Second Corinthians 5:18-21 reveals the complete reconciliation of the believers to God, and Christ as the means of this reconciliation. This portion of the word shows three classes of people: the apostles who have been fully reconciled to God, sinners, and believers who have not been fully reconciled to God.
In 2 Corinthians 5:18 Paul says, “God...has reconciled us to Himself through Christ and has given to us the ministry of reconciliation.” This verse indicates that, through Christ, God had fully reconciled the apostles to Himself and that they were then sent to reconcile sinners to God and to reconcile believers to God in full. Because the apostles had been brought back to God, they had the ministry of reconciling others to God. In this way, the apostles were commissioned with the ministry of reconciliation, a ministry to bring others fully back to God.
In 2 Corinthians 5:19 Paul says, “God in Christ was reconciling the world to Himself, not accounting their offenses to them, and has put in us the word of reconciliation.” On the one hand, God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ. On the other hand, God carries out this work of reconciliation through the apostles who are fully reconciled to God through Christ.
In 2 Corinthians 5:20 Paul goes on to say, “On behalf of Christ then we are ambassadors, as God entreats you through us; we beseech you on behalf of Christ, Be reconciled to God.” In verse 19 it was the world that was reconciled to God; in verse 20 it is the believers, who have already been reconciled to God and are to be reconciled further to God. This clearly indicates that two steps are required for men to be fully reconciled to God. The first step is to reconcile sinners to God from sin. For this purpose Christ died for our sins (1 Cor. 15:3) that they might be forgiven by God. This is the objective aspect of Christ’s death. In this aspect He bore our sins on the cross that they might be judged by God upon Him for us. The second step is to reconcile believers living in the natural life to God from the flesh. For this purpose Christ died for us—the persons—that we might 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 to be judged and done away with by God that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. By the two aspects of His death He has fully reconciled God’s chosen people to God.
These two steps of reconciliation are clearly portrayed by the two veils of the tabernacle. In ancient times, when the children of Israel came to contact God, they needed to pass through two veils in order to enter the Holy of Holies. The first veil is called “the screen,” which was the curtain at the entrance of the tabernacle, that is, the entrance to the Holy Place (Exo. 26:36). A sinner who was brought to God through the reconciliation of the propitiating blood entered into the Holy Place by passing this screen. This typifies the first step of reconciliation. The second veil (vv. 31-35; Heb. 9:3) still separated him from God, who was in the Holy of Holies. This veil needed to be rent that the sinner might be brought to God in the Holy of Holies. This is the second step of reconciliation. According to Hebrews 10:20, the second veil within the tabernacle typifies the flesh. The Corinthian believers have been reconciled to God, having passed through the first veil and having entered into the Holy Place. Yet they still lived in the flesh. They needed to pass the second veil to enter into the Holy of Holies to live with God in their spirit (1 Cor. 6:17). On the one hand, the veil—their flesh, their natural being, and their natural life—had been already split, rent, by God in the crucifixion of Christ (Matt. 27:51; Heb. 10:20). On the other hand, the reconciling Spirit was working on them in order to bring them through the veil into the Holy of Holies. The goal of this Epistle was to bring them there that they might be persons in the spirit (1 Cor. 2:15), in the Holy of Holies. This was what the apostle meant by saying, “Be reconciled to God.” This was to present them full-grown in Christ (Col. 1:28).
In the Old Testament, when a sinner came to God, he first had to come to the altar to have his sins forgiven through the blood of the sin offering. After experiencing the forgiveness of sins, he could enter the Holy Place. This is the first step of reconciliation, the step by which a sinner begins to be reconciled to God. This is the situation of most genuine Christians today. They have been reconciled to God in part through the cross upon which Christ died as their sin offering, where He shed His blood to wash away their sins. When they believed in Him, they were forgiven by God, reconciled to God, and brought back to Him. Formerly, they went astray from God. But through repentance they returned to Him and have been reconciled to Him. However, they have been reconciled to God only partly.
Although the believers have been saved and reconciled to God partly, they still live in the flesh; that is, they live in the soul, in the natural life. The veil of the flesh, of the natural man, still separates them from God. This means that their natural being is a separating veil. Therefore, they need the second step of reconciliation, the step in which the separating veil of the flesh is crucified so that they may enter into the Holy of Holies.
The blessings of God can be found in the Holy Place, but God Himself is in the Holy of Holies. Formerly, as sinners, we were outside the tabernacle. Yet when we believed in the Lord, we came into the Holy Place. Now in order to have God Himself, we need to be reconciled further by the Lord and come 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. Then we are brought to God and become one with Him.
As those who have been reconciled to Him in the first step, we love the Lord and serve Him. However, we may love and serve Him in a natural way. Furthermore, we may be very active in the church life, but our living in the church is natural. This means that we live and have our being in a natural way. Therefore, God works through Christ to reconcile us to Himself in a fuller, deeper way. He exposes our natural life and unveils our real situation to us so that we may 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 be in the Holy of Holies, living in God’s presence.
The first veil signifies Christ’s objective death: He died for our sins (1 Cor. 15:3). But the second veil signifies Christ’s subjective death: When He died, He died with us and we died with Him (Gal. 2:20). Now we need to realize that we are terminated persons. As such, we should no longer live to ourselves, but instead we should live to Christ. We should experience the rending of our flesh. This means that according to Galatians 5:24, we should crucify the flesh. This is to have the veil torn and thereby experience Christ’s subjective death in dealing with the flesh.
The second step of reconciliation is much deeper than the first step, because 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 or 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 will 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.