All this is from God
2 Corinthians 5:18-19 - God uses the Word to reconcile humanity to Himself, and He wants us to share that message wherever and whenever we can.
“All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.”
2 Corinthians 5:18-19 NIV
There is a key word in these two verses: reconciliation. In fact, the word is used four times in various ways - reconciled, reconciliation (twice), and reconciling. It’s pretty clear that Paul is telling us that God reconciled himself to mankind through Christ.
What does it mean to be reconciled with someone? Imagine that you have a lifelong friend, and you get into a disagreement about something. You argue for a while, probably call each other some pretty bad things in anger, and then stomp off in opposite directions. You don’t talk to each other for quite some time, but at one point you decide that the disagreement wasn’t worth losing a friend over, so you apologize to each other and start up your friendship again — you’ve reconciled.
Mankind needed to be reconciled with God for one very good reason — we are all sinners and that keeps us from having a relationship with God, who is holy and righteous. The perfect sacrifice of Jesus on the cross atoned for sin, reconciling us with God.
Word studies are always instructive! The Ancient Greek word for reconcile — καταλλάσσω — not only means “to reconcile (those who are at variance)”, “return to favour with, be reconciled with one” and “to receive one into favour”, but also “to change, exchange, as coins for others of equivalent value”. God exchanged Christ’s life for our sin!
The similar word used here as reconciliation — καταλλαγή — has this definition:
exchange
of the business of money changers, exchanging equivalent values
adjustment of a difference, reconciliation, restoration to favour
in the NT (New Testament) of the restoration of the favour of God to sinners that repent and put their trust in the expiatory death of Christ
Let’s go back to the start of verse 18, where Paul says “All this is from God”. What’s he talking about? In the previous verse, he refers to the transformation that believers go through: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV). That is the transformative power of being in Christ — God has reconciled Himself to sinful humanity through His Son’s sacrifice on the cross.
Michael Andrus, quoted on Precept Austin, said this about God’s reconciliatory act:
If He did not act first, we would remain His eternal enemies. But He did act first; He sent His Son to the Cross, and at the Cross Jesus satisfied God’s wrath toward sin, taking our sin upon Himself. Jesus made it possible for God to declare us His friends instead of His enemies. The tendency of religious people everywhere is to try to earn God’s friendship by showing Him how much we love Him or how faithful we are. But that is backward. The Gospel does not call us to do something for God that He might save us; rather it announces what God has done to save us in order that we might trust Him.
The verse goes on to tell us that God “gave us the ministry of reconciliation”. This is probably one of the best descriptions of Paul’s ministry and what we as Christians are called to do (from Precept Austin): “In short the ministry of reconciliation is a gift of God's amazing grace to reconciled sinners who are now to seek other sinners to be reconciled.”
Are Christians called to be mediators between other people and God? No — we just need to pass the message that God reconciled the world to Himself in Jesus Christ. We are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.
David Guzik says this about the next part of the verse on Enduring Word, using the phrase “not imputing their trespasses to them” (NKJV) rather than the more understandable“ not counting people’s sin against them” (NIV):
Why? Was it because God went soft and gave mankind a “Get Out of Hell Free” card? Not at all. Instead, it is because our trespasses were imputed to Jesus. The justice our sin demanded is satisfied, not excused.
i. If God sets aside His wrath or His justice to save sinners, then the cross, instead of being a demonstration of love, is an exhibition of unspeakable cruelty and injustice, and of one man’s misguided attempt at do-goodism. If sin could just be excused, then it never needed to be satisfied.
The verse ends by reiterating “And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.” God uses the Word to reconcile humanity to Himself, and He wants us to share that message wherever and whenever we can.
Heaven On Wheels Daily Prayer:
Father in Heaven, I thank You for reconciling believers to Yourself through Jesus Christ. Instill in me an understanding of the enormity of this gift, and help me to share it with others through this ministry and in conversations. Guide me to be a living instrument of Your love and peace to bring those around me closer to You, and assist me in my words and actions as I seek to fulfill Your ministry of reconciliation. AMEN.