November 01 2025

Saturday November 01

The Ministry of Reconciliation

Ephesians 2:13-18

13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, 15 having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, 16 and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. 17 And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. 18 For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.

Today we continue looking at Ephesians 2:13-18. In these verses, we see that Paul is speaking to the Gentiles, specifically telling them how by the blood of Christ that they have now been able to make peace not only with God, but with the Jewish believers also in the church. They have been brought together to be one. Very important. God wants His church to be one. One in Christ. Despite our cultural and religious and other backgrounds that could cause tremendous enmity, division, and strife, God wants us to be one.

Our preferences often divide us in the church over music, rituals, ceremonies and different things that might take place. But God wants us to be one. Jesus said, "By this shall all men know that you are my disciples because you love one another." It was the love of Christ that gave us oneness with God through Christ Jesus and His blood on the cross. My friend, it's the love that we can have for God and for others that can help us to set aside our preferences and our differences and love one another in such a way that the world sees this great reconciliation between those who are at enmity.

I never forget that in my first years of ministry, I was out visiting and stopped alongside a country road to talk with a man from our church. While were talking we were accosted by a man who actually began to beat up my friend. When I saw the drunk man coming down his driveway with a crowbar in his hand, I told my friend we should drive down the road to get away from him. I drove down the road but my friend felt he had the right to stay where he was and the drunk man began to beat up my friend. My friend went and reported it to the police, of course, and there were some issues that took place. A few years later on a Sunday evening, at a new members gathering, was a man who had gotten saved because his children had come to church and gotten saved. I'll never forget this because the man that got saved said, "See that man over there?" He said, "I remember beating him up and having a terrible situation with him. Would you tell him I want to ask him to forgive me for the way I acted and what I did to him?" It was a wonderful experience that night to watch two men who had been at enmity, had been in a terrible altercation, now making reconciliation because of the blood of Jesus Christ and the peace that God had brought into their hearts. It was a great testimony to watch them over the next years they became good friends and worked together maintaining buses for our outreach ministry. This kind of peace and reconciliation is only possible through Jesus Christ.

So we see that in this passage of scripture we're at enmity with God before our salvation. Enmity with God began in the Garden of Eden when sin entered the picture. When Adam and Eve sinned, they were separated from God. That's what scripture teaches. They experienced death. Death is separation. They were separated from God. Their first two children, Cain and Abel, they experienced enmity, deep-seated hatred to the point that Cain killed Abel, the first two brothers that were ever born on planet earth.

Sin created this enmity between human beings and only God can reconcile us. Then we find that violence came into the earth because of the enmity between one another. The earth was filled with violence in Genesis chapter 6 and the flood took place. But then even after the flood, men tried to make peace with each other by building the Tower of Babel so that they can have unity. Yet this did not bring unity. God scattered the nations and gives them the curse of languages that separated them.

My friend, there has always been this enmity because of sin. The only answer for sin is the blood of Jesus Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:17-21 describes the ministry of reconciliation. “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he's a new creation. Old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new. Now all things are of God who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation. That is that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ as though God were pleading through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God. For He, God, made Him, Jesus, who knew no sin, to be sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.”

Only Jesus Christ can bring this peace in our lives between us and God, and between us and others. God bless you as you think about these things today.

God bless!