Down to Earth But Heavenly Minded

The testimony of Scripture is as distinct as possible. It never speaks of God being reconciled to us. “If, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son” (Romans 5:10). It does not say that God was reconciled to us. The death of Christ was essential to the reconciliation, but man was the enemy of God and needed to be reconciled. So we read in Colossians 1:21, “And you that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now has He reconciled.” The ground of this is stated in the previous verse to be “the blood of His cross.” So also in 2 Corinthians 5:19, “God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself.” It does not say “reconciling Himself to the world.”

Thus to any who bow to Scripture, the truth is as clear as a sunbeam. “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son.” “It pleased Jehovah to bruise Him.” It is of the utmost importance to maintain the true aspect of God’s nature and character in the presentation of the gospel. To say that “Christ died to reconcile the Father to us” is to falsify the divine character as seen in the mission and death of His Son. God was not man’s enemy but his friend. True, sin had to be condemned; God’s truth, holiness and majesty had to be vindicated. All this was done in a divine way in the cross where we see both God’s hatred of sin and His love to the sinner.

Atonement is the necessary basis of reconciliation, but it is very important to see that it is God who reconciles us to Himself. This He does, blessed be His name, at no less a cost than “the death of His Son.” Such was His love to man, His kindness, His goodness, His deep compassion, that when there was no other way possible, sin being in question, in which man, the guilty enemy and rebel could be reconciled to Him, He gave His Son from His bosom and bruised Him on Calvary’s cursed tree. Eternal and universal praise to His name!