Atonement for sins is the basis for reconciliation, because God has judged our sins in the Person of Christ who died on the cross in our place. The death of Christ has forever satisfied God’s righteous demands for our sin and it is on this basis that He can accept sinners before His throne of grace. Paul wrote, “For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation” (Rom 5:10-11). And, “Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation” (2 Cor 5:18-19). In both of these passages on reconciliation, Paul employs the Greek verb katallassō (καταλλάσσω), and the noun katallage (καταλλαγή) which, according to Louw-Nida, means “to reconcile, to make things right with one another, reconciliation.”[1] But this reconciliation does not bring Him down to us, as though God is reconciled to the world. Rather, it means God has changed us, so that we are reconciled to Him, and this through the death of His Son, Jesus, Who bore our sin on the cross (Rom 5:8; 1 Cor 15:3-4) and gives us His righteousness as a gift at the moment we trust in Christ as our Savior (Rom 5:17; 2 Cor 5:21; Phil 3:9). According to G.W. Bromiley:
“God is neither reconciled to the world, nor does He reconcile Himself to it. He reconciles the world to Himself (2 Cor 5:19). He loves us even while we are sinners, offering His Son so that we might be forgiven and saved from His wrath (Rom 5:8-10). But God Himself does not change. While He remains implacably opposed to sin, nevertheless, He does not abandon His love for sinners. Instead, He acts to bring about their reconciliation according to an eternal purpose.”[2]
Paul Enns adds:
“God is the one who initiated this change or reconciliation; He moved to reconcile sinful man to Himself (2 Cor 5:18, 19). On the other hand, man is the object of reconciliation. It was man who had moved out of fellowship with God; therefore, man needed to be restored. This reconciliation has been provided for the whole world, but it is effective only when it is received by personal faith.”[3]
Because Jesus’ death satisfies God’s righteousness demands for sin, sinners can approach God who welcomes them in love. God has cleared the way for sinners to come to Him for a new relationship, and this is based completely on the substitutionary work of Christ. God has done everything to reconcile us to Himself. The sin debt that we owed to God has been paid in full by the blood of Christ. Paul Enns states:
“The emphasis of reconciliation is that of making peace with God. Man who was estranged from God is brought into communion with God. Sin had created a barrier between man and God and rendered man hostile toward God (Isa 59:1-2; Col 1:21, 22; Jam 4:4). Through Christ that enmity and the wrath of God was removed (Rom 5:10). Reconciliation may thus be defined as “God removing the barrier of sin, producing peace and enabling man to be saved.”[4]
There are two aspects of God’s reconciliation. The first is objective and is referred to as provisional reconciliation in which God, through the work of Jesus on the cross, makes humanity savable by means of His judgment of sin in Christ. This means God has removed the barrier that alienated us from Him. The second is subjective and is referred to as experimental reconciliation in which lost sinners are brought into a relationship with God when they believe in Christ as their Savior. They are, at that moment, reconciled to God. According to Robert Lightner, “Because of sin in Adam the entire human race is out of balance, at odds with God. Christ reconciled the world to himself, but each individual must appropriate that work before it benefits him (2 Cor 5:18).”[5] Merrill F. Unger states:
“By the death of Christ the world is changed in its relationship to God. Man is reconciled to God, but God is not said to be reconciled to man. By this change lost humanity is rendered savable. As a result of the changed position of the world through the death of Christ the divine attitude toward the human family can no longer be the same. God is enabled to deal with lost souls in the light of what Christ has accomplished…When an individual sees and trusts in the value of Christ’s atoning death, he becomes reconciled to God, hostility is removed, friendship and fellowship eventuate.”[6]
For those of us who have trusted Christ as our Savior, we have the privilege of sharing the gospel of grace with others, that they too might trust in Jesus as their Savior and be reconciled to God. Paul wrote that God “has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God” (2 Cor 5:19b-20). When we come by faith alone in Christ alone, we are fully reconciled to God.
Dr. Steven R. Cook
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[1] Johannes P. Louw and Eugene Albert Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, 501.
[2] G. W. Bromiley, “Reconcile; Reconciliation,” The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Revised, 55.
[3] Paul P. Enns, The Moody Handbook of Theology, 324.
[4] Ibid., 324.
[5] Robert P. Lightner, Handbook of Evangelical Theology, 195.
[6] Merrill F. Unger, “Reconciliation,” The New Unger’s Bible Dictionary, 1067.
I appreciate you for the article. It is enriching my soul and would certainly enrich those I will share with them.