The Message of Reconciliation

Introduction

Well, good evening to everybody. It is probably no mystery to those of you who have been here for some period of time how much I like the study of 2 Corinthians. I was just thinking right before I got up here about how that when I was younger growing up among the Lord’s people, that there seemed to be a lot of emphasis on 1 Corinthians. I knew a lot about 1 Corinthians, but didn’t know quite as much about 2 Corinthians. And now it’s one of the most fascinating studies to me of all the books of the New Testament. We had a study on it not very long ago. Some of you were not here at that time when we studied it. And I got the idea, actually, for this lesson, while listening to Terry Francis at the beginning of last month.

And I’m really struggling to figure out how I got from there to here, other than the fact that the prodigal son was reconciled to his father, and was attempting, the father was attempting to reconcile the brothers to one another. And that really gets us to the heart of what’s going on in 2 Corinthians. I wouldn’t suggest that you need to read the end first to understand everything. However, it’s not until the last four chapters of 2 Corinthians that Paul gets to the specifics of the problem with his relationship to the church at Corinth. And he starts taking it head on at that point, beginning in chapter 10. But the marvel, really, of 2 Corinthians is that he really answers all the arguments in the first seven chapters.

And so once you’ve read chapters 1 through 7 and you’ve read this marvelous treatise that we’re going to be looking at, part of it in a minute, and then you come to the end and see the problems that he addresses specifically. It’s like, oh, he’s already giving answers and solutions to the problem way back in the very beginning. And he does so very craftily and by inspiration in a marvelous fashion. And of course, the two chapters in the middle. This is a book with three sections very clearly. You have the end section where he addresses the specifics. You have the beginning section where he really answers the things that they need to know to fix the problem. And in the middle is a two-chapter treatise on giving for the poor saints in Jerusalem.

But again, to adopt the attitudes that he’s recommending in relation to their brethren, in relation to the giving of themselves to their brethren, in this work, this great work of meeting the financial need of struggling saints in Jerusalem. Again, by adopting those attitudes, it would help to fix the problems that exist between himself and these brethren. Now, a few years have passed since the problems of 1 Corinthians, and now a whole new situation has unfolded. And almost every scholar agrees that the theme of the book is actually stated in the fifth chapter, and that’s the section we’re going to be looking at tonight very briefly. And so if you’ll begin turning to chapter 5 of 2 Corinthians, there is a theme of reconciliation. He mentions in chapter 5 and verse 14, I was going to get to this later, about their restraint in regard to him.

This is actually chapter 6, where he speaks of them being restrained, not by us, verse 12, but you are restrained in your own affections. Now that’s that’s really a first hint at the specific problems that’s going on. He goes, you’re not feeling about me like this. You’re restrained. But it’s not anything we’ve done, which they would claim. It’s not anything that I’ve done or those associated with me in the work have done. It’s a problem that you have. And in regard to my affections, he says, my heart is open wide to you. He has said in chapter 5 that I referenced a second ago, a little ahead of myself in verse 14, he says, the love of Christ controls us, chapter 5 and verse 14. And so that’s what’s motivating him.

Now, how are they going to be reconciled both to God and to his apostle, the apostle Paul, they need to appreciate the fact that they are a new creation. And that begins the context that I want to read with you, beginning in chapter 5 and verse 16, where Paul states the very theme of this epistle. They had a lack of regard for Paul in some measure by the way he appeared physically. He was not, it seems, the most eloquent speaker. He might have had a lot of physical informity deformities as a result of persecution that he has experienced. But he says this in verse 16 to begin. Therefore, from now on, we recognize no man according to the flesh. That’s not how you measure someone or determine things about them.

After all, Jesus Christ died on the cross, and where is he now? He’s in heaven. He rose from the dead. You talk about the ghastly event of crucifixion and what happened to him physically. But now what is he spiritually? He’s King of kings and Lord of Lords. We recognize no man according to the flesh. And we do not know him thus any longer. He’s no longer physical or visible. Therefore, if any man is in Christ. Now that’s the key. That’s the key phrase here. In Christ, sustaining a relationship with Christ. It’s not about what you look like. It’s not about anything according to the flesh. It is the spiritual relationship that you sustain with Jesus. Therefore, if any man is in Christ, an amazing change has taken place.

Like the caterpillar to the butterfly. A transformation. As we read about this morning in Romans chapter 12 and verse 2, he says, He is a new creature, this one who is in Christ. All things that passed away, behold, new things have come. And never forget the source of these things. All these things come from God. Who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. That’s what we’re preaching. The ministry of reconciliation. God has done this. He has been the active agent in all of this. Yes, there are some actions that are necessary on our part. We talk about that all the time. Salvation is by grace through faith. But the greatest active agent in our salvation is always God. We could be nothing and do nothing apart from Him.

And thus He says, all these things are from God who reconciled us to Himself. Namely, verse 19, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself. That’s the goal, not everybody in the world will respond to the message of reconciliation. But it is a message to the whole world. To be reconciled by being this new creature in Christ. He says, not counting their trespasses against them. That’s really the issue in our salvation. We have trespasses on our account, reckoned to us. And the only way to fix them is through the sacrifice of Jesus and what he did for us. That he would, as a result of his provisions, us becoming a new creature in Christ, those trespasses would not count against us anymore. And thus he says he committed to us the word of reconciliation.

How do we know this is his theme? Because it is a ministry of reconciliation. He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. And so don’t ever forget we’re in the midst of all of these assemblies and different Bible studies where we’re studying different verses. That the goal of everything is a person’s reconciliation to God. The goal of it all is your reconciliation to God. And reconcile is a big word that just simply means to bring together, to bring into union with God. Therefore, verse 20. We are ambassadors for Christ. We are his official representatives. Now that’s important. We’ll come back to that in a little bit. As though God were entreating through us. He’s making an appeal through us, Paul says. We beg you. Now why would we do this?

Because you desperately need this. Because what God offers is the most important thing that you can consider. We beg you, we plead with you on behalf of Christ. After all, they are committed to the word of reconciliation. And the message of reconciliation says, we plead with you on behalf of Christ. Be reconciled to God. Verse 21.

He made him. Now, how did we get reconciled? How can we be new creatures in Christ? What did he do exactly? He made him who knew no sin. One who was not deserving of death. He made him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf. He bore the curse of our sin. And he made him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf. He bore our sins in his body upon the cross. Peter says in 1 Peter chapter 2 and verse 24, because we were all straying like sheep. But now you have returned, Peter says to the shepherd and guardian of your souls. That, he says, the latter part of verse 21, that we might become the righteousness of God in him.

Now that’s a pretty general statement, isn’t it? Why did he do all of this? Why did Jesus make this sacrifice? So that we could be a new creature. And all that means as we become something, and that is those who do right in him. He is the author of eternal salvation to all those who obey him. We’re told in Hebrews chapter 5, verses 8 and 9. In Acts chapter 10, everyone who fears God and does what is right is welcome to him. That was the message to Cornelius. And so the message is to be reconciled to God. Now, here are just two points tonight. You’ve listened patiently to this point, it’s been 10 minutes. I had to get through this and explain this text to you a little bit.

Two points is all. Can you take two points? Home. Can you persevere for two points?

1. When One Comes Into Christ, That Is Just the Beginning

When one comes into Christ, that is just the beginning. He’s talking to people who have been Christians for some time as he makes this appeal. He is not making this appeal to those who are outside of Christ. Does it apply to them? Yes, it does. But he’s talking to those who are already in Christ.

Something has gone awry in their development. There are yet more things to learn. This is just the beginning. The pursuit of the new creation is not concluded at one’s baptism. Notice what we read. He did this that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. And I’ll tell you, this is not a process that is concluded when we’re baptized into Christ. There is yet more to learn about what is right. In all of our behavior. Things we can’t do or shouldn’t do. How we ought to behave in relationships. We’re still learning about that, right? This process of becoming is an ongoing process. The Corinthians need to come back here. And they’ve lost sight of where it all started and what it was unto. Something has happened in their development.

The righteousness of God results. When we continue to assess all of the ways of the Lord that are right. First of all, we have to learn them. All the ways of the Lord that are right, and as we implement them in our lives. The learning process occurs with ups and downs and a host of unexpected circumstances as life happens. Moments of zeal and exhilaration. Moments of pain and despair. Moments of triumph and trial. Moments of friendship and opposition, and trying to possess in the midst of it all the mind of Christ. According to Philippians chapter 2 and verse 5, let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus. And I’ll tell you, if you’ve been a Christian for any period of time, if you’ve only been a Christian for five years, you should know this by now.

You’re going to experience all of this. The Corinthians have hit a rough patch in their development. And Paul is challenging them to continue to possess the mind of Christ in the midst of difficult times, in the midst of spiritual struggles, but it would be true in the midst of any kind of physical or personal or emotional troubles.

I tell you, that can’t be easy.

And these kinds of things happen, yes, even to the Lord’s people.

Circumstances and difficulties. Yes, some in our number, but beyond just our number, Christians that you know who’ve experienced great heartache and despair and difficulties. This is life happening to us. I ran across this quote this week from John Wooden, who, of course, is a legendary basketball coach, who coached the UCLA Bruins for years and years, and he said this. Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out. And I really like that. I think that’s just about right. Things turn out best for those who make the best of the way things turn out because you can’t control all the situations that happen in your life. There are things that are going to happen that are worse than undesirable.

And again, you have to possess this new creature mentality that you have been called to the righteousness of God in the midst of it all. And we’re here to do this together. That’s one thing that the church is designed to do. To deal with someone who’s been overtaken in the fall. To help them to recover spiritually. Galatians 6 and verse 1. Bear one another’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ. As we have opportunity, do good to one another, especially those of the household of faith. We’re in this together. And if I might recommend the prayer that Tom referenced Wednesday night in Psalm 27 and verse 11, I just like it a whole lot. In the midst of our pursuits, whatever they are, pray to the Lord, teach me thy way, O Lord.

2. Be Reconciled to God

And lead me in a level path. I like that. Our growth in Christ. The moment that we come into Christ and come into reconciliation with him, that’s just the beginning. Point number two. See how quickly this is going. Point number two. Be reconciled to God. Actually, this context doesn’t end at verse 21. It flows into chapter 6, where Paul says, and working together with him. We urge you not to receive the grace of God in vain. I want you to notice that. They had started well thanks to Paul. They had received their introduction into Christ. They had become reconciled to him, but they had to keep working in his cause in the right way. Working together with him. We urge you not to receive the grace of God in vain.

And so then he begins to explain how he and those engaged with him in his ministry have worked for the Lord. And he explains it in beautiful detail in verses 3 through 10. Then he makes that appeal to them. But he is compelling us by what? By what Jesus did for us. He who knew no sin became sin on our behalf. As Isaiah 53 points out, he was crushed for our iniquities. We esteem him smitten of God and afflicted. He was bearing the curse for sin. It’s as if God was smiting him as he died for our sins. He did that for our reconciliation. He had an appearance that was not comely, as we read in Isaiah 53. I think we sometimes miss the vote on that.

We start talking about what Jesus looked like physically. That’s not the idea of Isaiah 53. The point of that was in his humiliation, in his stricken state, in his crucifixion, there was nothing pretty to behold from the flesh, from the standpoint of the flesh in that sacrifice for us. Jesus became a curse for us. That is our motivation. And again, the purpose, he has already said that we might become, that we might become the righteousness of God in him. So now what’s going on? Let’s go back to the Corinthians. What’s going on with them? How are they reacting to the Apostle Paul? He said, You’re restrained in your affections for us. Here’s the point I want to make. Being at odds with God’s representative meant that their relationship with God had been affected.

Because what appeal did He just make to them? He says, be reconciled to God. When we studied 1 John not very long ago, remember the three tests that we went over and over again, the moral test, you know, walk as Jesus walked. This is the love of God that we keep his commandments. That’s the moral test. And then there was the convictions test. You know, you have to believe certain things about Jesus. You can’t believe wrong things about him and who he is. That’s of the Antichrist. That’s all in chapter 2. So you have to have the right convictions about Jesus. But then there was this third test. Remember what that was? The social test, we called it. And that’s about your attitude towards your brother.

You realize how many admonitions there are in 1 John about attitudes toward your brothers. Well, it starts in chapter 2. There’s some admonitions there. There’s some more in chapter 4, in fact, and chapter 3 talks about being a murderer. The one who hates his brother is like Cain of the Old. Cain, that’s not a positive figure in the Old Testament, is it? But if you hate your brother, you’re a murderer like him. And he says we ought to lay down our lives for our brethren. In chapter 4, he says, if you don’t love your brother, whom you can see, how can you love God, whom you cannot see? Everyone who loves God loves the child born of him. Next chapter 5. Now that’s the really short course on 1 John.

And love your brother. The social test. And I’ll tell you why that’s important. Apparently, first century Christians struggle. And guess what? 21st century Christians struggle a bad. And if I were going to start the illustrations of the times that I’ve seen it.

We’ll continue to have our assemblies. We’ll continue to sing our songs and pray our prayers and partake of the Lord’s Supper. But when it comes to attitudes toward our brethren, all bets are off.

If we feel really negative toward them, well, that’s their fault. It’s because of what they did. That’s what the Corinthians are doing. That Paul. That Paul. He says one thing, does another. Can’t trust him. One of the things they were saying about it. This is the Apostle Paul was talking about. How do they become a strange from somebody like that? Who has been beaten times without number because of his ministry that he describes in chapter 6, despite some of the imprisonments and beatings that he mentions, he’s going to talk about them in detail in chapter 11. How can you become restrained in your affections toward him? Who do you think is behind all of that? Paul says very clearly who’s behind all of that in chapter 11.

Satan transforms himself into an angel of light.

But Paul is saying, you’re rejecting one who represents God, who is an ambassador for Christ. And so the way they were regarding Paul was affecting their relationship to God. And that’s why he said, be reconciled to God. This passage is not for the one who is outside of Christ and who is lost. Yes, they need to be reconciled to God. But he’s talking to Christians. Something can happen in our relationship with God simply because we do not have the proper regard. For our brothers and sisters in Christ. And it may not mean that you quit assembling, that you quit worshiping.

I’ve got some enemies. I don’t know that I have any enemies that are outside the body of Christ. I don’t have the workplace environment. You probably have some enemies in your workplace. I don’t know how that works for some of you, but my work environment’s different. You’re it.

You know, and I’m pretty good friends with my neighbors. I don’t think any of them are my enemies. So, not a lot of people out there in the world that are my enemies, but I’ll tell you where most of my enemies are. People who are numbered among the Lord’s people.

Well, who do you think is promoting that? Who do you think doesn’t like harmony and unity? And I’ll tell you when you have enemies among people that you don’t want to be your enemies. That’s a hard thing. And you have to watch your attitude. Because it’s very easily easy to go down the road of vengeance. And the demand for justice.

I don’t think I have any here. Let’s keep it that way, okay?

To be lost. Not a single one of them. What should I do for my enemies? Pray for them. Matthew chapter 5. And guess what? Some of them may not even recognize what their issue is. Some of them are very immature. Maybe I need to allow room for some of them to grow spiritual. And perhaps they’re making appeals to the Heavenly Father for mercy, and I hope he grants it to them. But understand this when something’s wrong in your relationship with someone else, the problem may not be them, it may be you. The Corinthians, the problem was theirs, not false. And beware who is influencing you. They have come under the influence of false apostles and deceitful workers, and thus Paul makes this appeal. Our heart is open wide.

The Corinthians were absolutely clueless. And that’s the most scary part about this. Something has affected their relationship to God. They need to be reconciled to God. But before this letter, what did they think? When they got this letter, some of them must have been absolutely shocked that the apostle was saying, you need to be reconciled to God. They were absolutely clueless. So I ask, is there anything going on with you that is inconsistent with your call? With being that new creature? Then you need to deal with that. Could the devil be deceiving you about the seriousness of that infraction? Could you be minimizing that which threatens your fellowship with God and your influence among his people? The Corinthians tell us about the danger of self deception.

How many times have I talked about that? How many times has Paul said in his letters, do not be deceived? Why are people deceived? One of the greater reasons is misinformation. And that’s what those false apostles were feeding them on a regular basis. Things about Paul that were not true. Misinformation. And sometimes the source is not those evil people out there, but they could even be our brethren. Misinformation. Sometimes it is simply a matter of self-esteem. That’s why we’re deceived. We don’t want to look at ourselves and our behavior and say, well, I’ve got a big L on my forehead. I am a loser. Nobody likes to think that about themselves. It’s not fun to say, I’m a loser over what I did. And so sometimes it’s our self-esteem that gets in the way that keeps us from acknowledging the truth about ourselves.

Conclusion

Guilt avoidance. Because if you’re going to look at yourself honestly and candidly and say I’m less than what I ought to be, then you must admit your guilt, and if you do that, then it will be incumbent upon you to change. And that’s what this whole message is about. This message of reconciliation. It is about change, as we said in the very beginning. Paul is telling the Corinthians, you guys have to change. And that brings it all full circle as I conclude tonight. Saving activity always involves change. And not a one of us has done.

And if you’re not in Christ, I’ll tell you the message of the gospel says you’re going to have to change. You’re going to have to have a new focus and a new commitment, a new allegiance. And it’s going to run counter to the world and what the world says. And most people just want to go with the floor. Saving activity involves change. I didn’t know where I was going to finish tonight. But I decided to go back to a passage, not in 2 Corinthians. But in Hebrews, that I don’t think we should stray from for very long. That summarizes this need for change as we become the righteousness of God in him and are reconciled to him. It’s Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 6 that says, without faith it is impossible to please God.

For he who comes to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of those who seek him. The King James and the new King James add the word diligently. I guess the newer translations thought it was redundant. Because seek is seek. But I like to put a little effort into it. Diligently seek him. He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him. And that means change. Coming into conformity with His will. If there’s someone in this audience tonight who needs to come to God to be reconciled to Him while there’s time and opportunity? Let’s stand and sing to encourage that response.