Reconciliation People

2 Corinthians 5:11–15

11 Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others. But what we are is known to God, and I hope it is known also to your conscience. 12 We are not commending ourselves to you again but giving you cause to boast about us, so that you may be able to answer those who boast about outward appearance and not about what is in the heart. 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 controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; 15 and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.

- Motivations matter

In this passage, the apostle Paul reveals that what compels his message is not external pressure or popularity, but a profound sense of awe for God and an overwhelming love for Christ.

Too often, we are shaped by the wrong motivations—seeking approval, comfort, or applause. Yet life-giving ministry arises from an inner transformation driven by reverent fear for God and gratitude for Christ’s grace. Without these, ministry becomes performance.

- Appropriate Motivations for Ministry.

1. Fear of the Lord

Proverbs 9:10 (ESV) “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.”

Fear does not paralyze—it energizes obedience. This is the respect, reverence, and admiration of a child before a good, loving Father, not terror before a tyrant. It is time to live transparently before God, not people.

A child that a godly father raises knows very well the difference between an approach of play and joy and an approach of reverence and respect.

Luke 5:6-11 6 And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. 7 They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. 8 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” 9 For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, 10 and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” 11 And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.

Fear the result of being aware of our unworthiness before divine glory. (cf. Isaiah 6:5). The result of genuine fear of the Lord is ministry. 

“Do not be afraid… you will be catching men.”

2. Love that controls us

The love of Christ is the force that must “control” us. Whether it appears irrational to some or sound-minded to others, Christ’s love is (συνέχω- synéchō) a gripping, constraining, compelling force—a dominant influence. 

2 Corinthians 5:14 For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died;

The love Paul refers to is the one proven on the cross. Christ’s atoning death: “One has died for all, therefore all have died.”

It is the logical consequence of believing the gospel. If Christ died for all, then all who believe must now live in light of that death. 

Romans 6:8-11 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10 For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. 11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Love demonstrated at the Cross is irresistible. It demands an answer. 

Think of the moon’s strong pull on the ocean. Though we can't see it, its gravity influences the tides worldwide. Christ’s love has an invisible yet irresistible effect on us, transforming our desires, redefining our purpose, and guiding all actions toward Him. In that case, the pull of love of God is like the Sun, we are like the moon.

John 12:32 “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”

Jesus’ death is magnetic—His sacrificial love revealed on the Cross has the power to compel hearts in every generation to repentance and faith. 

The more we identify with His death, the more effective we will be in ministry.

The one who has received Christ’s love can no longer live for self-interest. Instead, we live “for Him who for our sake died and was raised.”

This is the essence of Christian discipleship: a life reoriented around Christ’s lordship, shaped not by personal agendas.

I saw a video this week that stopped me in my tracks. A police officer had pulled someone over on the side of a highway. As they stood talking, the officer gently asked the person to step away from the edge of the road. He said, “An accident can happen at any moment, and you don’t see it coming.” Within seconds, a car came barreling out of control and struck the exact spot where that person had been standing. At first, the officer’s correction might have sounded unnecessary. However, in the end, it proved to be life-saving. And you could see it—the stunned look on the person’s face wasn’t just fear; it was gratitude.

Are our decisions shaped by His love or by our desires? Being the reconciliation people means that we surrender the right to be the center of our own story. We now live to point others to Jesus. People may not like it at first, but when life gets tough, trials arise, and tragedy strikes, they will know who they can turn to.

- New Creation made Ambassadors

2 Corinthians 5:16 - 6:3

1. Our new creation reorients our vision of others

Paul begins by redefining how we view others—and even Christ—not “according to the flesh.” Our old way of seeing the world is gone, because we are now in Christ.

2 Corinthians 5:16 16 From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh…

Our natural perspective must change to one of spiritual discernment.

1 Samuel 16:6–7 (ESV) “When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, ‘Surely the Lord’s anointed is before Him.’ But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.’”

We must no longer assess people—or Christ—through superficial lenses: status, background, failures, or outward strength.

Some people may take time to manifest their true selves, but also don’t be deceived by momentary errors or fleeting moralism. What matters is if one is in Christ.

2 Corinthians 5:17-18 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation;

Sometimes we forget that some people are still in the process of transformation. Similar to a baby who has all the perfect features of an adult body but is still undeveloped, those who are 'born again' in Christ should be given patience for their immaturity as they grow.

Paul builds this on the theological bedrock of verse 21.

2 Corinthians 5:21 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Christ took on our sin so we could take on His righteousness. That is the gospel.

The outer condition does not determine a person’s worth. We must allow our perspective to be changed by love.

I know parents who love their kids more than they love themselves because there is worth beyond what the eyes can see.

We live in a world obsessed with outward things—image, status, reputation. Reconciliation is not skin-deep—it is soul-deep. When we live as the reconciliation people, we learn to see the invisible work of God in others. Former enemies who are now brothers, broken stories being restored, lost people who are being called home.

This shift begins in us. We must stop viewing ourselves through the lens of our past, our shame, or our failures. In Christ, we are not what we were. 

 “The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

Is there someone you’ve dismissed because of their past or appearance? Are you still viewing yourself through the lens of who you used to be?

2. As recipients of grace, now agents of grace. 

Paul emphasizes this by saying, “All this is from God.” He is the One who acted first, reconciling us to Himself through Christ. God did not just restore us and leave us; He entrusted us with the very ministry that restored us.

We are not just saved from something—we are saved for something.

The Gerasene Demoniac – From Bound to Sent Jesus arrived in the region of the Gerasenes and was immediately met by a man living among the tombs, possessed by a legion of demons. He was uncontrollable, feared by his community, and utterly cut off from society and sanity. By every human measure, he was hopeless—beyond help, beyond restoration.But Jesus saw what others did not. With a word, He cast out the demons and restored the man to his right mind. 

“Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how He has had mercy on you.” (Mark 5:19, ESV)

Jesus entrusted him with a mission. He was not only delivered—he was commissioned.

Revelation 1:5-6 and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood 6 and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Rescuers Ambassadors.

We are ambassadors for Christ, people through whom God makes His appeal to the world. It is representational authority. An ambassador speaks not on their own behalf, but on behalf of the one who sent them. 

In the film Argo (2012), based on real events, six American diplomats are trapped in Iran during the 1979 hostage crisis. Their lives hang in the balance—hidden, hunted, and helpless. The CIA launches a daring rescue mission under the cover of a fake movie production. An agent is sent. He is an ambassador of freedom.

Every move he makes is deliberate, because he’s not just carrying a story—he’s carrying their only hope of rescue. He doesn’t say, “You have options.” He says, “Here’s the way. We go now.”

We come on behalf of the One who has the power to rescue. And just like the CIA agent, we carry an urgent message: 

“Now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” (2 Cor. 6:2)

That is our identity as the reconciliation people. Reconciliation reorients our entire lives. We are made new, and we are sent out. Let us never receive that grace in vain. We are now ambassadors who carry both the message and the urgency of reconciliation to a world God longs to restore.

We are not just messengers; we are God’s appeal. Our lives, our voices, our presence in the world carry the weight of heaven’s invitation: Be reconciled to God.

This means:

1. We speak the truth with love, not as judges, but as those who have been rescued.

2. We share the gospel not as a burden but are moved by awe and love. It is a privilege.

3. We do not receive the grace of God in vain. His grace fuels our work.

2 Corinthians 6:1 Working together with him, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain.

1 Corinthians 15:10 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.