Key Words in the Christian Life - Reconciliation
Reading: 2 Corinthians chapter 5 verses 17-21.
• One New Year’s Eve at London’s Garrick Club:
• British dramatist Frederick Lonsdale;
• Was asked by Symour Hicks to be reconciled with a fellow member.
• The two had quarrelled in the past and never restored their friendship.
Hicks said to Lonsdale.
“You must get reconciled, it is very unkind to be unfriendly at such a time. Go over now and wish him a happy New Year.”
• So Lonsdale crossed the room and spoke to his enemy.
• “I wish you a happy New Year,” he said, “but only one.”
The Christian gospel is about reconciliation:
• The death of Jesus built bridges across apparently unbridgeable gaps.
• Between a holy God and sinful people.
• To change the image, Paul in the book of Ephesians put it this way;
• It knocked down dividing walls between Jews and Gentiles.
In Colossians chapter 1 and Romans chapter 8 the teaching is even bolder:
• We are told that Christ’s death brings together ‘all things’ previously fragmented.
• Even nature itself will be redeemed!
(a). A Definition.
Question: What is reconciliation?
Answer:
• The word reconcile is a key word in the New Testament:
• And a more familiar word that others we have used.
• In Regeneration – the spiritually dead are given new life.
• In Justification - the guilty are declared righteous.
• In adoption - strangers are made sons.
• In Redemption - slaves have been set free.
• In Imputation - our debt is paid and forgotten.
• In Reconciliation - enemies become friends.
Quote:
The word: Reconcile (apokatallaso) means:
“To totally, thoroughly, and completely change one’s state and standing
from enmity to friendship”.
Ill:
• In St Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin;
• Stands what is known as the "Door of Reconciliation".
• Back in 1492 this door was all that separated two feuding Irish families;
• As the Butlers of Ormon? sought sanctuary horn the Fitzgeralds of Kildare.
• Realizing that the fighting had been getting out of control,
• Gerald Fitzgerald pleaded with "Black James" Butler to accept a truce.
• But suspecting treachery,
• Black James refused to open the door.
• In response Gerald proceeded to hack a hole in the door;
• And then thrust his arm through as a pledge of his goodwill.
• It was a daring gesture as Gerald risked his arm being hacked off,
• Instead Butler took his hand and peace was restored.
• The door was opened and the feuding families were reconciled.
• From that incident comes the expression; ‘To chance your arm’.
• These two families went from “enmity to friendship”.
• Their relationship was changed and transformed.
RECONCILIATION
Reconciliation is a changing for the better;
• A relationship between two or more persons.
• Ill: Two family members who refuse to speak to each other.
• Ill: Pay settlement between employers and workers.
• Theologically it refers to;
• The change of relationship between God and man.
WHEN WE START READING THE BIBLE:
• The very first books shows us a picture of perfect harmony;
• Everything is in agreement.
• Heaven and earth, God and man, man & woman, human beings and animals;
• All working together in joyful cooperation.
But in chapter 3 of the book of Genesis that all changes:
• Sin enters into the picture and the results are tragic;
• We read of division, dissention, death and separation.
• Man is separated from God.
• Man runs from God and hides.
• And then in chapter 4 we read about man being separated from man;
• With brother killing brother.
• That situation continues to get worse and worse ‘evil all of the time’);
• So much so that in chapter 6 ‘God was grieved that he had made man’.
• In chapter 11 we read about the separation of races and nations;
• As Genesis continues to records the awful consequences of sin.
• One phrase that could be written over the book of Genesis from chapter 3 onwards is;
• The great need is for reconciliation, and that is what the Lord Jesus Christ has done!
Reading: Colossians chapter 1 verses 15-23:
(A)> The apostle Paul tells us who Jesus is:
Four truths about Jesus Christ in this section:
(1) Saviour (verse 13-14).
12giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.
13For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and BROUGHT us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
We are a transferred people.
• The Greek word translated “Brought over” or “translated” or “transferred”.
• Has a unique meaning, a special use.
Ill:
• In the ancient world,
• When one country had won a great victory over another,
• It was the custom to take the people of the defeated country,
• And transfer it to the conquerors land.
Paul says this is what God has done for every Christian:
• He has rescued us from our enemies;
• And brought us to the “kingdom of the Son he loves”
(2). Eternal God (verse 15 and 19).
“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation”
An image can be two things:
• (a). It can be a representation.
• Ill: Queens picture on a coin (not her it represents her).
• (b). It can be a manifestation.
• When Paul uses this word, this is what he means (Jesus is the invisible God).
ill
• This Greek word translated as image,
• Was the word used for a portrait in Greek, nearest thing we have for photograph.
• Paul is saying Jesus is the visual manifestation of the invisible God.
• Ill: Here’s a picture of the invisible man.
• Paul tells the Colossians;
• “If you want to know what God is like, look at Jesus!”
The other word Paul uses is verse 19:
19For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him,
The word used means “fullness” or “Completion”:
• Jesus is not just a sketch of God,
• In him there is nothing left out!
• He is the full revelation of God.
• And nothing else is nescercery.
Note:
• The expression “Firstborn” does not mean the first created being.
• Firstborn and first created are two different Greek words.
• The expression “Firstborn” was a title depicting honour, position & importance.
• Ill: David is called the “firstborn king of Israel” yet we know Saul was the first king.
• Paul is informing us that there is no-one more honoured or important as Jesus.
• And he gives him the title that depicts his position & importance.
(3). Creator (verse 16-17).
6For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. 17He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
Paul tells us several things:
(a). The Son is the agent of creation: “For by him all things were created”.
• The Gnostics (false teachers) taught that angels were the agents of creation.
• And that Jesus was actually a superior angel not God.
• Paul knocks that idea on the head by saying;
• “Jesus Christ is no created angel, in fact he created angelic beings in the first place.
(2). The Son is the goal of creation: “all things were created by him and for him.”
• Creation was created to be his,
• And that creation itself would worship and honour and bring joy to him.
(c). The Son is the sustainer of creation: “In him all things hold together”.
• Not only is Jesus the beginning and end of creation,
• During time as we know it, Jesus is the one who holds the world together.
(4). Head of the church (verse 18).
And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.
Four simple truths are again expressed:
(a). He is the head of the body.
• Our bodies are guided by our heads,
• Jesus is described here as the one who guides and controls his church.
(B). He is the beginning of the church.
• The Greek word used for beginning means much more than first in the sense of time.
• Ill: A is the beginning of the alphabet, 1 is the beginning of a series of numbers.
• It means first in the sense of source, from which something came.
• The moving power which sets something in operation.
• Ill: Adam was the first human being.
• He is the source, from which all humanity came.
(C). He is the firstborn from among the dead.
• Jesus Christ is not merely someone who lived and died,
• Someone we remember in the past and learn from him.
• Because of the resurrection He is someone who is alive, someone who we meet,
• Someone whom is alive and present with us this morning.
(d). He is supreme in all things.
• By his resurrection he has shown that he has conquered every opposing enemy,
• There is nothing in life or in death that can bind him.
• He is the Lord of all.
• The one who must have supremacy!
(B). THE WORK OF RECONCILIATION:
• In verses 15-23 the apostle Paul sets down certain great truths;
• About the work of Christ for the whole of creation.
(1). The purpose of his coming was reconciliation
(vs 20a).
“And through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven”.
• The reason Christ came was to bring reconciliation.
• He came to heal the breach and bridge the chasm between God and man.
Note:
• The initiative in reconciliation was with God.
• When we had no thoughts concerning him, he was concerned with us!
• But also notice that the New Testament never talks of God being reconciled to men,
• But always of men being reconciled to God.
Ill:
Any marriage guidance counsellor will tell you:
• That in a marriage relationship when there is trouble in the marriage;
• And the couple have become estranged, separated.
• For there to be a conciliation, a reunion, a reconciliation
• Both parties have to admit their own fault in causing the situation;
• Without that twofold admission of fault,
• There cannot be reconciliation.
Note: That in our estrangement from God:
• God is not at fault.
• God did not need to be reconciled to man.
• Because it was man (i.e. Adam) who ran from God,
• Not God who ran from Adam!
• In fact when man sinned against God,
• It was God went and sought after man.
• Might recall those heartbreaking words;
• When God called to Adam, "Adam, Where are you?" (Genesis chapter 3 verse 9).
• Don't take that geographically,
• God knew exactly where he was (he knows all things).
The answer to that question in verse 9:
• Is not geographical,
• “I am in the Garden of Eden” or even “I am hiding in a garden”.
• But spiritual;
• “Adam where are you! We were so close and know you are so far away from me!”
• So God did not need to be reconciled to man;
• It is man who needs to be reconciled to God.
(2). The basis of reconciliation was the blood
of his Cross (vs 20b).
“And through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross”.
The dynamic of reconciliation was the death of Jesus Christ.
• Paul emphasises to us that it was not the incarnation of Christ that accomplished this;
• Nor was it his example as He lived among men.
• Nor was it his teaching, the greatest ever given by an individual.
• Nor was it his miracles, that again were matchless.
• Paul tells us it was through His death that peace was made between God and man.
• He "made peace through the blood of His cross".
For us to be reconciled to God it would cost the sacrificial death of God’s son:
• The need for animal sacrifice dominated the Old Testament;
• Bible says; “Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness” (Heb 9:22).
• The New Testament teaches that Jesus Christ is the true sacrifice (Lamb of God).
• Through his sacrifice he has achieved that which no animal ever could.
• Animal sacrifice was temporary and only provided a covering for sin.
• His sacrifice was once and for all and took away sin!
Ill:
• For the first three or four centuries Christians dared not use the symbol of the cross.
• The fish was the first symbol of the early Church.
• They dared not use the cross because they knew what it meant!
• They knew it was a horror, it was a place of immense torment and pain.
• They could not use that symbol like we do today;
• Until the memory of the awfulness of crucifixion had died out in the Roman Empire.
We today might not ever know the horror and torment of the cross:
• But we can know the meaning behind it.
• Quote the hymn:
We may not know, we cannot tell,
What pains He had to bear;
But we believe it was for us
He hung and suffered there.
He died that we might be forgiven,
He died to make us good,
That we might go at last to Heav’n,
Saved by His precious blood.
There was no other good enough
To pay the price of sin;
He only could unlock the gate
Of heaven and let us in.
Ill:
Warren Wiersbe tells the story of a man who once came to see him;
• Because he had difficulties at home.
• He was not a very well educated man and sometimes got his words confused.
• He told me that he and his wife were having "MARTIAL problems"
• When he meant to say "MARITAL problems."
• (Later I found out that they really were "at war" with each other,
• So maybe he was right after all!)
• But the word that caught my attention was in this sentence:
• "Pastor, me and my wife need are-cancellation."
• He meant to say reconciliation,
• But the word re-cancellation was not a bad choice.
• There can be peace and a reunion of those who are at war only when sin has been cancelled
• As sinners before a righteous God, we need a "re-cancellation."
• Praise God that;
• Our sins were cancelled on the cross.
(3a). The object of reconciliation ‘all things’
(verse 20)
“And through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross”.
• We must note that Paul dos not say;
• “All men” or “All people” here but “All things”.
• Paul is not teaching what is called universalism;
• That is that everybody will ultimately be saved.
• That understanding of this phrase contradicts other things said in this book;
• And totally contradicts the whole message and life of the apostle Paul.
Question: What did Paul mean?
Answer:
• That the reconciliation of God extends not only to all persons;
• But to all creation, both to animals and nature.
• This is an amazing thought.
• And the apostle Paul may well have been thinking of the false teachers (Gnostics).
• They, regarding matter as essentially and incurably evil,
• Therefore they regarded the world as evil.
• But, as Paul sees it, the world is not evil.
• It is God's world and it will one day share in the universal reconciliation.
Ill:
• The story is told of a Puritan.
• Someone said to him, as they walked along the road, "That's a lovely flower".
• And the Puritan answered,
• "I have learned to call nothing lovely in this lost and sinful world."
• That kind of thinking is so far from being Christian,
• It is completely wrong!
This is God's world and it is a redeemed world:
• For in some amazing way God in Christ was reconciling the whole universe of;
• Men and living creatures and even inanimate things to himself.
• For further information;
• Read Romans chapter 8 verses 19-22.
Quote: The Message:
“The created world itself can hardly wait for what's coming next. 20Everything in creation is being more or less held back. God reins it in 21until both creation and all the creatures are ready and can be released at the same moment into the glorious times ahead. Meanwhile, the joyful anticipation deepens.
22All around us we observe a pregnant creation. The difficult times of pain throughout the world are simply birth pangs. But it's not only around us; it's within us. The Spirit of God is arousing us within. We're also feeling the birth pangs”.
(3b). The aim and reconciliation (vs 21-23)
“Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behaviour.
22 But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation”.
• In verses 21 to 23 are set out the aim of reconciliation;
• Which verse 22 tells us is holiness.
• Verse 21 reminds us that we are sinners by nature and sinners by practice.
• Our very beings and our very actions wage war against God.
BUT (verse 22):
• Christ carried out his sacrificial work of reconciliation;
• In order to present us to God consecrated and irreproachable.
Quote: John Brown, nineteenth-century Scottish theologian
“Holiness does not consist in mystic speculations, enthusiastic fervours, or uncommanded austerities; it consists in thinking as God thinks, and willing as God wills.”
• By nature verse 21 reminds us that we are sinners by nature and sinners by practice.
• But by Christ’s death he can change us to think as God thinks, and to will as God wills.
Conclusion:
• God began the work of reconciliation because of His great Love for us;
• And of our great need for Him.
• Reconciliation is changing for the better a relationship between two or more persons.
• Theologically it refers to the change of relationship between God and man.
• The cost of our reconciliation was great!
• The death of God’s one and only son,
• The problem of sin that separated us from God (Isaiah 59:2);
• Has been addressed and removed in the cross
• The results of his death enable us to enjoy God in this life.
• And be with him throughout all eternity in the next.
