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. And you, that were
sometimes alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he
reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and
unblameable and unreprovable in His sight. (Colossians1:20-22)
How we should rejoice in the mercy of God! When we realize that
the world was alienated by sin, we can see the necessity for God to institute
His great plan for reconciliation. We will mainly consider this great truth
from the cross of Christ to its further development in the epistles, especially
of Paul. In Romans 5:10, we are told:
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.
This very clearly teaches that reconciliation is dependent upon
the death of Christ. This is God's way of reconciling the world and individual
sinners to Himself. God doesn't need to reconcile Himself to the sinner, but
the sinner needs to be reconciled to God. It is totally a one way street. God
hasn't done anything wrong. In family or business disputes, it is usually true
that both parties are wrong, For instance, in I Corinthians 7:11, the apostle
Paul instructs the departing wife to be reconciled to her husband. However, in
the case of the world, we are shown that all the world has become guilty before
God (Romans 3:19). Knowing that God so loved the world, we can readily
understand why He was willing for His only begotten Son to die to provide
reconciliation whereby sinners can be saved by simply believing:
That Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and
that He was buried and that He arose again the third day according to the
scriptures. (I Corinthians 15:3-4)
Another great truth involved in the study and understanding of
reconciliation is that through the death of Christ, Jew and Gentile have been
brought together in one body. It should be understood that in the major portion
of God's Word, there was the distinction made between the Jew and the non-Jew
(Gentile). When we see this, the Old Testament, Gospels, and the first part of
the book of Acts become more meaningful. In the book of Ephesians we are taught
that Gentiles were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of
Israel. The use of the word aliens shows that Gentiles were alienated,
consequently the need to be reconciled. Ephesians 2:11-18 then proceeds to show
how God reconciled both, Jew and Gentile, into one body. Then it is summed up
in Ephesians 2:16:
And that He might reconcile both unto God in one Body by the
cross, having slain the enmity thereby.
Both, Jew and Gentile, were guilty before God. Since Israel
rejected Christ and God's offer of the Kingdom, they were set aside and became
outsiders as well as the Gentile. Both needed to be reconciled to God. The
means for this was the death of Christ on the Cross. The person to be
commissioned for the work or ministry of reconciliation was the Apostle Paul
(II Corinthians 5:17-20). It is through the Apostle Paul that we are introduced
to the joint body in which there is neither Jew nor Gentile (Ephesians 3:1-10).
Our heavenly Father makes no distinction between Jew or Gentile today in saving
the lost. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ saves to the uttermost, all who
come to Him by faith in the finished work of Christ on the cross. In Colossians
3:11 we are told:
Where there is neither Greek
nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free;
but Christ is all and in all.
Not only has God reconciled the world and the Jew and Gentile into
one body, the Church, but we can rejoice in reconciliation to know this
includes every individual who comes to Christ. In the great and important
passage found in Colossians 1:20-21, we find that God has reconciled all things
unto Himself. This includes even the creation that was affected by the original
sin of Adam. However, God, through Christ, has even taken care of the
redemption and restoration of His creation (Romans 8:21-22). It is so important
to see, though, that God is interested in the individual. Notice in Colossians
1:21:
And you, that were sometimes alienated and enemies in Your mind by
wicked works, yet now has He reconciled in the body of His flesh through death
to present you holy and unblameable and unreprovable in His sight.
This great truth of reconciliation is clearly taught in II
Corinthians 5:14-21. This needs to be read and studied carefully. It teaches us
of so many things, but we see that when God reconciled the world to Himself, He
provided for individuals that would believe the gospel of God's grace. In verse
20, of the above passage, stress is laid upon the individual. Notice the
underscored pronouns, (underscoring is made by the writer), in the following
Scripture:
Now then we are ambassadors for
Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be
ye reconciled to God.
It is wonderful to see the results that have and will be accrued
by God's act of reconciliation. These should make us rejoice in reconciliation.
First, we see that old things have passed away. These old things not only consist
of sins, but the letter of the law and the ordinances and requirements of the
law. We also see that all things are become new. Not only a new life, but new
ways of looking at life. Also, the new man, the Church which is Christ's Body,
is now preeminent in God's plans and purposes (Ephesians 1:19-23). Practically,
it enables us to have new friends, new relationships with our heavenly Father,
other believers and ourselves. Also, a brand new outlook
and future. REJOICE IN RECONCILIATION
Mp3
Studies By Pastor Gregg Bing
Ephesians
- 06 - The Fullness of the Times
How God Saves Men
Believing Christ DIED, that’s HISTORY.
Believing Christ DIED for YOU SINS and Rose again that’s SALVATION.
Read Romans 1:16, Romans 10:9-10 and 1. Corinthians 15:1-4
Believing Christ DIED, that’s HISTORY.
Believing Christ DIED for YOU SINS and Rose again that’s SALVATION.
Read Romans 1:16, Romans 10:9-10 and 1. Corinthians 15:1-4
(A 10 Minute Video)
Posted By Cecil and
Connie Spivey
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