In our study of the doctrine of witnessing Mark 16:15; Acts 1:8; we are examining the doctrines that under gird the gospel so that we understand how and why it is God alone who made it possible for our so great salvation by grace through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone. Eph 2:8-9;
Under this category we are presently discussing the doctrine of reconciliation where God once and for all addressed the barrier between Himself and mankind and by extension the barriers that exist between people. The only solution to these problems is to believe in Jesus Christ as savior and to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Last time we noted that Reconciliation is the basis of unity among believers. Every believer in Jesus Christ has the same eternal life.
Every believer in Jesus Christ has God's perfect righteousness (+R). Every believer in Jesus Christ is entered into union with the person of Christ. These unities establish the basis for unity among all believers.
This means that peace with God is in effect. Entry into the royal family of God engages these doctrines establishes our reconciliation with God and becomes the basis for peace among members of the royal family.
The mechanics of reconciliation involves two categories. The first category is what Christ accomplished on the Cross for all mankind. This includes the removal of spiritual death as a part of the barrier between God and man by unlimited atonement.
It also includes the removal of our personal sins as a part of the barrier between God and man by the substitutionary spiritual death of Christ and the removal of the curse of the Law as slaves to sins by redemption and it satisfies the holiness of God in propitiation.
The second category is what Jesus Christ provides through the Cross for those who believe in Him. This category includes regeneration that removes the problem of physical life.
It also includes the imputation of God's perfect righteousness solves the problem of relative or self-righteousness and positional sanctification in Christ that solves the problem of position in Adam.
Reconciliation is also the basis and the means of establishing unity in the Royal Family of God. Eph 4:3; "Be diligent to guard the unity of the Spirit by means of the bond of peace."
Since all members of the royal family of God have been reconciled to God at the moment of salvation, it follows logically that all members of the body of Christ should be reconciled to each other.
Since we have been reconciled to God by the work of Christ on the Cross, we should utilize experientially what has been provided in grace to be reconciled to each other. We should be reconciled to each other through the filling of the Spirit and learning God's Word (the doctrine of the faith) after salvation.
Persistence in the perception of Bible doctrine will eliminate personality conflicts because it provides capacity to understand and use God's problem-solving devices.
Reconciliation toward each other means there is no place for personality conflict in the Christian way of life. Believers are not to form opinions about antagonisms that occur between two other believers.
Whenever personality conflicts exist between two believers, one or both are completely out of line and in need of rebound.
When believers advance to the point where they can use the last seven problem- solving devices, these problem-solving devices when deployed will eliminate personality conflict.
Personality conflicts are caused by arrogance that is manifested in the mental attitude and verbal sins of jealousy, bitterness, vindictiveness, implacability, fear, hatred, anger, self-pity, guilt, gossip, slander, and maligning.
Therefore, when you find yourself in personality conflict with another believer make sure that there is no mental attitude sin that is keeping you out of God's power system and causing you to fail to remain under the mentorship of God the Holy Spirit and preventing you from having the power to deal with it through the execution of the protocol plan of God for the church.
Always look to yourself because no matter how obnoxious another person is, you should be able to handle it with grace using the power of God's Word when it is deployed through the problem solving devices under the filling of ministry of God the Holy Spirit.
In the devil's world there will be personality conflicts but you can't allow yourself to become entangled in personality conflicts and reach spiritual adulthood. Personality conflict is usually irrational. Whenever you have a personality conflict with someone else, this is a warning that there is something wrong with your spiritual momentum.
Personality conflict is nothing more than people testing as a part of momentum testing.
The greatest personality conflict in history was the attitude of people toward Jesus Christ while He lived on earth, and especially while He was on the cross dying for our sins. Luke 23:34;
The parties in reconciliation are God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit and mankind.
God the Father imputed the sins of the entire human race to the humanity of Jesus Christ on the Cross and judged every one of them. This is unlimited atonement that removes the barrier of personal sins.
God the Father was satisfied with the saving work of Christ on the Cross. This is propitiation that removes the barrier of the holiness of God.
God the Father imputed His own righteousness to every believer at salvation, proclaimed us justified, so that now we can live with God forever. This removes the barrier of man's relative self-righteousness.
God the Father imputed eternal life to the believer's human spirit created by the Holy Spirit at salvation, called regeneration. This removed the barrier of man's physical life with spiritual death.
God the Father is the reconciler as per the active voice of "katallasso." 2Cor 5:19; Mankind is reconciled to God; God is never reconciled to man. It is blasphemous to think that God moves toward man; it is man who is the perpetrator and therefore it is man who must move. Man comes to God by believing in Jesus Christ.
The second party in reconciliation is God the Son, the agent of reconciliation. The agent of reconciliation is our Lord Jesus Christ,
Eph 2:13-18; "But now in Christ Jesus you who were formerly far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
v14 For He Himself is our reconciliation, who made both Gentiles and Jews one (new spiritual species), and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall,
v15 by abolishing in His flesh the enmity that in Himself he might make the two into one new man, establishing reconciliation."
v16 and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross by which the hostility has been killed.
v17 And he came and preached peace to you who were far off (gentiles) and peace to those who were near (Jews).
v18 so that through Him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.
It was the work of our Lord Jesus Christ that removed the barrier between man and God, making reconciliation possible.
During His last three hours on the Cross, our Lord's humanity received the imputation of every personal sin in the history of the human race, every sin was judged in Him. This is the substitutionary spiritual death that provides for unlimited atonement.
Through His efficacious and substitutionary spiritual death on the cross, Jesus Christ satisfied (propitiated) God the Father's perfect righteousness and justice (holiness).
This is why personal faith in Jesus Christ is required for salvation. By faith alone in Christ alone mankind agrees with God that our Lord Jesus Christ is God's agent of reconciliation. Jesus Christ is therefore the exclusive object for faith for eternal salvation.
The third party in reconciliation is God the Holy Spirit. Unbelievers are dichotomous only having a body and a soul so they cannot correctly understand the Gospel or any other spiritual information.
God the Holy Spirit therefore must make the spiritual information contained in the Gospel understandable to them.. Under the doctrine of common grace God the Holy Spirit acts as a human spirit, making this spiritual information understandable when it is presented.
When the Gospel is presented and a person believes in Jesus Christ God the Holy Spirit makes their faith effectual for salvation under the doctrine of efficacious grace.
Under the doctrine of the convicting ministry of the Spirit, mankind, under real spiritual death, listens to the Gospel while the Holy Spirit makes it understandable in common grace.
God's proposition of peace or reconciliation is always ratified by personal faith in Jesus Christ, it is the ministry of the Holy Spirit in efficacious grace to make the faith of the spiritual death person effectual for salvation. In real spiritual death and total helplessness, mankind believes in Christ, while the Holy Spirit in efficacious grace makes that faith effectual for salvation.
In regeneration at salvation, God the Holy Spirit creates a human spirit for the imputation of eternal life; this removes the barrier of physical birth.
Through the baptism of the Holy Spirit at salvation, God creates a new spiritual species comprised of Church Age believers who receive the capacity to utilize God's power. At the same time, the baptism of the Spirit provides the basis for the election of the royal family of God.
The provision of positional sanctification removes the barrier of position in Adam replacing it with position in Christ under the principle of. "In Adam all die; in Christ shall all be made alive." 1Cor 15:22;
The fourth party in reconciliation is mankind who is the beneficiary of reconciliation. Mankind is reconciled to God through the saving work of Jesus Christ on the Cross. Mankind is the recipient but never the reconciler; God is the reconciler and Jesus Christ is the agency of reconciliation.
Scriptural Documentation for the facets of the doctrine of reconciliation is found in the following passages:
Documentation for the barrier of real spiritual death is found in Gen 2:17; Rom 5:12; Rom 6:23; Eph 2:1;
Documentation for the removal of this barrier is found in 1Pet 2:24, 1Pet 3:18; 2 Cor 5:21;
Documentation for the barrier of personal sin is taught in Rom 1:18-32; Rom 3:9-23; Gal 5:19-21; 1Tim 1:14-16;
Documentation for the removal of this barrier by unlimited atonement is taught in 2Cor 5:14; 1Cor 15:19; 1Tim 2:6; 1Tim 4:10; Titus 2:11; Heb 2:9; 1John 2:2;
Documentation for the curse of the Law as a barrier is taught in 1Tim 1:8-11; Rom 3:9-23, Rom 7:14, Rom 4:15, Rom 5:20; Gal 3:10-11;
Redemption as the solution to the curse of the Law is documented in: Psa 34:22; Gal 3:13; Eph 1:7; 1Pet 3:18-19;
Documentation for the barrier of the holiness, perfection and virtue of God that is found in, Rom 3:23, is solved by propitiation, Rom 3:22-26; 1John 2:2; 1John 4:10;
Documentation for the barrier of physical birth that is solved by regeneration is found in John 3:16, John 3: 36; Titus 3:5, 1Pet 1:23;
Documentation for the barrier of man's relative righteousness (-R) found in, Isa 64:6, is removed by the imputation of God's perfect righteousness(+R) as described in Rom 3:21-22,27,30;
The barrier of position in Adam documented in, 1Cor 15:22a, is solved by the baptism of the Holy Spirit that establishes position in Christ, 1Cor 15:22b.