“Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ, and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. 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. 5:18-21
For many Christians, “the gospel” they have been taught, and thus teach others, is not the complete gospel that Paul defines for us in the above passage. Most think that the gospel, or good news, is that Jesus came to save us from our sins and allow us to be right with God. This is the latter part of this text-that Jesus became ‘sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him,’ and thus is definitely a key component of the gospel message.
But there is more to the gospel-“the good news”-than this. Paul tells us in verses 18 and 19 that God has done a marvelous thing: He has reconciled THE WORLD to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them. Here we see God doing two things that we can hardly believe: He has reconciled, or restored, the entire world-all people– to Himself. It’s a done deal in the heavenly realm, where time does not exist. God, who is the Alpha and Omega, can declare things as done because the beginning and the end are the same for Him. And this restoration has been accomplished for ALL MANKIND. In order to accomplish this restoration, He had to first take care of our trespasses (wrongs/debts/sins) against Him. So what did He do? God did not count them against us, but put all the sin of the entire world on Christ instead. He took it FROM us and put it ON Jesus, so that we might be righteous (blameless-the condition of fully restored) in His sight.
So Paul establishes what God has done already for all mankind, apart from anything a man may (or may not) do in his relationship with God. However, after Paul has explained that God has done the work of saving all, he then pleads with the Corinthians to be reconciled to God. He is saying “God has done all that is necessary for you to be with Him and know Him. So turn away from your wicked ways and turn TO Him.” That is what repent means- to change your thinking around. This is where the emphasis of today’s gospel message is: Our turning to God. And that is indeed what God wants. But contrary to what many preach, God doesn’t rescind his reconciling act when someone doesn’t turn to Him in this life. No, He is able to wait, and discipline that person in the ages to come, until they repent and reconcile themselves to Him. Paul, however, realizes how much better it is to repent now rather than later, and says so emphatically. And further says with Paulean passion that this is the message we are to go and give to others: God has already done what is needed to save you. It’s a done deal. Turn and know Him now.”
How much more willing I would be to turn to a God that I know has already saved me! He is not threatening me with eternal hell if I do not turn to Him. Just like the prodigal son, who went away from his father and lived a life of sin, only to return expecting rejection, but was instead welcomed home with open arms of love, we too have a Father who cares about restoring us to Himself, not casting us off for our sin against Him.
So what is the REAL gospel we are called to preach? Just this: that God has cast all the curse of sin upon His Son Jesus. His death on the cross forever removed the guilt of sin of all mankind. As Jesus Himself said, “It is finished.” Now, we can know God and be rightly related to Him. There is no fear in His rejection, no doubt about His love. We can lift up our heads and look into His face, full of love and compassion for us. God has no intention of forever separating Himself from those He paid so high a price to reconcile to Himself. As we have said, He may discipline, and it may take time (ages) for some to turn to Him, but He can wait patiently, and will work dilligently to correct those who are stubbornly against Him, until they too will bow in sincerity and say “Jesus is Lord”, to the glory of God the Father. And once again, at the time the Father has decided, all that has come from God will return to God so that He will be All in all.
“The early Church preached this gospel which Paul calls ‘the word of reconciliation.’ Certainly, Paul did. To be precise, he preached the word of CONCILIATION. The Greek word is KATALLASO. It is a military term, where one side declares a unilateral ceasefire and sues for peace, asking the other side to reciprocate so there can be RECONCILIATION. Reconciliation occurs when both sides are conciliated. Paul’s ‘word of conciliation’ is that God has dropped all charges against the world, ‘not counting their trespasses against them.’ He did this on account of Christ’s death on the cross, which paid the debt for the world’s sin.
‘John the Baptist recognized this when he pointed to Jesus and said in John 1:29, ‘ Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.’
‘The apostle John recognized this, writing in 1 John 2:2, ‘and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not only ours only, but also for the those of the whole world.’
‘Paul’s gospel was universal reconciliation, instigated by God, empowered by His love, overwhelming and utterly unfailing in its power and ability to succeed.”
-Stephen Jones, God’s Kingdom Ministries, FFI April 2011