Princeton Presbyterian Church

Princeton Presbyterian Church (EPC) Sermon # 1690

June 15, 2025

2 Corinthians 5.1-21  Click here for audio worship.  (If not available, file may be slow to process on SoundCloud. Please, check back later!)

Dr. Ed Pettus

(This is an extended outline, not a verbatim transcript.)

 

“A New Creation”

 

For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord,for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.

Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others. But what we are is known to God, and I hope it is known also to your conscience. We are not commending ourselves to you again but giving you cause to boast about us, so that you may be able to answer those who boast about outward appearance and not about what is in the heart. For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.

From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

 

• Being of Good Courage

 

Paul opens this section of his letter to the Corinthians with the encouragement that there is more to life and more to believers than what we have in this life, on the earth. We have the promise of a heavenly body and heavenly existence that is not affected by the pains and struggles of our earthly life. Our earthly bodies are fragile and subject to the elements of sickness and weaknesses that come with being mortal. So Paul speaks of our groaning. It does not have to be a verbal groan, but perhaps a spiritual groan as we yearn for more and hope for more. We groan as well in the disturbing ways of the world where nations go to war and people cause chaos in the streets and lies are perpetuated so often that people begin to believe they are truth.

But God has something more in store for us. And so Paul tells us to be of good courage. He says it twice in verses 6 & 8,

So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord,for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage,

 

We are of good courage because we have the promise of a heavenly body and we have the promise of the Spirit as a guarantee. It is within these promises of God, and many more, that we take courage to walk by faith and not by sight. We trust what God has promised and we set our hope in the God of promise. This is what we can know for certain, that God keeps His promises and therefore we have courage.

 

• To Walk by Faith

 

It is only in this good courage that we are able to walk by faith with God’s grace sustaining and supporting us. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord,for we walk by faith, not by sight. The is the second truth Paul says we know. We know that we walk in a very different way than people who do not trust in Jesus Christ. We walk by faith and not by sight. We walk by the promises of God, promises we have witnessed fulfilled and by those yet to be fulfilled. We walk in the hope and faith and love that knows Jesus Christ and Christ crucified and raised from the dead. We know. We know at a secret place deep within, in the courage to know and to live in the courage of faith. There is no doubt and there is no doubt even more day by day as we take up our cross to deny the old self and live to God.

It seems that it would be very difficult to walk by sight in our time because we cannot believe everything we see or read or hear. We can hardly believe anything that comes from the media or the internet or other forms of news and opinion. Finding a trusted news sources is a chore, social media is filled with truths and lies, and who knows what our friends and neighbors are buying into or what kool-aid they may be drinking. Because so little of what is seen is trustworthy, I find that faith is actually an easier route! I would rather trust in God and walk by faith than choose anything of the world to trust. Just about everything pushed on us in the world is a false narrative repeated over and over again to draw in those who walk by sight. Our physical eyes might deceive us, but we walk with spiritual eyes, with the eyes of Scripture, the lens of God’s Word to guide us through the lies of the world.

 

• To Please God

 

We seek to be of good courage and to walk by faith. These are things that please God and that is also our aim. So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. This is our aim – to please God. If we want to learn how to walk by faith and be of good courage, begin with this aim – to please God. There are many ways we can please God: walking with God, showing mercy, loving God and neighbor, worshiping in spirit and truth.

 

Psalm 147.10-11 His delight is not in the strength of the horse, nor his pleasure in the legs of a man, but the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love.

 

1 Thessalonians 4.1-4, 7, Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more. For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor...For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness.

 

Hebrews 11.6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

 

God takes pleasure in our reverence (fear) of Him, our hope in His love, walking in His will (His holiness), so we walk by faith because without faith it is impossible to please God.

 

• The Love of Christ

 

The next term that calls our attention is the love of Christ. We are to live under the submission of Christ’s love, that which controls us, compels us, and makes us grateful to live in His love.

 

For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.

 

This control is in the sense of compelling us and leading us, with God’s steadfast love. It is not a control in the sense that it forces or coerces or manipulates in any way. But it is a love so compelling that we cannot help but desire to live in that love. When we live in this love, the love of Jesus Christ, we come to see even more the reality of verse 15 that we do not live for ourselves.

“...and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.”

 

We do not live for earthly gain, nor for any special treatment or recognition in this life, but we live solely for Christ. As Paul also reminds us, whether we live or die, it is all for Jesus Christ. But we know that our tendency is to live for ourselves. We look out for number one. We deserve a break today. I’ve got to get mine while "the gittin's good!" We tend to live as if everything is about us, about me, about self or comfort or riches or fame. We tend to resort to the old nature, the sinful self, we even might think that is a more comfortable place to live. But just the opposite is true, it is only by living in Christ and in His love that real life and real joy and real depth of being can be known and grasped.

 

• A New Creation

 

All of this leads us to the reality of being in Christ, that we are a new creation – all the old is being mortified, killed off, slowly but surely, no more old nature, a new person, more reflective of the image of God, as God created us to be, all because of Christ! In Christ and in Christ alone can we be courageous, walking by faith, pleasing God and living in His love. This is the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We have been reconciled to God by the love of God (2 Cor 5.18-21). We have been set right by the God who is love. God’s love is the initiating force behind this work. There was a divide, a broken relationship between God and humanity and God healed that relationship. Paul reveals this powerful message of reconciliation, of reunion, of reclaiming God’s people in Christ. We have been given a great gift in that God has brought us back into a healthy relationship with Himself through Christ. We were separated from God through our sin and we had no way back to God! We were lost with no hope of getting back home. And if it were left up to us we would not have even cared to find our way back. This is a life marked by chaos, not even considering a way to reconciliation with God. But God took the steps necessary, God initiated the plan to bring us back and in so doing brings us back to the senses we did not even realize we had lost through our sin. God ordered life out of our chaos of sin and death. So God, through His Son, brought a new thing, a new order to our lives.

Jesus Christ, who knew no sin, became sin, that is, He took our sin upon himself in order to reconcile us to God. In order to bring us home, Christ took on the burden that separated us from our Creator. I do not think we can fully understand the depth of that act. Jesus never knew what it was to disobey God. God’s love is so strong, and Christ’s will so obedient, that He took on our sin in order to make us the righteousness of God.

One of the works of God is to make things new. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. The chaos of the old self has passed away and God has done a new thing in us by reordering our lives in Christ Jesus. Now we are new creatures, refreshed people of God. That newness gives us joy, gives us peace, gives us life. God gives us new mercies day by day, new ways to see the world, new insights into His Word, new life and new light to see even in darkness. Because God has done a new thing in us, we are called and compelled to bring this news of order and life to others.

Consider yourself a new creation. Everything is different. Everything is new or renewed! All because of Jesus. Give thanks to Him that we can leave the sanctuary rejuvenated by faith and praise and worship. Give thanks to Jesus that we can walk by faith, have great courage, please the Lord, love God and our neighbor, and be a new creation. Amen.