Paul is writing this letter to the Corinthian church, which was one of the largest and most diverse churches at the time. There was a lot of drama and conflict at this church across religious backgrounds, sexuality, gender, methods of worship and questions of authority.
This is the chaos that Paul is speaking into in this passage.
We can learn a lot about the Corinthian debacle because it is a much more diverse church than some of the smaller, more homogenous churches like Philippi and Colosse.
But this passage speaks into this diversity and points people to the unity we have as citizens and ambassadors of heaven.The message to us is that all the things in us that are dead – our sins, our broken relationships, our passion – are overwritten by the new creation made by Christ. Old things are gone and renewed things are here, regenerated by God Himself through Christ. We are reconciled to God through the cross.
But beyond that, we are then called to pass along that message of reconciliation. We are to “live such good lives” among our neighbors that they look at us and say “I’ll have what they’re having.” In our reconciled nature, we become the means of reconciliation for others.
But it’s not just about the vertical reconciliation with God, but Paul is also focused on the reconciliation between people and groups of people. This is particularly important to keep in mind when reading this passage which is speaking into such a diverse church with such fragmented relationships.
God’s first command to humanity in Genesis was to be fruitful and multiply, to steward the creation of God. The planned state of humanity is shalom, an all-encompassing wholeness of all creation, both within and without. To be ambassadors of Christ it means we seek mutual flourishing of all people and all creation. We seek to participate in the work of God, turning the graves around us into gardens.
— Sermon Notes, Dave Sim, Renew Church, Lynnwood WA, October 6, 2024