Now, we come to the last objective point of God’s full salvation—reconciliation. Reconciliation means the action of bringing two parties back into oneness or harmony.
The Apostle Paul said, “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace toward God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom. 5:1). He also said, “For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved in His life. And not only so, but we also are boasting in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation” (Rom. 5:10-11).
[Originally, we were not only sinners, but also enemies of God. Through the redeeming death of Christ, God has justified us, the sinners, and has reconciled us, His enemies to Himself (5:1, 10-11). This transpired when we believed in the Lord Jesus. We have received God’s justification and reconciliation by faith. This has opened the way and ushered us into the realm of grace for the enjoyment of God.]
At the fall, man not only sinned against God, but also became the enemy of God. For sins, forgiveness is enough; but because man has become God’s enemy, he needs something more. He needs to be reconciled.
If you become someone’s enemy, you need to be reconciled to him. Without reconciliation, you would probably never talk to him. If you see him, you may avoid him. When you are in class, you would not look at him. But, if another friend would reconcile you to him, then you can make up and be his friend again.
God loves man and wants to be his life. Man may fulfill God’s eternal purpose by being filled with God. But now, since we have become God’s enemies, His purpose cannot be fulfilled with us. Reconciliation is necessary for us to bring us back to God. We praise the Lord that He came in the Son to die for us.
Christ’s death solved the problem of our offending God’s righteousness. Therefore, it is by His death that we are reconciled to God (Rom. 5:10a). Man has been reconciled to God, so man and God can now be in harmony. Hallelujah for His redeeming death! It took care of all our objective problems. Christ paid the price for our sins to redeem us back. When we believe in Him, His redemption is applied to us and we are forgiven and cleansed from our sins. Now God considers us to be as righteous as He is. Hallelujah! Satan still has a problem with God, but we don’t. Now we can freely come to God to receive Him as our life. Praise the Lord! God is happy. His angels are happy. His church is happy!