If we would have a proper understanding of what it means to work together with God, we need to recall what Paul said at the end of chapter five. Paul has already said that he has been commissioned by God with the ministry of reconciliation, that is, with the work of reconciling others to God.
Many years ago, I had a very limited understanding of reconciliation. My understanding was that before we were saved, we were enemies of God, and there was no peace between us and God. Instead of peace, we were at enmity with God. But when we repented and believed in the Lord Jesus, His blood washed away our sins, and we received God’s forgiveness. As a result, we were justified by God and reconciled to Him. Having been reconciled to God in this way, there was no longer enmity between us and God. Instead, we had peace with Him. This understanding of reconciliation falls far short of the full meaning of reconciliation in the New Testament. It is not the full significance of reconciliation as ministered by the Apostle Paul.
What is the reconciliation ministered by Paul? I have read a number of books which refer to this subject, but none of them pointed out that the ministry of reconciliation is not merely to bring sinners back to God, but, even the more, to bring believers absolutely into God. Hence, it is not sufficient simply to be brought back to God; we must also be in Him.
The last verse of chapter five, verse 21, says, “Him Who did not know sin He made sin on our behalf, that we might become God’s righteousness in Him.” According to this verse, we become the righteousness of God not merely through Christ, with Christ, or by Christ; we become the righteousness of God in Christ. From this verse we also see that we become not only righteous before God; we become the very righteousness of God. To be righteous is one thing, but to become righteousness is something else. For example, a certain thing may be golden, but it may not be pure gold. How wonderful that in Christ we may become the very righteousness of God!
Do you have the confidence to declare that you are in Christ? As genuine believers, we can testify that we are in Him. But are we in Christ in a practical way in our daily living? For example, are you in Christ when you are joking? When you make a joke, do you have the assurance that you are in Him? You must admit that you are outside of Christ at such a time. There is no neutral ground: we are either in Christ or outside of Him. Because we are not always in Christ in a practical way, we need further reconciliation. We need to be reconciled back into Christ.
Suppose you are in a situation where you must wait in line for a long time. As you are waiting, you may feel not at all happy. In fact, you may be extremely bothered. Are you in Christ at that moment? No, you are outside of Christ. Where, then, are you? You are in yourself. At times your situation may be even worse, for you may be in the flesh, perhaps in your anger. Therefore, you need the ministry of reconciliation to bring you back into God once again.
I do not believe that many readers of 2 Corinthians 5 have the understanding that reconciliation is to be brought back into God. Was this your understanding of reconciliation in this chapter? Nevertheless, this is actually what Paul means by reconciliation.
For years I read chapters five and six of 2 Corinthians without realizing how chapter six is the continuation of chapter five. In 2 Corinthians 5 Paul tells us that he was commissioned with the ministry of reconciling others to God. In chapter six Paul is carrying out this ministry in relation to the Corinthians.
The biblical understanding of reconciliation includes more than merely being brought back to God. It is to be brought back into Him. Therefore, according to the Bible, to bring others to God means to bring them into God and to make them absolutely one with Him. However, in much Christian teaching the matter of oneness with God is wrongly understood. According to the concept held by many Christians, to be one with God can be compared to a wife being one with her husband. In the case of a husband and wife, there is a kind of corporate oneness. But in the Bible to be one with God means to be mingled with Him. It is to be in God and to allow God to come into us. Biblical oneness with God is a oneness in which we enter into God and God enters into us. Therefore, the Lord Jesus said, “Abide in Me and I in you” (John 15:4). He did not say, “Abide withMe and I with you.” What a shame that some Christians oppose this wonderful biblical concept of being one with God by being mingled with Him!