Reconciled to God while enemies !

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Who is this World in 2 Cor 5:19 ?

2 Cor 5:19

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.

Is this world everyone without exception ? By no means, in fact the verse tells us who are comprised of this World.

Its everyone that has been reconciled to God, that God has reconciled to Himself ! Now does that apply to every human being without exception ? No it does not !

Secondly, its everyone that has not and God will not impute their sins unto them !

In other words, its a world of blessed men and women who David calls blessed here Ps 32:1-2

Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.

2 Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile.

And Paul quotes the same in Rom 4:7-8

7 Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.

8 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.

Its a world full of men and women whose iniquities are forgiven and whose sins are covered !

Its a world full of folk that God will not impute sin, lay it to their charge ! And please note it says He will not do it, ever, not now, not in the future !

John Gill comments on Rom 4:8

Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin. As he does not to those whom he justifies in Christ, and by his righteousness; for the sins of such he has imputed to his Son, as their surety; and he has bore them, took them away, having made full satisfaction for them; so that these persons will never be charged with them: they now appear before the throne without fault, and are blameless and irreproveable in the sight of God, and therefore must be eternally happy; for he will never think of their sins any more to their hurt; he will remember them no more; he "will never reckon them to them", but acquit them from them, justify and accept them; wherefore they must be secure from wrath and condemnation, enjoy much peace and comfort now, and be happy hereafter.

That's who the World is in 2 Cor 5:19, those who are #1 Reconciled to God, #2 Have no sins charged to them !

Is that all without exception ? Jesus shall say to many who evidently have iniquity laid to their charge this Matt 7:23

23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

Now how could they possibly be of those which it is said Ps 32:1-2

Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.

2 Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile. See Rom 4:7-8

which are those in 2 Cor 5:19

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. 11

 

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Who is this World in 2 Cor 5:19 ? 2

The world in 2 Cor 5:19 cannot be inclusive of any individual who is not reconciled to God, or who is unreconciled !

Therefore the message in Vs 20 2 Cor 5:19-20

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.

This message or command cannot be to the unreconciled, that would contradict Vs 19, that they were already reconciled to God also Vs 18

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;

So the Gospel command in Vs 20 " be ye reconciled to God" is not to anyone who is not already reconciled to God, the unreconciled !

Then why does Paul tell reconciled folk to be ye reconciled ? Its because, the word of Truth begets Faith in them, its a call to Faith, for Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing the word of God Rom 10:17 !

The Truth is that they already are reconciled to God by and through Christ, and when they hear that Truth by the power of the Holy Spirit, they are commanded to believe it, they are commanded to believe what is already True ! There believing it doesn't make it true, it was true before they believed, and when they were enemies Rom 5:10 ! There believing it was Gods way of giving them personal knowledge of it and assurance of it !

 

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Reconciled/Justified before God while being enemies !

Rom 5:9-10

9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.

10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.

Now heres Grace, Being Reconciled to God, Justified before God, by the Death of His Son, while being enemies, that's the purport of these verses, meaning while those Jesus Christ died for were in a active state of rebellion, enmity, fighting and resisting God, they were completely Righteous before Him, and on their way to Eternal Glory ! For example, to further Illustrate what i mean, remember Paul the Apostle, when he was saul the persecutor of the Church / Believers in Christ, as here Acts 9:1

And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest,

Yes, while he was actively breathing out threatening and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, he was nevertheless reconciled to God, Justified and Righteous before Him, and on his way to Eternal Glory, even at that very moment ! He did not need to repent, believe, pray, or be water baptized or any of that, it was already a fact as much as Christ his Surety and forerunner was already in Glory in his behalf, and that's a fact, and the reason for that is simply the death of Christ, Gods Son for him, that's it ! And so it is with all for whom Christ died !

 

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Reconciled while being enemies !

False religionists, who reject Salvation by Grace, do also reject the Truth of God's Grace, that those Christ has died for, had been reconciled to God, by that Death, while they were enemies Rom 5:10

10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.

This reconciliation to God was without them meeting any conditions, not any requirements, in fact it occurred while they were in a state of hostility and hatred and enmity against God;

And it was while they were being so, that they were actually reconciled, that is brought into harmony and agreement with God, received into His Favor and Friendship ! Don't be deceived by false teachers, they were reconciled to God, not potentially reconciled to God, it was not just possibly and not actually, they were reconciled to God on the bases of the Death of Christ. If it was only made possible, Christ's Death fell far short of the Glory of God. They were all reconciled to God and put in harmony with Him, as they had been when they were in harmony with God in Adam before the fall !

The fleshly carnal mind ruled by pride cannot receive this Grace Truth, it rejects it every time ! 11

 

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Reconciled while being enemies ! 2

As stated before, this is a Truth of the Gospel that proud religionist cannot and will not receive Rom 5:10

10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.

This Truth to them that perish is foolishness, but yet again, its the message of the Gospel of the Grace of God in Christ; yes that Believers, back before they became believers, when they were unconverted, unbelievers, in fact while even being active enemies, nevertheless they had been reconciled to God, how, by the Death of Gods Son for them.

The word enemies echthros means:

hated, hostile; subst: an enemy.

properly, an enemy; someone openly hostile (at enmity), animated by deep-seated hatred. 2190/exthros ("enemy"), implies irreconcilable hostility, proceeding out of a "personal" hatred bent on inflicting harm

Remember how the Apostle Paul acted towards the Church when he was unconverted and inflicting harm out of hatered for Christ and His followers as here Acts 9:1-2

And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest,

2 And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem.

Well, when believers had that same spirit and hostility towards God/Christ, they had been Reconciled to God.

The word enemies also indicate that even when believers were under the power and control of the devil, as stated here Eph 2:2-3

2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:

3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

While being adversaries to God, opponents of His, enemies in our minds towards Him by wicked works Col 1:21

21 And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled

even then, by the Grace of God, they were reconciled to God, meaning they were in a Right and pleasing relationship with Him, in His Favor, at Peace and Harmony with them ! He raised up Christ from the dead after He had died for their sins as the God of Peace Heb 13:20

20 Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,

Yes, even while they were enemies, God was reconciled to them and at Peace with them, and they with Him, through Christ !

This the natural man, self righteous religionist cannot receive !

 

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Reconciliation equals Justification, declared Righteous !

Many out of spiritual ignorance do deny that reconciliation and Justification are equivalent, because they are ignorant to the things of God. Now to be reconciled to God while being enemies [before faith] as stated in Rom 5:10, that it also means they are Justified/Declared Righteous while enemies by the same Death of Christ is seen in scripture comparison, for the being reconciled in Rom 5:10 is the same in 2 Cor 5:19

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

But here in 2 Cor 5:19 we are enlightened as to what being reconciled entails, the Non Imputation of sins ! So those reconciled while enemies in Rom 5:10 also are blessed with the non imputation of sins. Now the non imputation of sins equates to Justification and or being declared Righteous, this we know by more scripture comparison, for when David wrote Ps 32:1-2

Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.

2 Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile.

The same non imputation as in 2 Cor 5:19 which is joined to reconciliation, hence when Paul quotes David later from Ps 32:1-2, which clearly speaks of Non Imputation, here in Rom 4:6-8

6 Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works,

7 Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.

8 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.


Paul attaches Gods Imputation of Righteousness without works, by stating and quoting Davids non imputation of sin blessedness Rom 4:7-8 Cp Ps 32:1-2

So its scriptural to declare, those reconciled to God while enemies in Rom 5:10, have no sin imputed to them as Per 2 Cor 5:19, which declares them Righteous without works in Rom 4:6-8 ! To deny this is to deny scripture Truth. To deny that those reconciled to God by Christ's death while enemies as Per Rom 5:10 that they are Righteous and Justified before God while enemies, is to deny clear teaching of scripture and puts one in Unbelief ! 11