For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:21
Jesus came to earth and lived a perfect life. He is holy. He never sinned. Knowing all of these things begs the question: why did He leave Heaven, come to earth, and die a criminal's death, although innocent? The Apostle Paul answered that question when he wrote 2 Corinthians 5.
In this chapter, Paul talks about the new lives that those who follow Jesus have in Him. As he considers the new lives that believers have, he writes, "This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!" (verse 17). He continues that this new life is a gift from God, "who brought us back to Himself through Christ" (verse 18). Then he explains why Jesus came to earth and died. "For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ" (verse 21). In other words, Jesus died so that we could be made right with God.
When was the last time you really focused on the fact that when Jesus died on the cross, He died so that you could have a restored relationship with God? What an act of love that we certainly did not deserve. Because of Jesus' death and resurrection, when we place our faith in Him, we are forgiven for our sins because Jesus' death becomes the payment that we owe. Jesus did not have to, but He died so that we could live forever with Him and that we could be made right with God. Praise Him that we are not lost in our sins and that we can be made right with God!
Do you have a family member or friend who is far from God? In an effort to reach someone for Christ, one of the things you can do is simply tell them about what you are reading and learning from your Bible. Take time today to tell one of your friends who is far from God about what you have read in 2 Corinthians 5. Tell them about what Jesus did so that they could have a restored relationship with God. If you get a chance, share the Bridge Diagram with them as well.
For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands. We grow weary in our present bodies, and we long to put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing. For we will put on heavenly bodies; we will not be spirits without bodies. While we live in these earthly bodies, we groan and sigh, but it’s not that we want to die and get rid of these bodies that clothe us. Rather, we want to put on our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by life. God himself has prepared us for this, and as a guarantee he has given us his Holy Spirit.
So we are always confident, even though we know that as long as we live in these bodies we are not at home with the Lord. For we live by believing and not by seeing. Yes, we are fully confident, and we would rather be away from these earthly bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord. So whether we are here in this body or away from this body, our goal is to please him. For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body.
Because we understand our fearful responsibility to the Lord, we work hard to persuade others. God knows we are sincere, and I hope you know this, too. Are we commending ourselves to you again? No, we are giving you a reason to be proud of us, so you can answer those who brag about having a spectacular ministry rather than having a sincere heart. If it seems we are crazy, it is to bring glory to God. And if we are in our right minds, it is for your benefit. Either way, Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life. He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.
So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!
And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.
