March 17

RECONCILING THE WORLD UNTO HIMSELF

-2^nd Corinthians 5:18-19 states, … And all things are of God, Who HAS RECONCILED us to Himself by Jesus Christ, and HAS GIVEN to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that GOD WAS IN CHRIST RECONCILING THE WORLD UNTO HIMSELF, not imputing their trespasses unto them, and HAS COMMITTED unto us the word of reconciliation … Let us take note of the terminology in this passage of scripture …

-HAS RECONCILED …

-HAS GIVEN …

-GOD WAS IN CHRIST … RECONCILING THE WORLD UNTO HIMSELF …

-HAS COMMITTED …

-These words speak of something that is past tense, already accomplished, done, completed, and finished. What a GRAND DAY it is when it becomes a revelation to you that God has ( past tense ) reconciled you unto Himself. He reconciled you unto Himself before you even knew that you needed to be reconciled. He reconciled you when you were yet His enemy.

-The word "reconcile" means: to change, exchange, as coins for others of equivalent value, return to favor with, to receive one into favor, and to make friendly. It is IMPERATIVE that we understand that GOD WAS NOT RECONCILED TO US, BUT WE WERE RECONCILED UNTO HIM! Well … What about repentance? We must understand that when a person repents, this is not what reconciles them to God. When a person repents, IT IS BECAUSE THEY HAVE BEEN AWAKENED TO THE FACT THAT GOD HAS ALREADY RECONCILED THEM UNTO HIMSELF!!!

According to A. P. Adams:

-"The sinner is not redeemed because he repents, BUT IS CALLED UPON TO REPENT BECAUSE HE HAS BEEN REDEEMED." ( The Atonement, A. P. Adams )

-This means … THE ENTIRE CREATION ( ALL OF MANKIND ) HAS BEEN RECONCILED TO GOD THROUGH JESUS CHRIST. IT HAS BEEN ACCOMPLISHED! So … What next?

-The scriptures tell us that the message of reconciliation is to come to every man in his own order. They testify to the fact that ALL WILL BE MADE ALIVE IN CHRIST! What remains is for man to go through the process of salvation, which includes: JUSTIFICATION, SANCTIFICATION, AND GLORIFICATION! But remember … This process of salvation is made possible only because GOD WAS IN CHRIST RECONCILING THE WORLD UNTO HIMSELF. In the mind of God we are already reconciled to Him. The sin debt has been paid in full by the PRECIOUS BLOOD OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST! What remains is for us to BECOME WHAT GOD HAS DECLARED US TO BE! He has imputed ( to attribute or ascribe ) to us His righteousness. In essence, He has given us His righteousness on credit, and based on our faith in the Son of God. As we go through the process of SONSHIP ( the salvation process of being made into a fully mature son of God ), and as God writes His laws on our hearts, WE ARE BECOMING RIGHTEOUS! NO … we are not earning righteousness, but rather we are God’s workmanship, and what is taking place is a work of the Spirit, in which God is bringing our condition up to the level of our position, and bringing our state ( of being ) up to the level of our standing in Him!