BEN F. VICK, JR.
And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us; we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
—II Corinthians 5:18-21
This passage emphasizes the AUTHORITY of God. Please note that Paul said, “And all things are of God.” “All things” does not always mean “all things,” but is limited by its context. This can be seen from other “all things” passages (Rom. 8:28; I Cor. 6:12; 13:7; II Cor. 6:10; Phil. 2:14; 4:13; I Tim. 6:17; II Peter 1:3). The “all things” in this passage refers to the word of God, the word of reconciliation.
Observe the chain of God’s authority. Truth originates and inheres in God (John 3:33; II Cor. 1:18). He, in turn, gave the message to his only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. John quoted Jesus, saying, “For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.” (John 12:49.) Jesus gave the message to the apostles through the Holy Spirit. To them, Jesus said:
Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you.
—John 16:13-15
The preceding passages quoted are parallel:
II Corinthians 5:18-21 John 16:13-15
1. God (v. 18) 1. The Father (v. 15)
2. Jesus Christ (vv. 18-20) 2. Me, mine (vv. 14-15)
3. [Holy Spirit-Understood] 3. The Spirit of Truth (v.13)
4. Ambassadors (v. 20) 4. “You” [Apostles] (v. 13)
5. “All things….word of 5. “All truth…all things”
reconciliation.” (vv. 13-15).
Paul’s inspired words of the text under consideration implies AWAY. A simple definition of the word “reconciliation” means “to make friends again.” But man went away from God. He was not born that way, but he went astray by his own sin. The Psalmist wrote, “The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies.” (Psa. 58:3). Isaiah wailed, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (Isa. 53:6.) To be “estranged from the womb” means from an early age. It does not mean from birth unless one is born speaking. The proclivity or tendency of man is to go astray. He goes astray by sinning (I John 3:4). Paul declared, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” (Rom. 3:23.)
As stated previously, the APOSTLES were given the “word of reconciliation.” Paul refers to their being “ambassadors.” Some have lifted this word out of its context and applied it to people in this present time, i.e., Christians; however, the context of the word shows that Paul was applying it to the apostles and the apostles alone. No one should take a word that is applied to a specific person or a particular group of people and apply it to himself or to another group of people. No one but an apostle can be an ambassador of Christ. The apostles were special representatives of Christ. He had selected them; they spoke for him. Paul said, “we pray you in Christ’s stead,…” They still speak for him through the imperishable word of God. And what are the apostles saying through the written revelation?
Paul wrote, “Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.” (II Cor. 5:20.) They are pleading, “Be ye reconciled to God.” Consider that God is doing the begging, the beseeching. He is doing so through the apostles. What is Christ’s plea? “Be ye reconciled to God.” A word of close kin to reconciliation is atonement. ATONEMENT is under consideration in this passage.
Our being reconciled to God was made possible by the atoning sacrifice which Jesus made. Paul said, “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” (II Cor. 5:21.) Our Father made Jesus “the sin offering for us that we might stand in a right relationship with him.” The blood of bulls and goats could not make this possible (Heb. 10:4). Though man must appropriate the grace of God through obedience to him, man cannot by himself atone for his sins. He must contact the blood of the atoning sacrifice, that is, the blood of Christ by being baptized in water and continuing to walk in the light of God’s word (Rom. 6:3-4; I John 1:7).