At one time, Paul had judged Jesus as nothing more than a messianic pretender who pushed too far and ended up getting what was coming to Him. The irony is that Paul was now viewed as a traitor and was hated and persecuted just as he had done to others for their belief in Jesus. There are two things that this will produce in us according to 2 Corinthians 5:16-17
• Vs. 16: First, it will make you see everybody else differently: We don’t look at them the way we once did. We were once impressed with people who had power, money, or fame. We followed them around, imitated them, and wanted to be near them. We would even drop their names around to be associated with them. Then there were other people we thought were of no value, and we treated them like dirt. We wanted nothing to do with them.
Paul once thought of Jesus as being nothing more than a low-class, uneducated street preacher. He thought because Jesus had no political standing, no family position, no training, and no education that he was worthless. But now Paul says, “I see Christ for who he is, the Lord of Glory, the King of the Ages, the Prince of Life, God himself become a man.” And because Paul didn’t see Jesus that way anymore, He could no longer treat other people that way anymore. Instead, Paul saw people for who they are, men and women who were made in the image of God but have fallen from that view. They are victims of the lies of the devil, but they are important, significant people because God’s image is in them, and it can be awakened to life again. Everybody, even the most obscure, the lowliest, and the weakest among us, is a possible child of God, made in the image of God, and is significant enough that God sent His only Son to die on their behalf.
Verse 17 ought to be the opening line of the biography of every Christian. The term “In Christ” sums up the significance of our redemption as it speaks of our security in Christ. It speaks of our acceptance in the only ONE who is and always has been well-pleasing to the Father. It speaks of our assurance for the future; it speaks of our inheritance as Christ is the sole heir. It describes the explosion of new creation, the true and only “Big Bang,” as in “If anyone is in Christ “BANG” he is a new creation!” And what does this new creation look like? Well, as the NIV renders this, “the old has gone, the new has come!” The New Man has not merely changed a few practices or habits; Paul says that if he is in Christ, he is a totally different kind of person. And this leads us to the 2nd thing that this will produced in us:
• Vs. 17: Secondly, it will make you treat them differently: Therefore, no matter who it is, it is possible that they may be born again. No matter how violent they are in opposition to the gospel, they can be changed. God can reach the most hopeless, the darkest, the lowliest, the worst, and the farthest away. And, when they are reached, we never need to give up hope for them because they are part of a new creation. God has started a work that He is going to finish. We are prone to writing people off, but what He has begun as a good work in them will not fail until the day of Christ. So there is always hope, even for me and you. This is the hour to become a “Radicalized Christian” above all other hours in history.