At one time or another in life, we will be given a job to do. While these tasks may vary in what they involve, we can be sure that as we respond with believing, there will be benefits for us and others. During the first year of my in-residence Way Corps training, I was given a job that allowed me to learn and serve. My job was to operate a video camera in the Prevailing Word Auditorium at our International Headquarters during the Sunday Teaching Services. Initially, I was a little concerned about being able to do this job because it was a completely new experience, and I had a few questions.
My work coordinator showed me the camera and explained clearly and simply how to operate this very complex-looking piece of equipment. He showed me how to focus on a subject, how to zoom in and out, how to use the intercom headset, and even how to stand on my feet so as to maximize my endurance. These instructions, along with other information, answered my questions. I was blessed by the confidence shown in me, and my response was, “I can do that!” As I applied the instructions faithfully, my competence grew, and I truly enjoyed being part of a team that moved God’s Word by way of the Sunday Teaching Services.
As born-again believers who have been reconciled to God, we have been given a job to do. God has given us in His Word everything we need in order to do that job, and He knows we can carry it out. As we faithfully learn and apply God’s Word regarding our ministry of reconciliation, the benefits to ourselves and others will be abundantly clear, and our response will be, “We can do the job!”
We will look at this subject in a Frequently Asked Questions format and see how God’s Word gives us the answers we need to carry out the privilege and responsibility of reconciling men and women to Him.
1. What is our job? Once we are reconciled to God, our job is to reconcile others to Him. II Corinthians 5:20 shows us this truth:
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.
Part of our job description is being an ambassador. Our heavenly Father has given His born-again children the privilege and responsibility of being “ambassadors for Christ” so that we can reconcile others to Him. An ambassador is an authorized representative or messenger. An ambassador for Christ has been authorized by God to represent Jesus Christ, to be in his stead—doing the work that he would be doing if he were here on earth, manifesting his love and compassion, and bringing people to the knowledge of the truth that will reconcile them to God.
The word “reconcile” means “to bring back together that which has been separated.” Except for Jesus Christ, every person born since Adam and Eve is born separated from God and needs to be reconnected to Him spiritually. People get reconnected, or reconciled, when they are born again of God’s spirit. Ambassadors for Christ lovingly appeal to others to believe God’s Word so they can be born again. God encourages the world to be reconciled to Him by the work of His ambassadors. God’s Word shows us the immense privilege that has been extended to us—the job of reconciling others to God as His authorized representatives and messengers.
2. What tools do we have to do this job? We have the ministry and the Word of reconciliation.
II Corinthians 5:18 and 19:
And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;
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.
God reconciled us to Himself by way of Jesus Christ. And when He did, He gave us the ministry of reconciliation. The word “ministry” literally means “service rendered by a servant.” To serve is to work or labor, and we work and labor in reconciling others, utilizing this God-given tool in loving service. God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself, and He did not impute, or set to their account, their sins. God worked in Jesus Christ, not to condemn people, but to reconcile them to Himself. We now have God in Christ in us, and we walk in love—not looking down on others, but uplifting them with the positive news of wholeness. This news is our other tool, the Word of reconciliation.
The Word of reconciliation is God’s Word, and it is specifically the truth we give to people so that they can be brought back together with God. For example, Romans 10:9 is a vital part of this specific truth: “…if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” God has committed this truth to us that we may reconcile others to Him. With Christ in us, and with the ministry and the Word of reconciliation, we have been given all we need to do our job. The greatness of life lies in giving, and we have the greatness of the truth to give!…
This is an excerpt from the November/December 2009 issue of The Way Magazine.
Copyright© 2009 by The Way International. All rights reserved.
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