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Plainly Speaking
with Karl J. Forehand
The
Ultimate Reconciliation
by Karl J. Forehand
Therefore,
we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were entreating through us; we
beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we
might become the righteousness of God in Him. (2 Cor. 5:20-21)
In the
Roman empire there were basically two types of provinces. The senatorial provinces were basically
loyal to the emperor and organized into workable arms of the government. However, there were also imperial
provinces that were still a little unwilling to be a part of Rome. They were volatile and often need
negotiation; thus, ambassadors were sent to attempt to reconcile them to the
Roman empire.
Paul
stresses that, in a similar way, we are ambassadors for Christ. People need to forgive each other and
reconcile to each other; but ultimately they have their greatest
reconciliation need met – to be reconciled to God.
In the
NASB, verse 21 simple begins “He…” It
doesn’t sound significant, until you consider the great problem we have in
reconciling ourselves to God – we simply can’t do it. The subject of the verse that solve the
reconciliation problem is “HE” – the big He – God. Religion, sin and our techniques ultimately fail – God had to
intervene – He ultimately solves the problem.
How did
He solve it?
1. The
Perfect Offering
The “one not knowing sin” is the perfect offering. I knew sin early in life and I enjoyed
it. I often regretted it and still
battle it; but Jesus Christ never knew sin intimately. The writer of Hebrews says that He was
“without sin.” (Hebrews 4:15).
He was a
pure offering. Isaiah 53:7-9
says:
He was oppressed and He was
afflicted, Yet He did not open His mouth; Like a lamb that is led to
slaughter, And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, So He
did not open His mouth. By oppression
and judgment He was taken away; And as for His generation, who considered
That He was cut off out of the land of the living, For the transgression of
my people to whom the stroke was due?
His grave was assigned with wicked men, Yet He was with a rich man in
His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was there any deceit
in His mouth.
We think
that surely there is something we have to do. But our offering is tainted.
Even our righteous acts are described as “filthy rags.” (Isa.
64:6). Our offering is not totally
pure.
He was
also a permanent offering.
Hebrews 10:10-14 explains:
By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of
Jesus Christ once for all. And every
priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same
sacrifices, which can never take away sins;
but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down
at the right hand of God, waiting
from that time onward until His enemies be made a footstool for His
feet. For by one offering He has
perfected for all time those who are sanctified.
Human solutions don’t last; but
God doesn’t things that are permanent.
2. The
Complete Sacrifice
The one
who knew no sin “became sin on our behalf.”
Someone had to pay for the sin, much like someone has to pay for the
street lights that were shot out by some kids in the neighborhood. Jesus became the perfect sacrifice to take
on our sin.
Surely our griefs He Himself
bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten of God, and afflicted. But He
was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities;
The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are
healed. All of us like sheep have
gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused
the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.
(Isa. 53:4-6)
We know
what it is like to carry one lie around.
We know what it is like to live with the guilt of our past sin. But, Jesus took the sins of the whole
world upon himself. I Peter 2:24 says
that he bore them “in His body.”
Therefore, we understand why he exclaims, “My God, My God, why has
Thou forsaken me.” (Mark 10:34).
This
sacrifice became the propitiation (satisfaction) for our debt (I John
2:2). By the way, if a judgment is
satisfied, it can’t more fully be satisfied by something else. If you pay off a loan, paying more won’t
more fully satisfy the note. If our
debt is paid, we need to start “laying up treasures in heaven” and stop
trying to earn our salvation. The
sacrifice is complete.
3. The
Transforming Work
The
perfect offering and the complete sacrifice facilitate the transforming work:
That we might become the righteousness of God. What is righteousness?
It is “conformity with the
demands of God.” The Amplified Bible
says it is “What we ought to be, approved and accepted and in right
relationship with Him and His goodness.”
God
doesn’t just change us; he transforms us into something we could never attain
– righteousness. (See also Isaiah
53:11-12). I Corinthians 5:17 says
that we are “a new creation” in Christ.
4. The
Eternal Reconciliation
In Christ and because of the offering and the sacrifice, we are able to
be the righteousness of God. We are
united with Him (Rom. 6:5). He sealed
the deal. We are reconciled.
Why
would Christians need to hear this message?
Sometimes, we loose sight of what God has done for us? When we don’t understand the work God has
done in us, we are prideful and unable to help reconcile others.
Karl
J. Forehand, 2002
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