UNIVERSAL RECONCILIATION

UNIVERSAL RECONCILIATION
I’m calling today’s word Universal Reconciliation. This is going to be a doctrinal outline of New Covenant Salvation. I will be discussing the three stages of salvation – salvation of the spirit, salvation of the soul and salvation of the body. And firstly, I want to talk about the foundation, which is about God's initiative through Christ of reconciling the world to himself. God is the initiator and the accomplisher of reconciliation for all humanity through Jesus Christ. This is the salvation of the human spirit.
The scope of Christ’s work in reconciliation powerfully surpasses the scope of Satan’s work in the fall of Adam, and the reach of grace surpasses the reach of sin. 
Romans 5 :10 For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life…
vs 18 therefore as through one man's offence (that was Adam) judgement came to all men resulting in condemnation even so through one man's righteous act (that is Jesus) the free gift came to all men resulting in justification of life. 
The free gift of reconciliation came to all men through God's grace in Christ for us to share his life with our life.
This results in us being justified – which means being empowered to live in alignment with his heart and mind through faith. Reconciliation is the objective removal of separation between us and God not merely the offer of it. It describes the journey of God's divinity coming into humanity through the Incarnation of Jesus. 

2Corinthians 5:18-19 (NKJ) Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation (Katallasso), that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world (universal – not just some people) to Himself, not imputing (logizomai – not taking an inventory – not counting) their sins  against 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 made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

I would like to look at the Greek word for reconciliation which is KATALASSO which means a thorough mutual changing of two different yet similar things or entities into an entirely new entity. In Strongs concordance it says that KATALASSO is a combination of two words kata and alasso – kata gives the meaning of thorough intensity, alasso means to alter or change and in God’s work of reconciliation he brought two entities into effecting one another into a thorough mutual change – a mutual exchange.

This was done through the incarnation of Jesus. God moved from one age called BC to the next age called AD, becoming eternally changed from pure spirit being into the divine plus human spirit being of Jesus as a new creation. God had prophesied this through Isaiah.
Isaiah 7:14 therefore the lord himself will give you a sign behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a Son and shall call his name Emmanuel, God with us. 

Then through the death and resurrection of Jesus and the sending of the Holy Spirit humanity was eternally changed (Katalasso) from mere human being into God with us spirit being as partakers of the divine nature. 
2 Peter 1:4 through which we have been given exceedingly great and precious promises that through these we may be partakers of the divine nature having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust (epithemia- wrong desires)
This is for all of humanity and is waiting to be catalysed by our faith to come into the new creation of Christ in us. We become the expression of God's love and goodwill in the earth through Jesus. 
By saying that Reconciliation was God's initiative it means that God as Jesus Christ joined himself to us as humanity without consulting us or asking for permission. He planned this before the foundation of the world - not imputing trespass means no longer counting sin as separation. It was his unilateral act, regardless of human virtue or merit

That is why reconciliation is classified theologically as an ‘ontological’ Process. That process occurs when one entity causes a new entity to come into being – and the two things have become one new thing - and the second thing cannot not exist without the first but the first now doesn’t exist without the second. For example, the surface skin of an apple is not fully itself without the apple and the fruit of the apple only remains intact when it is within its skin. God did this with himself and humanity in Christ.
People who existed before Christ were obviously dependent upon God because they were created by him, but they were separate from him as lesser human beings not just because of sin but because they did not have the oneness of being with him together - as an apple and the apple skin. The Bible says  But your iniquities have separated you from your God. (Isaiah 59:2 also Ephesians 2:1- you who were once dead in trespasses and sins.)
But Reconciliation has done away with both separation and sin. 

And now the New Creation being of Christ has become eternal in Heaven and we are one with him forever. The only proper human response to this then must be faith as this has no meaning to a person who does not know it and believe it and live it. A big challenge!
But the startling paradox is that faith does not create reconciliation - faith awakens us to reconciliation as something already done that God in Christ has achieved as the Scriptures above have said. Our obedience of faith to this truth aligns us with the full outworking of reconciliation - For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin so that in him we might become the righteousness of God in Him (2Corinthians 5:1). What a mighty outcome! What an important goal! 
But - notwithstanding the significance of the outcome and the goal - I want to emphasise how important the process is – We are to live in the process of being reconciled with Jesus and the Father and the Holy Spirit and we leave the outcomes to God. That is living in the reality of what the overall purpose and goal of God for our lives is from day to day.
It is living in the process that brings spiritual growth – not trying to imagine the nature of the goal. That is what God accomplishes in us. 
Philippians 2:13 It is God who works in you to will and to do his good purpose.

As I said at the beginning the scope of our salvation as a threefold process of salvation. 
1.The salvation of our spirit. 2. Salvation of our soul. 3. Salvation of our body.

1. The salvation of our spirit is God’s work of Reconciliation that has already been accomplished 2000 years ago. We have become joined in spirit to the Lord 
1Corinthians 6:17 he that is joined to the Lord is one spirit with him.
2Corinthians 5:17 The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation
Doctrinal Statement Faith does not create reconciliation—it awakens us to it and aligns us with it. The full outworking of reconciliation is living in the reality of being a New Creation.

2. The salvation of the soul is about us being saved – the process of being transformed and being brought into alignment in our minds and hearts to God as a New Creation. That is the outworking and the result of reconciliation - the justification of life, which comes through our faith. Our focus is the process and God brings about the outcomes.
1 Peter 1:9 receiving the goal of your faith the salvation/healing of your souls.
Romans 5:10 having been reconciled we will be saved by his life. (the saving of the soul) 
1Corinthians 1:18 for the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. (perishing – the wasting/ruin of a life)
Doctrinal Statement The soul is being saved through faith – through transformation by participating in the life of Christ, and it is progressive as a growth experience.

3. The third phase or the third process of our threefold salvation is the body the future completion that is the resurrection and glorification of the body. 
Romans 8:23 we also who have the first fruits of the spirit even we ourselves groan within ourselves eagerly awaiting for the adoption the redemption of our body (full purchase) 
1 Corinthians 15:51 Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all die, but we shall all be changed— in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. (allass??)

I somewhat sadly imagine a conversation in Heaven at Jesus’ Resurrection where the Father congratulates Jesus for his wonderful work of reconciliation for humanity. ‘You’ve achieved the most ultimate work of loving sacrifice for our beloved children my Son. They will be enraptured with joy and gratitude to know this and to believe it and to live it. The epistles will faithfully record it, and the message will be faithfully delivered. One of them will powerfully write in his epistle that we have committed to all who read it the message of reconciliation to be ambassadors for Christ, as though we were even pleading and imploring them on your behalf my Son, to be reconciled to God – to consciously live in the reality of it, not just quote it and hang it on the fridge door. For their sake I made you my Son to be sin who knew no sin so that in you they might become the righteousness of God. They will know that it is no longer just their lives they are living, but that it is your life that is living through them. Epistles will be written about that.
Jesus replies ‘I know it will be written and preached Father and I know that Satan will seek to blind their minds from hearing it. But I will be interceding for them to hear it and live it and speak it. It will finally happen and it will conquer and overcome all evil.’

Summary statement Through the death and resurrection of Christ, God has objectively reconciled the world to Himself, not counting humanity’s sins against them. This spiritual reconciliation, universal in scope and complete in accomplishment, becomes subjectively realized through faith as individuals are progressively transformed in their soul - and ultimately perfected in body at the resurrection, resulting in the full restoration of human beings into union with God. Reconciliation is finished, salvation is unfolding, and complete restoration is the goal.