RECONCILING THE WORLD

Reconciliation is a two-way street. God must reconcile us to Himself, and we must be reconciled to Him. There is enmity between God and man which goes both directions. Our rebellion against God must be reconciled, and God's anger toward us must be reconciled. Paul writes that "God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ" (2 Cor. 5:19) and then concludes with an appeal to "be reconciled to God" (2 Cor. 5:20). The compound verb translated "reconcile" (καταλλάσσων)  is perfective meaning to effect a complete change back from enmity to peace (MHT, Grammar, 3:298). Reconciliation is not complete until both sides are reconciled.

Paul is the only one who uses the verb καταλλάσσω for the relationship between God and man. The active voice is only used of God, and the passive voice is only used for humans (TDNT, 1:255). We do not achieve reconciliation with God. Reconciliation with God is never something we can accomplish. To imply otherwise is to deny the gospel - the good news of what God has done for us (Denney, 2 Corinthians, 211-215 cited by Martin, 2 Corinthians, 154).

In Christ, God was reconciling the world "to Himself" (ἑαυτῷ). God pacified Himself in Christ. The sacrifice of the Son appeased the anger of the Father. Paul writes, "while we were enemies we were reconciled (κατηλλάγημεν) to God through the death of His Son" (Rom. 5:10). God made peace with Himself for us so that no impediment stood between Him and us any longer. He reconciled (active voice); we were reconciled (passive voice)! He did it for us! This is the essence of the good news.

When Paul writes that God "was reconciling the world to Himself" (2 Cor. 5:19), he was not suggesting universalism. The present tense of the verb (καταλλάσσων) indicates continuous, ongoing reconciliation. The "world" (κόσμον) refers to a class of people. The absence of an article gives the noun a collective sense. He is referring to mankind as a whole. God is "not imputing to them" (αὐτοῖς) "their" (αὐτῶν) "sins." The plural pronouns refer back to a collective singular (Blass/Debrunner, Grammar, 147). The individual members of the collective world are being reconciled to God down through history.

Paul does not mean that all humans, believing and unbelieving, are forgiven, but God, in Christ, forgives the sins of those who are part of the collective world (Hodge, 2 Corinthians, 145). Imputation was sufficient for the whole world but efficient only in Christ. The cross was sufficient to remove the judicial anger on God's side, but it does not remove the rebellion on our side of reconciliation. Humans must receive the reconciliation to be reconciled. We must accept what God has done for us before reconciliation is complete for both sides.

How else can we understand Paul's appeal to "be reconciled to God" (2 Cor. 5:21)? The verb is in the passive voice. We appeal to humans to be reconciled (καταλλάγητε) to God. Humans don't reconcile themselves to God. Humans accept the reconciliation God has made for them by turning away from their rebellion to enjoy peace with God. God commissions us to urge people to receive the reconciliation provided by God. The Gospel is good news because we declare what God has done not what we must do to be reconciled to God!