Second Corinthians 5:19 and 20 indicate that there are two steps for the believers to be fully reconciled to God. The first step is as sinners to be reconciled to God from sin (v. 19). For this purpose Christ died for our sins (1 Cor. 15:3) that they may be forgiven by God. This is the objective aspect of Christ’s death. In this aspect He bore our sins on the cross and died there for our sins. The second step of reconciliation is as believers living in the natural life to be reconciled to God from the flesh (2 Cor. 5:20). For this purpose Christ died for us-the persons-that we may live to Him in the resurrection life (2 Cor. 5:14-15). This is the subjective aspect of Christ’s death. In this aspect He was made sin for us so that we might be judged and done away with by God in order that we may become the righteousness of God in Him (v. 21). By these two aspects of His death He has fully reconciled the believers to God.
These two steps of reconciliation are portrayed by the two veils of the tabernacle in the Old Testament. The first veil is called the screen (Exo. 26:37, lit.). A sinner was brought to God through the reconciliation of the atoning blood to enter into the Holy Place by passing this screen. This typifies the first step of reconciliation. The second veil (Exo. 26:31-35; Heb. 9:3) still separated him from God, who is in the Holy of Holies. This veil needed to be rent that he may be brought to God in the Holy of Holies. This is the second step of reconciliation. In the progressing stage of God’s full salvation we are reconciled to Him in the second step.
Most genuine Christians today have been reconciled to God only in the first step. They have been reconciled to God in part through Christ’s death on the cross for their sins. When we believed in the Lord Jesus, we were forgiven by God, reconciled to Him, and brought back to Him. Formerly we went astray from God, but through repentance we returned to Him and have been reconciled to Him. However, we have been reconciled to God only partly. Although we have been saved and reconciled to God in the first step, we still live according to the flesh (2 Cor. 5:16a); that is, we live in the flesh, in the soul, in the natural life. The veil of the flesh, of the natural man, still separates us from God. This means that our natural being is a separating veil. Therefore, we need the second step of reconciliation, the step in which the separating veil of the flesh is crucified so that we may enter into the Holy of Holies. This is full reconciliation, which brings us not only out of sin but also out of the flesh, the natural man, the natural being, so that we may be brought back to God and become one with Him.
The second step of reconciliation is much deeper than the first step, for it takes place not in the outer court outside the tabernacle but within the Holy Place inside the tabernacle. Instead of taking place once for all, this kind of reconciliation is continuous. If you consider your experience, you will realize that no matter how long you have been a seeking Christian, you still have the sense deep within that you are separated from God’s presence by something, mainly by your natural life, your old man, your self. You may be very good, nice, pious, “holy,” and “spiritual,” yet you know that there is still something separating you from God’s presence. You are not fully one with God, altogether in harmony with Him. Instead, because you are still separated from Him, you need the second step of reconciliation. You need the application of the subjective death of Christ to your situation. In other words, the subjective death of Christ needs to be applied to your natural life. This application of the subjective death of Christ crucifies your natural life, rending the veil that separates you from God’s inner presence.
If we are sincere and honest with God in our seeking of Him, we shall realize that this is our situation. This is the reason that often we begin our prayer with confession. We may say, “Father, I confess that I am still separated from You. In a sense, I am with You, but in a deeper sense I am not with You. I am separated from You not by something sinful but by my natural life. Father, forgive me, and grant mercy to me that I may apply the subjective death of Christ to my inward being to such an extent that my natural life will be thoroughly crucified.” This is to experience the rending of the veil within us so that, through the rent veil of the natural life, we may be reconciled to the inner presence of God the Father.
In order that we may be reconciled to God in full, the Father exposes our natural life and unveils our real situation to us. As a result, we condemn our natural being and apply the cross subjectively. Then as our natural man is crossed out, we experience the second step of reconciliation. In this step the veil of our natural man is rent so that we may live in God’s presence.
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