2 Corinthians 5:11-21 Click here for Bible Verses
Hi GAMErs,
Today’s passage is 2 Corinthians 5:11-21. Let’s go!
2 Corinthians 5:11a (NIV)
11 Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade men…
On verse 11a: In this case, to “know what it is to fear the Lord” (v11) probably has to do with knowing the fact that one day we will stand before God’s judgment throne and give an account to God for the way we lived our lives (v10). Because of that, Paul makes it his mission “to persuade men” (v11), that is, to lead people to faith in Christ. Likewise, since we know that we will give an account to God for how we lived our lives on earth, may we use the time we have on earth to lead others to Jesus. For the only thing you can take with you to heaven eventually are those you led to Jesus; everything else stays here.
2 Corinthians 5:11b-12 (NIV)
11 …What we are is plain to God, and I hope it is also plain to your conscience.
12 We are not trying to commend ourselves to you again, but are giving you an opportunity to take pride in us, so that you can answer those who take pride in what is seen rather than in what is in the heart.
On verses 11b-12: Paul is saying that God knows Paul’s heart (“what we are is plain to God”) and he hopes that the Corinthians also know his heart (v11). Why is Paul saying this? It’s because Paul has come under criticism as people in Corinth compare Paul, who encounters trial after trial, with so-called “super apostles” who seem to live much easier lives. Paul is gently telling the Corinthians not to be deceived by appearances, as if an easy, trouble-free life is a mark of godliness whereas a difficult, trouble-filled life is a mark of inferiority. The fact is that when you live your life to lead others to Jesus you will encounter struggles and trials that others will not go through. What can we learn from this? When people judge you based on appearances, remember that God looks at the heart.
2 Corinthians 5:13 (NIV)
13 If we are out of our mind, it is for the sake of God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you.
On verse 13: To paraphrase Paul here, “If it seems like we’re crazy, it’s simply because we’re dead set on living for God’s purposes, which can seem strange to people who aren’t used to that. If we seem normal and relatable to you, it’s because we’re trying to reach you so we can lead you closer to Jesus.”
2 Corinthians 5:14 (NIV)
14 For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died.
On verse 14: To paraphrase Paul, “What motivates us is Christ’s love. Our lives have been changed by the fact that one man died for everybody else’s sins, and thus we ‘all died’, that is, sin doesn’t hold onto us anymore.”
2 Corinthians 5:15 (NIV)
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.
On verse 15: Jesus died for us so that we would live for Him.
2 Corinthians 5:16-17 (NIV)
16 So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer.
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
On verses 16-17: Through faith in Jesus Christ, anyone can be made new, anyone can be forgiven and turned into a child of God (v17). When we see people through the lens of what God can do, everything changes (v16).
2 Corinthians 5:18-21 (NIV)
18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:
19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.
20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.
21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
On verses 18-21: These powerful verses are worth memorizing as they summarize what God came to do in this world through Jesus Christ. God made Jesus, who had no sin, to be sin for us, as evidenced by how Jesus died on the cross in our place. Jesus assumed the identity of a sinner and died so that in turn we could assume his identity as the righteousness of God and live.
Thank You Father for sending Jesus Christ to die on the cross for us so that we could be reconciled to You. Thank You for wanting to involve us in Your mission for reconciling the world to Yourself. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
