DO YOU KNOW YOUR VALUE?

DO YOU KNOW YOUR VALUE?

We all need to be careful of that all-to-prevalent tendency to receive the honor of being granted authority without assuming the responsibility of that authority. We are ambassadors. We did not earn our positions, or achieve any success to be granted a promotion. We have been placed in our role as ambassadors because we have chosen to deny ourselves, and become disciples of Christ. The following description is the ‘we’ being spoken of when I say ‘we’ are ambassadors: His Spirit has birthed within us our new spirit—still, unfortunately, wrapped in bodies of flesh which we must war against.[1] Now that we have been born of the Spirit, we have been given the right to become children of God. We are seated with Christ in the heavenly places.[2] Where is he seated? Far above all ranks of all authority in heaven and on earth, for all eternity.[3] We have been granted authority with Christ. This is why Jesus made his profound, and timeless declaration to his disciples, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore (based on this authority), go.”[4] We have been given his authority. This is who ‘we’ are. We are ambassadors.

It is undeniable that, if you are in the category of those who are born again of the Spirit, you have been granted great authority. We are the children of God, because we have been born of God; not of the blood of men, but of God; and the implanting of his Spirit, who always operates by the Word of God.[5] As the children of the King of the Universe we are invariably the heirs of the kingdom. As heirs, we have authority within that kingdom. It is not the authority given merely to a servant. It is the authority the king has granted to his heir. The heir is the one who will sit next on the throne when the king dies. However, since our King will never die, he has granted us the right to sit with him eternally.

This authority has not been selected for a distinct group of individuals who are ‘qualified’ by their achievements. This authority, according to 2nd Corinthians 5, is based entirely on who we are. It is not based on what we have done, or accomplished.

Notice how the logic works in this passage from 2nd Corinthians, “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.”[6]

Here’s how it works: Because God has recreated you, the old has passed away—it’s dead. The new has come. You are not what you once were; if you think so, that’s a lie from hell. You are totally new. Because you are no longer the old, corrupted person, but a new person; he has entrusted you with a precious message—the message of reconciliation. Because God has trusted you to deliver something as precious as reconciliation with himself, you automatically carry his authority. He has granted you the authority to do whatever necessary to reconcile a person with their heavenly Father; to have a loving relationship with him. Because you carry a message from the King, and you carry it with his authority, it can therefore be concluded that you are an ambassador of the King of the Universe.

As you can see the fact that you are an ambassador is entirely wrapped up in what God has done, and what God has given. In no way can human intervention alter, or increase, the authority of a person, or the preciousness of the message they carry.

In the same way, no one can diminish your personal value to the kingdom of God. Why? Your value is not found within yourself or your achievements. Your value is in the price paid to bring you into the kingdom, the preciousness of the message he has trusted you with, and the authority he has given you to carry it out. Never let anyone keep you from realizing how valuable you are. Yes, that means you. You are commissioned, as an ambassador for Christ, to be a minister of the Spirit.

[1] Luke 9:23-26, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Romans 7:21 – 8:2, Galatians 5:16-17 [2] John 1:12-13, Ephesians 2:6 [3] Ephesians 1:20-23 [4] Matthew 28:18-19 – emphasis mine [5] John 1:12, 1 Peter 1:17-24, James 1:21, Ephesians 6:17 [6] 2 Corinthians 5:17-20