Reconciliation by Speaking the Truth in Love
Ephesians 4:1-16
June 22, 2003
GOD CREATED RECONCILIATION
2 Corinthians 5:16 – “So from now on, we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the word to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness (the holiness) of God. As God’s fellow workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain.”
I. GOD CREATED RECONCILIATION
Let’s just look at the book of Genesis….
*Adam and Eve – he showed them how to reconcile
*Noah and his family – God’s creation needed a chance to start over – he “reconciled” his creation through Noah
*Abram and Sarah…especially, Hagar and Ishmael – Hagar wandered in the desert, fell down underneath a bush to die – God said, “Go and reconcile with your mistress…” Why? Because Ishmael was to be born. And their relationship was reconciled and Ishmael became an important part of the family.
*Abraham and Sarah – having their own child – God’s reconciliation at his best – they both laughed when they heard the news, but God reconciled their laughter into reality. God had a plan and he reconciled their laughing hearts to make it happen.
*Joseph and his brothers – another GREAT example of reconciliation!!! – Here Jospeh after his brothers had beaten him up more than once and left him for dead – said – Genesis 50:20 – “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done.”
And we could go chapter by chapter, book by book, and see God’s reconciliation happening…
But no where else can we see God in the reconciliation business more than in Jesus Christ.
II. CHRIST IS THE PERFECT EXAMPLE OF RECONCILIATION
(Have congregation read with and invite them to say "reconcile" or "reconciliation")
Ephesians 2:14 – “For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create himself one new man out of two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.”
Romans 5:10 – “For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, shall we be saved through his life! Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received that reconciliation.
Colossians 1:20 – “For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 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.
I Corinthians 12:12-14 – “The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body- whether Jews or Greek, slave or free - - and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Now the body is not made up of one part but of many.”
Romans 11:13 – “I am talking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I make much of my ministry in the hope that I may somehow arouse my own people to envy and save some of them. For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? If the part of the dough offered as first-fruits is holy, then the whole back is holy; if the root is holy, so are the branches.”
Quoting Bishop Lee (United Methodist West MI Conference Bishop), she said, “In Jesus Christ we are reconciled whether we like it or not. Which means that if we are not fully reconciled with one another then maybe we are not living fully in Jesus Christ.”
III. WE ARE RECONCILIATION TO OTHERS
Matthew 5:23 – “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.”
SO HOW DO WE DO RECONCILIATION?
I – We realize that God is the author of reconciliation, that he intended us to be about the business of reconciliation, and that Jesus Christ is the perfect example of reconciliation.
Isn’t this the message of the Beatitudes? (Matthew 5:1ff)
Blessing are the poor in spirit….blessed are those who mourn…blessed are the meek…blessed are those who hunger and thrust for righteousness…blessed are the merciful…blessed are the pure in heart…blessed are the peacemakers…blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness….
Matthew 5:12 says, “Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven…”
When we become what God has created us to be, all that Christ has shown us to be…then we are a people in the midst of reconciliation.
II – With that understanding, we need to “bloom where we’re planted.”
Bishop Vashti McKenzie, the first women AME bishop, told us about the lily and how in the land of Jesus the ground was tough, rocks were everywhere, it was drier than dry most of the time. But yet, even in all that adversity, the lily still grows and grows in abundance.
There is someone here today that needs reconciliation.
There is someone out there that’s looking for it, striving for it.
There are people in here and out there that expect we are the people that will bring it….
Why? We are the people that aren’t supposed to worry about our lives, aren’t we…
Matthew 6:33 says that we’re a people who seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things (food, clothing, etc.) will be given…
Strong’s concordance explains the Greek meaning of reconciliation to say, “to be at one after dishonoring…to regain a regard for one another.”
Bishop Hutchinson (United Methodist Bishop of New Orleans) said that “while the disciples were trying to make sense out of their personal lives, Jesus was training them to deal with “everyone” -- friend or foe alike.
III – While forgiveness is important, it is but step one in the truest sense of reconciliation.
Our Bibles tell us that…
…if we forgive we will be forgiven…(Luke 6:37)
…that if someone sins against us seven times and repents, we are to forgive them seventy times seven (Luke 17:4)
…to be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other just as in Christ,God forgave us. (Ephesians 4:22)
…when we stand praying, if we hold anything against anyone, to forgive, so that our Father in heaven may forgive us.
And do we not pray each week, “Forgive our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass
against us…”
Forgiveness is important…but it’s not reconciliation.
Reconciliation only comes when we’re willing to do something about what we’ve been forgiven for.
Another quote from Bishop Hutchinson which as stuck with me, “If you’re looking around for someone to come and change things, if you’re looking around for someone to make things better, if you’re looking around saying that someone has to step forward and be the peacemaker…be careful…you just may be the person that you are looking for.”
If we ask for forgiveness with no intention of putting some works behind it, trying our best to make the situation right, then we shouldn’t be asking for forgiveness in the first place.
Reconciliation is the process that forgiveness begins.
IV– Last but not least, reconciliation happens when we make it happen…
I invite you today to make a list…to make a list of those whom you feel the Spirit’s push to reconcile. It may be the family member, the friend, the co-worker, the boss, the pain and hurt that we know is
there from actions we as individuals, and as the church, that have cause the division within the
unified body of Christ.
I know that I, personally, have a list that I need to work on.
I know that we, as Wakelee Church, have some apologies to make, some reconciliations to facilitate, before we can move forward.
I know that as the church of Jesus Christ, we also have a list that needs our attention.
Its a list that says we are not only sorry about the things that happened, but we’re willing to do something about it.
Church, we need to be committed to the message of reconciliation.
…we need to understand that God created it for us
…that Christ is the best example of it that we can follow.
…that we cannot fully participate in Jesus Christ, unless we experience it.
CONCLUSION
Remember the message of Ephesians 4:14-16 –
“Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blow here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming.
Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.
From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. ”
We are in the ministry of reconciliation by speaking the truth in love to one another. May it be so.
For our closing prayer, I invite you to turn to page #893 in our hymnals….
And once we’ve shared this prayer together, I’m going to ask that we stand, form a circle and join hands and sing our final song together. Shall we pray…
Lord, we confess our day to day failure to be truly human.
Lord, we confess to you.
Lord, we confess that we often fail to love with all we have and are,
often because we do not fully understand what loving means,
often because we are afraid of risking ourselves,
Lord, we confess to you.
Lord, we cut ourselves off from each other and we erect barriers of division.
Lord, we confess to you.
Lord, we confess that by silence and ill-considered word
we have built up walls of prejudice.
Lord, we confess that by selfishness and the lack of sympathy
we have stifled generosity and left little time for others.
Holy Spirit, come speak to us. Help us to listen to your word of forgiveness. Help us to head your call for reconciliation in our homes, in our workplaces, in our church.
We know that if we confess our sin, God is faith and just and will forgive us our sin.
In fact, we have been told that his reconciliation is to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
For that awesome gift…we give you praise. And the church says…Amen.
Bind Us Together
Bind us together, Lord, bind us together with chords that cannot be broken.
Bind us together, Lord, bind us together, Lord, bind us together in love.
There is only one God. There is only one King. There is only one Body.
That is why we can sing….
Bind us together, Lord, bind us together with chords that cannot be broken.
Bind us together, Lord, bind us together, Lord, bind us together in love.
Note: If for any reason you did not find this sermon helpful, please let me know by contacting me at gb@clergy.net. Your input will help me personally and my congregation as I learn professionally.
