Quote:
Originally Posted by votivesoul
I would offer just the opposite, saying that because God was not reconciled to us, He provided Christ as the offering for sin, so He could become reconciled.
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Just wanted to briefly go back to this real quick.
To be reconciled means to put an end to enmity. If you are reconciled to someone, it means you put down the enmity and move to get them reconciled back to you. Reconciliation between two parties is a two part thing. Each party should be reconciled to the other.
Now we definitely needed to be reconciled to God, because were at war with God, we were opposed to Him. So the message is "be ye reconciled to God". That is, put down your weapons and stop fighting against God, quit hating God and fighting against God.
Now the question is - was God reconciled to us? and if so, when? did the death of Jesus reconcile God to us?
If the death of Jesus reconciled God to us, it means that God was against us, counted us his enemies, UNTIL Jesus died. But this seems to fly in the face of everything that is said about the cross!
For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
(Romans 5:6-8)
While were still sinners, while we were still unrighteous enemies of God, God commended his love to us through Christ, as demonstrated in the death of Christ. Now, one doesn't die for those whom one is at war with and for those whom one counts as one's enemies. This isn't so much about Christ dying for those who counted themselves his enemies (although that is true), but about Christ dying for those whom HE counted as His enemies - if God was not reconciled to us until the cross.
In other words, God was already reconciled to us, God was not looking to destroy us, God was not putting in motion a punitive plan to punish His enemies. Rather, God loved us. He loved us, and therefore wanted our friendship and wanted to put man back into a right relationship with Him. this is clear (to me) that God was already reconciled to us. Otherwise, He would simply have destroyed us.
It is WE who are reconciled back to God through the cross. Through the cross WE have access to restoring a right relationship with God. Not by appeasing an offended Father, but by His love demonstrated through the cross wooing us and convincing us to lay down our arms against him.
But perhaps this gets into the subject of the nature of the Atonement? Is that where we need to go next, before moving on with the idea of things in heaven being reconciled to God? Obviously it's all connected,
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