In I Timothy 6:17 we learn that God “giveth us richly all things to enjoy.” Part of what God has given us richly to enjoy is the right to reconcile others back to Him. Out of all the endeavors that I have had the privilege of undertaking in my life, nothing has been as rewarding or satisfying as serving my heavenly Father and moving His prevailing Word with this wonderful Way Ministry household. We read in the book entitled Life Lines: Quotations of Victor Paul Wierwille, “There is an unequaled satisfaction in serving God’s people.”
As we faithfully reach out to reconcile others back to God, we have the joy of seeing others believe God’s Word. We also have the satisfying opportunity to be fellow workers with God to accomplish His purposes. In being a fellow worker with God, we have the privilege of beholding what only God’s Word can do. In this article we will see that God has given us the sonship right of reconciling others back to Him and that the Lord adds to the Church as people believe. We will also see our satisfying response to these things as fellow workers with Him.
In looking at the right that God has given us to reconcile others back to Him, we will first consider the need mankind has to be reconciled to God.
II Corinthians 5:18:
And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation.
This verse tells us that God reconciles us to Himself by Jesus Christ. To reconcile means to bring back together that which has been separated. When God originally formed, made, and created Adam, he was a three-part being consisting of body, soul, and spirit. It was important for man to have spirit so that he could have fellowship with God. Because of Adam’s disobedience, in Genesis 3, man lost his spiritual connection with God and thus became separated from Him. In losing the spirit connection, man became body and soul in dire need of reconciliation with God.
How do we, in our day, become reconciled and have our spiritual connection with God restored? We become reconciled to God by being born again of God’s spirit. When we confess Jesus as our lord and believe that God raised him from the dead, we become saved, according to Romans 10:9 and 10. We receive the gift of holy spirit and eternal life. We become complete spiritually and are three-part beings of body, soul, and spirit. Our connection to God is restored by the finished works of Jesus Christ.
So who are the people God wants reconciled to Him? To whom is reconciliation available? The answer is, to all!
I Timothy 2:4:
Who [God] will have [desires] all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
“All men” refers to all of mankind. God’s love for mankind is so great that He wants no one to get missed. Not only does God want us saved, reconciled to Him, but He wants us to continue to come unto the knowledge of the truth. The word “knowledge” means a full, clear, and exact knowledge. God desires that all men, women, and children be reconciled to Him and come to a clear and exact knowledge of Him and His Word.
To accomplish God’s desire to have all men saved and come to a clear and exact knowledge of the truth, we have been given the ministry of reconciliation, as we saw in II Corinthians 5:18. Not only have we been reconciled, but we have also been given the sonship right to reconcile others back to God. After receiving so much from God in being reconciled by the works of Jesus Christ, we have the joy to give and serve His Word to others. We are reconciled to reconcile!
In the Gospel Administration, Jesus Christ had the sole responsibility of reconciling others to God. In this Grace Administration, you and I have this privilege. God has limited Himself to us to reconcile others back to Him. Not even the angels have this responsibility.
In Acts 10 an angel visited a man named Cornelius, who loved and respected God but was not yet born again. Let’s see what the angel told Cornelius.
Acts 10:5 and 6:
And now send men to Joppa, and call for one Simon, whose surname is Peter:
He lodgeth with one Simon a tanner, whose house is by the sea side: he shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do.
The angel instructed Cornelius to send for Peter, who would then tell him what he ought to do. When Peter arrived, he led Cornelius, his relatives, and his near friends into the new birth. Why didn’t the angel tell Cornelius and the others how to get born again? God did not give angels the ministry of reconciliation. We, as sons of God, have this awesome responsibility!…
This is an excerpt from the March/April 2005 issue of The Way Magazine.
Copyright© 2005 by The Way International. All rights reserved.
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