2 Corinthians 5:18, 19 - Ministry of Reconciliation.
2 Corinthians 5:18-19 (GW) God has done all
this. He has restored our relationship with him
through Christ, and has given us this ministry of
restoring relationships. 19 In other words, God was
using Christ to restore his relationship with
humanity. He didn't hold people's faults against them,
and he has given us this message of restored
relationships to tell others.
INTRODUCTION
Understanding the character of God,
knowing His goodness, Satan chose to follow his own
selfish, independent will. This choice was final.
There was no more that God could do to save him.
But man was deceived; his mind was darkened by
Satans sophistry. The height and depth of the love
of God he did not know. For him there was hope
in a knowledge of Gods love. By beholding
His character he might be drawn back to God.
Through Jesus, Gods mercy was
manifested to men; but mercy does not set aside
justice. The law reveals the attributes of Gods
character, and not a jot or tittle of it could be
changed to meet man in his fallen condition. God did
not change His law, but He sacrificed Himself,
in Christ, for mans redemption. God was
in Christ, reconciling the world unto
Himself. 2 Corinthians 5:19. DA762
God brings us back to himself (reconciles
us) by blotting out our sins (see also Ephesians
2:13-18) and making us right with him. When we trust
in Christ, we are no longer God's enemies, or
strangers or foreigners to him. Because we have been
reconciled to God, we have the privilege of encouraging
others to do the same, and thus we are those who
have the "task of reconciling people to him."
[Life Application SB]
COMMENTARY PEARL
Ministry of Reconciliation
The world abounds with people whose sin
has alienated them from God. Christs
sacrificial work has restored Christians to a love
relationship with the heavenly Father. As Christians, we
are appointed as ministers of reconciliation.
Once Christ dwells within us, we become His
ambassadors, and we entreat others to be reconciled to
Him (2Co 5:20). We are Gods messengers of
peace, urging others to return to God (Mt 5:9).
Sin breaks our relationship with God; it
severs relationships with others as well. Broken
relationships are the epidemic of our day. Sin alienates
family members, separates friends, divides
churches, and destroys marriages. Sin creates
mistrust, jealousy, hatred, and greed, all of which
devastate relationships. Only Christ has the remedy
for the disastrous effect of sin on human
relationships. As His ambassadors, we are to take the
message of reconciliation to a broken, divided
world. We urge reconciliation first with God, and
then with each other.
How tragic when Gods messengers of
peace harbor enmity toward each other. It is a
travesty to carry a message of love and yet be filled
with hatred. If there is someone whom you refuse
to forgive, your message of reconciliation is
hypocrisy. The evidence that you are a disciple of
Jesus is that you love your fellow Christian (John
13:35). In each of your relationships, make certain
that your actions share the love and forgiveness
that reflect what you received from God. Then you
will not only speak the message of
reconciliation, but you will live it as well. [Experiencing
God Day by Day by Henry and Richard Blackaby re
2Co. 5:18]
Work for Reconciliation, Not Resolution
When you want to repair a relationship
where there is conflict, you have to focus on
reconciliation, not resolution.
And theres a big difference between
the two.
Reconciliation means reestablishing the
relationship. It doesnt mean youll remarry your ex;
it just means youre at peace with each
other.
Resolution means you resolve every
disagreement"and that just isnt going to happen. The truth
is, there are some things in your marriage, your
friendships, and your work relationships that youre
just never going to agree on"because were
all different. But you can disagree without
being disagreeable. Thats called maturity.
Thats called wisdom. Thats called being like
Christ.
We can have unity without uniformity. We
can walk hand in hand together without seeing
eye to eye. My wife, Kay, and I have been
married for more than 40 years, and we dont see
eye to eye on a lot of things. But we walk hand
in hand and support each other. We are at
peace.
Heres what Ive learned from
counseling married couples: If you focus on restoring
your relationship, oftentimes the issue becomes
insignificant. How many of your biggest arguments were over
the smallest things? We fight about so many
little things, but, in reality, the fights arent
even about those things"theyre about bigger
issues. Instead of trying to agree on every little
issue, you need to get back to focusing on the
relationship.
Theres a lot of conflict in the world.
Earth is filled with wars, division, arguments,
prejudice, racism, terrorism, and partisanism. And as a
result, we have broken relationships. We have broken
economies, broken governments, and broken marriages.
And we have broken lives and broken hearts.
I challenge you as a believer to commit
to becoming an agent of reconciliation in a
world filled with conflict. Look for ways to bring
people together rather than tear them apart.
The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 5:18-19,
[God] has restored our relationship with him
through Christ, and has given us this ministry of
restoring relationships. In other words, God was using
Christ to restore his relationship with humanity.
He didnt hold peoples faults against
them, and he has given us this message of restored
relationships to tell others (GW).
If you are a follower of Jesus Christ,
you have a ministry of reconciliation. Its
your job to go out in society and say, Gods
done everything to put you back in fellowship
with him. Hes already paid for all your sins.
You dont have to be his enemy. Hes not mad
at you. Hes mad about you. Be reconciled to
God. Be at peace with God. Then spread that peace
to everybody else. [Daily Devotional by Rick
Warren: https://pastorrick.com/devotional/]
How Do You Forgive?
In 1956, five American missionaries
headed to the rainforest of the eastern Amazon in
Ecuador to make a second visit to the isolated
Huaorani tribe. The people had a culture of killing,
and anthropological studies suggest as much as
54 percent of the tribe died by homicide.
Soon after the missionaries got out of
the plane, they were speared to death by members
of the tribe. The brutal murders made news
around the world and were on the covers of Life
magazine, Time, and Newsweek. Many newspapers reported
the deaths of these men, who included Nate Saint
and Jim Elliot.
A couple years later, Elisabeth and
Valerie Elliot (wife and daughter of Jim) and Rachel
Saint (sister of Nate) moved into the Huaorani
village to show love and forgiveness and minister to
the people who had killed their family.
Eventually, Mincaye, the leader of the tribe, and the
five men who participated in the missionary
murders all became Christians.
The kind of forgiveness that Elisabeth
Elliot and Rachel Saint modeled doesnt make
sense until you have been forgiven by God. Once
youve experienced Gods forgiveness, how do you
forgive? You do the four things that these women
did.
Relinquish your right to get even. Romans
12:19 says, Dont try to get even. Let God
take revenge (CEV). Leave it up to God.
Hell take care of it, and hell do a much
better job than you ever could.
Respond to evil with good. How can you
tell when youve completely forgiven someone?
You can actually pray for God to bless the
person who hurt you. The Bible says, Do good to
those who hate you, bless those who curse you,
pray for those who mistreat you (Luke 6:27-28
NIV).
Repeat these steps as long as necessary.
The book of Matthew records a conversation about
forgiveness between Jesus and Peter: Peter came up to
the Lord and asked, How many times should I
forgive someone who does something wrong to me? Is
seven times enough? Jesus answered: Not just
seven times, but seventy-seven times! (CEV).
Sometimes forgiveness is continual.
Rescue others with the Good News of
Gods forgiveness. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians
5:18-20, God has done it all! He sent Christ to
make peace between himself and us, and he has
given us the work of making peace between himself
and others. What we mean is that God was in
Christ, offering peace and forgiveness to the people
of this world. And he has given us the work of
sharing his message about peace. We were sent to
speak for Christ, and God is begging you to listen
to our message. We speak for Christ and
sincerely ask you to make peace with God.
Forgiveness is difficult. But it becomes
easier when you stop trying to forgive on your own
and, instead, forgive others because God has
already forgiven you. [Daily Devotional by Rick
Warren: https://pastorrick.com/devotional/]
CLOSING THOUGHT
Harmony with God
As a teacher of God's Word, it is not my
job to preach amazing sermons that will impress
people, but rather to share God's Word in such a way
that they might desire to be brought into harmony
with Him. God has brought us into harmony with
Himself, and His desire is to work through us to do
the same thing for the multitudes that are
separated from Him and living in darkness.
What a great privilege it is to bring
people to God! Life lived out of harmony with God
is a miserable life. It is one filled with sin,
darkness, fear, anger, confusion, and never-ending
disappointment. it is one lived without the awareness of
God. I remember living a life like that, and I
will be forever grateful for the new life that
Jesus has provided and brought me into. Let us be
thankful today that we are aware of God and that we
can come to Him without fear of rejection.
Let us ask ourselves this question: Are
people being brought to God by my words and deeds?
I pray that they are! We have an amazing
opportunity to partner with God in the reconciliation of
the lost people in this world. We are
ambassadors for God, and as such, we represent Him in
the earth today. God is making His appeal to the
world through us (see 2 Corinthians 5:20). Working
with and for God is the greatest privilege that
anyone could ever have. Let the people around you
see Christ shining through you today!
Father, I am excited to partner with You
in the reconciliation of the human race. Grant
me the grace to live my life in such a way that
people would see You through me! Let my life today
bear good fruit for Your kingdom. [My Time with
God by Joyce Meyer]
LINKS FOR FURTHER STUDY
2 Corinthians 5:17 - Becoming Friends With
God (Reconciliation).
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2008/20080901-1303.html
2 Corinthians 5:17 - New Life in Christ.
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2020/20200531-0902.html
2 Corinthians 5:20 - Ambassadors for Christ.
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2019/20190830-1026.html
LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT
https://abible.com/links/
