We often hear it said that the death of Christ was necessary in order to reconcile God to man. This is a pious mistake arising from inattention to the language of the Holy Spirit, and indeed to the plain meaning of the word "reconcile." God never changed-never stepped out of His normal and true position. He abides faithful. There was, and could be, no derangement, no confusion, no alienation as far as He was concerned; and hence there could be no need of reconciling Him to us. In fact, it was exactly the contrary. Man had gone astray; he was the enemy and needed to be reconciled. But this was wholly impossible if sin were not righteously disposed of; and sin could only be disposed
of by death-even the death of the One who, as
being a man, could die, and being God, could impart all the dignity, value, and glory of His divine Person to the atoning sacrifice which He offered.
Wherefore, then, as might be expected, Scripture never speaks of reconciling God to man. There is no such expression to be found within the covers of the New Testament. "God was in Christ, reconciling the world" (in its broad aspect-men and things) "unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them." 2 Cor. 5:1919To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. (2 Corinthians 5:19). And again, "All things are of God, who hath reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ." In a word, it is God in His infinite mercy and grace, through the atoning death of Christ, bringing us back to Himself and placing us not merely in the original place or on the original footing or in the original relationship, but as was due to the work of Christ, giving us back far more than we had lost, and introducing us into the marvelous relationship of sons, and setting us in His presence in divine and eternal righteousness, and in the infinite favor and acceptableness of His own Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amazing grace! Stupendous and glorious plan! What a ministry! And yet, need we wonder when we think of the death of Christ as the foundation of it all? When we remember that Christ was made sin for us, it seems but the necessary counterpart that "we might be made the righteousness of God in Him." It would have been no adequate result of such a work as Christ accomplished, to have brought man and things back to the Adamic or old creation ground. This would never have satisfied the heart of God in any way, whether as respects Christ's glory or our blessing. It would not have furnished an answer to that omnipotent appeal of John 17: "I have glorified Thee on the earth: I have finished the work which Thou gavest Me to do. And now, 0 Father, glorify Thou Me with Thine own self with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was." vv. 4,5. Who can gauge the depth and power of those accents as they fell upon the ear of the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ?
Little remains to be said as to the objects of the ministry of reconciliation, inasmuch as we have, in a measure, anticipated them by speaking of "men and things," for these are in very deed the objects, and they are included in that comprehensive word "world." "God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself." We would merely add here that it is utterly impossible for any creature under heaven to exclude himself from the range of this most precious ministry. Before the reader can shut himself out from the application of all this grace to himself, he must prove that he does not belong to the world. This he cannot do, and hence he must see that God is beseeching him to be reconciled.