Russell Haffner
An ambassador is defined as, "an official envoy, especially: a diplomatic agent of the highest rank accredited to a foreign government or sovereign as the resident representative of his or her own government." Throughout history, the office of an ambassador has been one officially endowed with full authority; and it is this aspect of Paul's ministry which is stressed in 2 Corinthians 5:20.
2 Corinthians 5:20, "Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God."
There is also a revealing passage in the Gospel of John that teaches us that even when a gift is offered, there can be conditions required to receive that gift. Jesus once said, "Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you" (John 6:27). Even though "everlasting life" is called a gift, the Lord emphasizes that there is "labor" (work) to be done (by us) in order to receive that gift.
From the context, 2 Corinthians chapter 5, it is clear that the "we" in this verse refers to the apostles. The apostles were the ambassadors of Christ. They had a relationship to the gospel that no other preachers in their day or since has ever had or could have. They were the REVEALERS of the gospel. All others are only proclaimers of what the apostles revealed. No preacher today has any direct revelation, nor can he claim to be a witness of the resurrection. Preachers today can only point to the teaching revealed by the apostles. Modern preachers can proclaim the gospel, but they cannot reveal it. Preachers today have no message of revealed truth that has not already been made known by the apostles.
Modern preachers also do not have the credentials of an ambassador; they cannot work miracles; and God will not work with them in signs and wonders confirming the words that they preach (1 Corinthians 13:8-10). The apostles were instructed to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature, and it is said: "they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs" (Mark 16: 20).
Today the gospel message that was revealed through Christ's ambassadors, the apostles, is given to the church to proclaim that the whole world may know the manifold wisdom of God (Ephesians 3:8-12). Paul in his instruction to a preacher of the gospel said, "the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also" (2 Timothy 2:2). Today we cannot be true ambassadors of the gospel, but we should be "faithful" preachers and teachers of what has been revealed in the Scriptures by God to His ambassadors, the apostles.
Perhaps you have lost your password and don’t know how to proceed. In our records student passwords are encrypted and not visible, but there are steps you can take to reset your password if it has been lost:
- From the homepage of the School, select the "LOGIN" button on the blue menu bar at the school website, which will take you to the bottom of the page to the login form.
- Choose the "Lost Password" link below the form.
- A new page asking for your email address will be presented. Simply enter the email address you used when setting up your account, click the reCAPTCHA checkbox and then click the "Get New Password" button.
- At this point an email will be sent to the email address you entered. In the email there will be a reset link to verify that you do indeed own the email address you entered.
- After clicking the reset link in your email, you will be given the opportunity to create a new password. The website will auto-populate the input field with a randomly generated set of characters, but you can type-in whatever you choose. Click the "Reset Password" button, then click on the WVBS Online Bible School logo to go to the main page and login using your new password. If you experience problems in resetting your password "please let us know"