Chapter 1: God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself
Infirmity. Objections Answered.
GOD'S PRESENT MERCIES TO HIS PEOPLE ARE ARGUMENTS
OF FUTURE MERCIES
OLD AGE IS A Crown of Glory, Especially When Found in Ways OF
RIGHTEOUSNESS
Chapter 1 "To 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. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us; we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God." - 2
Corinthians 5:19, 20 The Apostle Paul, who was the penman of this and the former epistle, was a chosen vessel to bear the name of Christ in the world; a glorious instrument to publish the grace of God in Jesus Christ. He was one of the most famous ambassadors that ever walked upon the earth, one who honoured Jesus Christ as much as any man we have ever read or heard of. All his care was to magnify, indeed to glorify,
Jesus Christ. The very name of Christ was as sweet as sugar in his mouth, and it rolled up and down under his tongue. He himself had tasted deeply of the sweetness of the grace of God in Christ and
laboured earnestly to make this known to others, that they too might experience its sweetness.
In these two verses, as much of the grace of God in the Gospel is set forth as I know of in any two verses together in all the Book of God.
Here, we have presented to us:
1. The doctrine of reconciliation between God and man.
2. The Apostle's commission to declare this doctrine of reconciliation.
3. The faithful discharge of this, his commission.
The first two are found in verse 19, and the third is in verse 20.
Regarding verse 19, we have before us, firstly, the doctrine of reconciliation: to wit, that God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses to them. Within this, you have two things:
Firstly, the doctrine of reconciliation is stated more generally; namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself.
Secondly, there is an instance given in one special great work of God in reconciling the world unto himself.
We shall make an entrance into the first of these and then proceed; namely, the doctrine of reconciliation set forth more generally: that God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself.
This word, 'Reconciliation,' notes and implies that there was a formal breach between God and us. We cannot understand what it means to be reconciled unless we first understand something about the breach that this reconciliation is to repair. It implies an enmity that existed
between man and God, for if two are to be reconciled, it certainly suggests that there was once an enmity between them. 'Conciliari' means to bring into favour, but 'reconciliari' is to bring back into favour those who were once in favour but between whom a breach has occurred. Thus, to bring back into favour is, in plain terms, reconciliation.
In the unfolding of this doctrine, there are these particulars plainly presented in the text, for I will go no further in the opening of the doctrine of reconciliation but merely address what lies obviously and plainly before us in the words. These are the particulars:
Firstly, that which is implied: namely, that there was a blessed union at the first between God and man. However, this union was broken, and enmity arose between God and man. I put these two together; namely, that after the initial union between God and man, there followed an enmity.
Secondly, there is yet a way for this breach to be repaired; there is a possibility for man, who is at enmity with God, to be reconciled.
Thirdly, we shall explain in what this reconciliation consists—what the reconciliation is that the text speaks of and which the Gospel offers to us.
Fourthly, we shall show the principal cause of this: how this reconciliation began. It was God himself who initiated it with us; we did not begin with him to make peace. God began with us first, or else peace would never have been made between him and man.
Fifthly, we shall show in whom this reconciliation is made; it is in Jesus Christ, which indeed is the principal aspect of all and that in