TEXT:  2 CORINTHIANS 5 AND 6

Introduction:

This morning we are looking at I am a child of God because of I AM in light of being a new creature in Christ and being an ambassador of Christ as a child of God because of I AM

Tonight, we will be looking at the reality of being a child of God in this world because of I AM in II Corinthians 6:11-7:1

However, the context for that text begins in chapter 5 where we will be examining the Scriptures this morning in II Corinthians 5:14-6:13

I. Because of the love of I AM for me      2 Corinthians 5:12-16

1. Christ’s love for us should motivate us to trust in Him
   1. Christ came for us because we were all dead in sin
   2. Christ loved us enough to die for our sins on the cross
   3. Christ loved us enough to provide forgiveness to us of our sins
      1. We were all dead in our sin
      2. He died for all who were dead in their sins
      3. He died so that all who were dead can be made alive in Christ

2. Christ’s love for us should motivate us to live for Him 
   2. Since He died for us our appreciation of His sacrifice should cause us to live for Him
   3. Since He sacrificed for us, we should live to honor Him and His sacrifice
   4. Since He paid our debt that we could never pay, we should do what we can to serve Him

3. Christ’s love for us should motivate us to witness of Him

II. Because I am in Christ all things are to be of God      2 Corinthians 5:16-19

1. Being in Christ by knowing Him spiritually not physically vs. 16

2. Being in Christ makes us a new person as a child of God vs. 17

3. Being in Christ makes everything to be different in our lives vss. 18-19

III. Because God provided His righteousness to me in Christ      2 Corinthians 5:20-21

1. I am to be His ambassador here on earth to others lost souls
2. I am to plead with the lost souls on God’s behalf for their reconciliation to Him
3. I am to live for Him who died for me
4. I am to live in His righteousness I have been made, not in the sin I was saved from

IV. Because I have benefitted from the grace of God      2 Corinthians 6:1-2

1. I am to work with Him in His work on earth
2. I am to beseech others to receive His grace offered to them
3. I am to encourage others not to let His grace be received in vain
   1. Letting it merely lead to empty religion and not a real relationship
   2. Letting it merely be an escape from Hell and not the abundant life it is to be
   3. Letting be living a better life in the flesh instead of living the Spirit filled life
   4. I am to call others to the salvation that God has provide for them in Christ

V. Because I am called to be a minister of God on earth      2 Corinthians 6:3-10

1. I need to seek not turn others away from the Lord 
   1. In how I live life
   2. In how I interact with the world
   3. In how I live as a child of God

2. I need to seek show people God’s love as I live around them      2 Corinthians 6:4a

3. I need to seek show others what faith in God looks like in real life      vss. 4b-10
   3. In the real struggles life brings to us all
   4. In the real truths of Scripture that God calls all of His children to display
   5. In the real conflicts of realities in the oxymorons that life can bring
      3. being honorable but accused of dishonor
      4. doing good but have evil spoken of it
      5. speaking truth but being called a deceiver
      6. being well known by some and unknown to others
      7. living for God by dying to self and sin, being dead spiritually but alive in  Carnality and sin in the flesh
      8. being chastened and beaten, but not killed
      9. being sorrowful and yet rejoicing over the same reality Like the death  of a struggling loved one that knows the Lord and is now in Heaven
      10. being poor yet trying to bless others with what you have
      11. being poor in the world’s eyes yet rich beyond measure as a child of the  king spiritually and eternally