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Second Corinthians 5:18-21 reveals the complete reconciliation of the believers to God, and Christ as the means of this reconciliation. This portion of the word shows three classes of people: the apostles who have been fully reconciled to God, sinners, and believers who have not been fully reconciled to God.
In 2 Corinthians 5:18 Paul says, “God...has reconciled us to Himself through Christ and has given to us the ministry of reconciliation.” This verse indicates that, through Christ, God had fully reconciled the apostles to Himself and that they were then sent to reconcile sinners to God and to reconcile believers to God in full. Because the apostles had been brought back to God, they had the ministry of reconciling others to God. In this way, the apostles were commissioned with the ministry of reconciliation, a ministry to bring others fully back to God.
In 2 Corinthians 5:19 Paul says, “God in Christ was reconciling the world to Himself, not accounting their offenses to them, and has put in us the word of reconciliation.” On the one hand, God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ. On the other hand, God carries out this work of reconciliation through the apostles who are fully reconciled to God through Christ.
In 2 Corinthians 5:20 Paul goes on to say, “On behalf of Christ then we are ambassadors, as God entreats you through us; we beseech you on behalf of Christ, Be reconciled to God.” In verse 19 it was the world that was reconciled to God; in verse 20 it is the believers, who have already been reconciled to God and are to be reconciled further to God. This clearly indicates that two steps are required for men to be fully reconciled to God. The first step is to reconcile sinners to God from sin. For this purpose Christ died for our sins (1 Cor. 15:3) that they might be forgiven by God. This is the objective aspect of Christ’s death. In this aspect He bore our sins on the cross that they might be judged by God upon Him for us. The second step is to reconcile believers living in the natural life to God from the flesh. For this purpose Christ died for us — the persons — that we might live to Him in the resurrection life (2 Cor. 5:14-15). This is the subjective aspect of Christ’s death. In this aspect He was made sin for us to be judged and done away with by God that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. By the two aspects of His death He has fully reconciled God’s chosen people to God.
These two steps of reconciliation are clearly portrayed by the two veils of the tabernacle. In ancient times, when the children of Israel came to contact God, they needed to pass through two veils in order to enter the Holy of Holies. The first veil is called “the screen,” which was the curtain at the entrance of the tabernacle, that is, the entrance to the Holy Place (Exo. 26:36). A sinner who was brought to God through the reconciliation of the propitiating blood entered into the Holy Place by passing this screen. This typifies the first step of reconciliation. The second veil (vv. 31-35; Heb. 9:3) still separated him from God, who was in the Holy of Holies. This veil needed to be rent that the sinner might be brought to God in the Holy of Holies. This is the second step of reconciliation. According to Hebrews 10:20, the second veil within the tabernacle typifies the flesh. The Corinthian believers have been reconciled to God, having passed through the first veil and having entered into the Holy Place. Yet they still lived in the flesh. They needed to pass the second veil to enter into the Holy of Holies to live with God in their spirit (1 Cor. 6:17). On the one hand, the veil — their flesh, their natural being, and their natural life — had been already split, rent, by God in the crucifixion of Christ (Matt. 27:51; Heb. 10:20). On the other hand, the reconciling Spirit was working on them in order to bring them through the veil into the Holy of Holies. The goal of this Epistle was to bring them there that they might be persons in the spirit (1 Cor. 2:15), in the Holy of Holies. This was what the apostle meant by saying, “Be reconciled to God.” This was to present them full-grown in Christ (Col. 1:28).
In the Old Testament, when a sinner came to God, he first had to come to the altar to have his sins forgiven through the blood of the sin offering. After experiencing the forgiveness of sins, he could enter the Holy Place. This is the first step of reconciliation, the step by which a sinner begins to be reconciled to God. This is the situation of most genuine Christians today. They have been reconciled to God in part through the cross upon which Christ died as their sin offering, where He shed His blood to wash away their sins. When they believed in Him, they were forgiven by God, reconciled to God, and brought back to Him. Formerly, they went astray from God. But through repentance they returned to Him and have been reconciled to Him. However, they have been reconciled to God only partly.
Although the believers have been saved and reconciled to God partly, they still live in the flesh; that is, they live in the soul, in the natural life. The veil of the flesh, of the natural man, still separates them from God. This means that their natural being is a separating veil. Therefore, they need the second step of reconciliation, the step in which the separating veil of the flesh is crucified so that they may enter into the Holy of Holies.
The blessings of God can be found in the Holy Place, but God Himself is in the Holy of Holies. Formerly, as sinners, we were outside the tabernacle. Yet when we believed in the Lord, we came into the Holy Place. Now in order to have God Himself, we need to be reconciled further by the Lord and come into the Holy of Holies. This is full reconciliation, which brings us not only out of sin but also out of the flesh, the natural man, the natural being. Then we are brought to God and become one with Him.
As those who have been reconciled to Him in the first step, we love the Lord and serve Him. However, we may love and serve Him in a natural way. Furthermore, we may be very active in the church life, but our living in the church is natural. This means that we live and have our being in a natural way. Therefore, God works through Christ to reconcile us to Himself in a fuller, deeper way. He exposes our natural life and unveils our real situation to us so that we may condemn our natural being and apply the cross subjectively. Then as our natural man is crossed out, we experience the second step of reconciliation. In this step the veil of our natural man is rent so that we may be in the Holy of Holies, living in God’s presence.
The first veil signifies Christ’s objective death: He died for our sins (1 Cor. 15:3). But the second veil signifies Christ’s subjective death: When He died, He died with us and we died with Him (Gal. 2:20). Now we need to realize that we are terminated persons. As such, we should no longer live to ourselves, but instead we should live to Christ. We should experience the rending of our flesh. This means that according to Galatians 5:24, we should crucify the flesh. This is to have the veil torn and thereby experience Christ’s subjective death in dealing with the flesh.
The second step of reconciliation is much deeper than the first step, because it takes place not in the outer court outside the tabernacle but within the Holy Place inside the tabernacle. Instead of taking place once for all, this kind of reconciliation is continuous. If you consider your experience, you will realize that no matter how long you have been a seeking Christian, you still have the sense deep within that you are separated from God’s presence by something, mainly by your natural life, your old man, your self. You may be very good, nice, pious, holy, and spiritual, yet you know that there is still something separating you from God’s presence. You are not fully one with God or altogether in harmony with Him. Instead, because you are still separated from Him, you need the second step of reconciliation. You need the application of the subjective death of Christ to your situation. In other words, the subjective death of Christ needs to be applied to your natural life. This application of the subjective death of Christ crucifies your natural life, rending the veil that separates you from God’s inner presence.
If we are sincere and honest with God in our seeking of Him, we will realize that this is our situation. This is the reason that often we begin our prayer with confession. We may say: “Father, I confess that I am still separated from You. In a sense I am with You, but in a deeper sense I am not with You. I am separated from You not by something sinful but by my natural life. Father, forgive me, and grant mercy to me that I may apply the subjective death of Christ to my inward being to such an extent that my natural life will be thoroughly crucified.” This is to experience the rending of the veil within us so that, through the rent veil of the natural life, we may be reconciled to the inner presence of God the Father.
In 2 Corinthians 5:21 Paul says, “Him who did not know sin He made sin on our behalf that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” According to this verse, God made Christ sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. This indicates that eventually those who have been brought back to God in the Holy of Holies will enjoy Christ to the uttermost and even become the righteousness of God in Him. In the organic union with Christ, those who have been reconciled to God in the second step become the very righteousness of God.
As we have pointed out, Christ not only died for our sins that we might be forgiven of our sins; He also was made sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in Christ. Many of today’s Christians know only that Christ died for their sins. They do not realize that Christ died for them as the flesh, as the old creation. In 2 Corinthians Paul does not speak of Christ dying for our sins. Instead, in 5:14 he says, “One died for all.” This means that Christ died for us. In 1 Corinthians 15:3 Paul tells us that Christ died for our sins. In order that our sins might be forgiven by God, Christ died for our sins. This, however, is simply the initial stage of reconciliation. Christ died on the cross not only for our sins, but He died also for us, for our flesh, our natural being, our outward man. Christ died on the cross so that our outward man, our natural being, may be terminated in order that we may become God’s righteousness. Therefore, Christ died for our sins in order that we may be forgiven and justified by God. Furthermore, Christ died for us so that we may become God’s righteousness.
Christ did not know sin in an experiential way by contact or personal experience. Nevertheless, He was made sin on our behalf that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. Sin came from Satan, who rebelled against God (Isa. 14:12-14). This sin, which came out of the evil one, entered into man (Rom. 5:12) and made man not only a sinner but sin itself under God’s judgment. Hence, when Christ became a man in the flesh (John 1:14), He was made sin (not sinful) on our behalf to be judged by God (Rom. 8:3) that we might become God’s righteousness in Him.
Righteousness issues from God for His administration (Psa. 89:14; 97:2; Isa. 32:1). This righteousness is Christ to be our righteousness (1 Cor. 1:30), making us God’s righteousness in Him (not making us righteous before God). Through Christ’s redemption, man, who is a sinner and is even sin, is made God’s righteousness, being reconciled to the righteous God, and is made a new creation living to God for His eternal purpose. The apostles are commissioned to minister such a Christ, with all the glorious issues of His marvelous achievement, to His believers, who are the members that form His Body.
The expression in Him in 2 Corinthians 5:21 means in union with Him not only positionally but also organically in resurrection. We were enemies of God (Col. 1:21) by becoming sin, which came from Satan, who rebelled against God. Christ was made sin for us by becoming one with us through being incarnated in the flesh. Through His death He was condemned in the flesh as sin for us by God that we might be one with Him in His resurrection to be God’s righteousness. By this righteousness we, the enemies of God, could be and have been reconciled to God (2 Cor. 5:18-20; Rom. 5:10). In the organic union with Christ, those who have been brought back to God in the Holy of Holies are made the righteousness of God. They not only become righteous; they are the righteousness of God. This means that they not only become righteous persons, but they become righteousness itself.
Before we were saved, we were in a condition that was altogether condemned by God. Nothing was right, and God could by no means justify the condition we were in. But after we were saved, we were brought into a state where we could be justified by God. This is righteousness. However, if we are honest, we shall admit that, on the one hand, we are in a righteous condition, but on the other hand, certain things related to our living still are not right. These things may not be comparable to the gross sin that may have been in our living before we were saved. Nevertheless, there are matters which are not right. In particular, there is still the separation between us and God caused by our natural man, our self. This is sin.
In 2 Corinthians 5:21 Paul says that Christ was made sin on our behalf so that we might become God’s righteousness in Him. Sin here is actually synonymous with the flesh. John 1:14 says that Christ as the Word became flesh. Second Corinthians 5:21 says that He was made sin. According to Romans 8:3, God sent His Son in the likeness of the flesh of sin. Thus, sin and the flesh are synonyms. Furthermore, since the flesh is our outward man, then the outward man is totally sin. We ourselves, our natural being, are nothing but sin. For Christ to be made flesh in His incarnation was equal to His being made sin. This also means that He was made us. When He was crucified, He brought our natural man — the outward man, the flesh, and sin — to the cross and nailed it there. That was the time God condemned sin, the flesh, and the outward man. When Christ died on the cross, God condemned our natural man. God’s goal in doing this was that we may become in Christ the righteousness of God. The resurrected Christ is righteousness, resurrection, and the life-giving Spirit. In such a One, we may become the righteousness of God. This is the ultimate consummation of God’s salvation.
God desires to have a people on earth who are not only righteous persons; He wants a people who, in the sight of God, the devil, the angels, and the demons, are the righteousness of God. To be made righteous before God is one thing; to be God’s righteousness is another thing. To become the righteousness of God is the highest enjoyment of the Triune God in Christ.
In Adam we fell so low that we became sin. Not only were we sinful before God — we became sin itself. But now in Christ we, having been brought thoroughly back to God, may enjoy Christ to such an extent that in Him we become God’s righteousness. What a reconciliation! To have this enjoyment is to be on the peak of God’s salvation, to be on the peak of our holy Zion.
In 2 Corinthians 5:20 Paul says, “On behalf of Christ then we are ambassadors, as God entreats you through us; we beseech you on behalf of Christ, Be reconciled to God.” According to this verse, the ambassadors of Christ are one with God; they are like God, and they entreat as God. Their word is God’s word, and what they do is God’s doing. Furthermore, the expression on behalf of Christ means “representing Christ.” As those who represent Christ, the apostles were ambassadors of Christ doing a reconciling work. Just as an ambassador is a person authorized to represent his government, the apostles were authorized by Christ to represent Him to do the work of reconciliation. They were one with Christ and one with God; Christ was one with them, and God also was one with them. God, Christ, and the apostles were one in carrying out the ministry of reconciliation.
An ambassador of Christ is one who represents God, the highest authority in the universe. God has given all authority in heaven and on earth to Christ (Matt. 28:18). God has appointed Christ to be the Lord of all, the King of kings and the Lord of lords (Acts 2:36; 10:36; 1 Tim. 6:15; Rev. 17:14; 19:16). Today Jesus is the Christ, the Lord of all, and the highest authority. The Lord needs some ambassadors on earth who are qualified to represent Him (Matt. 28:19). The highest authority is Christ as the Head, and we as members of the Body must be representatives of the Head, His ambassadors.
According to 2 Corinthians 5:20, Paul and his co-workers who were fully reconciled to God were the ambassadors of Christ. Paul’s use of the word ambassadors indicates that the apostles were commissioned with a definite ministry, to represent Christ to accomplish God’s purpose. They had experienced both steps of reconciliation and therefore were in the Holy of Holies. They then sought to bring others not only from the outer court into the tabernacle but also to bring them from the Holy Place into the Holy of Holies.
Only those who have been fully reconciled to God in both steps can be the ambassadors of Christ. The ambassadors of Christ are those who have passed through the second veil and have entered into the Holy of Holies, where they come forward to the throne of grace to be one with God (Heb. 4:16). Because they are one with God, they are qualified to be sent by God as His ambassadors. Only one who has passed through both veils, who is fully reconciled to God and is thus absolutely one with God, can be His ambassador, representing God with full authority. Such a person is fully authorized by God to deal with all things related to God’s kingdom on earth. We need to experience and enjoy Christ as the means of reconciliation to the fullest extent so that we may become His ambassadors.
