Introduction
On the road to Easter, Stéphane Guillet opens 2 Corinthians 5:11-21 to show a side of the cross we often forget: reconciliation. You didn't make the first move. It was God, while you were still his enemy, who reconciled the world to himself in Christ. This work changes your standing before God, the way you see yourself, and makes you an ambassador of his word.
Message Outline
1. A reconciliation initiated by God alone
- Reconciliation is usually a two-way street: the offender asks forgiveness, the offended party forgives, and peace returns.
- Here, it's the offended party (God), who does all the work to reconcile with himself the offender who wronged him.
- We weren't consulted. We were enemies of God (Romans 5:10), strangers, hostile in mind (Colossians 1:21), and God reconciled us before any change happened in us.
- This use of the Greek verb katalassō reflects pure grace: in this work, we had no part to play.
2. The Father's heart revealed in Christ
- The Greek verb "reconcile" comes from the root allos (other): to reconcile is to give the other person back the place they had lost because of the conflict.
- Our sins separated us from God and forced him to turn away from us (Isaiah 59:2). Through the cross, he decides our sins are no longer an obstacle.
- Hosea 11:7-9 unveils this heart: "My heart is turned within me, my compassion is aroused. I will not execute the fierceness of my anger… for I am God, and not man."
- God sets aside his righteous anger to reconcile the world to himself. To contemplate reconciliation is to contemplate the Father's heart.
3. There's nothing left for you to do : except accept it
- One died for all, therefore all died (2 Corinthians 5:14). Christ was made sin for us so that in him we might become the righteousness of God (v. 21).
- The record of your wrongs is wiped clean. God no longer counts them against you.
- Only one thing remains: to accept being reconciled. "We beg you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God" (v. 20).
- Paul speaks with the same tone as Hosea, as though carrying God's own plea.
4. Ambassadors, entrusted with the message of reconciliation
- Once reconciled, Paul receives the ministry of reconciliation. The very message of reconciliation is placed within him.
- He becomes an ambassador for Christ: it is God who encourages through him.
- This ministry is entrusted to us too. We carry the word of a God who is ready to complete his work in everyone who accepts it.
5. In Christ, the beginning of a new Eden
- "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation" (v. 17). The old has passed away.
- In Genesis 3, disobedience shattered everything: inner peace, the relationship between husband and wife, the relationship with nature, the presence of God.
- In Christ, you are reconciled with God (you can say "Father"), with yourself (no more condemnation, no more shame), with brothers and sisters (neither Jew nor Greek, neither slave nor free, neither male nor female).
- You also learn to live reconciled with the world, in the hope of new heavens and a new earth. In Christ, God wanted to reconcile all things to himself (Colossians 1).
Key Takeaways
- Reconciliation comes entirely from God. He, the offended party, took the initiative, not you.
- You were reconciled while you were still God's enemy. That is grace.
- At the cross, God no longer counts your sins. Christ was made sin so that you might become the righteousness of God.
- One thing remains: accept this offered reconciliation. "Be reconciled to God."
- In Christ, you live the beginnings of a new Eden: reconciled with God, with yourself, with others, with the world.
Personal Application
- Are you still trying to earn God's favor, when he has already reconciled you in Christ?
- Is there guilt or shame you're still carrying, when God has already wiped the slate clean?
- With whom in your life is your relationship broken? What does "living in Christ" mean for you in that exact place?
- How are you living out your ministry as an ambassador? Who around you might God want to speak to through you?
- Is there an area (with God, with yourself, with others), where you need to accept reconciliation today?
Verses Cited
- 2 Corinthians 5:11-21
- Romans 5:10-11
- Colossians 1:19-23
- Ephesians 2:14-18
- Hosea 11:7-9
- Isaiah 59:2
- Genesis 3
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do we say it's God who reconciles the world to himself?
Because in the Bible, Paul's use of the Greek verb katalassō reverses the usual pattern. Normally, it's the offender who makes the first move. Here, it's God, the offended party, who alone takes the initiative, while we were still his enemies (Romans 5:10). This underlines that reconciliation is entirely a matter of grace: we had no part to play in it.
If God doesn't change, what changes in reconciliation?
God doesn't change, he is unchanging, he cannot become more perfect than he already is. What changes is what is accomplished in Christ. In Christ, God became man, bore the consequences of sin, and now looks on us differently: no longer enemies to be judged, but men and women to be saved. God's disposition toward us is worked out because of Christ.
What is the "ministry of reconciliation" entrusted to me?
Once reconciled, Paul says he received the very message of reconciliation and became an ambassador for Christ (2 Corinthians 5:18-20). This message is placed in you too. In practice, it means carrying to the people around you the news that God, in Christ, has already reconciled the world to himself, and all that remains is to accept it.
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