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.  (2 Corinthians 5:20)

There are certain ministries we have as individuals.  Some are called to pastor or teach (Ephesians 4:11) while others are used by God as helpers, givers and exhorters (Romans 12:6-8).  Our unique offices make us a powerful team called the body of Christ.  

Yet, there are ministries we all have without exception.  In First Peter 2:9 we are all said to be “a chosen generation.”  God has hand selected us above all generations and time periods which ever existed.  We are also called “a royal priesthood.”  Each and every believer is a priest in the royal family of God. Thank God, we no longer must go to a man in this earth to confess our sins and get right with God.  We can all go to Jesus, our great High Priest, for ourselves. Finally, we are all called to be witnesses for the Lord Jesus to give the gospel to everyone (Mark 16:15, Acts 1:8).   We may not all be evangelists, but we are all called into evangelism.  We can all expect the power of the Holy Spirit to be present to lead others to the Lord.  This is not a job to be passed off to the pastor or missionary, we all have the responsibility of telling the “good news” of Jesus.

What is an Ambassador?

Another term for a “witness” for the Lord Jesus, is an ambassador.  As ambassadors, we are royal representatives in this earth for the Lord Jesus.  We now stand in His place, in His absence, to tell others of the gospel of reconciliation, God’s message of peace. Let’s take a look at the profile of an ambassador:

1.  An ambassador is a high-ranking minister of state chosen of royalty, sent to another state to represent his own country.  We are all members of the royal family of God.  We joined this family when we received the Lord Jesus as our savior.  There is no higher family in the universe and no greater royalty than God’s family.  We are chosen from the best family to represent the Lord Jesus in this earth.

2.  An ambassador does not appoint himself.  The king or president of his home country is the one who chooses the ambassador.  We did not choose ourselves to represent the Lord Jesus, God the Father chose us.  If God chose us, He must have faith in us.  He also must know we can do the job.  He has supplied us with the message of the gospel and the power to accomplish our task.

3.  An ambassador is not a citizen of the country he is in, but of the country, he is from.  In other words, an ambassador is in the country, but not of it.  We also are in the world, but not of it.  Philippians 3:20 says “...our conversation is in heaven...”  The Greek says our citizenship is in heaven.  The moment we became born again, our citizenship was changed from this world to heaven.  One day we will get to go to the country we are now from, heaven. 

4.  An ambassador does not support himself.  An ambassador does not live off the economy of the country he is in, he lives off the economy of the country he is from.  He is not worried about his own needs when the local economy is tight, his needs are supplied from home.  Philippians 4:19 tells us “But my God shall supply all of your needs according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”  This should give a whole new meaning to “take no thought for (don’t worry about) tomorrow”.  We know the economy of our home country is secure and God’s riches will never be depleted.  Our needs are not supplied according to Wall Street, or the First National Bank.  If our country went into a depression, God would still supply for us as He does for the birds (Matthew 6:25,26).  The animals of the earth are not connected to our economy.  Birds never even knew we had a depression in the 1930’s.  We never read of birds committing suicide over the stock averages falling.  Why then should we worry?  Are we not more valuable than birds to God?   After all, we are His ambassadors.

5.  Ambassador’s instructions are always in written form, so he has no doubt as to what he should do.  We have the scriptures of the word of God.  The only way the world or Satan can deceive us, is when we are ignorant of our rights.  We need to study the word and stay current on our daily instructions.

6.  Ambassadors do not live off the laws of the country they are in, but the laws of the country they are from.  In most cases the laws from both countries will be the same.  Yet there may come a time when the laws will differ.  The ambassador is obliged to honor the laws of his home over the country he is in.  In this case, he is free from prosecution.  He can claim diplomatic immunity.  When the world or Satan tell us we have to accept their worry, sickness, sin, immorality or religious philosophy, we can claim diplomatic immunity.  Our written instructions tell us “No evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling” (Psalm 91:10).  There are seven thousand such promises in the word of God.  This is another good reason to stay current with our written instructions, so we can have daily success.

7.  An ambassador does not live in the country for his own personal interests. He does not treat any insult to himself as personal.  This is our function, to represent Jesus Christ and hold no grudges.  God will be our defense and He will vindicate His ambassadors.  The apostle Paul called himself “an ambassador in bonds (chains)” (Ephesians 6:20).  He left his deliverance in the hands of the Lord, His king and master.  We are God’s prize possession, the apple of His eye. To touch us is to touch Him (Matthew 25:45).  

8.  When one nation declares war on another nation, the first ones removed are the ambassadors.   In fact, the recall of ambassadors constitutes a declaration of war.  You never bomb your ambassadors with the enemy.  Ambassadors, good or bad, are brought back and dealt with at home.  One day, the trumpet of God will sound, and the ambassadors will be recalled.  Satan knows what this means.  God has declared war on a Christ rejecting world.  All ambassadors will be taken to heaven where we will all go through the Judgment Seat of Christ (Romans 14:10, 2 Corinthians 5:9,10).   It is there we will be rewarded for our witness for Jesus, our ambassadorship in the earth.