Reconciled To
God
In what prophecy
was the work of reconciliation
foretold?
“Seventy
‘sevens’ are declared for
your people and your holy city to
finish transgression, to put and end
to sin, to atone for wickedness,
to bring in everlasting righteousness,
to seal up the vision and prophecy
and to anoint the most holy.”
Daniel 9:24.
What message of
entreaty has God sent to us through
His appointed messengers?
“We are therefore
Christ’s ambassadors, as though
God were making his appeal through
us. We implore you on Christ’s
behalf. Be reconciled to God.
2 Corinthians 5:20.
Through
whom is this reconciliation made?
“All this is from
God, who reconciled us to himself through
Christ and gave us the ministry
of reconciliation.” Verse 18.
The
Price of Reconciliation
What was required
in order to effect this
reconciliation?
“For if, when we
were God’s enemies, we were
reconciled to him through the death
of His Son, how much more,
having been reconciled, shall we be
saved through his life!”
Romans 5:10.
What basis for
reconciliation was made by
Christ’s death?
“And through him
to reconcile to himself all things on
earth or things in heaven, by making peace
through his blood, shed on the
cross.” Colossians 1:20.
How
was He treated?
“He was despised
and rejected of men. A man of sorrows,
and familiar with suffering.
Like one from whom men hide their
faces he was despised, and we
esteemed him not.”
Isaiah 53:5.
What
did John declare concerning Him?
The next day John saw
Jesus coming toward him and said,
“Look, the Lamb of God, who
takes away the sin of the
world?” John 1:29.
To
what place did Christ carry these
sins?
“He himself bore
our sins in his body on the tree,
so that we might die to sins and live
for righteousness; by his wounds we
are healed.” 1 Peter 2:24.
The
Father Suffers With Christ
In thus reconciling
the world to Himself, what attitude
did God take toward men?
“That God was
reconciling the world to himself in
Christ, not counting men’s
sins against them. And he
has committed to us the message of
reconciliation.” 2 Corinthians
5:19.
What
rendered it possible for God to treat
sinners thus?
“We all like
sheep, have gone astray, each of us
has turned to his own way; and the
Lord has laid on him the
iniquity of us all.” Isaiah
53:6.
Note – It was
because of man’s disobedience
that he was separated from God. Even
though he refused to obey, God’s
great love that was manifested at the
creation of man has been shed upon
all generations since that time. Not
willing that any should perish, God
manifests the same love in giving His
only Begotten Son that man might have
life and have it more abundantly.
Unity,
Purpose, and Joy of Reconciliation
How
did Christ reconcile all men through
the cross?
“And in this
one body to reconcile through the
cross, by which he put to death their
hostility.” Ephesians 2:16.
What
is the great purpose of the work of
reconciliation?
“Once you were
alienated from God and were enemies
in your minds because of your evil
behavior. But now he has reconciled
you by Christ’s physical body
through death to present you holy
in his sight, without blemish and
free from accusation.”
Colossians 1: 21,22.
Through
whom is the reconciliation received?
“Not only is this
so, but we also rejoice in God through
our Lord Jesus Christ, through
whom we have now received
reconciliation.” Romans 5:11.
“None but the Son
of God could accomplish our
redemption; for only He who was in
the bosom of the Father could declare
Him. Only He who knew the height and
depth of the love of God could make
it manifest. Nothing less than the
infinite sacrifice made by Christ in
behalf of fallen man could express
the Father’s love to lose
humanity
“’God so
loved the world, that He gave His
only begotten Son.’ He gave Him
not only to live among men, to bear
our sins, and die their sacrifice. He
gave Him to the fallen race. Christ
was to identify Himself with the
interests and needs of humanity. He
was one with God has linked Himself
with the children of men by ties that
are never to be broken. Jesus is
‘not ashamed to call them
brothers’ (Hebrews 2:11); He is
our Sacrifice, our Advocate, our
brother, bearing our human form
before the Father’s throne, and
through eternal ages one with the
race He has redeemed, The Son of Man.
And all this that man might be
uplifted from the ruin and
degradation of sin, that he might
reflect the love of God, and share
the joy of holiness.
“The price paid
for our redemption, the infinite
sacrifice of our heavenly Father in
giving His Son to die for us, should
give us exalted conceptions of what
we may become through Christ. As the
inspired apostle John beheld the
height, the depth, and breadth of the
Father’s love toward the
perishing race, he was filled with
adoration and reverence; and failing
to find suitable language in which to
express the greatness and tenderness
of this love, he called upon the
world to behold it. ‘Behold,
what manner of love the Father hath
bestowed upon us, that we should be
called the sons of God.’ 1 John
3:1. What a value this places upon
man! Through transgression, the sons
of men become subjects of Satan.
Through faith in the atoning
sacrifice of Christ, the sons of Adam
may become the sons of God. By
assuming human nature, Christ
elevates humanity. Fallen men were
placed where, through connection with
Christ, they may indeed become worthy
of the name ‘sons of
God.’” - E.G. White, Steps
to Christ, pp 14,15.
One
Choice of Three
For
holy heaven and sinful earth to be
reconciled and come to peaceful
relations, one of three things was
necessary. Heaven must take up
earthly ways, or earth must turn to
heavenly ways, or both must be
merged. In the nature of the case
there was only one real way –
earth must be reconciled to God. To
open the door of heaven to man meant
Calvary. There every sinner may find
the peace of reconciliation,
fellowship with God, and hope of
everlasting life.
