The King and His Kingdom: Kingdom Ambassadors

What is our responsibility, our role, in the Kingdom of God?

What does it look like to live like citizens of heaven, even as we live in a sinful and fallen world?

To be an ambassador is to be a representative of the rule and reign of another Kingdom while in a foreign land.

The Bible uses other words like, foreigner, stranger, exile, sojourner, and pilgrim to describe our relationship to this world.

1 Peter 2:9-12

⁹But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. ¹⁰ Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

¹¹ Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.

¹² Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.

Any Christian who has ever made a significant impact in this world, has lived with the mindset of a stranger, a pilgrim passing through.

1. What is the motivation for all that we do for Christ in His Kingdom?

2 Corinthians 5:11-15

Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others. But what we are is known to God, and I hope it is known also to your conscience. ¹² We are not commending ourselves to you again but giving you cause to boast about us, so that you may be able to answer those who boast about outward appearance and not about what is in the heart. ¹³ For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. ¹⁴ For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; ¹⁵ and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.

Knowing the fear of the Lord and controlled by the love of Christ.

2. What is our role in the Kingdom of God?

       2 Corinthians 5:16-21

 From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. ¹⁷ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. ¹⁸ All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; ¹⁹ 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. ²⁰ Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. ²¹ For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

We are His ambassadors, given the ministry of reconciliation, pleading with the world, be reconciled to God!

3. What can we expect our lives to look like as we fulfill our role in His Kingdom?

2 Corinthians 6:1-13

 Working together with him, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain. ² For he says,

Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation. ³ We put no obstacle in anyone’s way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, ⁴ but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, ⁵ beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; ⁶ by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love; ⁷ by truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; ⁸ through honor and dishonor, through slander and praise. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; ⁹ as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and yet not killed; ¹⁰ as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything.

¹¹ We have spoken freely to you, Corinthians; our heart is wide open. ¹² You are not restricted by us, but you are restricted in your own affections. ¹³ In return (I speak as to children) widen your hearts also.

We can expect trouble and many kinds of sufferings.

We can also expect godly characteristics to be produced in us as we endure hardships for Christ.

We can expect the outcome of our lives to be one of paradox, not making sense according to worldly standards.

For further study:

The Gospel of the Kingdom by George Eldon Ladd

Pilgrims Progress by John Bunyan