The Cross: The Ministry of Reconciliation
/2 Corinthians 5:17-18
17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
Faith in Jesus and His death: the old life passes away and God’s gift of new life is given.
18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;
Financially reconciliation makes an adjustment that corrects the books. Man born in Adam, is born in sin and is in debt. Jesus’ death paid the debt and now the books can be reconciled (Romans 6:23).
1 Corinthians 6:17
But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.
When a person is born again, the Holy Spirit comes to live in the person. The human spirit is joined with God’s Spirit (John 4:24).
Genesis 3:24
So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.
Sin separates man from God’s presence. God’s ministry of reconciliation begins after the fall with the skins of animals but finds fulfillment at the cross of Christ. Notice how God places Cherubims [angels] with swords to prevent entrance back into the presence of God.
Exodus 25:16-22
16 And thou shalt put into the ark the testimony which I shall give thee.
The ark was a box made of gold, and within the box, the “testimony,” which was the 10 commandments was placed into the ark. If the Law was not kept completely, it was considered broken.
17 And thou shalt make a mercy seat of pure gold: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof.
18 And thou shalt make two cherubims of gold, of beaten work shalt thou make them, in the two ends of the mercy seat.
Just as there were 2 Cherubims preventing access to God’s presence, we will see that these 2 Cherubims are associated with allowing access to God’s presence.
19 And make one cherub on the one end, and the other cherub on the other end: even of the mercy seat shall ye make the cherubims on the two ends thereof.
20 And the cherubims shall stretch forth their wings on high, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and their faces shall look one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubims be.
The faces of the cherubim are looking towards the top of the mercy seat.
21 And thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee.
“The testimony” is another way to say the 10 commandments. In order to live by the Law every aspect of the Law must be kept (James 2:10). If it’s not kept perfectly, it’s considered by God as broken.
22 And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel.
It’s further explained in Leviticus 16 that on the Day of Atonement, once per year, blood is applied on top of the Mercy Seat, between the Cherubims. This would change this place from judgment (broken law) to a place of mercy. Now, the Cherubims don’t see broken law, they see the blood. Only the high priest was allowed into God’s presence once per year, but God is furthering the ministry of reconciliation.
Romans 3:25
Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;
The Greek word for propitiation means mercy seat. Jesus is our mercy seat. Because of His sacrifice. We are allowed back into the presence of God. When He dies, the veil that separated the holy of holies was torn from top to bottom signifying that access into the presence of God was now granted to those who come through faith in the blood of Jesus (Matthew 28:5; Hebrews 10:19, 20).
Genesis 3:10
And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.
Because of sin, Adam’s covering of glory was removed and the exposure of his sin produced a separation between him and God’s presence. The forces of darkness are connected to sin and sin and darkness are not comfortable in the presence of God.
Genesis 3:7
And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
Since the fall, mankind has tried to find a way to escape the guilt of His sin, but there is only one thing that is accepted by God the Father as reconciliation for the sin debt and that is the blood of Jesus, meaning His death pays the wage of sin. It’s important for Christians to understand that if they have accepted Jesus, then they can call upon God, they can enter God’s presence without fear or reservation! The word of God says that Jesus’ sacrifice paid the penalty of your sin. You can trust God’s word.
Genesis 3:21
Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.
It must be believed that these skins represent the first sacrifice. If you read back in chapter 1 of Genesis, you will realize that man and animal were herbivores, meaning that they did not eat meat. Moving forward in Leviticus, it becomes clear that animal sacrifices were a temporary answer for forgiveness of sin—the innocent animal dying in place of guilty man, until finally Jesus came to die as the sinless man, who made right what the first sinless creation [Adam] made wrong because the blood of bulls and goats cannot remove sin (Hebrews 10:4).
Galatians 3:27
For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
When a person puts faith in Jesus, the old man is buried and a new man is resurrected, and the new man is clothed in Jesus in God’s eyes.
1 Corinthians 15:49
And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.
Ultimately, we will receive a glorified body and our reconciliation in God’s presence will be complete.
Ezekiel 36:26-27
26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
In the Old Testament, God promised that He would provide a new covenant where He would change the inside of people and give them a new spirit and a new heart. It was mentioned earlier that when we’re born again, we are joined together with God in our spirit.
27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.
The ministry of reconciliation makes it possible that the blood of Jesus takes away our sin and allows the Spirit of God to come and live within us.
Colossians 2:13
And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;
In Adam [our first birth], we were born dead. In Jesus [born again], we are made alive through the power of His resurrection.
Ephesians 1:13
In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
It’s already been said, but God keeps saying it, so I will also. When a person responds by faith to the gospel, the Spirit of God seals them and comes to live in them and their life will never be the same again.
Luke 9:59-60
59 And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.
60 -- Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.
Genesis 1:26
And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
When God created Adam, mankind was created in the image and likeness of God.
Genesis 5:3
And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth:
After Adam sinned, mankind was born in the image and likeness of Adam [with a sinful nature]
Ephesians 4:22-24
22 That ye put off concerning the former conversation [conduct or behavior] the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;
The “old man,” who we were before we were born again, used to live his life a certain way, but new creations are supposed to look differently, talk differently and act differently.
23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;
Our spirit is joined with God’s Spirit. The word says that we are new creations in Christ. The word says that we are not who we used to be. The word says that the old man that we were originally born as in Adam, died with Jesus on the cross, was buried with Jesus in the tomb and was resurrected with Jesus to newness of life (Romans 6:3,4)
24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
It’s just that simple. Through faith, the old died and the new was resurrected and now, like an old pair of shoes you take off the old and put on the new. The only thing holding you back is:
You don’t know it so you can’t believe it and that’s why we need a renewed mind
You’re not ready to give up sin and keep walking the same path In the same shoes
Hebrews 1:3
Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;
Jesus, the last Adam, came in the image of God and died to make right what Adam made wrong
Romans 8:29
For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
Now, being born again, the Holy Spirit lives in me, and as I yield to His will, my old man and his old ways are crucified, and through the ministry of the Holy Spirit, I am being molded into the image of Jesus.
John 3:3
Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
The ministry of reconciliation cannot happen unless a man is truly born again.
Romans 6:5-6
5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:
In God’s mind our old man that was sinful, naked and offensive has died and a new man has been resurrected. The new man is clothed in Christ, and he is being molded into the image of Jesus. Jesus is the image of God; therefore, when the Father looks at a Christian, He sees Himself, like He did when He looked at Adam before the fall.
6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
The renewed mind understands that the old man is crucified with Jesus, he also understands that the power of sin is broken through this spiritual death, burial and resurrection with Jesus, and lastly he understands that he does not have to be a slave to sin.
Romans 8:11
But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.
The ministry of reconciliation takes people that are born dead in the first birth in Adam, kills them and buries them in Jesus and resurrects them through the power of the Holy Spirit, the same Holy Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead lives in the believer now, and He is there to continuously make changes as the believer cooperates with Him.