The profile of the Ambassador

Christian Ambassadorship, I believe is one of the most misunderstood aspects of the Christian life.  Today, we will be looking at the profile of the Christian Ambassadorship and a brief overview of what it means to be a Christian Ambassador. We will not dive too far into the Greek, though we will take a look at a few words.

First, we must determine who is an ambassador and how one became an ambassador, so please turn in your bibles to 2 Corinthians 5:20;

/ 2 Cor 5:20 - Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

Here, Paul is addressing church age believers as a whole, though the letter is addressed to the Corinthian church. Remember, these letters were circulated as doctrines, and thus made a part of the complete Canon of Scripture. We can determine who Paul is talking about specifically by looking at the verse in the Greek. Unfortunately, the English does not bring out some points that we can see in the original language.

The first word in our verse is “oon”, which is translated therefore, accordingly. However, what you don’t see is this word is an inferential coordinating conjunction. What this means is that to determine who the “we” in this sentence is, we must look back to the verses prior. Look back to verse 17.

/ 2 Cor 5:17 - Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.

By this, we see that Paul is addressing anyone who is in Christ, who is now a new creature, and now an ambassador for Christ. So what makes you in Christ? The “in” here is “In position with Christ. This is directly related to your non-meritorious decision to believe in Christ Jesus, as your Savior. Therefore, if you have made the personal decision to believe in Christ Jesus, as your savior, by faith alone, you are now a new creature, and you are an ambassador for Christ.

This should naturally prompt the question, what does this mean? What does it mean to be an ambassador? It is not a “fancy” title for Christian. The second half of 5:20 gives us a glimpse of what it means to be an ambassador for Christ, but only truly a glimpse.

/ 2 Cor 5:20 – Therefore, we (church age believers) are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

APPEAL!!! Our Ambassadorship is playing a role in the angelic conflict, the court room trial of the prosecution of satan and the fallen angels.

Which side of the court room you want to be on will depend on your volition.

We, however, are going to focus on the prosecutions side of the case, and the profile for the ambassador. We have already studied the defenses side (Cosmic #1 and #2)…

We will start with a definition of what an ambassador is.

/ Definition: An accredited diplomat sent by a country as its official representative to a foreign country.

As an ambassador, you are the accredited diplomat, sent by a country (Heaven) as its official representative to a foreign country (Earth). As an ambassador, we are left here, on earth, to represent Jesus Christ’s interests and present Him to the world. To better understand the ambassadorship, we will start off by listing the profile of the ambassador. You do not have to rush to write these down, because we will look at each one specifically. Hopefully, in the end, you will have a greater understanding for your appointment as an ambassador.

/ Profile of Ambassador: 1. An ambassador does not appoint himself, but is appointed by a higher source; 2. An ambassador does not support himself, but the person/entity that appointed him provides support; 3. The ambassador has written instructions; 4. The ambassador is a foreigner and does not reside in his place of citizenship; 5. An ambassador represents the persons interest who sent him, not his own; 6. The ambassador does not treat an insult personally; 7. An ambassadorship is a full-time job, and the ambassador must always be aware of his conduct; 8. When an ambassador is recalled to their home country, this is generally a sign of a declaration of war.

This profile of an ambassador is the profile of an ambassador of the United States to a foreign country, as well as our Christian Ambassadorship to the world. So let’s start right in looking at the profile.

/ 1. An ambassador does not appoint himself, but is appointed by a higher source. (Romans 1:6)

Turn with me now to Romans, Chapter 1, verse 6.

    

Rom 1:6 - among whom you also are the acalled of Jesus Christ;

 

Romans 1:6 says among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ. Here, Paul is opening his letter to the Romans, where he reassures them that they too are the called of Jesus Christ. In 1:1 Paul starts by asserting his authority he has been given to be writing this letter to the church, who are the called of Jesus Christ.

/ called = kleto/$ (kletos) means to invite, appoint, or call

This is the same adjective that Paul uses in Rom 1:1 where it says Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle… Where it says, called as an Apostle, this does not indicate a title, but an appointment. If a person said, you are called John, this is a title, or a name. However, the context that this is used is an appointment. Paul was appointed as an Apostle. You have been appointed as well.

    

Rom 1:1 - Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, 1acalled as an apostle, bset apart for cthe gospel of God,

By making the non-meritorious decision to believe in Christ Jesus, you were appointed to a new position, and part of that position is ambassadorship. You cannot appoint yourself, but you were appointed, by God the Father.

/ Rom 1:6 – among whom you also are the called (appointed) of Jesus Christ.

Turn to John 15:16

It is no coincidence that the Holy Spirit has placed May 6 where He did in our study. I have been studying ambassadorship for months now, and we just so happen to land on this John 15:16 with Pastor Joe on May 6^th!

John 15:16 – You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you.

At this point, it brings forth another wonderful principle that must always be understood when you consider your ambassadorship.

/ Principle: Ambassadorship is never a means of personal spiritual growth. Ambassadorship is a result of spiritual growth! (Fruit Production)

Royal Priesthood is the means of your personal spiritual growth.

I bring this point our here because in verse 16 we talk about going and bearing fruit, which is Christian Ambassadorship, however, fruit production can only come after growth. You would not take an apple tree home from the nursery and plant it and the next morning expect to have apples on it, would you?

Once again, there are no coincidences in the Word of God. It is no coincidence that ambassadorship is referred to as fruit production throughout the New Testament. This is so that our finite minds can understand GROWTH, then production!

Much like the US ambassador does not appoint themselves to their position, but the president of the United States does, you have been appointed of Jesus Christ, as a representative or agent, by God the Father.

/ 2. An ambassador does not support himself, but the person/entity that appointed him provides support; (John 15:16b; 2 Cor 9:8; Phil 4:19; Rom 8:32)

An ambassador who is operating as an ambassador will always be supported by the person who has sent him. This is true until the ambassador decides to stop operating as an ambassador. This is true with the spiritual life as well. If you are operating as an ambassador, you have no need to worry about your logistical grace support. However, if you start to worry about it, and attempt to support yourself, God will step out of your way, like any good gentleman, and allow you to take a crack at it. Fortunately, if we do take a crack at it ourselves and then decide it doesn’t work, we can turn back to our Loving God, and He will still be there.

Turn to Rom 8:28

    

Rom 8:28 And we know that 1God causes aall things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are bcalled according to His purpose.  

 

Here we have our word again, kletos, or called. God will work all things together, for those who: 1. Love Him; 2. For the CALLED, or appointed.

 

:29 For those whom He aforeknew, He also bpredestined to become cconformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the dfirstborn among many brethren;  

 

30 and these whom He apredestined, He also bcalled; and these whom He called, He also cjustified; and these whom He justified, He also dglorified.

 

31 aWhat then shall we say to these things? bIf God is for us, who is against us?

32 He who adid not spare His own Son, but bdelivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?

We have many scriptures that support this, but we will simply look at a few of them:

/Rom 8:32 – He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?

/Phil 4:9 – And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

Notice the key word “all your needs”. This is specifically directed towards your needs and not wants. This is logistical grace. He will ensure that everything is taken care of.

/John 15:16 – You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go an bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give you.

Notice that after He chose us and appointed us, for fruit bearing, and His Father will provide for us. Now, do not take this out of context, if you are employed, stay employed. If you’re not employed, and are having financial difficulties, you should look for employment, this is responsibility! God has given us common sense, and in no way is the Bible saying to be lazy and just say, it is the Lord’s bill. In fact the bible says to the contrary! What it is saying is do not “worry” about it, and rely on God to come through. If you are operating under your ambassadorship, He has to come through, He appointed you, now He must support you!

/3. The ambassador has written instructions; (2 Tim 3:16; 2 Peter 3:18)

We have the completed canon of scripture. These are our written instructions. The Word of God is not suggestions; there are hundreds of imperatives in the New Testament alone. Those are the instructions that we are to live by.

2 Tim 3:16 – All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.

/ “training” is paidei/a (paideia) which can be translated training, education, or instructions.

Now, with that being said, there are going to be times that you miss an instruction, much like a father putting together a bicycle for a child. In the end, the bicycle might operate just fine. However, picture a bicycle put together with the front wheel where the seat goes, the seat where the handle bars go, and the handle bars where the front wheel goes. That bicycle wouldn’t operate very well, nor would it serve a purpose. Also, think about how many times a man says, I don’t need those directions, and after hours of trying to figure it out, the have to look in the directions… We have the directions right before us. In addition to the directions, we have words of encouragement along the way. The Bible says, don’t do this, but if you do, confess it and don’t worry about it. By the way, I will love you and be with you no matter what you do.

/ 2 Peter 3:18 – but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen!

You can only grow in grace and knowledge by your daily intake of Bible Doctrine. In teaching the prep school, I have discussed this with the kids, and I think it is often overlooked among adults, as I know that I have. We are out in the world all day long, hopefully filled with the Spirit the majority of the time, however, we are “hearing” worldly views daily, constant. If we are not countering that with doctrine, sooner or later, the worldly views will overpower the divine view thinking. Remember, you have two natures inside of yourself, the Holy Spirit and the OSN. The Predominant one is going to be the one you feed the most.

/4. The ambassador is a foreigner and does not reside in his place of citizenship; (Phil 3:20)

Our citizenship is not of this world, therefore, we are foreigner’s to this world. In fact, at the moment of salvation, you became perfectly qualified to enter into Heaven. If there was an elevator to which you could get to heaven without death, you could not be turned away, as your qualified for entrance.

/Phil 3:20 – For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

You cannot have dual citizenship. You are either a citizen of Heaven, or of this world. At the moment of salvation, you were made in position with Christ and in that position, your citizenship was transferred to heaven.

/John 15:19 – If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you.

You are not part of the world, but Christ has selected you, or chosen you out of the world. Notice the chosen, very similar to appointed.

 

Turn to Matthew 5:14

14 "You are athe light of the world. A city set on a 1hill cannot be hidden;  15 anor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a 1basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.  16 "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may asee your good works, and bglorify your Father who is in heaven.

This verse, as well, is a good indicator to yourself (and yourself alone) to evaluate yourself and your operation in your ambassadorship. Do you blend in with the world, or do you stand out? If you blend in with the “norms” of this world, your ambassadorship probably needs some growth, which will come in time, by staying positive toward the word of God. However, if you stand out from the world, (in a positive way), you are probably on the right path…

/5. An ambassador represents the persons interest who sent him, not his own; (John 15:5; Rom 14:7)

/ John 15:5 – I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit (ambassadorship), for apart from Me you can do nothing.

The ambassador cannot serve there own interests and the Person who has sent them simultaneously. Remember God’s thinking is not our thinking, nor is His way our ways. If we are focused on our own interests, we are not focusing on His interests.

/ Titus 2:12 – instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, :13 – looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ,

/ 2 Tim 4:3 – For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires.

/ Rom 14:7 – For not one of us lives for himself, and not dies for himself; for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.

There may be many times that your thinking will line with the Lord’s thinking, however, there will also be many times that you thinking will not line up with the Lord’s thinking. It is at that point that you must recognize we are not here for ourselves, but for Him who sent us!

 Isa 55:8-9 - 8 "For My thoughts are not ayour thoughts, Nor are byour ways My ways," declares the Lord . 9 "For aas the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts.

 

/6. The ambassador does not treat an insult personally;  (John 17:14; 1 Peter 5:9)

The ambassador can never take an insult personally. They are not insulting you, but the person who has sent you. If the world rejected the perfection of the Lord Jesus Christ, it only follows suit that the world will also reject us, however, they are not rejecting us specifically, but the One inside us.

/ John 17:14 – I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. :15 I do not ask You to take them our of the world, but to keep them from the evil one.

Here Christ is praying to the Father and is stating that He knows that the world will hate us. However, He does not want us taken out of the world because He has a greater plan. Instead, He asks the Father to protect us. Obviously, He is keeping us here for a reason, so we should endure the persecutions for the greater good.

/ 1 Peter 5:9 – But resist him, firm in your doctrine, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.

Note, we are to resist him, firm in our doctrine. We can only accomplish this resistance by doctrine, which indicates the need for daily intake of doctrine. You will not only have to resist him on Sunday’s. This specifically points out our need to continually feed the one nature within ourselves (Holy Spirit).

/ John 15:18 – If the world hates you, you know that is has hated Me before it hated you.

1 Peter 4:13-14 tells you that we will suffer, but we also have a comfort that will come from Jesus Christ during our times of suffering. Turn to 1 Peter 4:!3

1 Peter 4:13-17 - 13 but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing; so that also at the revelation of His glory, you may rejoice with exultation. 14 If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. 15 By no means let any of you suffer as a murderer, or thief, or evildoer, or a troublesome meddler; 16 but if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not feel ashamed, but in that name let him glorify God.

/7. An ambassadorship is a full-time job, and the ambassador must always be aware of his conduct;

An ambassador, while in the foreign country, is always representing the person whom sent them, therefore, it is imperative that the ambassador be aware of who is around them, and ensure that they are conducting themselves in a manner worthy of the calling/appointment. The Christian way of life is exactly that, it is a way of life, not the way of the day.  This is not to say that you will not fall short at times, however, when you do, you need to name it and move on.

/ Col 4:5 – Conduct yourselves with wisdom towards outsiders, making the most of the opportunity.

What is the opportunity here that Paul is talking about? Is he saying always be ready for a good business investment, and be wise, because an outsider might not be prepared and you can have a wonderful opportunity to get an awesome deal? No, he is saying, you never know the opportunity the Lord will place before you.

You never know when you will be representing the one who sent you to a foreigner, therefore, you must always be ready to make the most of the opportunity.

/ 2 Tim 4:2 – preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.

Here we are told to be ready in season and out of season. In otherwords, we are to be ready at any given moment. An ambassadorship is not a hobby for every Sunday from 10:00 AM until the offering. An ambassadorship is a continuing operation of your spiritual growth. As you grow more in your spiritual life, your ambassadorship will grow more.

/ Phil 1:27 – Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ; so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel.

/ Conduct here is politeu/omai (politeuomai) which means to behave as a citizen.

Vine’s Expository Dictionary puts it this way; “to live as a citizen” is used metaphorically of conduct as in accordance with the characteristics of the heavenly community. In other words, as you have heard parents ask their children, “Would you do that if Jesus was standing there?”  or say to the their child, “Act your Age!”

By the way, conduct here is a Present, Middle, and Imperative. The present tells us that this is an ongoing action, while the middle voice tells us that we choose to either perform the action or not perform the action. And the imperative, this goes back to point #3, which states an Ambassador has written instructions. This is not a suggestion, but rather a command.

Paul here is telling the church in Phillipi to ensure that they are conduct themselves in a manner worthy of the gospel, not just when Paul is present, but at all times, in season or out of season.

 /8. When an ambassador is recalled to their home country, this is generally a sign of a declaration of war.

When a country recalls their ambassadors and Foreign Service officers, this is the precursor to declaration of war. This is true with the Spiritual life. As an ambassador of Christ, we are representing Christ to the world. However, at some point, predetermined by God the Father, any remaining ambassadors will be recalled to their home country, heaven, and it is at that time, that the tribulation can occur. Please note, can occur, not will occur. There is nothing to definitively say that at the rapture of the ambassadors, or church, that the tribulation will start immediately.

/ 1 Thes 4:17 – After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.

It is at the point of after the rapture, that the tribulation may start, because along with the rapture of the church, the presence of the Holy Spirit will be removed, which is currently restraining evil.

Now that we have defined the profile of a Christian Ambassadorship of a principle must be emphasized to avoid confusion.

/ Christian Ambassadorship is never the means of spiritual growth. It is always the result of spiritual growth.

/ Royal Priesthood is a means of spiritual growth. Christian Ambassadorship is the product of your spiritual growth.

/ Royal Priesthood vs. Ambassadorship

Royal Priesthood	Royal Ambassadorship
Equal Privilege	Equal Opportunity
We represent ourselves before God	We represent God before Men
Means of Advancement through bible doctrine	Product of advancement through bible doctrine
Private between God and self	Public between Self and Man (under power of HS)

The Lord’s Supper

Now, as part of our Royal Priesthood, we take part of the one ritual that we are command to continue in the Church Age, the Lord’s Supper.

It is at this point, that we lay aside all other aspects of the spiritual life, the world, the concerns, the difficulties of life, and focus on why we are truly here.

As part of the lengthy study I have done on ambassadorship, which has only really begun, I looked at a verse. Turn with me to 1 Corinthians 7:23.

1 Cor 7:23 – You were bought with a price, do not become slaves of men.

The reason I have brought you to this passage, is to look at one specific word, though I have much to say about the verse in general. However, the word price here does not give the Lord Jesus Christ’s price justice.

/Price = time/ (time) = a value, money paid, valuables, or the dignity itself; preciousness.

However, the cost for our redemption was not coin, it was not money, it wasn’t even “death” as we can imagine. The price for our redemption was a preciousness.

Christ tells us in John 15:13 exactly what the price was:

 

John 15:13 - "Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his soul for his friends.

 

We know the Love of Christ by the fact that He willing endured the cross so that we might pass out of the second death, and share in His glory. For this fact, instead of doing this in remembrance of Christ, we are affectionately calling of the Person Himself to our mind.

When you couple everything that HE has done for us, how can we not want to represent Him to the world? How can we not gladly keep His interests in mind in all that we do?

It is this sacrificial love of Christ that makes being His ambassador a privilege instead of a responsibility. We have the opportunity to represent the greatest person to walk the face of the earth to all who desire to know Him.

And we know that the night before Christ paid the ultimate price for our freedom, He had taken bread and after giving thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you, do this in remembrance of Me.” Therefore, in remembrance of the only Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and His time spent on the earth setting the stage for the ultimate victory, let us eat the bread.

After eating the bread, He took the cup, saying, “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant of My blood; do this as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” Therefore, in remembrance of the work of Christ on the cross, so that we would not have to work, let us drink the cup.

For as often as we eat this bread and drink this cup, we proclaim the Work of the Lord, until He comes again!