To function effectively as children of God, we must discover our spiritual identity, then consistently and confidently walk in it. This is best accomplished by learning the names and titles God has given us in His Word.<\/p>\n
For over three decades, I have diligently studied this primary theme in God\u2019s Word. Of the hundreds of names bestowed on us, some have impacted me in very profound ways. Such is the case with this title found in 2 Corinthians 5:20. Paul, the prolific, apostolic epistle-writer declares:<\/p>\n
Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.<\/p>\n
An \u201cambassador\u201d is a representative, a messenger, one sent on a specific errand.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The person who fills this role effectively seeks to speak, not his own mind, but the mind of the nation, the organization, or the leader he or she represents. Therefore, an ambassador is someone who has lost his or her own personal agenda, assuming the identity and heralding the cause of another.<\/p>\n
When John the Baptist was asked by his detractors to identify himself, he could have easily boasted, \u201cI am the son of Zechariah, the high priest, the sole heir of the most respected religious position in Israel.\u201d<\/p>\n
Instead, he responded, \u201cI am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, \u2018Make straight the way of the Lord\u2019\u201d (Jn. 1:23, see Is. 40:3, Mal. 3:1).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
When this last of the Old Testament prophets walked across the pages of history, he was not striving to draw attention to himself. On the contrary, his mission and message were far more important, and his passion was exalting the Messiah. He even declared,<\/p>\n
\u201cHe must increase, but I must decrease\u201d (Jn. 3:30). So, the first dominant character trait of a true ambassador must be SELFLESSNESS.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
When a United States ambassador speaks, it is understood that he is sanctioned and supported by all the combined authority of the United States military and government\u2014the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Coast Guard, the Pentagon, the Congress, the Senate, all the way up to the chiefs of staff, the cabinet, the vice- president, and the president himself. It\u2019s as if an invisible host surround the ambassador and lend their united influence and superior strength, even in hostile and challenging areas of the world. It is no wonder that an ambassador can prevent a major war or sway a whole nation, for that government official could well say, \u201cThere are more for me than there are against me.\u201d<\/p>\n
In like manner, as \u201cambassadors of the Messiah\u201d we are encompassed with a \u201cgreat cloud of witnesses,\u201d for not only do we speak in the name of the King of all kings, we represent the entire kingdom and all its citizenry (2 Cor. 5:20 CJB, Heb. 12:1). Our authority is undergirded by all God\u2019s chosen from the Old Covenant, including the
\npatriarchs, prophets, judges, priests, and all true Israelites, as well as all of God\u2019s people under the New Covenant: the entire body of Christ spanning two millennia.<\/p>\nWhen we truly speak under the inspiration of God and under His anointing, what we say can potentially bear just as much authority as the Lord of hosts speaking Himself. So, ambassadors are also persons of great AUTHORITY<\/strong> who can act with great BOLDNESS!<\/strong><\/p>\n
Jesus was the firstborn ambassador of heaven: the prime example of this calling to all who would follow. All believers are His many brethren, chosen to walk in His likeness\u2014continuing His mission and perpetuating His message\u2014not a message of condemnation or religious legalism! Quite the contrary, it is a message of love, mercy, forgiveness, and restoration. No wonder it is called \u201cthe Gospel\u201d (meaning good news).
\nLook at our main verse again, undergirded by the two verses preceding it: Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation,\u00a0that is, that
\nGod was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.\u00a0Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God
\nwere pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God.\u00a0 (2 Cor. 5:18-20, emphasis by author).<\/p>\nAmbassadors of heaven are called to be God\u2019s mouthpieces, equipped with the principal \u201cministry\u201d and \u201cmessage\u201d of the firstborn Son\u2014which, according to this passage, is reconciliation (restoration to a right and harmonious relationship with God). In this New Covenant era especially, God is not interested in cutting people off. On the contrary, He is very passionate about cutting people free\u2014from the sin of our past and the judgment we deserve. So, instead of going through life poised to condemn others for their bad actions and attitudes, let\u2019s rightly represent heaven by declaring the incredible power of the cross\u2014the Messiah\u2019s promise to restore even the most erring human beings to a harmonious, peaceful, and fruitful relationship with the Everlasting Father above.
\n___________________________________________________________
\nSubscribe to my weekly podcast called \u201cDiscover Your Spiritual Identity\u201d for more teachings on the names and titles of God\u2019s people. Just check out the media page on this website for more information. I really want to pour this revelation into your life. I guarantee, it has the power to cause REAL spiritual awakening.<\/p>\nThis powerful insight is also the theme of my book titled WHO AM I? Dynamic Declarations of Who You Are in Christ, available in the store on this website.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
To function effectively as children of God, we must discover our spiritual identity, then consistently and confidently walk in it. This is best accomplished by learning the names and titles God has given us in His Word. For over three decades, I have diligently studied this primary theme in God\u2019s Word. Of the hundreds of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":12921,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,34],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12904","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","category-mike"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/shreveministries.org\/wp2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Untitled-1-1.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shreveministries.org\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12904","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shreveministries.org\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shreveministries.org\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shreveministries.org\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shreveministries.org\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12904"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/shreveministries.org\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12904\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12922,"href":"https:\/\/shreveministries.org\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12904\/revisions\/12922"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shreveministries.org\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12921"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shreveministries.org\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12904"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shreveministries.org\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12904"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shreveministries.org\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12904"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}