Sometime in the past you have probably heard the famous advice that everyone likes to give: “Just be yourself!”. This advice is usually given when someone is nervous or apprehensive about meeting new people or standing before a crowd. Just relax! Be yourself! This phrase also implies the negative, don’t be someone or something that you are not. Stay true to the truth.
Spiritually speaking, this advice is very Biblical… both regarding ourselves personally and in judging others, in both cases we should always stay in the truth and be ourselves. This has some surprising benefits for us as believers, and a vast majority of Christians today do not even realize that this advice is in their Bible. So we will be taking a look at this today, and seeing the glorious benefits of being ourselves in Christ.
Let’s begin today by reading 2nd Corinthians 5:13-19:
“For whether we be beside ourselves, it is to God: or whether we be sober, it is for your cause.
For the love of Christ constrains us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead:
And that he died for all, that they which live should not from now on live to themselves, but to him which died for them, and rose again.
Why from now on know we no man after the flesh: yes, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now from now on know we him no more.
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
And all things are of God, who has reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and has given to us the ministry of reconciliation;
To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, not imputing their trespasses to them; and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.”
Right in verse 13 we see something that not many believers realize today… whether we are beside ourselves, it is to God: whether we are sober, it is for your cause. And I want you to see something here… it is okay to have fun. It is okay to have a good time and enjoy the legitimate blessings of God, including life and His creation (1st Timothy 6:17). This phrase used in the King James “beside ourselves” is one single word in the Greek text, which has a meaning of “being out of your mind, deeply astonished, amazed to the point of wonder and excitement, a welling-up of happiness and joy”. It is often used of the reaction of the on-lookers as Jesus performed miracles (Matthew 12:23, Mark 2:12, Luke 2:47, Luke 24:22) and also when the Holy Spirit descended in the apostles (Acts 2:7). It’s important that you understand the rich meaning of this word because it helps to convey the idea being presented in this scripture. The point being made here is that the life of a believer in Christ does not have to be a prudish life. I have met Christians who put up an appearance of being super prim-and-proper in an attempt to seem more holy and more righteous, and they are always wound-tight and up-tight, they can never simply relax and let loose and enjoy themselves. That is not the life of Christ, that is the life of the Pharisees; making an appearance of holiness, but dead inside.
However take a look at what verse 13 says: if we are beside ourselves, it is to God. That’s not what we would expect. Many Christians would look at their brother and sister in Christ and think “well that person is just lascivious! They need to learn more self-control!” but look at what the verse actually says… if we are beside ourselves, if we are experiencing deep happiness, excitement, wonder and amazement and legitimate pleasure in the freedom of Christ it is to God. And there is no greater pleasure and enjoyment to be had in life than enjoying time with God. There are times when I am alone, simply laying on my bed, but I am not alone… God is with me — and some of the most personal and intimate times of worship and fellowship have been had in those times… where the rest of the world melts away and I am “beside myself” simply enjoying God.
Likewise there have been times when I have been enjoying the legitimate pleasures of fellowship with people and God’s creation and His blessings on this earth — and that’s okay too! He gets enjoyment from watching us enjoy the life which He has given to us. Which again, is exactly what Ecclesiastes 3:13 and 1st Timothy 6:17 says. Enjoyment of life is a gift from God, which some people seal themselves off from and reject simply because they are trying to be more holy within themselves… which is not how holiness comes to begin with.
Now we can’t read only this without reading the next part because they both are important… if we are sober, it is for your cause. There is a time to relax, let loose and enjoy the wonderful life which God gives to us. Whether it is in private with God as I described above, or whether it is, enjoying the legitimate God-given pleasures of life. And there is a time to be sober. Now the King James, again uses a word which makes us think of being drunk versus being sober, but this word here simply means to be moderated. So you can properly see the two contrasts here. To be free in enjoying God, and the pleasures of life which He has given, versus being moderated. Both are proper at certain times, and what is this cause for being sober? For your cause. That is, for the cause of others. Why? Because of the next verse…
For the love of God constrains us. Let me give you an example of what this looks like. When I am alone with God, and enjoying Him, I am free to totally let-loose, enjoy His presence with no restraint. To be completely intimate and “swept away” in Him, with no care about anything else going on. However to the outsiders looking in, that would not be any benefit or edification for them. Those times between God and myself, are just between the two of us, personally. They carry no value for anyone else. And so for others, I am moderated, I am sober.
Now regarding earthly pleasure, here is another example. On special occasions, I sometimes drink alcohol. And before you all start grumbling and thinking nasty thoughts about me… Jesus drank alcohol! The Pharisees called Him a glutton and a drunkard! (Matthew 11:19) Jesus turned water into wine at the wedding celebration, His first miracle in John 2:1-11, and it was the best wine. This was not mere grape-juice as some say today… because the host of the wedding wanted to know why this “best wine” was saved for last – had it been merely grape-juice it wouldn’t have mattered.
Now of-course, Jesus was never drunk, not even once… and likewise I have never been drunk, because of the ministerial requirement from 1st Timothy 3:2, which aligns with this verse here… it is for your cause. If I am with someone who I know has a problem with drunkenness, I limit myself to water… even though I have freedom in Christ the love of God constrains me for that person. Furthermore, if I am out enjoying myself all of the time, then I will not be prepared each week for these studies. And much like Jesus Himself, I have been accused before of being a glutton – enjoying myself all of the time… but I am in good company there! Any accusation levied against Christ is just fine for me!
Moving on to verse 16, we have dealt with personal freedoms and enjoyment in Christ and now we move to the realm of judging others. This is another aspect of being yourself as we will see; and it says something very interesting…From now on, we do not know anyone after the flesh. This type of judgment comes directly after verse 15, speaking of the inclusive death and resurrection of Christ. This is why it is a major part of being yourself… recognizing who you are in Christ, and realizing the truth will help you to judge others properly – that is not after the flesh.
Jesus encountered all types of people… and never once did He look on anyone and say “You dirty, rotten, filthy, sinner!” – the only group of people that He was ever strict with were the Pharisees, who rejected His free righteousness in favor of trying to earn their own and kept people in bondage.
The word “know” in verse 16, means to behold or consider. We should no longer consider people based on their flesh – based on their behaviors or their performance. I’ve actually heard people judge others and say because they are struggling with some sin that they are not really saved or that they don’t have the Holy Spirit! My friends, that is terrible! Not only did that cause terrible mental anguish to the person in question, but it drove them further from God and the church body as well. And it is not what Jesus taught!
Why is it that we should not judge after the flesh? Because of the next verse, 17:
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
The true self that we are, is the same self that our brothers and sisters are as well. We are all new creations in Christ! We should start being ourselves! Recognizing who we are in Christ and stop seeing ourselves and each-other as who we used to be!
Notice that the old things have passed away. We are not trying to get them to pass away, we are not waiting for them to pass away some time in the future, but they have already passed away. We simply should recognize the truth and be happy that Christ did it for us! We are new creatures in Christ! Then the verse says Behold, which means “look and see” – recognize the fact that all things are become new. Which is in the continual-present tense. These new things never grow old, they are constantly and continually new every moment!
And in closing, the beautiful result of us seeing the truth is found in verses 18 and 19:
All things are of God. None of this comes from you, or from any thing that is made. It is all of God. And He is reconciling the world to Himself. He is bringing everything and all who will come, back to the state in which they should be. Back to Himself – the One who holds all things together and in Whom all things consist. (Colossians 1:17) Legalistic preachers like to present God as a judge, and scare people into repentance. However did you know that Jesus had the opportunity to do that during His earthly ministry and chose not to do it? Take a quick look at Luke 4:16-20:
“And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.
And there was delivered to him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written,
The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him.”
Here we have Jesus reading from Isaiah, specifically chapter 61 verses 1 and 2, but take special notice of verse 20 of our text. Jesus intentionally stops short. We see in verse 20 that Jesus closed the book right after reading about “the acceptable year of the Lord”. However in Isaiah 61:2, the verse reads: “To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God”.
The day of the Lord is a day of vengeance, against all sin. However it is not the ministry of Christ. His ministry as we read over and over again today in the ministry of reconciliation. And as we turn back to 2nd Corinthians 5:18-19, we see that both our ministry and our word should be the same, reconciliation of Christ Jesus. It comes from being yourself. Not the self that the world says you are, not the self that legalistic preachers say that you need to strive to be, but to be your true self – the self that you are right now in Christ Jesus. The new creation which you were born again into by the power of His Holy Spirit and the finished work of Christ.