Paul speaks to the Corinthians about the reality of their new life. This flesh-and-blood, fact of history forms the basis of his straightforward, rational conclusion: since this is true, your life should be visibly characterized by this:

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave to us the ministry of reconciliation; 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. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ: be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. Working together with him, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain.
(2 Corinthians 5:17 – 6:1)

Did you catch that? Paul wasn’t writing a Sunday School lesson for the leaders of the Corinthian congregation to teach; he was declaring a historic event, the truth of which acknowledged by faith, would result in historic and visible transformation of relationships within the congregation and beyond to the city and culture of Corinth. The peculiar character of God’s reconciliation in Christ – namely, one in which true and real trespasses are not counted against us because they had been laid upon the Christ – is to characterize those who have been made new creatures by the ministry of this reconciliation.

We have a vague sense that we have heard this before, that we have been this way before. But stop. Wait. Listen. Look. Paul’s declaration of a historic fact is but the beginning of his love for the wayward Corinthians; it is but the beginning of a new life manifesting itself among the Corinthians through their worship, fellowship, and service together in Christ; it is but the beginning of their new life together among the nations on behalf of the nations for the life-giving display of God’s glory and grace in Christ. This new life is brand new, a brand new kind of life, a life of an entirely different order altogether; it is not the normal, run-of-the-mill kind of life that can be seen and experienced in any old civic organization, but something totally new that breeds life, peace, and hope, bringing healing to the nations.

It is in this new life, and in celebration of this new life, that we are called by God’s grace in Christ before the throne of God’s grace in Christ to revel and rejoice and sing praise to God’s astounding grace in Christ together as those who have been made new by the powerful breath of God’s Spirit. Come, then, let us not receive this astounding grace in vain, but let us worship and bow down, and lay the entirety of our lives before him as living sacrifices to be used up in his continuing ministry of reconciliation!

Order of Worship for 09.14.08