The Gracious Power of the Cross 4. Reconciles Sinners Ps 34:1-10 Gen 22:1-19 2 Cor 5:14-21 Matt 16:13-28
Introduction
“Reconciliation” is a powerful and disturbing word we always seem to associate with unfinished business, like the healing of our relationship with aboriginal people or a broken marriage. Despite our familiarity with the language of reconciliation, the statement, “the cross reconciles sinners to God” requires biblical revelation. Firstly, even though God is the offended party in the relationship with humans he is the one who has sovereignly taken the initiative to heal the breakdown[1]. Second, from God’s side “reconciliation” is an already accomplished reality (John 19:30). Finally, cross-centred reconciliation is completely Christ-centred[2]. Nothing short of an initiative by God in reconciliation can heal what we have done to our relationship with heaven.
The Need for Reconciliation
The New Testament word for reconciliation is drawn from the commercial world of “exchange”[3]. And Paul teaches us we need to be saved from God’s wrath (Rom 5:9; 1 Thess 1:10) by saying humanity “exchanged the glory of the immortal God for” idolatrous “images” (Rom 1:18, 23) God is angry with humans because in our stupid self-destructive idolatry[4] we have substituted lesser glories for sharing in his eternal splendour and power and plunged ourselves into a state of weakness and death (Rom 3:23 cf. 1 Tim 6:16). Sin is much deeper than doing wrong things, sin is rejecting a share in God’s own life[5]. To heal our dreadful[6] exchange of the temporary for the eternal and shame for glory, God has brought to pass his own exchange. When Paul declares, “in Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself” (2 Cor 5: 19) he means[7] that through Jesus God’s own life has been exchanged for ours[8] bringing about a wonderful reunion[9] with himself. Jesus became poor like us so that we might enjoy the richness of his relationship with the Father (cf. 2 Cor 8:9).
Christ-centred Reconciliation
It has been profoundly and prophetically said, “Reconciliation is an event in Jesus Christ” (Barth). If, as I taught last week, our salvation is a share in Christ’s own salvation, then our reconciliation is a share in Christ’s reconciliation. Paul describes the reconciliation event like this, “in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ” (Eph 2:13 cf. v.15)[10]. This “far off” > “brought near” relational healing is grounded in Jesus’ own experience on the cross. When he cries out, “My God…why have you forsaken me?” (Mark 15:34), Jesus is as “far off” relationally from God as the most tormented sinner in hell for he is carrying in himself all the alienation of a cosmos that has unhinged itself from oneness with the glory of God[11]. When however Jesus cries out triumphantly art the point of death, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” (Luke 23:46), we know that in his deepest being, the spirit of the Son of God has been reunited with the Spirit of his Father (Rom 8:15-16). His body had to wait for 3 days for resurrection, but his spirit had already returned/been reconciled to the heart of the Father[12].
Already Accomplished[13]
That all things have been (past tense) reconciled to God is the consistent witness of the New Testament. Quoting Paul, “while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.” (Rom 5:10-11), “in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them” (2 Cor 5:19), “in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.” (Col 1:20). Since the energy of the Father’s joy over Christ’s loving sacrifice is infinitely greater than any destructive evil power the reconciliation of all things in Christ is indissoluble and eternal. There is however a problem.
The world does not look reconciled, our relationships often do not feel reconciled. The tension between our broken experience and what the Bible says about reconciliation accomplished in Christ seems too great to handle. [Power Point] I think this is why many English translations struggle to handle 2 Corinthians 5:20. Our pew Bible (NIV), reads, “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.” This translation has two problems the first is that the “though” before “God” does not appear in the Greek text[14]. Secondly, the “you” in “we implore you” isn’t there either! Paul cannot be appealing for the Corinthians to be reconciled to God because as believers they are already reconciled. A good English translation that respects all the amazing dimensions of reconciliation says, “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us. We plead on Christ’s behalf, “Be reconciled to God.”” (CSB)[15]. As a reconciled people God moves us to plead with a lost world for whom Christ died, “Be reconciled to God.”[16]
The Need Today
The need for the Church to live as a reconciled community in Christ has never been greater[17]. Harmony Week[18] is coming up whose purpose is to celebrate multiculturalism, but looking around at the broken state of the church e.g., I know groups that call themselves an Aboriginal church, a Romanian church, a Chinese Church, Indian Church etc., the people of God seem unable to reflect the supernatural unity-in-diversity for which Christ died and which has reconciled us to one another through him[19].
Even more seriously, the devil is openly at work across the Western world[20] telling people that their essential identity exists in their race, sex, gender, political persuasion and so on. This makes true unity impossible[21]. Instead of being restricted by human initiatives to end racism, sexism and other “isms”, we need to be inspired by a God-given vision of seeing that people from every tribe, tongue, people, nation, ethnicity, sex, economic group etc. have a destiny[22] as summed up in Paul’s great end-times vision of “a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him (Christ), things in heaven and things on earth” (Eph 1:10)[23]. The closer we get to Christ the closer we grow towards each another, until in the End we will reach that oneness in Christ which will be a full share in the glory that the Son enjoyed with the Father before the foundation of the world (John 17:5, 20-24). Such unity comes only through the reconciling power of Christ.
Together, we already belong in the “new creation” where everything is perfectly held together in God’s love (Col 3:14; cf. 1:17; Heb 1:3). This oneness of the new world in Christ has been created through the blood of the cross, “God was pleased…through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace[24] by the blood of his cross” (Col 1:20)[25]. The blood of Christ sprinkled on our conscience (Heb 10:22; 12:24; 1 Pet 1:2) cleanses away all the shame, blame, alienation and distancing. between us and God the Father, and then between one another.
The power of the blood of Christ unites our separate wills with his will, as his will was united with the will of his Abba! Father! in Gethsemane. When we allow the power of the cross to put to death our selfish human wilfulness through the Spirit (Mark 14:36; Heb 9:14) then we will share together in the reunification of heaven and earth in Christ[26] and broken men and women will see life in its wholeness (John 10:10) as it was always meant to be.
Conclusion
The reconciliation Jesus has accomplished for the whole world is complete and eternal. In Christ God has reunited the world “to himself” at the deepest level of being (2 Cor 5:18-19; Col 1:20 cf. Eph 1:5)[27]. “In Christ” the Father is at complete peace with the world. The Father can no more be estranged from us than he can be alienated from his dear Jesus (1 John 4:17). In Christ God has zero hostility towards us[28]. To those already in Jesus he says, “become what you already are”[29]. This vision of faith-reality[30] is however fiercely resisted.
Everything in our natural experience tells us that reconciliation has not already been achieved in Christ[31], we feel like we move in and out of our relationship with God; despite clear biblical teaching husbands and wives never to end the day “unreconciled”[32]husbands and wives do this all the time; Christians, of all people, hold grudges or terminate relationships, whereas the Bible tells us “as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” (Rom 12:18). If God doesn’t count our sins against us (2 Cor 5:19 cf. Ps 130:3-4), how can we audaciously remember the sins of others! To the degree we believe that the reconciliation of the world has been accomplished in Christ to that degree we will image peacemaking in our own lives and as a Church. This is the ongoing call of God on us all in Christ. Let us pray.
[1] Matt 26:28; John 3:16; Acts 20:28; Rom 3:25; Eph 1:7; Heb 13:20; 1 Pet 1:19; Rev 5:9
[2] Following the theme of our series on The Gracious Power of the Cross. Week 1, “Jesus Christ is atonement” (Barth), week 2, “he/Christ is our peace” (Eph 2:15), week 3, ““And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12).
[3] The key Greek word for “reconciliation”, katallasso, was a word used for the exchange of coins.
[4] In practice, for instance, most churchgoers love their families more than God.
[5] Salvation is its opposite, “sharing in the divine nature” (2 Pet 1:4).
[6] Disastrous according to the measure, “The glory of God is a man fully alive.” (Irenaeus)
[7] Stated explicitly a little later, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Cor 5:21) where our sin is exchanged for God’s righteousness. Luther understood the power of this very this clearly, “O Lord Thou art my righteousness, I am Thy sin”
[8] Calvin and Luther called this the “wonderful exchange” e.g. “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.” (2 Cor 8:9).
[9] At-one-ment
[10] Much like Jesus being the prodigal in the “far country” who felt “I am no longer worthy to be called your son.” (Luke 15:13, 19).
[11] This is what it means that Christ “became sin” (2 Cor 5:21).
[12] John 19:30, “It is finished”, testifies to this. The following is false, “You died helpless, a failure and in pain.” A New Zealand Prayer Book.
[13] This is best described as “objective” reconciliation, something that doesn’t depend on our experience.
[14] In other words, God is himself appealing through the apostolic preaching.
[15] “Be reconciled to God.”, wasn’t an appeal to the Corinthian Church, but a summary of Paul’s preaching to the lost. This interpretation is supported by CJB, NLT, NTE, VOICE, WE, YLT.
[16] To call forth a subjective response through faith and repentance to the objective reality of universal reconciliation.
[17] This reminds me of the famous quote by Friedrich Nietzsche, ‘I might believe in the Redeemer if his followers looked more redeemed.’
[18] “Harmony” is often a very political word, like in the Confucian form of “harmony”, celebrated at the opening of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, which is very intolerant of dissent.
[19] “that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, 16 and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. ” (Eph 2:16)
[20] Often conducted in terms of “wokeness” i.e. awareness of social injustices.
[21] To use a simple illustration, the Black Lives Matter movement isn’t all wrong, it just forgets that most people in the world experiencing injustice are coloured, not black, and live in non-Western nations.
[22] An eschatological telos or goal.
[23] Seen by John in his visions of “a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb” (Rev 7:9 cf. 5:9).
[24] In the sense discussed two weeks ago in the sermon, The Gracious Power of the Cross 2. Peace with God.
[25] Since the blood of Christ is the blood of God (Acts 20:28), it can effect a universal reharmonising of all created things.
[26] The Lord’s Prayer, “thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt 6:10), is progressively realised.
[27] This is to affirm what is called “objective universal salvation”, but it does not imply that in the end everyone will be in heaven.
[28] Which does not imply that he ever stopped loving us in the past.
[29] This is the theologically familiar indicative-imperative pattern of Paul’s writings, where he first outlines who we already are in Christ, then exhorts us to live it out. E.g. http://www.lionelwindsor.net/bibleresources/bible/new/Paul_indicative_imperative.htm
[30] Seeing things as they really are. A major theme of Hebrews 11.
[31] Not only the poor state of the world, but something as mundane as the Roman Catholic sacrament of “reconciliation” passes on this erroneous message.
[32] “Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and give no opportunity to the devil.” (Eph 4:2-27)