The Ministry of Reconciliation
5: 18-20
The ministry of reconciliation DIG: What does reconciliation mean? Who has to take the first step in the process of reconciliation? Why? What story from your life might illustrate this? What does God do through Messiah (verse 18)? Through us (verse 20)? For us? What is propitiation? What is the relationship between propitiation and reconciliation?
REFLECT: Knowing what it is like to be alienated and reconciled in other relationships, how is it going with God at this point in your life: still a family feud, a truce, or have you made up? If you embraced your role as an ambassador for Messiah, how might it change your life? Who can you tell about the reconciliation of their life to Yeshua this week?
All who are in Messiah become ambassadors of Messiah.
Today’s Church is confronted by a seemingly endless variety of ministry methods, strategies, and styles. But there is no confusion in Scripture about what the Church’s mission is to be, and that is evangelism. This passage clearly presents the heart and soul of the Church’s responsibility as it represents Yeshua in the world. ADONAI has called all believers, especially Messianic rabbis and pastors, to proclaim the message of reconciliation.
The glorious good news of the gospel is that the sin-devastated relationship between lost sinners and the holy God of the universe can be restored. At first glance that seems impossible. Ha’Shem’s perfect, infinite, righteous justice demands the punishment for sin. And standing before the bar of His justice we are helpless, guilty sinners, unable to either satisfy Him, or to change our condition. But through YHVH’s plan of reconciliation, all the hostility, animosity, and alienation separating the Holy One and sinners vanishes, and those who were once His enemies (James 4:4) become His friends (John 15:15). The high calling and noble privilege of preaching this message of reconciliation is the most important duty in the world, since it deals with eternal destinations.143
Reconciliation is by the will of God (5:18): Like the first Creation of the universe (see the commentary on Genesis, to see link click Ag – In the Beginning God Created the Heavens and the Earth), the new creation (see Bd – A New Creation) is initiated by God. And all these things are from God, who through the Messiah has reconciled us to Himself and has given us the message of that reconciliation (5:18). Both the verb katallasso (reconciled) and the noun katallage (reconciliation) appear in the B’rit Chadashah only in Paul’s writings (Romans 5:11; Ephesians 2:13-16; Colossians 1:20-22). Sinners cannot be reconciled to God on their own terms. Unregenerate people have no ability to appease the anger of Ha’Shem against sin, satisfy His holy justice, or conform to His standard of righteousness. They are guilty of violating God’s Word and face eternal banishment from His presence. The deadly deceptive premise of all false religions is that sinners, based on their own moral and religious efforts and achievements, can reconcile themselves to God. But God alone designed the way of reconciliation and only He can take the first step in drawing sinners close to Him. The fact that God has reconciled us to Himself is precisely the good news of the gospel (John 3:16).
Thus, reconciliation is not something mankind does but what they receive; it is not what people accomplish but what they embrace. Reconciliation does not happen when we decide to stop rejecting God, but when God decides to stop rejecting us. It is a divine provision by which Ha’Shem’s holy wrath against alienated sinners is appeased by the death of Messiah, satisfying every claim His holiness and justice so that He is free to act on behalf of sinners (propitiation). Reconciliation occurs because ADONAI was graciously willing to design a way to have all the sins of those who are His removed from them as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12), throw all their sins into the depths of the sea (Micah 7:19b), and threw all their sins behind His back (Isaiah 38:17b).
Reconciliation is by the act of forgiveness (5:19): Which is that God in the Messiah was reconciling mankind to Himself, not counting their sins against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation (5:19). The phrase reconciling mankind must not be understood as teaching universalism, the false doctrine that all people will be saved. If God reconciled the world, Universalists simplistically argue, then the barrier between God and mankind has been removed for all, and everyone will be saved. Wrong! Scripture does teach that there is a sense in which Messiah died for the whole world (John 1:29, 4:42, 6:51; 1 Tim 2:6; Hebrews 2:9). Everyone reaching the age of accountability has an opportunity for salvation and eternal life in heaven. But because of our free-will in Messiah, we can say no to God and make it stick. Those who choose to believe in Yeshua take advantage of His gracious offer, while those who reject Him do not (see the commentary on Romans Al – The Evidence Against the Pagan Gentile). But to all those whom He has reconciled, ADONAI has given us the message of reconciliation. All who are in Messiah become ambassadors of Messiah.
Dear Heavenly Father, Praise You for so graciously making reconciliation possible by the suffering of Your Son as the sacrificial lamb of God (John 1:29). You are so overly generous in giving Yeshua’s righteousness to all who love and trust Him as their Savior (Second Corinthians 5:21; Romans 10:9-10). When I focus on the joy of eternity with You in heaven forever, I have overflowing joy and contentment! When I realize that some of my family and friends have not made the personal decision to follow You – I am so heart broken and anxious for their salvation. Heaven is real and so is Hell. My family and friends know about You and think Your love is wonderful, but they have not made the important personal decision to follow you as their Lord and their Savior.
Please work in their hearts to want to seek you. May you show them that while you are so very loving, you are also holy and can tolerate no sin in your holy heaven. It is their pride that is keeping them from bowing before You. Please allow situations, friends or whatever it takes to get them to want to be part of Your family by loving you as their Lord, Master and Father. May they use their free will to turn away from earthly short-lived happiness and to run hard after the eternal joy of loving and serving you forever! In Your holy name and power of His resurrection. Amen
Reconciliation is by the obedience of faith (5:20): Therefore, Paul now summarizes his message, we are ambassadors of the Messiah; in effect, God is making His appeal through us. What we do is appeal on behalf of the Messiah, “Be reconciled to God” (Second Corinthians 5:20)! This is equal to the Great Commission (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Mo – The Great Commission). Because believers are His ambassadors, it is though God the Father makes His appeal to the lost on behalf of the Son, Yeshua Messiah, to be reconciled to the Triune God.144 This appeal for people to be reconciled makes it clear that the sinner is never delivered from wrath and judgment to blessing and reward without a personal response to the truth of the gospel through the means He provided: We are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Messiah alone (see the commentary on Galatians Bc – We are Not Justified by Deeds of the Torah). When our sins are forgiven, we get a new purpose driven life, and we are promised an eternal home in heaven.
You were made for a mission. God is at work in the world and He wants you to join Him. This assignment is called your mission. God wants you to have both a ministry in the Body of Messiah and a mission to the world. Your ministry is to believers, and your mission is to unbelievers. This is God’s purpose for your life. The English word mission comes from the Latin word for sending. Being a believer includes being sent into the world as an ambassador, a representative, of Yeshua Messiah. The mission Yeshua had while on the earth is now our mission because we are the Body of Messiah. What He did in His physical body, we are to continue as His spiritual body, the Church. What is that mission? Introducing people to the Lord! The Bible says God is making His appeal through us.
ADONAI wants to redeem human beings from Satan and reconcile them to Himself (at His expense) so we can fulfill the purposes He created us for: to love Him, to be a part of His family, to become like Him, to serve Him, and to tell others about Him. Once we are His, God wants us to reach others. He saves us and then sends us out. We are ambassadors of the Messiah. We are the messengers of God’s love to the world.145
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