new man
On Behalf of Others
By Linda Rex
June 16, 2024, Proper 6 | After Pentecost—As part of my morning routine, I often read a chapter out of a book on theology or the Christian faith. My most recent book has been Hidden in Contradiction by Jeff McSwain, which I am rereading. In the chapter I read this morning, New and Old, Jeff talks about our New Testament passage for this Sunday, 2 Corinthians 5:6–10, 14–17.
Jeff shows how we often read the last portion of this passage, “the old things passed away; behold, new things have come”, and assume that this means that when we come to faith in Christ, we are made new, so we will never repeat the old ways we were caught up in before. This doesn’t wholly reflect the reality of our walk in Christ, for any of us who are honest with ourselves and others, and are truthful before God, know that our thought-life and daily walk very often do not fully measure up to the goodness and glory of God we were created to reflect.
Jeff’s point in this chapter is that because all persons died with Christ and rose with Christ, we are all caught up in the reality of the already-not-yet of God’s kingdom. By faith we walk in the new life which is ours, which is “hidden with Christ in God.” But in our broken flesh, we still find ourselves at times walking in old ways, those ways which Jesus crucified on the cross and buried with himself in the grave, those things we are dead to. Just as Jesus is now fully God and fully man, right now we live daily in that place where all that God created us to be and redeemed us to is true, but we are still having to experience and live in the false self, the “old man” as the apostle Paul calls it. We are growing up in Christ, maturing in our faith, becoming more and more who God created us to be, but we will never fully reflect the divine nature until Jesus returns in glory and we are changed. Then all God created us to be will be fully revealed.
This is the paradox which we find difficult to understand or live in. This may be why the apostle Paul said that he would rather be “absent from the body” and “at home with the Lord”. If you are like me, there are times when this life, and our tendency to drift towards the things of this passing temporal existence, grieve us, and we long to be freed. We want to be with Jesus forever, living in the glorious, joyful bliss of God’s heavenly kingdom here on earth. The good news is that even though we will continue to live in this broken existence for a time, not only is our future life with Christ certain, but we can begin to experience moments of God’s kingdom joy and peace even now in this life by the Spirit. We participate in God’s life and mission on this earth as part of our everyday existence, even when it seems that we cannot get it right and we find ourselves breaking faith with God and others.
What holds us together and keeps us moving forward in hope is the precious gift God has given to us in his Son and in his Spirit. It is God’s love which drives us on and compels us to not only live out his kingdom life in this world, but also to share it with others. God’s love for us is so profound, so great and wonderful, that we find we want to share this good news with others. We don’t want to keep it all to ourselves.
And that is truly the heart of God, as Father, Son, and Spirit. This triune God, who for all eternity, lives in other-centered, self-giving love, was willing to do something tremendous and unthinkably amazing on behalf of his creatures and his creation. Indeed, on behalf of all of us, for our sake, the Son of God set aside the privileges of divinity for a time to join us in our humanity, in order to bring us home into the inner fellowship of Father, Son, and Spirit. And in Christ, that is where we are all today.
Our hope is in Christ, in his finished work, in what he has done, is doing, and will do. God’s motive of other-centered, self-giving, sacrificial love is what motivates each of us to be other-centered, self-giving, and sacrificial. When you see this kind of love being expressed, God is the source of such love, whether the person knows or understands it, or not. As we see God’s love being expressed in these ways, we are called to bear witness to it—to testify to the beauty and wonder of God’s love. And, as we respond to the leading of the Spirit, we will find ourselves living and serving, on behalf of others. And by doing this, that we reflect the glory of God, and his Son, in the Spirit. We live in the truth of who we are as his beloved children. Praise his holy name!
Heavenly Triune God, thank for all you have done on our behalf. By your Spirit, enable us to live, not for ourselves, but for you, Lord Jesus—you who died and rose on our behalf. Grant us the grace to live our lives as you have, on behalf of others. In your name, Jesus, we pray. Amen.
“Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord—for we walk by faith, not by sight—we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord. Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf. Therefore from now on we recognize no one according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer. Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.” 2 Corinthians 5:6–10 (11–13) 14–17 NASB
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The Wind of Justice
By Linda Rex
The recent news here in America has been filled with heated discussions and fervently expressed opinions regarding the appointment of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court in the light of the allegations by women such as Christine Blasey Ford. I have friends and family on both sides of this issue, and I find myself appalled that here in America, this what our political and justice system has come to.
Of course, if I am honest with myself, I have to admit that probably this has been going on for millennia in every country on earth. People in positions of power and in positions of judgment have always been just that—people, people with flaws, failures in their past, and ambitious plans for their future. There have always been people who took advantage of other people, who denigrated, abused, and sexually assaulted women (and children).
There have always been victims, too. On my visit to the Freedom Center, I was reminded of the millions of people who were devalued and dismissed by others as being merely property—objects to be used and then discarded. The magnitude of what humans do to one another is appalling. And it breaks my heart.
Both the perpetrator and the victim are in a difficult place in any of these situations. The victim, because they are at the mercy of someone who is allowing evil to run rampant in their soul, and the perpetrator, because they are at the mercy of evil, surrendering momentarily or throughout their life to the pulls and passions of their broken humanity or to the twistings of their soul which arose out of the evil done to them.
In this case, we add the additional level of concern which arises when someone such as a Supreme Court judge has the capacity and the authority to affect millions of people. Then such things as character flaws or broken pasts become so much more than just a personal matter—they become an essential part of the decision-making process.
For a victim to stand up and say, “This person did this,” takes more courage and requires greater fortitude. Does our political process have room to truly hear and respond to the victim with justice and fairness? And are we also able to discern when this is just a political move by an opponent? In my view we are treading in areas where the human heart and mind has great limitations. Who can read another’s motives and intent?
There is only One who can always be just and truthful; there is only One Man of integrity. And it’s not me. Nor is it any of these candidates for the Supreme Court. Neither is it any of these witnesses at the place of judgment. Neither is it any of these people making these decisions, giving their opinions, or executing judgment in these situations.
The wider venue which now surrounds any such decision which has been created via social media and the international scope of our news networks prevents a small group of people from simply listening to the facts brought before them and making a decision. People who, before all this modern technology, would never have even heard about what was going on, much less participate or give an opinion, are now part of the political and judgment process.
But this is not necessarily a bad thing. What complicates this issue could actually be its solution—if people were drawing their life from the correct source. The problem is, we draw our life from within our broken humanity, from the evil which twists us, or from the people around us, or the media which informs us. We ignore the real life which could and would not only inform us, but also expose the evil and work to redeem, heal, and transform it.
The answer is not religion. It is not having a theocracy (yes, I just wrote that.) It is not making everyone into a Christian, although that would be nice, I suppose, depending on what you meant by Christian—Christians are not always very nice people. Actually, it’s not really any of these things. In fact, I’m not sure exactly how to resolve this apart from the Man of Justice—the only One with perfect integrity, purity of motive, and genuineness of heart.
In the Scriptures we read how the people of Israel were God’s people—a theocracy. They had great laws—God’s laws, and celebrated religious festivals, and gave meaningful prayers. But they still had evil, unjust kings and judges. They did not care for the marginalized or do justice for those who could not defend themselves. There was something fundamentally wrong with the spirit of the nation—it was turned from its center and this was reflected in its public policy and government.
The reality is, what we are seeing in America as well as in the world today is a reflection of our broken humanity when it refuses to acknowledge the truth of its existence and its center in its Source. Our identity as human beings is rooted in the Trinity whether we like it or not. Made in the image of God to reflect his likeness means we are created as unique persons who are of the same essence to live as equals in unity and harmony. The purpose of our existence is to love God and glorify him forever. We are meant to love God and love one another—not to exist in any other way.
Because we choose define ourselves and not let God define us, we end up in messes, overcome by evil, and at the mercy of sin and death. God came in the person of the Word to share our humanity—not so we could continue to define ourselves, but so that we could share in his perfect Person who holds our true identity, and come to our senses. Christ has forged within our humanity a New Man—a new person who bears the divine likeness, who is capable of living and walking in integrity, in humility, and in love. The old man is, in reality, dead and buried. The problem is, we don’t want to give the “old man” up—he is comfortable, familiar, and fully under our control (or so we believe.)
But we must give him up. He died with Christ and rose with Christ. Jesus sent the Spirit so the New Man would take his place in human hearts. If we want a world where justice and integrity prevail, we must leave the “old man” in the tomb and walk out into the morning light in the new existence which is ours.
There is a new spirit at work in this world—Jesus said, “Behold, I am making all things new” (Rev. 21:5 NASB). This Spirit has been poured out on all flesh as predicted, the apostle Peter said (Acts 2:17), and now the New Man has come to dwell in human hearts. As we turn from ourselves and turn to Christ, and trust in God’s perfect love and grace in Christ, we will discover a new existence which is available to us—Christ in us, the hope of glory. As Abba through Christ in the Spirit lives in us, we find a discernment, an integrity, a purity, and a capacity to love and be loved we have never experienced before. The Spirit begins, in transforming us, to transform our world.
The issue now is our rejection of our new humanity as created for us and redeemed for us in the person of Jesus Christ. And this is the issue: Just bring up Jesus’ name and listen to the response! Like I said before, I’m not insisting that everyone become Christian—Christianity is flawed because it is a human religion. I am saying, though, that there is a way of being which involves Jesus Christ and the presence and power of the Holy Spirit—an acknowledgement of the Source and meaning of our existence being Someone outside of ourselves and our human constructs.
Because we reject Jesus Christ, we reject our renewed, transformed humanity. Christ is Source of our existence—“in Him we live and move and exist,” (Acts 17:28 NASB)—so his is the Spirit which surrounds us, fills us, cares for us, and sustains us. Should we not allow his Spirit to guide and motivate every moment of our human existence? Should we not permit his Spirit to inform, teach, heal, transform, and renew us in every part of our politics, our justice system, and our marketplace? Should not the Spirit of Christ be the essence of our integrity, our honesty, and our purity at every point in our life?
We are all one humanity in Jesus Christ—he stands in your place and in mine. There is no condemnation in Christ, so before the heavenly tribunal, the only accuser for any of us is the evil one, unless we choose to accuse. To point the finger at anyone, is to point it at ourselves. To fail another person by violating them in any way is to violate ourselves. To refuse Christ as the center of our life and being, is to refuse ourselves. For we are his, and he is ours.
May we humbly come before the mercy of our Abba, who has included us in his life through his Son. He has sent his blessed Spirit so we could participate in his way of being—of outgoing love and unendless abounding grace. This, if allowed to permeate every part of our human existence, would transform our world. But God is patient and, respecting our personhood, allows us to resist and refuse him. I wish we would not, but we do. And so, this is our world today.
Dearest Abba, we acknowledge how far we have fallen from what you meant for us to be. Thank you for forgiving us, for surely, we are in great need of your grace. May you turn our hearts away from ourselves and our idols and turn us toward you. May we surrender to the truth of our being, allowing you to transform our hearts by faith, through Jesus and by your Spirit. Amen.
“When you come to appear before Me,/Who requires of you this trampling of My courts?/Bring your worthless offerings no longer,/Incense is an abomination to Me./New moon and sabbath, the calling of assemblies—/I cannot endure iniquity and the solemn assembly./I hate your new moon festivals and your appointed feasts,/They have become a burden to Me;/I am weary of bearing them./So when you spread out your hands in prayer,/I will hide My eyes from you;/Yes, even though you multiply prayers,/I will not listen./Your hands are covered with blood./Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean;/Remove the evil of your deeds from My sight./Cease to do evil,/Learn to do good;/Seek justice,/Reprove the ruthless,/Defend the orphan,/Plead for the widow./Come now, and let us reason together,’/Says the Lord,/’Though your sins are as scarlet,/They will be as white as snow;/Though they are red like crimson,/They will be like wool./If you consent and obey,/You will eat the best of the land;/But if you refuse and rebel,/You will be devoured by the sword./Truly, the mouth of the Lord has spoken.’” Isaiah 1:12-20 NASB
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