2Cor 5:14-21 ' For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again. Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more. Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. 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. 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. 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'.
This is the gospel and the commission of the gospel of Jesus Christ in a nutshell. Accepting Jesus Christ is being reconciled to God. When God, who loved the world, sent his Son Jesus Christ into the world, His mission and purpose was to get to the cross and be crucified as the sacrificial Lamb of God. Through His death, Christ took the sin of all mankind upon his body and was judged for all sin through death. His precious blood paid for the debt that sin had accomplished in separating man from God, who created them. Now, God was in Christ performing the work of reconciliation by not imputing their trespasses unto them. God tranferred and imputed all sin to His Son on the cross, once and for all (Rom 6:9, Heb 10:10,12). God did this so that He could have grounds for fellowship with man, who He created, who had become separated from Him through sin.
Look at (2Cor 5:19), God was in Christ reconciling the world (inhabitants of the human race) unto Himself. And how was God going to do that, by not imputing their trespasses to them. There is not a human being that has ever lived, whose sins have been imputed to them. The word imputing in (v/19) is logizmai - meaning to reckon, to take into account, to put on one's account as a record. God took all sin and put it on Jesus Christ's account (also retroactively as the sins that were past in Rom 3:25) to be dealt with through the shedding of blood and death. Without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins (Heb 9:22). The verb form of remission (aphesis) means to dismiss, to release from the offence, the bondage and the penalty. It is translated as 'forgiveness' in (Col 1:14, Eph 1:7, Acts 5:31, 13:38, 26:18). God has put ALL sin away through the sacrifice of His Son and He wants all men to be forgiven of the sins that He has put away on their behalf (Christ as our substitute). This is the reconciliation of God, that was appropriated by God, for man, through Jesus Christ. The word and ministry of this reconciliation has been committed unto us by God, in His stead (in behalf of, in 2Cor 5:18,19).
The love of the Father had to satisfy His own justice, in relationship to what sin had done through separating God from man in terms of broken fellowship, intimacy and communion. This is why we eat and share with one another the bread of Christ's broken body and drink the cup of His shed blood in rememberance of Him (2Cor 11:23-34). The backslidden Christian must come back to Christ, confess his sin and be restored. This is why when sin abounds grace does much more abound (Rom 5:20,21).The bread and blood of Christ is the communion of the new covenant. The love and restoration of that new covenant covers a multitude of sins (James 5:20, 1Peter 4:8).
This is the gospel and the commission of the gospel of Jesus Christ in a nutshell. Accepting Jesus Christ is being reconciled to God. When God, who loved the world, sent his Son Jesus Christ into the world, His mission and purpose was to get to the cross and be crucified as the sacrificial Lamb of God. Through His death, Christ took the sin of all mankind upon his body and was judged for all sin through death. His precious blood paid for the debt that sin had accomplished in separating man from God, who created them. Now, God was in Christ performing the work of reconciliation by not imputing their trespasses unto them. God tranferred and imputed all sin to His Son on the cross, once and for all (Rom 6:9, Heb 10:10,12). God did this so that He could have grounds for fellowship with man, who He created, who had become separated from Him through sin.
Look at (2Cor 5:19), God was in Christ reconciling the world (inhabitants of the human race) unto Himself. And how was God going to do that, by not imputing their trespasses to them. There is not a human being that has ever lived, whose sins have been imputed to them. The word imputing in (v/19) is logizmai - meaning to reckon, to take into account, to put on one's account as a record. God took all sin and put it on Jesus Christ's account (also retroactively as the sins that were past in Rom 3:25) to be dealt with through the shedding of blood and death. Without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins (Heb 9:22). The verb form of remission (aphesis) means to dismiss, to release from the offence, the bondage and the penalty. It is translated as 'forgiveness' in (Col 1:14, Eph 1:7, Acts 5:31, 13:38, 26:18). God has put ALL sin away through the sacrifice of His Son and He wants all men to be forgiven of the sins that He has put away on their behalf (Christ as our substitute). This is the reconciliation of God, that was appropriated by God, for man, through Jesus Christ. The word and ministry of this reconciliation has been committed unto us by God, in His stead (in behalf of, in 2Cor 5:18,19).
The love of the Father had to satisfy His own justice, in relationship to what sin had done through separating God from man in terms of broken fellowship, intimacy and communion. This is why we eat and share with one another the bread of Christ's broken body and drink the cup of His shed blood in rememberance of Him (2Cor 11:23-34). The backslidden Christian must come back to Christ, confess his sin and be restored. This is why when sin abounds grace does much more abound (Rom 5:20,21).The bread and blood of Christ is the communion of the new covenant. The love and restoration of that new covenant covers a multitude of sins (James 5:20, 1Peter 4:8).
