RECONCILIATION
Undoubtedly the meaning of Christ being made all things to men in general, and to the church in particular, escapes full consideration
and recognition by the average Bible reader and student. For example, Paul
says. “But of him (God) are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us
(personified) wisdom, and righteousness (justification), and sanctification,
arid redemption” (1 Cor. 1:30). Again, And hath put all things under his feet,
and gave him to be the head over all things to the church” (Eph. 1:22). All of
the attributes we have observed in foregoing lessons are embodied in Christ,
and they are ours only through Him by His work in our behalf.
God gave His all when He gave His Son. Christ gave His
all when He gave His life. It is altogether fitting, in view of the Father’s
equitable justice, and in view of the Son’s delight in doing the Father’s will,
that all power in heaven and in earth be committed to the Son, and that all
things be put under the Son’s feet and at His disposal, as it were, for the
duration of this time frame from Bethlehem’s manger to the hour when He will have
subdued all things unto Himself. (See 1 Corinthians 15:25-28.)
Now, in this lesson, we find another component of
Christ’s work in our overall redemption; the work of reconciliation. The need
for reconciliation presupposes an enmity. It began just outside Eden when God
put enmity between the seed of the woman and the seed of Satan (who was
personified in the serpent). Matthew Henry observes: “…A perpetual quarrel is
here commenced between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of the devil among
men...” At its root is an enmity between God and every unredeemed soul. That
enmity is countered and abolished by Christ’s great “PEACE PACT,” so to speak, signed, sealed, and
delivered” on Calvary. There, as the great Propitiatory Sacrifice on behalf of
our sins and the Father’s justness and justice (Rom. 3:25, 26; 1 John 2:2), as
the one Mediator between God and man (1 Tim. 2:5; Heb. 9:15), and as our
Advocate with the Father (1 John 2:1), He brought about our “peace with God.”
Oh! What a Redeemer!
“Wherefore in all things it behaved him to be made like unto his brethren (in a flesh-and-blood body], that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.” (Heb. 2:17).
Romans 5:9, 10
Ro 5:9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood,
we shall be saved from wrath through him.
10 For if, when
we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more,
being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
Colossians 1:20-22
Col 1:20 And, having made peace through the blood of his
cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they
be things in earth, or things in heaven.
21 And you, that
were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath
he reconciled
22 In the body of
his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable
in his sight:
Hebrews 2:17
Heb 2:17 Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be
made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high
priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the
people.
2 Corinthians 5:18,19
2Co 5:18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled
us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of
reconciliation;
19 To wit, that
God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their
trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
I. MAN RECONCILED TO GOD (Rom.5:9. 10; Col. 1:20-22;
Heb. 2:17;
2 Cor. 5:18., 19)
A. Reconciled
by the Death of His Son (5:9, 10; 1 :20-22; 2:17):
In Romans 5:1, we see that justification is interwoven
with reconciliation, for reconciliation is a bringing back from a state of
enmity to a state of peace. “Reconcile” means: To make pleasing; to become
friends again. One definition of reconciliation is: The great change in
relationship between man the offender and God the offended.
The enmity against God was created by man; therefore
man must come to God by virtue of Christ’s propitiatory sacrifice on Calvary.
God is never said to be reconciled to man; however, God initiated the provision
whereby man can be reconciled to Him if he will.
Christ became one of us, as it were, in order to bring
us to God, as the high priest under the Old Testament made intercession at the
mercy seat in man’s behalf. It was done on an intimate, personal level, as
“brethren.”
2 Corinthians 5:18,19
2Co 5:18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;
19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation
B. “GOD
Was in Christ (2 Cord 5:18, 19):
Here we see a heart-warming, soul-rejoicing
picture:...GOD was IN CHRIST...” Verse 17 says that MAN, the new creature, is
“IN CHRIST.” So in the work of reconciliation. both God and the new creature
were “in Christ.” Paul writes to Timothy: “For there is one GOD, and one
mediator between God and man (mankind), the man Christ Jesus” (1 Tim. 2:5). We
see CHRIST the Mediator standing between God and the newly created MAN. With
one hand He takes the Father’s hand; with His other hand He takes man’s hand.
Christ thereby reconciles the two by bringing their hands together, so to
speak. There stands God, who by the Propitiatory Sacrifice remains just in
justifying the ungodly (Rom.3:25,26; 4:5), and there stands man, the beneficiary
of it all. The reconciliation is complete. Peace reigns!
Galatians 3:26-28
Ga 3:26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.
27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
II. JEWS AND GENTILES RECONCILED (Gal. 3:26-28)
Much has already been said about the dissension between
these two ethnical peoples, and Paul’s burden to see it resolved. If they were
truly justified and had accepted Christian baptism, they were no longer Jews
and Greeks, but all were “children of God in Christ Jesus.” Paul would continue
his efforts to bring them all to the point of peaceful reconciliation on this
prophetic truth which had already been fulfilled in Christ.
Writing to the Ephesians on this subject, he said:
“But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off
are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
“For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath
broken down the middle wall of partition between us;
“Having abolished in his flesh the enmity even the law
of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one
new man, so making peace;
“And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body
by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby” (Eph. 2:13-l 6).
The doctrine of “justification by faith,” entailing
reconciliation as one of its precious components, has been the target of the
devil from the time of the apostles, as most of Paul’s letters show; especially
those to the Romans and the Galatians. Much of the Jew-Gentile dissension
derived from the centuries of a “works righteousness” of men, which the law had
been misused to propagate. The Jews had difficulty understanding that
Christ’s gospel taught that faith is actually accounted as righteousness (Rom.
4:3, 22). They insisted that their own works should have at least a part in their obtaining salvation. This
is an error that persists in much of Christendom even today.
It seems clear that another reason for the dissension
was the egotism of men who gloried in their own works to the point of frustrating
the grace of God. Paul wrote: “I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if
righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain” (Gal. 2:21).
“Frustrate” means: To nullify; make void; bring to nothing. Those who
contended that God’s righteousness came by man’s own works were bringing grace
to nothing. They were totally ignoring the fact that Christ died to set men
free from the bondage of their own efforts to save themselves. Christ may as
well not have come.
The Reformer, Martin Luther, a Catholic monk, was used of God to restore the meaning of justification. The Catholic doctrine taught that God’s righteousness was infused into the heart for justification, and that men could obey the law because of this infusion. Actually, this meant that infused righteousness was imputed, which would be an impossibility. It is a clever deception, and thousands of Protestants do not realize that they are actually practicing Catholic doctrine.
Without true gospel justification, there could be no
reconciliation that God would recognize. Even though the ground of
reconciliation is established in the completed redemptive work of Christ,
reconciliation is the basis upon which enmity is abolished and fellowship with
God is established. “For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God
by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his
life” (Rom. 5:10). The grace of God provides assurance to the reconciled soul
that the grace-basis for salvation replaces the old sin-basis, and that he is
established before God in a new and blessed relationship.
You must admit you are a sinner, confess your sin to Jesus, repent (turn from all you know is wrong), ask Jesus to come in your heart, and begin to follow Jesus by reading and obeying his word and go to a bible believing church that teaches his word. And Tell Someone What Christ Jesus Has Done For You (Rev 12:10)
If you enjoyed this blogpost and believe some else can be helped and may be blessed pass it along:
If you have never accepted Jesus Christ here are three steps you need to take to be saved:
You must admit you are a sinner, confess your sin to Jesus, repent (turn from all you know is wrong), ask Jesus to come in your heart, and begin to follow Jesus by reading and obeying his word and go to a bible believing church that teaches his word. And Tell Someone What Christ Jesus Has Done For You (Rev 12:10)
May God through Christ bless you!
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If you have a prayer request or have questions that need clarification please contact me at: neverstoppraying8@gmail.com
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