Presence Weekly 4/22/2024

The Devo - The Mission of Comfort

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. 

16 From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. 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; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 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. 2 Corinthians 5:11-21 ESV

There is a lot to be worried about in the world right now. Russia is advancing in Ukraine. Israel’s war against Hamas runs the risk of spreading. Fentanyl is continuing to kill thousands. Severe weather seems to be a regular occurrence. Food prices are high, and housing is increasingly unaffordable. There is no telling where our country is headed, the House of Representatives is torn, and a presidential election is coming. Those are just the worries that we share in common.  

Then there are our private worries. Some are worried about what the election means for the stability of our jobs. Some are worried about the results coming at our next doctor’s visit. What about our spouse? Is everything okay or are they preparing to leave me? Why can’t I find a spouse? What about our children? Why can’t we conceive? What about my parents? There is a lot to be worried about. 

In the midst of all this, where will we find comfort?

Have you ever listened to someone go off on a rant about everything going on in their life? At the end of the spewed-out stream of worry, there are two things that we should do to comfort them. And I think they should always come in this order: Give them a hug and reassure them - as much as possible.

The first one is easy - really. The second, for many, is a work in progress. 

That is where the Heidelberg Catechism comes in. A catechism is not a replacement for Scripture, it is the systematic and thematic articulation of Scripture.  The Heidelberg Catechism is one of Three Forms of Unity (Belgic & Dordt), and was written by Frederick the Elector during the 15th century as a way of codifying systematic orthodox belief. It is helpful because these catechisms articulate good theology and good theology helps us to understand the world that we live in, who we are, who God is, and how he seeks to relate to us. One of the great things about the Heidelberg Catechism is that the first question starts by placing us into the story. “What is your only comfort in life and death?” That is the question we all wrestle with.  Yet, behind this question is a more substantive question: Is comfort even possible? And if so, where will we find it?

We are in search of comfort and, even as Christians, constantly forgetting where to find it.  Further, our pursuit of comfort is often based on the things that we can control or acquire.  

The above passage addresses our need for comfort and also describes the change in life that comes when this comfort is actually found. In verses 11-13, Paul reminds us of the context.

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. 

 After planting the church at Corinth, new teachers, skilled in the art of rhetoric, entered Corinth and were teaching alternate versions of the gospel and questioning Paul’s apostleship. Paul’s answer to them in this letter is a two-fold defense of his apostleship and of the gospel which he has been teaching. Paul wants the Corinthians to know that if he is just a slick salesman they have nothing to hold onto and therefore, no comfort at all. Thankfully, however, he is not just a skilled spokesman -  he is an Apostle appointed to carry the truth. With that defense out of the way, Paul moves to put forth the central idea of his theology and the source of true comfort. 

 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. 16 From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

As stated in the answer of the Heidelberg Catechism, Paul’s only comfort (and their only comfort) in life and death is: “That I am not my own, but belong, body and soul, in life and in death, to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ.”

Initially, Paul the Apostle, when he was still known as Saul the Pharisee, thought that Jesus was just a man. He regarded him “according to the flesh.” But now that he has encountered Jesus, Paul has a new perspective. Paul understands that Jesus is the Son of God who offers true and lasting comfort to all those who are “in Christ.”

 Love as Comfort

Love is always the best place to start when we are talking about comfort. “The love of Christ controls us.” This is not about Paul’s love for Jesus but about Jesus’ love for Paul and everyone who follows Christ.  

How is love a comfort? If you ever wonder if you are loved, especially after you have failed miserably at something, or let someone down, you often look at the face of another for reassurance. If you are looking at the right face, even in your most epic failure, they convey love. But that is not always the case. Many of you may know what it is like to fail and look into the face of another and see disappointment and even disgust. But to look at Jesus is to look into the face of someone who loves you always. 

How is this love of Christ seen and understood by Paul? It is understood through the lens of Christ’s words to his disciples, “greater love has no man than this that a man lays down his life for his friends.” Love compels action, and that is just what it did for Paul. Love is comfort in knowing that regardless of our work success or failures, our health prospects, our relationship status, or our family concerns - we are loved by Christ. 

 Forgiveness as Comfort 

This passage is a concise presentation of Paul’s understanding of the gospel. 

…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,

and that,

18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 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.

Paul understands that his only comfort is that Christ has died “for him” - as his representative and substitute. This is what Paul means when he says, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin.”  The key here is a hard one to swallow. That is that our sin, not the sins we name, but the sins God names, have alienated us from God. We did not belong to him.  This needed to be fixed, and we could not fix it.  But God fixed it for us, through Christ.

How is this a comfort? Have you ever really blown it with someone, perhaps in such a way that your relationship with them was damaged severely? Maybe for some of you it’s a relationship that you don’t care that much about, but for others, you would do anything to get that relationship back. Anything, except maybe die. But this is what the Father orchestrated to reconcile you to himself. The punishment that you deserved has been given to another. The blessing of this is that we now stand in front of God as reconciled children instead of enemies. Our position before God has changed, but not through our actions. Unlike what is so often the case in politics, reconciliation does not come through our actions but through the actions of the one that we wronged. 

New Life as Comfort 

“Therefore all have died.” What does that mean? It means that Jesus not only died in our place, but that “in him” we also died. That in his death on the cross, we also died. In other words, the only death that has ever mattered to you has already taken place! 

But, perhaps the most dramatic verse in this entire passage is “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation”. Literally it says, “If in Christ, new Creation!” It’s like simple math, which is very good for me. 

How is this a comfort? First (and I really love this part),  your eternal life with God has already begun! You are already living your eternal life. Second (and this is the one that is hard to wrap your head around), you were broken and are now new. Sometimes I wonder what it is like for those who have grown up in Christ to understand, because they have no clear memory of this moment. But Paul does! Paul knows that he is a new creation.  The old person that he was is gone. He was Saul, now he is Paul. 

To be reconciled to God in Christ, is to be a new creation, whether you remember the moment of your reconciliation or not. It means that we wake up every morning knowing that that statement is just as true as the day before. You never wake up tarnished, because, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” 

All of these are feel-good points, aren’t they? As the Heidelberg Catechism explains it, Paul’s only comfort in life and death is that Christ loves him, provides forgiveness of sins, and gives new life and a new identity. But, so far, we have gotten all of that without addressing the key word in the confession - belong. “What is your only comfort in life and in death? That I am not my own, but belong, in life and death, body and soul, to my faithful savior Jesus Christ.” That’s a tough one. 

Belonging as Comfort    

Paul says it clearly, “the love of Christ controls us”.  The result of this reconciliation has resulted in us being controlled or directed by his love. But this idea really comes through when Paul says, “that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.” 

To understand how Paul gets to this place, you have to go back with Paul to the Damascus road where Paul (then Saul) was opposing Christ, and ultimately God, as an enemy. But in that encounter Saul admits defeat and surrenders to Christ. In Saul’s surrender he is not marched into the town square to be humiliated and beheaded, he is led in triumph through the rest of his life and called to join the greatest mission imaginable. “But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere.” (2 Cor. 2:14)

If there is one point here that doesn’t seem like a comfort, perhaps it is this one. That we belong to Christ!  As humans, we don’t mind belonging to something as long as it is on our terms. Everyone is willing to belong to a group for its benefits.  Maybe you belong to Sam’s Club or Costo. Maybe you belong to a trade group or union. Maybe you belong to the Democratic, Republican, Green, Constitutional, or American Solidarity party. This is not the kind of belonging that Paul is talking about. Paul is certainly talking about the benefits of belonging.  In fact, that is all that is talking about. But he is talking about the benefit of no longer belonging to yourself, because, as Paul sees it, belonging to yourself is a death sentence.  Instead Paul belongs to the Son of God, without qualification, and, as such, belongs to the greatest missional effort of all time - to serve as an ambassador of reconciliation.

Mission as Comfort

 18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 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.

Belonging to Christ means that he has given you both meaning and mission. We no longer live for ourselves, putting our own personal or party agenda first, but our agenda becomes driven by the love of Christ for the world and as ministers of reconciliation.  This is not an optional job description. We don’t get to say, that is for someone else to do. Belonging to Christ means that your primary job is ambassadoring for Jesus.  The word there is a verb not a noun. It is a call to action! It means not asking the question, what would Jesus do, but what will bring glory to God.

In this sense, every Christian has been called into public service as ambassadors - appointed to proclaim the excellencies of him who called us out of darkness and into his marvelous light, and to participate in Christ’s mission of making all things new. 

What is your only comfort in life and death? That I am not my own, but belong, body and soul, in life and in death, to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ.

Last Things...

Faithful Presence is pleased to introduce Dr. Luke Bobo, Director of Bioethics at Kansas City University to our Board of Advisors. Luke will help us think through content in the area of ethics in the workplace and as matters of policies that impact flourishing. Look for a discussion with Dr. Bobo in the coming weeks on the podcast!