SUBJECT: 2 Corinthians 5:18-21

QUESTION: Is this what you call a ministry of reconciliation?

ANSWER:

Believe you took this statement from 2 Corinthians 5:18-21:

2 Corinthians 5:18-21

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;

19 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.

20 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.

21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

Here is the Matthew Henry Commentary on these verses:

2 Corinthians 5:16-21

Ministry of the apostles

In these verses the apostle mentions two things that are necessary in order to our living to Christ, both of which are the consequences of Christ's dying for us; namely, regeneration and reconciliation.  (for the purpose of this e-mail, I include only the part about "reconciliation".)

 II. Reconciliation, which is here spoken of under a double notion:--

 1. As an unquestionable privilege, v. 18, 19. Reconciliation supposes a quarrel, or breach of friendship; and sin has made a breach, it has broken the friendship between God and man. The heart of the sinner is filled with enmity against God, and God is justly offended with the sinner. Yet, behold, there may be a reconciliation; the offended Majesty of heaven is willing to be reconciled.
And observe,

 1. He has appointed the Mediator of reconciliation. He has reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, v. 18. God is to be owned from first to last in the undertaking and performance of the Mediator. All things relating to our reconciliation by Jesus Christ are of God, who by the mediation of Jesus Christ has reconciled the world to himself, and put himself into a capacity of being actually reconciled to offenders, without any wrong or injury to his justice or holiness, and does not impute to men their trespasses, but recedes from the rigour of the first covenant, which was broken, and does not insist upon the advantage he might justly take against us for the breach of that covenant, but is willing to enter into a new treaty, and into a new covenant of grace, and, according to the tenour thereof, freely to forgive us all our sins, and justify freely by his grace all those who do believe.

 2. He has appointed the ministry of reconciliation, v. 18. By the inspiration of God the scriptures were written, which contain the word of reconciliation, showing us that peace was made by the blood of the cross (stake), that reconciliation is wrought, and directing us how we may be interested therein. And he has appointed the office of the ministry, which is a ministry of reconciliation: ministers are to open and proclaim to sinners the terms of mercy and reconciliation, and persuade them to comply therewith. For,

2. Reconciliation is here spoken of as our indispensable duty, v. 20. As God is willing to be reconciled to us, we ought to be reconciled to God. And it is the great end and design of the gospel, that word of reconciliation, to prevail upon sinners to lay aside their enmity against God. Faithful ministers are Christ's ambassadors, sent to treat with sinners on peace and reconciliation: they come in God's name, with his entreaties, and act in Christ's stead, doing the very thing he did when he was upon this earth, and what he wills to be done now that he is in heaven. Wonderful condescension! Though God can be no loser by the quarrel, nor gainer by the peace, yet by his ministers he beseeches sinners to lay aside their enmity, and accept of the terms he offers, that they would be reconciled to him, to all his attributes, to all his laws, and to all his providences, to believe in the Mediator, to accept the atonement, and comply with his gospel, in all the parts of it and in the whole design of it. And for our encouragement so to do the apostle subjoins what should be well known and duly considered by us (v. 21), namely,

 (1.) The purity of the Mediator: He knew no sin.

 (2.) the sacrifice he offered: He was made sin; not a sinner, but sin, that is, a sin-offering, a sacrifice for sin.

 (3.) the end and design of all this: that we might be made the righteousness of God in him, might be justified freely by the grace of God through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus. Note,

 [1.] As Christ, who knew no sin of his own, was made sin for us, so we, who have no righteousness of our own, are made the righteousness of God in him.

 [2.] our reconciliation to God is only through Jesus Christ, and for the sake of his merit: on him therefore we must rely, and make mention of his righteousness and his only. ~from Matthew Henry's Commentary

From this commentary, we see two things. 

1) Christ is the Mediator of reconciliation.

2) He has appointed the ministry of reconciliation.  That is, He has called certain ones out of the world to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, that Mediator of reconciliation.  Without the gospel there is no reconciliation.  Note what the commentary above says about this gospel:

A) ministers are to open and proclaim to sinners the terms of mercy and reconciliation, and persuade them to comply therewith

B) And it is the great end and design of the gospel, that word of reconciliation, to prevail upon sinners to lay aside their enmity against God.

Now my question to you is, "What is there about the ministry of Garner Ted Armstrong and the Intercontinental Church of God that is not doing this?"

At our web site (www.gtaea.org), we have a whole section called, "The Heart and Soul of the Gospel"  There you will find extensive information about:

a) The Gospel

b) Repentance

c) Baptism

d) Living the Christian Life

e) Keeping the Sabbath

f) Faith

g) Kingdom of God

Clearly, these subjects speak to a reconciliation.  This is what our ministry does.  These subjects are all about B) above; prevailing upon sinners to turn from their enmity against God.  The booklets, articles and television programs at our site are all about the gospel which is the good news of our being brought back to God and the fact that Jesus Christ, the Mediator of reconciliation, is about to return to this Earth and rule for a 1000 years.

Below is that word "reconcile" taken from Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus.  Just about every one of those words describes a coming together of God and man once again.

reconcile

make peace; adjust accommodate, accord, accustom, appease, arbitrate, arrange, assuage, attune, bring together, bring to terms, bury the hatchet*, come together, compose, conciliate, conform, cool*, coordinate, fit, fix up, get together on, harmonize, integrate, intercede, kiss and make up*, make matters up, make up, mediate, mitigate, pacify, patch things up*, patch up*, placate, propitiate, proportion, reconciliate, rectify, re-establish, regulate, resolve, restore harmony, reunite, settle, suit, tune, win over

God's whole plan is reconciling us to Him through Jesus Christ.  His plan will succeed regardless of what most of the world believes now and regardless of who they hate and attack now.  We will all be part of the same family one day.