today. He really wants to have intimate, close encounters with you and me.

Stop and breathe.

Loving Father, today I pray for MCC. I pray that increasingly we would become more aware of your presence. I pray that we would not shy away from seeing you at work and all the holy chaos that can bring when we make room for you to move. God let your kingdom come!

Fashioned for faith

2 Corinthians 5.7— 7 For we live by faith, not by sight.

I’m sure you have heard the phrase ‘I know them, but not by sight’. Often referring to someone we have a connection with but no real relationship. In the same way, when we begin the journey of faith in God it takes on a similar nature. As we grow in our knowledge of Him, our understanding of His ways and
our deepening love and intimacy with Him, so our faith increases too. Our trust deepens and our reliance on His life-giving Spirit yearns even greater.

And as we grow, our understanding of who we are in Christ and what we do in the Spirit, becomes increasingly pleasing to God. Furthermore, the sobering words of verse 10 take on a deeper and less superficial message of judgement and rather a message of God looking for when we speak words of kindness, undertaking acts of mercy driven by our compassion for God’s creation, speak- ing on behalf of the voiceless because of injustice—it is these things that God is looking to credit us with.

It is no wonder this same message is echoed in Philippians 1—make your life count. No matter where you are, which area of work or ministry you are in, you are the fragrance and presence of God and His kingdom, in that place.

Make it count. Stop and breathe.

Loving Father, as you delight in us so we delight in you. May our thoughts, words and actions bring you pleasure. Today, may the family of Middlesbrough Community Church be influencers and agents for justice, love and compassion wherever our sphere of influence is.

Fashioned for glory
2 Corinthians 5.5— 5 Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us

the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

One technique used in public speaking is the use of rhetorical questions. Those questions which don’t require an answer but cause you to internally respond. In these few verses, Paul commences with a rhetorical statement, ’For we know’. You can imagine that the church hearing this letter, who thought they were very well versed in knowledge of God’s ways, would immediately have respond- ed with, ’of course we know, yes Paul, we know’. But did they? And do we?

Paul again appeals to the early Christians to see the bigger cosmological picture. Even if what we have now is taken away, or destroyed, we have something which is bigger, better, and everlasting. In our current existence there is something in us that groans for more of God. When Paul was de- scribing this in another letter, he compounds three Greek words to create a new word (which has caused some translation issues!), this sense of groaning.

Now, what is Paul getting at? This body we are in now, is not simply going to rot away and there- fore we become disembodied. Rather, what he is saying is that our future body is even more tangi- ble, more glorious, more aware of who God is and even more physical than we have ever known. That which God created in the very beginning, when there was dust and he breathed His Ruach, we will become perfectly in tune with the rhythm and movement of God.

Stop and breathe.

Loving Father, thankyou for the gift of your Spirit that guarantees that which is to come. In the middle of those days where it feels like our inner most being is groaning, give us courage and faith to believe in what you are preparing us for.

Great treasure
2 Corinthians 4.7— 7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is

from God and not from us.

Paul seemed to have a grasp on the gospel message in such a tangible way. He understood his past, he embraced his redemption and now in the face of suffering and trials, not only at Ephesus, but else- where too, he is still adamant that this message is treasure in jars of clay.

By using the imagery of a clay pot, like a terracotta flower pot, Paul is describing us as fragile yet beautiful. The same imagery is echoed from Isaiah, when he wrote, ‘You are the potter and I am the clay, and we are the work of your hand’. The gospel message that we hold in these vessels—us—is pure treasure. Beyond worth. Beyond description. Yet Paul attempts to help the church in Corinth understand what the real treasure is.

They had become misguided and focusing on accolades, being the best, being the biggest, being the most influential. Effectively Paul said to them, ‘you are a cracked pot—it’s the treasure of the gos- pel that has the worth, not you in your own self-importance’.

A tough message but a message that is as real today as it was then. We are surrounded by material- istic gain and wealth. We so easily fall into the trap of believing our own propaganda. As Paul ech- oed, we must die to ourselves in order that the resurrected Christ may live and shine through us.

Stop and breathe

Loving Father, forgive me where I have forgotten what the treasure really is. I am reminded to- day of your grace, my fragility and your loving, embracing, rich gospel. May I understand what real treasure looks like in my life.

Great proclamation
2 Corinthians 4.5—5 For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your

servants for Jesus’ sake.

Paul chose to describe himself as not simply a servant but as a ‘slave’. The Greek word [doulos] indicates not the type of slave where a master owned and abused them but a bond-servant. Therefore when Paul described himself as a being a bond servant to Christ, he was comparing his life before Christ when
he was a slave to sin and his new life where he chose to be a bond servant to Christ. In many ways

Paul mirrors John the Baptist who also offered himself as a voice, a witness and a signpost to the coming Messiah.

Paul goes onto write about the link between the voice that brought light and life in the creation narrative and how that same voice is now shining his glory through us in the ‘face of Jesus Christ’. For Paul, the new creation occurred the moment Jesus was resurrected out of the tomb, and now, that same resurrection light is emanating in and through us by the work of the Holy Spirit.

Crucially in this scripture is that if we are to be the people that God wants us to be, then we also need to see the glory of God in the painful journey of Jesus on his way to Calvary. We can some- times find ourselves in some way being called to follow in the way of the cross. It can be painful.

God has not forsaken us.

Jesus himself was led into the wilderness by the Spirit, and ultimately coming out in the power of the Spirit. Similarly, driven by the Spirit, Jesus underwent the way of the cross, but was resurrected in the power of the Spirit.

Stop and breathe
Loving Father, when I feel I am journeying alone, and in some way mirroring the way of the cross,

help me remain steadfast in the knowledge that you have not forsaken me.

Miles kicks off our new series looking at the Finite and the Infinite but exploring Death & Life.