Corinthians 5:20

Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.
2 Corinthians 5:20

                                                                                                                                                                                                        In verse 18 of 2 Corinthians, Paul indicates that he has been given a ministry of reconciliation, and now in the capacity of that ministry, he is serving as an ambassador of Christ. An ambassador is a diplomatic official of the highest rank, sent by one sovereign or state to another as its resident representative. Paul used the picture of an ambassador to illustrate the magnitude of the responsibility entrusted to him, but this responsibility did not stop with Paul. This calling and responsibility has been passed throughout history to succeeding generations of Christians down to us in the present day.

We who were once dead in our sins, living in disobedience, and deserving recipients of God’s wrath (Ephesians 2:1-3) are now the vessels through which God pleads with the world. We are to persuade the world of the finished redemptive work of Christ as the only means of deliverance from every person’s impending judgment. We are acting on the authority of heaven, proclaiming the gospel in a land of which we are no longer citizens. We who were lost and not worthy of the kingdom of God are now qualified to act as diplomatic officials of heaven because of the blood of Christ. Praise God for His grace and mercy towards each of us!

Jeff Mericle