Seeing the Invisible (3)

 

“We look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2 Cor. 4:18).

 

“Therefore from now on we recognize no one according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer” (2 Cor. 5:16).

 

In the previous reflection I wrote that we’d return to 2 Cor. 4:6 in this meditation, but I think instead we’ll touch on the third foundational passage about seeing the invisible, 2 Cor. 5:16, and having done that we’ll then circle back to 4:6. Then we’ll work out way outward into the other sections of Paul’s letter. I hope as we develop this that seeing the invisible will come into focus for you (and me).

 

In 2 Cor. 4:6 we see that when Paul reads the account of creation in Genesis Chapter 1, that he sees through and beyond God creating the physical creation to God creating us in Christ as new creations. He extends this vision to 5:16 when he writes that we no longer see one another based on the flesh, on outward appearance – but we look beyond the flesh, beyond what the natural eye sees, beyond the tent that others dwell in (see 2 Cor. 5:1 – 4), and we see Christ in our brothers and sisters, indeed, we see the image of God in man – even when man is defacing and rejecting that image. “We recognize no one according to the flesh.”

 

This also can mean that when people look good and righteous on the outside “as servants of righteousness”, that they may be Satan’s messengers on the inside (2 Cor. 11:13 – 15). Seeing the invisible can mean seeing Christ in others despite outward appearance; it can also mean seeing evil in others, despite outward appearance. Paul writes of those who have a “form of godliness, although they have denied its power” (2 Tim. 3:5). Things are not always as they seem, they may seldom be as they seem.

 

Why is it that we recognize no one “according to the flesh”? It is because a fundamental change has taken place in our lives – as individuals and as a collective whole:

 

“For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf” (2 Cor. 5:14 – 15).

 

Then we have what follows 5:16, with Paul connecting 5:16 with 4:6 via 4:18, “The God who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.” We are now new creations in Jesus Christ, “the old things passed away; behold, new things have come” (5:17).

 

Just has Genesis Chapter 1 portrays a comprehensive creation, so the New Creation in Christ in comprehensive, “Now all these things are from God” (5:18).

 

Our basis for not recognizing others according to the flesh continues in 5:18 – 21:

 

God has “reconciled us to Himself through Christ” (5:18).

 

This reconciliation occurred through the Incarnation, and through it God no longer counts our trespasses against us (5:19).

 

When we ask, “How can this possibly be? How can God reconcile us through Christ? How can God possibly not count our sins against us?”

 

God answers, “He [God the Father] made Him [Christ the Son] who knew no sin to be sin for us, so that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him” (5:21).

 

We learn to no longer recognize one another according to the flesh, according to visual appearance, but we learn to see one another in Christ, we learn to acknowledge one another in Christ, based on our new identity in Him, as new creations. Jesus Christ has become sin for us on the Cross that we might become His very righteousness. (This is both organic and forensic, both imputed and infused – hence we have Romans 3:21 – 26; 4:22 – 25; and also Romans 6:1 – 11; 8:9 – 30).

 

Now, there is more to this than we might think, much more. While this is an exciting way to live, and while there is no Message as glorious as the Message of Reconciliation, there is a challenge that we’d rather not confront.

 

“That they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf” (5:15).

 

We may like to talk about being new creations, we may rejoice in our sins being forgiven, we may be awestruck by the idea that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself – but do we really want to confront the results of this? Do we acknowledge the claim this has on our lives?

 

If we have died with Christ (2 Cor. 5:14; Romans Chapter 6; Galatians 2:20; 6:14), then we are no longer our own, we no longer belong to the old creation, but have been raised to newness of life in Christ and therefore must no longer live for ourselves, but for Him who died and rose again on our behalf.

 

We would rather do without this. Our pastors dare not teach this, they dare not call us to this, they dare not use this as a benchmark for our lives – either individually, as marriages, as families, or as congregations. We expect, we demand, that our pastors and teachers gloss over this passage and others like it, such as Mark 8:34 – 38, for our lives will always be our own to do with as we please and no one has a right to tell us differently or to expect us to change our self-centered orientation.  

 

If we have pastors who insist on seeing us in Christ, if they insist on calling us to live in our identity in Christ as new creations, then there will be conflict – for they will call us out of the Christian entertainment business and the Christian self-improvement and self-help and group therapy business, they will call us to Biblical discipleship, to return to the Cross as our Way of Life in Christ. They will call us to move out of Christian nationalism and to live as citizens of heaven (Phil. 3:20); if we obey the Message then we will become Christians without borders – for we will see others not according to the flesh, but according to Christ. (We have a wonderful example of Christians without borders in 2 Corinthians chapters 8 and 9).

 

So we see, I hope, that the Gospel contained in 2 Cor. 5:14 – 21 has the seeds of conflict within it, for to be a new creature in Christ means that we no longer live for ourselves but for Christ Jesus, it means that we no longer belong to ourselves, it means that our change of identity has brought with it a change in our center of gravity. Faithful pastors will hold their people accountable to this calling. They will affirm our identity in Christ, our righteousness in Christ, as well as call us to live out from that identity – not for ourselves, but for Christ and others.

 

Looking at the things that are eternal, seeing the invisible, not recognizing others according to the flesh – leads us to a higher Way of Life, the Life of the Cross.

 

In our next reflection, the Lord willing, we’ll ponder the words, “even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer” (5:16).

 

Postscript: I imagine this is new territory for many of us, and I’m pretty sure that this requires time and prayer and meditation. New territory usually requires these things. Even as I have been writing this reflection, I’ve been seeing new dimensions in Christ Jesus, and what I have known, I have only known in a measure…but I think this is nearly always the case…we know in a measure, only in a measure. Jesus calls us to know Him, not to have all the answers, not to wrap up loose ends, not to speak the final word on the glories of His Kingdom and our life in Him. Jesus alone will speak the final word, and He alone will wrap up the loose ends. I hope you will read these passages of Scripture again and again and again – for they reveal Jesus Christ and your life in Him.