The Ministry of Reconciliation...The Only Ministry
As a young child, I witnessed the casting out of several demonic spirits from a woman by my father, who pastored at the time. The spirit spoke out of the woman in a gruff man's voice, proclaiming, "I am the spirit of deception and I will deceive you today." I remember vividly my father commanding the spirit to keep its peace because he was addressing the woman; the spirit had to remain silent and later had to leave when commanded to do so.
Unfortunately, the spirit of deception does not always announce itself; it often lies in wait, crouched quietly behind the pews of our churches. It works through compromise and a desire to fit in with this present world.
Because this spirit has taken such a hold of churches in our nation, I feel that the ministry of reconciliation can only be understood by beginning at the beginning of time.
The Beginning
In the time before man's time, heaven was comprised of glorious beings, the angels, who were lead in worship of the Almighty God by none other than Lucifer. Envying the glory of God and comparing himself as equal in right to receive such praise, Lucifer attempted to exalt himself above God. This, of course, presented a problem. As God stated in Isaiah 42:8, "I am the Lord: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise..." For this reason, Lucifer, later known as Satan or Beelzebub, was cast out of heaven along with one third of the heavenly host.
We see this same pattern when men have tried to exalt themselves above God. In Acts 12, Herod gave a speech. The Word says, "And the people gave a shout, saying, It is the voice of a god, and not of a man. And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost" (Acts 12:22-23). In like manner, Jesus states, "I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven" (Luke 10:18).
Why such a harsh judgment? The angels were created and thus commanded to worship God alone. This incident paved the way for demonic influence to infiltrate God's creation on earth.
Another Beginning
Many of us are aware of the fresh beginning after Lucifer's fall; it is found in Genesis 1: "In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth." In short, mankind was created with free will; God wanted someone who would worship him by choice rather than command. Mankind is the one creation who has the option of looking at the most powerful, majestic being in the universe and saying, "I just don't feel like it today." As we all know, Satan entered into the serpent and tempted Adam and Eve into sinning against God, causing a breach between deity and humanity. Romans 5:12 says that "by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned."
Since that time, we have each been born in sin and shaped in iniquity (Ps. 51:5). We are creation estranged from its creator. This is the reason God robed himself in flesh and came in the form that we all must enter the world, as a baby. God did not send his child or a separate being to take on the sins of the world. He came himself, robing himself in a fleshly cloak that we might have a visual example of God's character and that he might have blood to shed.
We know this because in Acts 20:28, it states "take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood."
Further, we see that the body, called Christ Jesus, was a physical manifestation used by God:
** John 1:1 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was God, and the Word was God."
** John 1:3
** God is creator.
** The same God walked on the earth in flesh.
** John 1:10 "He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not."
** John 1:11 "He came unto his own, and his own received him not."
** John 1:14 "And the Word (the creator mentioned in John 1:1-3) was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth."
Jesus came, claiming "I am come that they [the estranged] might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly" (John 10:10). We have that life, that redemption through following the plan preached during the first sermon of this dispensation by Peter on the Day of Pentecost: "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost" (Acts 2:38).
Jesus' sacrifice on Calvary paved the way for the ministry of reconciliation to begin. In II Corinthians 5:17-21, that ministry was passed on to the church. Here is our commission:
"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; 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. 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. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him."
Although the exact phrase, 'ministry of reconciliation,' is not mentioned often, the application of its meaning is found throughout the New Testament; therefore, I confidently proclaim that the ministry of reconciliation is the only ministry, though it has many facets.
Reconciliation: Step One
** Reconciliation Between Yourself and God
II Corinthians 5:17 states, "therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." This means there must be a separation between the nature of God and the nature of man. Ephesians 2 does not paint a pretty picture of our fleshly nature: "among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of the flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath."
I John 2:16 further describes our natural state: "For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world."
Our human nature might be likened to Freud's theory of the Id, an insatiable beast that cannot be satisfied and cannot be controlled. For this reason, we must be personally reconciled to God before we can ever reach out to our world. All things are to become new.
The new man, under the direction of the Holy Ghost, will exhibit a new nature: "the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts" (Gal. 5:22-24).
Turning to this new nature is not the end of this reconciliation though; to be a captain in the army, you must have direct contact with your superior to know what is expected of you. Otherwise, you may end up in Vietnam when the battle is in Korea. You might find yourself fighting flesh rather than the spirits invoking that flesh to attack the church; we must know our battlefield, know our enemy, and know how to approach the challenges we face. If we are not careful, we may find ourselves in the camp of the enemy if we are not listening to God's directives.
This is how many turn and begin to attack their brothers and sisters in the Lord rather than fighting spiritually. Don't you think that enlisted men in the United States Army have personal fusses from time to time? Sure, they do, but they know who the enemy really is. Through discipline and obedience to leadership, they are able to function as a complete unit against the real enemy. Don't be so quick to knock an 'offender' out of the water too quickly!
So, before we can minister, we must be reconciled to God. We hear his voice through reading his word and through prayer. Hebrews 12:1 admonishes us to "lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us." There is a difference between sin and weight. Sin is an action that is in direct violation of biblical precepts. Weight is anything we allow to drag us down in this race; in essence, it is anything we allow to come between us and God. It can be relationships, objects, hobbies, or even mindsets. Before you can move onto the next stage of the ministry, you must remove these obstacles.
Reconciliation: Step Two
** Reconciliation Between People
"Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God" (Matt. 5:9). Have you ever wondered why, of all the beatitudes, this particular function labels us children of God? It is because God, ministry, the church is all about reconciling....inspiring unity! It is only once we become one with our God that we can have the same passions as he. After a time, married couples are known to start looking alike, even sharing personality traits; the reason is simple. After being yoked together, oxen learn to pull together toward a common goal. On the same token, if we are truly yoked with God, we should have the same passions as God.
So what is the passion of God? Quite simply, souls. That means that anyone causing division between brothers and sisters in the church is not in tune with God. II Corinthians 2:5-11 reveals that the device of Satan is to make us despise each other and withhold forgiveness.
Not only are not to stir dissension ourselves, but should we see a breach in the body of Christ, we are to assist in mending it. Take the time to caringly approach those involved, reminding them of the following:
** Matthew 5:22-24 "But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger ... Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift."
** Mark 11:24-26 "Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses."
Encourage unity. Facilitate opportunity for unity to take place. Bring people together. Only when you've mastered uniting people with each other can you lead them into unity with God.
Reconciliation: Step Three
** Reconciliation Of People To God
So what is ministry all about?
The key to the kingdom is souls! Once you understand the need for salvation, you must understand that everyone everywhere must hear this message of hope!
Matthew 28:29 says, "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost!" We all know that name is singular so one name is used in baptism. In short, we are provided that name directly in Acts 2:38!
The point here, however, is that this message was given--not to preachers that day--but to everyday saints just like you and me! We are all to be witnesses of this great gospel! We don't have to be great orators either. In fact, scripture instructs us to be plain in our speech so we are understandable!
II Corinthians 3:5-13 states, "Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God; Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament .... seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech!"
So, let us spread the word! We don't use the word to hurt people, to make them line up to our way of thinking, or to skin them! We are to preach the word in love so that we can bring people back to God in peace. We have a hurting world out there that needs to know that God loves them and has a better way for them.
II Corinthians 9:6 says, "He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully." If you want a great ministry, you must invest more time, energy, dedication, and love.
Consider this poem by George Bernard Shaw, a man unacquainted with God, and let it be your heart's prayer:
This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself to be a mighty one; the being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy.
I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community, and as long as I live it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can.
I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work the more I live. I rejoice in life for its own sake. Life is no "brief candle" for me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations.
Consider: We are a candle set on a hill whose light cannot be hid. Let us burn as brightly as we can!
