Monday, June 17, 2019

The Ministry of Reconciliation 2 Corinthians 5:18



Paul the apostle told the Corinthian church members he and his companions, “if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new”, and in chapter five and verse eighteen of Second Corinthians, Paul told the church members how Jesus, “has given to us the ministry of reconciliation where we read:

And all things are of God, who has reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ,
and has given to us the ministry of reconciliation;

The verse begins, “And all things are of God, who has reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ,” Paul began with the word, “and all things” which means “each, every, the whole and everyone” “are of God” or “by the Godhead bodily and trinity which is comprised of God the Father, Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit”, “who has reconciled us” which refers to “God has returned with favor, changed mutually and compound a difference toward Paul and his companions” “to himself” or “to God” “by Jesus” whose name means “Jehovah is Salvation” and is “the Son of God, the Savior of mankind and God incarnate” “Christ” or “the anointed One, the Messiah and the Son of God”. Paul referred to how everything has it's origin in God, and He is the one who has “returned us into favor” with Himself by “Jesus”.

The verse continues, “and has given to us the ministry of reconciliation; Paul added the words, “and has given to us” which means “has bestowed, granted, supplied, furnished and delivered” “the ministry” or “the service and office of those who render to others the offices of Christian affection” “of reconciliation” which means “of exchange, difference and restoration to favor”. Paul shared how God entrusted he and his companions with the “office of restoration” of individuals with God.

When we meditate upon these words of Paul, we see how he attributed everything to God who brought he and his companions into a relationship with Him through His Son Jesus. After that, Paul and his companions were commissioned to the “office” of “restoring” people to God. Jesus desires to have a relationship with everyone who will, and afterwards, they become a part of “the ministry of reconciliation” whereby others come to know Jesus as well.

Next time Paul tells the church members, “that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then,

Until tomorrow…there is more…

Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms" in all major bookstore sites,
http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.





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