Welcome! Over the next few weeks we are going to be reading 2 Corinthians together as a church, 1 chapter every week day. We’re encouraging everyone to read the passage, pray, and share with a few others what they felt God was pointing out to them in his word. Every day we’re going to be hearing from someone at Redeemer about what they felt God pointed out to them as they read the passage.
This morning Toby is sharing with us, you can watch his video above. He has also shared some more of his thoughts on the passage below.
In verse 19 it says "God was reconciling the world to him in Christ". The Bible uses many ways to describe what Jesus blood has done for us, here Paul uses the word reconcile to remind us that Jesus has won for us FRIENDSHIP with God. Our sin has ALIENATED us from God, but through Jesus, God has drawn near to us again.He has restored the relationship with us.
What hope this can bring in this challenging time, that not only do we have eternal relationship with God, but we have personal relationship, a Friendship with God today. Let's not forget too, that 'All this is from God' verse 18. As we sang just yesterday. What amazing grace.
What Jesus did for us at the cross is often described as ‘The Great Exchange’, a moment where our sin is swapped for the pure, spotless righteousness of Christ. This is the moment being described in verse 21. It is so important for us as Christians to remember this moment at the beginning of each day, it is the foundation of everything about us. That we have been irreversibly changed, and we can walk with confidence knowing that we have been clothed in Christ’s righteousness!
Further Study
in 2017, Grace Hill Church, Virginia, USA, preached a 5 week series based on 2 Corinthians 5. The series, entitled ‘Life in a Tent’ focused on the worldview of the apostle Paul and what we can learn from it. You can listen to the first part, and find links to the rest of the series, below.
