Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
2 Corinthians 5:20
Πρεσβεύω (presbeuō) to be older, prior by birth or in age
- act as a representative, to be an ambassador, act as an ambassador
- The word used here πρεσβεύομεν presbeuomen, means to act as an ambassador.
An ambassador is a minister of the highest rank, employed by one prince or state at the court of another, to manage the concerns of his own prince or state, and representing the dignity and power of his sovereign – Webster’s Dictionary. He is sent to do what the sovereign would himself do were he present. They are sent to make known the will of the sovereign, and to negotiate matters of commerce, of war, or of peace, and in general everything affecting the interests of the sovereign among the people to whom they are sent. At all times, and in all countries, an ambassador is a sacred character, and his person is regarded as inviolable. He is bound implicitly to obey the instructions of his sovereign, and as far as possible to do only what the sovereign would do were he himself present.
Be reconciled to God – This is the sum total of the message which the ministers of the gospel bear to their fellow-men. It implies that man has something to do in this work – see yesterday’s Gem. He is to be reconciled to God. He is to give up his opposition. He is to submit to the terms of mercy. All the change in the case is to be in him, for God cannot change. God has removed all the obstacles to reconciliation which existed on his part. He has done all that He will do, all that needed to be done, in order to render reconciliation easy as possible. And now it remains that man should lay aside his hostility, abandon his sins, embrace the terms of mercy, and become reconciled to God. The task of the ambassadors of reconciliation is to urge this duty on their fellow–men. They are to do it in the name of Christ. They are to do it as if Christ were Himself present, and were Himself urging the message. Be reconciled to God, that is, let God reconcile you to Himself.
“What unparalleled condescension and divinely tender mercies are displayed in this verse! Did the judge ever beseech a condemned criminal to accept of pardon? Does the creditor ever beseech a ruined debtor to receive an acquittance in full? Yet our almighty Lord, and our eternal Judge, not only vouchsafes to offer these blessings, but invites us, entreats us, and with the most tender importunity solicits us not to reject them.” From John Wesley’s notes.
“Beseeching” was certainly not normal in the case of “ambassadors,” who generally stand on their dignity. But beseeching is used by the ambassadors of the King of kings. There is a degree of urgency in the matter at hand. It is a matter of life and death, eternal life and eternal death or separation.
Be humble or you’ll stumble.
Rick Warren
The Rewards Of Distinction Belong To Those Who Shorten The Gap Between What They Know And What They Do.
Robb Thompson
Whatever you are, be a good one.
Abraham Lincoln