II Corinthians 5:17-21
Thank you for listening to Hope for Today, we are honored to be here and so glad you chose to join us for today’s lesson. Our lesson today from the end of II Corinthians 5 is one of my favorite sections of the Bible. There is so much packed in here and I hope you will take extra time to meditate on the deep truths in these verses.
We use the word reconciled in a variety of ways, but every time it happens it’s a good thing. I think back to when I was a schoolteacher. Once there were a few middle school boys who were not getting along. Their conflict was very noticeable, and others were being pulled into the drama. The veteran teacher who I was working with recommended we sit them down and talk it out. And so that’s what we did. We all sat together and talked it out, we made it right. It took time and the conversation had some difficult spots, but the boys were engaged and came out of that meeting reconciled. They made things right and things went better after that.
Reconciliation is a positive thing, I am so glad I have been reconciled, or made right with God. If we have been reconciled, it is our job to help reconcile others to Him and we do this through the amazing work of Christ mentioned in verse 21. That verse is incredible, it has so many implications. Instead of going into that though, let’s get into our teaching with Bible teacher J Mark, the title is “The Ministry of Reconciliation” and he is here now to share with us.
In the mid-1970s, David Berkowitz was a serial killer in New York City. At one of the crime scenes, he left a letter signed, “Son of Sam.” Berkowitz claimed the motive for the killings was Sam, a demonic spirit in his neighbor’s black Labrador.
Berkowitz was arrested on August 10, 1977. In May of 1978, he pled guilty to six counts of murder and received six consecutive life sentences.
In 1987, David Berkowitz met Jesus, and his life was transformed. He is no longer the “Son of Sam” but now the “Son of Hope.”
Most of us can’t identify with David’s experience. But just like him, we were all estranged from God and needed reconciliation. And that’s the focus of our study today, “The Ministry of Reconciliation,” from Second Corinthians 5:17 to 21.
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
18 Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation,
19 that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not [d]imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.
20 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.
21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
This text explains foundational TRUTHS that help us understand the process and effects of the ministry of reconciliation.
The First TRUTH (about the ministry of reconciliation) is,
It is Initiated by God
Paul opens this text by further explaining what we discussed in our previous study: how the love of God transforms and controls us. We become a new creation when we come to know Christ by experience. We’ll talk more about that later and about the impact on our lives.
Reconciliation begins with God, not man. Paul says this new creation has come “from God who has reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ…” Reconciliation means there’s been a break in the relationship. When we were still in sin, we were God’s enemies, and we were hostile to Him. But it wasn’t His fault; it was ours. God doesn’t need reconciliation, but we do. And He is in the great business of reconciling us to Himself.
Our English word, reconcile, comes from the Greek katalasso. In Greek literature outside the Scriptures, it was used to describe exchanging coins. The exchange of coins implies a transaction, and so does reconciliation. Coins represent a store of value and are exchanged for something the purchaser values.
God saw in you and me something He valued and wanted. He was willing to exchange something of value to Him to make the exchange possible. Whether reconciliation occurs between God and mankind or between human beings, it ALWAYS has a cost! The price God paid to reconcile us to Himself was the life of His own Son.
Normally, each party must agree to the terms of a transaction. But in providing for our reconciliation, God initiated the process without waiting to see if we would agree to His terms. God’s justice had to be satisfied, and sin had to be punished, but His love motivated Him to give His own Son to satisfy His justice. He acted without our help to provide the gift of reconciliation.
Paul’s distinctive use of the word katalasso helps us understand the theological aspect of Christ and His work. As I said earlier, God is the subject of the action of reconciliation. This concept is unlike anything in non-Christian thought. All other religions rely on the actions of human beings to initiate reconciling or appeasing.
I have seen this in Asia in Buddhist and Hindu temples and shrines. Sacrifices are offered to appease the gods, gain favor, or forestall their disfavor. In Islam, the only sure entrance into Paradise is martyrdom through jihad.
Our actions as human beings do not initiate the work of reconciliation to which God responds. Instead, it is the work of God to which we respond. Jesus Himself said, “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day,” John 6:44. Notice in our text that it is only after Paul affirms that God has reconciled us to Himself (verse 18), that he asks us as his readers to “be reconciled to God,” (verse 20).
The Next TRUTH (about the ministry of reconciliation) is,
It is Provided through Christ
Verse 19 continues Paul’s explanation by reminding us how God, through Christ, was reconciling the world’s people to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them. And this work of reconciliation began immediately after the sin of our first parents in the Garden of Eden.
Even the Old Testament teaches salvation by grace through faith. The Law was inadequate to secure salvation by works. The prophet Isaiah wrote, “All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, everyone, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” As I read those words, I picture the High Priest laying his hands on the scapegoat, confessing the people’s sins, and then sending the goat out into the wilderness bearing those sins.
Reconciliation is closely related to justification and leads directly to mentioning God’s righteousness later in our text. What Jesus did for us by his death stands to our credit. There is nothing you and I can add to it!
Paul’s message of reconciliation is expressed negatively in verse 19 of our text. God doesn’t count our sins against us. He uses the same verb in Romans 4: 3 through 8, quoting from the Old Testament, to support the idea that justification comes about when God doesn’t count men’s iniquities against them but counts them as righteous because of their faith in Him.
To see Paul’s positive expression of reconciliation, we drop down to the final verse of our test, verse 21. “He made Him who knew no sin a sin-offering for us so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” A different way of saying this would be, “God treated as sin the One who knew no sin.” Jesus was conscious of His sinlessness. He didn’t sin; He had no personal acquaintance with it. This sinlessness makes Him more than a mere man. And it also helps explain some of the trauma Jesus experienced as our sin-bearer.
It is through our faith in this act of Christ that you and I take on the righteousness of Christ, just as Christ took on our sin. This reconciliation ends the hostility between God and human beings. Through the reconciliation effected by our justification in Christ, we have peace with God, according to Romans 5:1.
These truths are crucial to our understanding of the ministry of reconciliation; it is initiated by God and provided through Christ. But that’s not the end. The message of reconciliation must be proclaimed and received.
The Final TRUTH (about the ministry of reconciliation) is,
It is Committed to Believers
Paul begins this text by reminding us of what happens when “knowing Christ after the flesh” passes away. The old “way” of seeing Jesus as a mere man has passed away. Behold, what is new has come and remains! In addition to seeing Jesus in a new way, we also see our fellowmen in a new way. We no longer see them through the lenses of race, status, wealth, or power. This new vision is essential because we have been given the ministry of reconciliation according to verse 18.
Because we have been reconciled to God through Jesus, the task of winning the unreconciled to God is committed to us. It is a ministry marked by (our) reconciliation that consists of reconciliation (of others). It is a high and holy calling, but it is a challenging one. That’s because the unreconciled, the guilty ones are the hardest to win over for Christ. Many times, they have no sense of their need for reconciliation.
So, we are called to be ambassadors for Christ. The word Paul uses for ambassador refers, first of all, to an older man and then later to the title of an ambassador, as we understand the role. That implies that an ambassador must have some life experience.
Ambassadors don’t speak for themselves; they speak for the country they represent. As ambassadors for Christ, we don’t have our own message or speak on our own authority; we speak for Christ on His authority. We proclaim His message: ” Be reconciled to God…and do it NOW!” Those without reconciliation risk facing the full measure of God’s wrath.
This ministry of reconciliation has been entrusted to you and me as followers of Jesus. How are we doing with that entrustment? Are we pursuing our agenda, pleasures, and goals, or are we faithfully representing Christ to the people around us? When Paul talks in verse 19 about God in Christ reconciling the world to Him, the world refers to the human beings that populate our globe. They need the message of reconciliation that you and I have.
Our task will be challenging. The price Jesus paid for our reconciliation is our model. We can never duplicate what He did, but we are called to pursue a life of serving rather than being served. The more deeply we understand what God, through Christ, has done for us; the greater will be our desire to share that life-transforming message with others. How are you embracing the ministry of reconciliation?
Thanks J Mark for sharing this powerful teaching with us. If you have any questions about today’s teaching or if you would like to hear it again. Please reach out to us and let us know. The best way to contact us is via email. Our email is [email protected]. We would love to hear from you.
Thanks so much for joining us, I look forward to being with you next week for another lesson from II Corinthians. As I mentioned at the beginning, verse 21 is incredible and that is the verse I’d like to end with. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
*This episode is an exposition by J. Otis Yoder, re-recorded by J. Mark Horst, with an opening and closing by Arlin Horst.