Chapter 12. Doctrine: Our Reconciliation with God is made in Christ. Seven Points for Expounding the
shall be saved." That is the third use we may make of God's beginning the work of reconciliation.
USE 4 Fourthly, was God beginning with us, and did He begin with us?
Then let us not be backward with God. Let us not hang back in any duty when God calls us to do it, but come in promptly. Let it not be long before we perform any duty. Let us not stand off or defer with God, saying, "I will, and I will later." Certainly, the soul that comes to understand the goodness of God, how He began with us in making peace before we even had thoughts of it, will find this to be a mighty argument that prompts the soul to hasten to do any duty which God calls for and to be speedy in the service of God because He was pleased to begin first.
But we pass from considering God's beginning to be reconciled unto us and move to that which is indeed the main point in this matter of reconciliation in the text, and even the principal of all the doctrines that are in the Gospel: namely, that "God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself."
Chapter 12.
Doctrine: Our Reconciliation with God is made in Christ. Seven Points for Expounding the Doctrine.
You have read much about the blessedness of reconciliation and what a happy condition it is to be at peace with God, especially in
these times of war and trouble when there is so little peace in the land. And you have read that God begins the work. But how does He do it? Observe: it is not God merely considered as the Creator of Heaven and Earth, that infinite first being of all things. Rather (the first point proposed in the first chapter to be explained is this), it is
God in Christ reconciling Himself to the world.
God and man were enemies; there was enmity and a breach, and that breach was infinitely wide and dreadful. How shall God and man now come to be reconciled? You might say, "The Lord is a God of infinite mercy, and He sees His poor creatures must inevitably perish eternally if He takes advantage against them. Therefore, perhaps God was willing to pass by all, and so, by His own free grace, be reconciled to such creatures as have sinned against Him, and thus reconciliation was made." No, this was not the way; more is required than this.
Let God and the creature be considered together without any further factor, with all the mercy of God on one side and all the cries, tears, and repentances of the creature on the other. This alone will never establish peace. You must understand this is the doctrine of the Gospel: that man, having made a breach between God and himself, and considering God merely in Himself, as He is in His essence, without relation to a Mediator, even with all the mercy of God on one side and all the tears, repentance, cries, and prayers of the creature on the other, both together can never make peace.
What more, then, must there be, you ask? It is what we find in the text: God in Christ reconciling the world. It is not God in Himself reconciling the world to Himself, but it is God in Christ. Therefore, something must come between God and us concerning reconciliation, or else peace can never be made.
This is a subject I have often had the occasion to discuss, and I am very willing to set this truth before those to whom I preach whenever possible, for this is the great truth of the Gospel. Truly, all our preaching should aim to bring this truth home to the hearts of people, and whatever we preach, if it is not oriented toward this, we waste our labour. God gains little glory from what we do unless it is in connection to this or as a result of it.
So, the point is this...
Doctrine: Our Reconciliation with God is made in Christ.
As we read of Jonah, when the storms and tempests were in the sea, and when the waves roared, and the ship and the mariners were all about to be swallowed up, once Jonah was cast into the sea, there was suddenly a calm. So it is with the storms and tempests of God's everlasting wrath against a sinner. The waves of that wrath are ready to swallow him up. But when Christ is cast into the heart of a man, and Christ stands as one between God and man, everything becomes calm.
When the disciples were upon the sea, and the sea was turbulent, yet when Christ came and rebuked the sea and the winds, all was still.
Similarly, when there are troubles of conscience, nothing can rebuke those troubles; nothing can bring peace and quiet to the soul except
Christ coming into the heart. It is God in Christ reconciling the world to Himself.
There is nothing more evident in Scripture than this: that it is God in Christ who reconciles the world to Himself. This truth is clear enough from the text, but I will provide a few other Scriptures to support this point before proceeding further.
Consider Romans 5:1, which is most clear: "Being justified by faith, we have peace with God." How? "Through our Lord Jesus Christ."
There is no peace with God but through our Lord Jesus Christ. It may seem an easy matter for us to say so, but to grasp the necessity of this—that it must be through our Lord Jesus Christ that we have peace with God—and to apprehend this clearly and thoroughly is a profound matter. Those who know this experimentally and powerfully truly understand much of the mind of God.
In Ephesians 2:13-14, it says: "In Jesus Christ, you who were once far off have been brought near through His blood, for He is our peace."
This is spoken in two regards. Firstly, He is our peace with God, as is clear in verse 18: "Through Him, we have access to the Father."
Secondly, it refers to Christ being our peace in uniting us to the Church of God, making us one with God's people. The partition wall is broken down through Christ, and those who were once considered as dogs are now seated at the table.
Through Christ, a reconciliation with God is established, and there is unity with the people of God, His Church. Christ makes peace by removing enmity so that the people of God might be one together, just as they are one with God.
We also see this in Colossians 1:21-22: "You, who were once alienated and enemies in your minds by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled." How? "In the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, blameless, and above reproach in His sight." And verse 20 is especially notable: "Having made peace through the blood of His cross, by Him, to reconcile all things to Himself; by Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven."
There are two difficulties in this Scripture. Firstly, how is it said that God has reconciled all things to Himself in Christ? Here, we are
specifically speaking of reconciling those who will be saved eternally, but the Apostle speaks of reconciling all things. God can be said to reconcile not only the saints but all things unto Himself in this regard: through Christ, everything that was subject to destruction due to man's sin is preserved in a good condition. When you observe the heavens, the earth, the sea, and all that exists and see their preservation, you must recognise that it is all through Christ. Had it not been for Christ, all things would have fallen into ruin and confusion instantly. Thus, God reconciles all things to Himself in Christ.
Furthermore, all things are reconciled in Christ in this regard: through Him, all things are made serviceable to His saints and reconciled ones. In this sense, all things can be said to be reconciled to God because they are reconciled to God's friends. Whereas before, all creatures were enemies to us through sin, now, through Christ, they have become useful to us and, therefore, to God by us.
A second difficulty in this text is: How has God reconciled all things in heaven through Christ? What things in heaven are reconciled to God through Christ? We must understand that the things in heaven, said to be reconciled, primarily refer to the angels.
But you might ask: How can the angels be reconciled through Christ, as there was never a falling out or enmity between God and them? I answer that, although in a proper sense, as reconciliation concerns man, there is no need to reconcile angels to God, there is now a closer, more secure, and firmer union made between God and the angels through Jesus Christ than there ever was before—or than there would have been, for all we know, if Christ had not come. In this regard, reconciliation may be said to involve things in heaven,
with God and the angels being made more firmly one through Christ than ever before.
Again, although the angels never sinned against God and were never actual enemies, they were in a position where they could have sinned. As creatures, they were frail in themselves and liable to fall from God and sin against Him, just like those who did fall. Therefore, in regard to the establishment they now have through Jesus Christ, being confirmed in a condition that makes it impossible for them to fall from God, they can also be said to be reconciled. Despite their original perfection, they could have fallen into the same state as those who are now reserved in chains for the judgement of the great day. But now, God has reconciled all things in heaven through Jesus
Christ, so that even the angels themselves are more securely united with God than before.
Furthermore, the Lord has received them into a deeper affection of love through Jesus Christ than He did before. By looking upon the angels in and through Christ, God has a more thorough, firm, intimate, and complete affection towards them, establishing and accepting them through Christ. Moreover, they are reconciled to God
—or rather, to us—since they have become our friends, whereas, initially, they were our enemies. In that sense, there is a kind of reconciliation. However, since I believe the text does not emphasise this point, we will move on.
Thus, you see how God was in Christ reconciling even the very angels themselves to some extent. This, then, is the first matter: the very thoughts that God had of entering into any terms or discussions with humanity about peace were through Christ. The fact that the Lord's heart was inclined towards humanity is because of Christ; that the Lord would be willing to accept any satisfaction is through Christ;
that we have any access to God whatsoever is through Christ. From one end of the work of reconciliation to the other, it is all through Christ.
To further explore this great point, I will propose the following:
1. Firstly, to briefly show you the necessity of Christ's involvement in our reconciliation with God and that it could be achieved no other way but through Christ.
2. Secondly, how Christ comes to be a suitable reconciler.
3. Thirdly, what Christ has engaged Himself to do and has performed according to His engagement for our reconciliation.
4. Fourthly, how what Christ has done is made over to us, and how we come to enjoy the fruit of it for our reconciliation with God.
5. Fifthly, the consequences that flow from this fact, namely that our reconciliation comes through Christ.
6. Sixthly, the reasons why God chooses to be reconciled to us through His Son rather than by any other means.
7. Lastly, to make some application of all these points.
These particulars might require some time to discuss, but because we often encounter much of this doctrine of reconciliation—and have done so at various times before, and are likely to do so again if God grants us further opportunities—I intend to present all these seven points to you in a very concise manner.