Reconciliation

Reconciliation; Man to God & Man to Man

 

God has reconciled us to Himself through the cross. Man must reconcile with each other in the body of Jesus the Christ.

Jesus reconciled us back to Himself through the cross. But, what does that mean?

That God made a pathway back to Himself that we must choose to walk. It is not passive but active. It is not just spoken and then it is all done for us. He made a path, but if we fail to walk it we are not going to cross the chasm to heaven. The cross made a bridge across death and hell to heaven.

Just as Adam had a path before him that he failed to walk (do not eat), we also can make the same mistake by not walking the path made by the cross. We must follow the PATH/WORD to get there. That is, follow what guidance He gave us through the treasure map, the Bible.

Think of a house. The house is heaven, our mansion in the sky. You have a door step, a door, and the interior. You are or were at the door step. What has to happen for you to enter into the house? You must determine to walk the steps into the house.

The door must be opened – Jesus did that on the cross

1. You must then choose to enter the house.
2. Then you must enter the house.
3. Then must abide, live there, until it is all over here.

When Jesus came out of the grave the door was opened.

John 12:32-33 (NKJV) ³²  And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.” ³³  This He said, signifying by what death He would die.

Ephesians 2:7-22 (NKJV) ⁷  that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. ⁸  For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, ⁹  not of works, lest anyone should boast. ¹⁰  For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. ¹¹  Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh–who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands– ¹²  that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. ¹³  But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. ¹⁴  For He Himself is our peace, who has made both[Jew & Gentile] one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, ¹⁵  having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, ¹⁶  and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. ¹⁷  And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. ¹⁸  For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father. ¹⁹  Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints[believing Jews] and members of the household of God, ²⁰  having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner stone, ²¹  in whom the whole building, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, ²²  in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

[When two or three are gathered in My name, there I am in the midst.]

John 6:41-51 (NKJV) ⁴¹  The Jews then complained about Him, because He said, “I am the bread which came down from heaven.” ⁴²  And they said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that He says, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” ⁴³  Jesus therefore answered and said to them, “Do not murmur among yourselves. ⁴⁴  No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. [The Holy Spirit was sent by the Father, of and from the Son] ⁴⁵  It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me. ⁴⁶  Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He[Jesus] who is from God; He[Jesus] has seen the Father. ⁴⁷  Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes [stakes their life] in Me has everlasting life. ⁴⁸  I am the bread of life. ⁴⁹  Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead. ⁵⁰  This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die[spiritually]. ⁵¹  I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread(the Word John 1:1), he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.”(the cross)

[The second tree of life is the cross]

John 3:13-21 (NKJV) ¹³  No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven. ¹⁴  And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, ¹⁵  that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁶  For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes [stakes their life] in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. ¹⁷  For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. ¹⁸  He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. ¹⁹  And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. ²⁰  For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. ²¹  But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”

Now the second:

Reconciliation is a name given to an action, reconciling(a verb), it is not passive but active. Adam took us out of right standing with God. Jesus gave us a way to be back in right standing with God. John 3:16

It is when 2 parties are brought back into right standing with each other(that is Christians). Or, in simpler terms: when 2 people become friends again.

Ephesians 2:1-10 (NKJV) ¹  And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, ²  in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, ³  among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. ⁴  But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, ⁵  even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), ⁶  and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, ⁷  that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. ⁸  For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, ⁹  not of works, lest anyone should boast. ¹⁰  For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

What good is a house if you do not go and live in it. This house is Him, Jesus. Which we live in by the Spirit.

So, how can we show love towards God?

Matthew 25:37-40 (NKJV) ³⁷  Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? ³⁸  When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? ³⁹  Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ ⁴⁰  And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’

My dad asked me once: how can you love God directly?

I thought about it a long time. He said: by loving others. That is how you show God love.

So, how can you love God if you do not love your brother? You cannot.

1 John 2:3-11 (NKJV) ³  Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. ⁴  He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. ⁵  But whoever keeps His word [or Word John 1:14], truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. ⁶  He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked. ⁷  Brethren, I write no new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which you heard from the beginning.[Jesus] ⁸  Again, a new commandment I write to you, which thing is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining. ⁹  He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness until now. ¹⁰  He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him. ¹¹  But he who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

and:

1 John 3:10-15 (NKJV) ¹⁰  In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother. ¹¹  For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another, ¹²  not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother’s righteous. ¹³  Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you. ¹⁴  We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death. ¹⁵  Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.

and:

1 John 4:7-11 (NKJV) ⁷  Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. ⁸  He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. ⁹  In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. ¹⁰  In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. ¹¹  Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

and:

1 John 4:20-21 (NKJV) ²⁰  If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? ²¹  And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.

Matthew 5:21-24 (NKJV) ²¹  “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ ²²  But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire. ²³  Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, ²⁴  leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.

2 Corinthians 5:18-20 (NKJV) ¹⁸  Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, ¹⁹  that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. ²⁰  Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.

There are two parts to the cross: the vertical and the horizontal. The vertical is God and man. The horizontal is man to man. Both are necessary to get to heaven.