2 Corinthians 5:20

2 Corinthians 5:20, in plain English

So we represent Christ in this world—God is actually speaking through us, making His appeal to people: come back to God, let Him restore your relationship with Him.

Why it's here

This is the climax of Paul's thought. The Corinthians aren't sideline observers; they're ambassadors. When they speak about Christ, God's offer of reconciliation is being extended through them. This is dignity, calling, and responsibility all wrapped together.

Who's speaking

Paul, culminating his teaching with a direct appeal and the Corinthians' own calling

Where it sits in the story

This echoes the Great Commission and captures what it means to be the body of Christ on earth. It's the fulfillment of Jesus's promise to send the Spirit to guide us into all truth and empower us to witness.

The scholarly reading

Therefore, we function as Christ's official representatives, bearing His authority; through us, God extends His reconciling appeal to humanity, imploring them: be reconciled to God—accept the restoration He has accomplished.

Language and setting

Paul concludes with urgent appeal: the Corinthians aren't passive recipients but active participants in God's reconciling mission. The verb parakaleo (implore, beseech, encourage) suggests earnestness without coercion—God's plea respects human freedom while pressing its urgency. This addresses the Corinthians' tendency toward social factionalism: the gospel transcends their petty divisions and reorients them toward others' salvation.

Voice

Paul, issuing final exhortation grounded in eschatological and soteriological argument.

Significance

This represents the culmination of Pauline missional theology: believers as ambassadors bearing God's reconciling word. Medieval theology developed this into the doctrine of the Church's mediatorial office; Reformation theology emphasized the priesthood of all believers; modern theology asks how this reconciliation addresses structural injustice and cosmic scope. The verse stands as Paul's final appeal: everything argued in chapters 1-4 now demands concrete response—become instruments of God's reconciling work.

18All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:

19that God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting men’s trespasses against them. And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation.

20Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ: Be reconciled to God.

21God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.

Read all of 2 Corinthians 5 — To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. And while we're here, we carry a message: God is reconciling the world to himself.