Guest speaker Jone Jones; continue on with our previous topic of ambassadorship.Today we will continue on with our previous topic of ambassadorship. During my study of ambassadorship, I came upon an interview with a US ambassador, and in giving description of their position, this is in part, what they had to say: “At the most simplistic level, an ambassador acts as a representative for her or his home country. Ambassadors usually live in a country different from their home one (country) and work as a delegate for and representative of their home country in votes and activities….” “They are expected to represent the views and standpoints of their home country, and therefore must vote on issues accordingly. They work with other ambassadors to pass legislation that will bring positive change to all parties involved.” Our Christian ambassador is must similar to the US ambassador, as we represent the views and standpoints of our home country, and the one who sent us. As such, we are to live our life accordingly. Definition of Ambassador: An accredited diplomat sent by a country as its official representative to a foreign country. When you think of this opportunity that we have been given, from our Lord and Savior, how could we not want to understand it more and more, and thus walk in our ambassadorship. For means of review, we will briefly review the profile of 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 personentity 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. How our ambassadorship starts… Turn to 1 Cor 7:23 1 Cor 7:23 – You were bought with a price, do not become slaves of men. Bought = agorazo(agorazo); to purchase from a market (slave market of sin) - Aorist Passive Indicative; You were purchased, once and for all in the past; as indicated by the Aorist tense; The passive indicates that we are the recipient of the action Christ has redeemed us from the slave market of sin. We have been set free from sin, and sin (our old sin nature) is no longer a master over us (Rom 6:14). Prior to our redemption, we were subject to sin. When were we bought, we were bought and paid for at the cross. The moment we decided to have non-meritorious faith in Christ as our Savior, the “deed” to our lives was signed over to our New Master. Payment, however, took place on the cross.
Turn to
Rom 6:14 - For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.
Rom 6:15 - What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? May it never be!
Rom 6:16 - Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness (experiential)?
So how do you obey righteousness? Grow in grace and knowledge, keeping our eyes focused on Him.
2 Peter 3:18 - but grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity! Amen!
Rebound when you fall short, and keep moving. Remember, the law was introduced to show each of us that we were sinners and needed a Savior.
1 John 1:9 - If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Being obedient to righteousness is not cleaning up the world, it is not trying not to sin, it is not trying to operate in our spiritual gift. It is keeping Christ as our center and our priority. It is growing in His grace and knowledge of Him. 2 Tim 3:16 - All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correcting, for training in righteousness. It is the scripture and growing in the knowledge of the Lord, joined with application that will bring us to obedience resulting in righteousness. As we fall in Lord with the Lord, our mind will be conformed to His thinking, and we will naturally desire His will.
Price = time(time) = a value, money paid, valuables, or the dignity itself; preciousness. As we have previously noted, 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 preciousness. However, we know that “physical death” as we imagine is not preciousness, though our finite minds at time see it as precious. However, the God-breathed scripture tells us to die is gain. Therefore, we see that our redemption price was not simply death of our purchaser (the Lord) but it was His spiritual death. Now, since all scripture is God breathed, we see that He and God the Father, hold His spiritual life as a preciousness, which was the price paid. This also brings out that our Lord, who is the prototype, held His spiritual life as preciousness, so by following His example, we too should hold our spiritual life as preciousness. If it is precious, it is most important… 1 Cor 7:23 – You were redeemed from the slave market with a preciousness, do not become slaves of men. Become = ginomai(ginomai) – Present; Middle; Imperative to become or coming into being; to signify a change of condition; to become something that you have not always been; The present tells us to me “not” become, or make a life style, of becoming slaves to another master. The middle voice tells us that we are “making” the decision to, or acting in relation to ourself. The imperative tells us this is a command to “not become” a slave of…. OSN, human thinking, anything apart from God. Principle: Do not become the dog that returns to the vomit. You have been freed, do not go back! In other words, do not return to your former captor. You have been freed by a preciousness, why waste that preciousness. However, pay close attention to the middle voice. We have the decision to return to the former, or to stay and abide with the new. God is a perfect gentleman and does not violate our free will. Slaves = doulos (doulos); a slave, literal or figurative; voluntary or involuntary; subjection or subservience; stresses the dependence on his lord. In context, I like the word subjected or dependent. The letter is initially addressed to the church in Corinth, which struggled with their dependence on so called “gods”, or human power, or money, etc. What the Holy Spirit is telling the church in Corinith, as well as everyone in the church age is you have been freed, why do you want to become a slave all over again to anyone but our Lord? In fact, Christ says the following in the gospel of John: John 12:26 – If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there shall My servant also be; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him. Here Christ is inviting us to “follow” Him and serve Him. He is not forcing us, He cannot do it for us, but your Savior is inviting you to follow Him. let him follow - a)kolouqew (akoloutheo); a follower, companion, expressing union or likeness. We always encourage our kids to be leaders, and tell them to lead by example. Here we are encouraged to be a follower, and not a leader. Remember, Christ was the prototype. He led the path, He carved the path, He came and He conquered. Why are we going to try and reinvent the wheel? He doesn’t ask us to do anything but to follow. Here, “let him follow” is a present active imperative. The present tense tells us that this is a continuing action. This is not a one-time decision, but a decision that we must make on a continual, daily basis. The active voice tells us that we, the subject must perform the action, while the imperative says this is a command. Christ is saying if you want to serve Me, you must follow Me. Now the question is: how do we serve the Lord? What do we need to do to serve the Lord? Human Ideas: Quit Sinning, Witness to 5 people a day, Clean up the evil in the world, World Peace See these are common worldly ideas of serving the Lord. However, these attempts to serving the Lord no more please Him than He was pleased in the Garden of Eden at the fall. All of these are ways of operating in Human Power, and thus focusing on creature credit instead of creator credit. Isa 55:8 - For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways," declares the Lord. Quit Sinning 1 John 1:10-If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us. Is Sin a good thing? Does Christ condone sin? No, but what Christ says is learn My word, and your sin will decrease. However, when you do sin, let me remove the excuse from serving Me. I have already paid the price, so just add it to my tab. John 3:30 – He must increase and I must decrease. Witness to 5 people a dayCol 4:5-Conduct yourselves with wisdom towards outsiders, making the most of the opportunity You do not need to go out and seek for the people to witness to, but you be prepared! You make the most of the opportunity. You simply make yourself available. Hence, Col 4:5 making the most of the opportunity! The Lord will provide the opportunity, just as He did to Apollo’s and Paul, as stated in 1 Cor. Clean up the evil in the worldEph 6:13-Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Here Paul is not telling us to fight the evil, but rather to resist the evil. It says “take up” or utilize the “full armor” of God, so that we will be able to resist the evil. We are not commanded to fight evil, pursue evil, but to stand firm and resist the evil. World Peace - Matt 10:34 “Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. The Lord point blank tells us that He did not come to bring peace. In fact, He tells us that He came for the opposite. In fact, He says, “For I came to SET A MAN AGAINST HIS FATHER, AND A DAUGHTER AGAINST HER MOTHER, AND A DAUGHTER-IN-LAW AGAINST HER MOTHER-IN-LAW; and A MAN'S ENEMIES WILL BE THE MEMBERS OF HIS HOUSEHOLD. “
So if this is not serving the Lord, what is? If cleaning up the world, trying our hardest to do good, trying to “please” God is not serving the Lord, what is? John 14:15 – “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.
“keep” – threw(tereo); to guard from loss or injury, keeping the eye upon, properly prevent escaping.
If we want to serve the Lord, we will keep His Word, His commands, and His doctrines. We will keep it from escaping. We will guard His word.
As a representative, we should be like minded with the one we are representing
This brings out a principle that must be stated: As an ambassador, we must be like minded with the one that we are representing. Remember, as representing one, we are essentially they representing their best interests in their absence.
Back to our original verse: You were bought (redeemed from the slave market) with a preciousness, do not become slaves (dependent) of men.
men = a&nqrwpo$(anthropos); “Man” as species, as distinct from animals, angels, Jesus Christ, and God; special emphasis on the sinfulness of human nature. Expanded Translation: You were redeemed from the slave market with a preciousness, do not become dependent on men. Who is Paul referring to as men? Remember, this letter is addressed to the Corinthians, and as such, we must look at the church and determine what He was saying to the church in Corinth. In reading about Corinth, we read “She had a reputation for commercial prosperity, but she was also a byword for evil living. The very word korinthiazesthai, to live like a Corinthian, had become a part of the Greek language, and meant to live with drunken and immoral debauchery ... Aelian, the late Greek writer, tells us that if ever a Corinthian was shown upon the stage in a Greek play he was shown drunk. The very name Corinth was synonymous with debauchery and there was one source of evil in the city which was known all over the civilized world. Above the isthmus towered the hill of the Acropolis, and on it stood the great temple of Aphrodite, the goddess of love. To that temple there were attached one thousand priestesses who were sacred prostitutes, and in the evenings they descended from the Acropolis and plied their trade upon the streets of Corinth, until it became a Greek proverb, 'It is not every man who can afford a journey to Corinth.” Corinth in fact, had several temples to which Corinth was becoming slaves to: Temples in Corinth: Temple of Aphrodite – 1,000 sacred prostitutes(goddess of love); Temple of Apollo – Overlooking the market place (prosperity); Temple of Octavia (Approbation – declared goddess after death-works); Sanctuary of Asklepieion – Sanctuary of the healing God The point is, as an ambassador for Christ, we must represent Him who sent us. We need to share in thinking of Christ. As such, Christ was dependent on God for everything, so we too must learn to be dependent on God for everything. We need to rid ourselves of dependence on man, selves, and any other area of dependence.
This starts with our salvation and continues past our dying grace in time. Our dependence on Him will continue on into eternity. Think about it, I am not planning to have to work in heaven to make ends meat. I am planning to celebrate and enjoy the time spent with our Lord, our Husband and our Savior. Dependence on the Lord starts at salvation and continues into eternity.
Christ is the prototype for the Christian way of life, and though in His deity He depends on nothing but His self, however, during each step in His ministry, He depended on the Father.
TURN TO: John 5:19 Jesus therefore answered and was saying to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner.
John 5:30 "I can do nothing on My own initiative. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.
Luke 22:44 – And being in agony He was praying very fervently; and His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down upon the ground.
Christ wasn’t trying to solve His own problems. Christ wasn’t wondering how the issue of the cross was going to work itself out. Christ was praying to the Father, depending on Him to solve the issue.
Luke 4:1-2 - And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led about by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil.
Christ, being the strongest Man in the world to ever live, or walk the earth, didn’t say, I can do it without you. He said, I need God, and God will deliver me!
The church is said to be the “bride of Christ” and as such, Christ is our Husband. Christ is a good husband, and as such, he does exactly what a husband is supposed to do for His bride.
1 Tim 5:8 – But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith, and is worse than an unbeliever.
Christ was not the husband that says, “Do as I say, not as I do.” If He expects husbands to take care of their bride, how would He not also, be the prototype and take care of His bride, the church age believers?
Does it seem to be the same Christ that would die to save you from eternal condemnation in one moment, and then in another say, earthly husbands, provide for your bride, but I will make my bride be dependent on their selves?
Principle: As an ambassador, we will be dependent only on the one who has sent us!
1 Cor 10:12-13 - Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, that you may be able to endure it.
Duet 20:4 for the Lord you God is the one who foes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.
Isa 26:3-4 The steadfast of mind Thou wilt keep in perfect peace, because he trusts in Thee. Trust in the Lord forever, For in God the Lord, we have an everlasting Rock.
Matt 11:28 – Come to Me all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.
2 Thess 3:3 – But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one.
Conclusion: An ambassadorship can only start once the representative has learned to be dependent on the Lord for their every need. All ambassadors depend on the Grace of God.
So here we are told what not to do, so let us continue with the next verse and look at what God tells us to do instead of becoming dependent on men.
1 Cor 7:24 – (instead) Brethren, let each man remain (meno – abide; remain) with God in that remain = meno(meno); to stay, remain or abide; Present – Lifestyle; Active – We perform the action to remain; Imperative – Command, not suggestion! We perform this action by our system of thinking. This is only accomplished through positive volition towards doctrine. This is not going around and doing good. We do not remain with God by giving up everything, donating our money, avoiding sex, avoiding drinking, avoiding this that or the other. We remain or abide by our positive volition towards bible doctrine and keeping our priority focused. This is submission to God, which can only come through constant perception, metabolization and application of bible doctrine. |