No One According to Flesh
2 Corinthians 5:14-17 (NASB) “For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf. Therefore from now on we recognize no one according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”
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How are we to think about and view others in the light of the cross of Christ? Paul instructs us in 2 Corinthians: not according to the flesh, but according to the image of Christ present in that person. Christ did not just die for those who have given themselves the title of “Christian” - but for all of the world (John 3:16). This includes every human being who has ever existed, exists, and will exist - not just those who wear a label.
There is an unspoken, subconscious “us versus them” mentality that dominates much of modern Christian thinking. This mentality is empowered by an intellectual faith that thrives on arguments, self-righteousness, and the deep need to be right. It is a manifestation of the “wisdom of the world” (See 1 Corinthians 3). It is our lack of manifest love and an aloof self-righteousness that turns the world off to the Christian faith. Jesus was always popular with the crowds… until the religious system of the day turned them against Him.
As Paul writes, all have been included in the death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ. It is faith that allows us to access and experience this reality, which the Bible calls “eternal life.” To reject the work of Christ is to reject something that has already been accomplished. Faith is a turning of the heart and mind toward Jesus - a conscious decision to live in the New Covenant blessings of God. Salvation is an experience.
Paul was compelled by the love of Christ, which had so dramatically and radically transformed his own life. He was not out to gather people into a new religion, but awaken hearts and minds to the reality of what Jesus had accomplished on the cross: God had become man and reconciled the lost and broken to Himself forever. Paul’s “method” of evangelism was to meet people where they were, in order to make them aware of a reality Jesus had already given them access to.
To “recognize no one according to the flesh” is to see Christ in all and through all, even in the faithless and hard-hearted. Christ is actively working in all and through all to accomplish His purposes on planet earth (Ephesians 4:6). Do we see people as children of God who are unconsciously ignorant of the fullness that is available, or do we see people as problems that we need to “fix” by imposing upon them our doctrine, self-righteousness, and pride? Everyone deserves to know what God thinks about them, not what we think God thinks of them. There is a difference.
Paul uses the term “flesh” to describe human existence before and apart from Christ. The “age” of the flesh is actively passing away (1 Corinthians 7:31; 1 John 2:17). As Christians (Christ-ones), we no longer live according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. The way we view and interact with others should always be empowered by this reality. Our goal is not to get anyone “saved”, but to allow others to encounter the Person who is flowing through us.
God rains on the just and the unjust (Matthew 5:45; Acts 14:17). He does not show favoritism (Romans 2:11). Christianity is not a club to be joined or an intellectual hobby lobby. It is a radical spirituality, empowered by the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, that exists to change the world. The driving force of this spirituality is love, which flows into all domains - the spiritual, physical, emotional, mental, etc. We must train our minds to consider everyone first and foremost through the loving eyes of Jesus Christ. We must learn to recognize what Christ is already doing in and through a person. By doing so, we can reveal to them a God who is not distant and aloof, but present and ready to meet them where they are.
