Now all of these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.

                                                                                                       2 Corinthians 5:18-19 

The gospel is all about reconciliation between rebellious, sinful mankind and a loving, gracious, and merciful heavenly Father and Creator. Whenever we see a word repeated multiple times in such a short passage, we need to really take notice. Today’s passage is one such place in scripture. Paul is giving us everything that we need to know about the gospel and how it brings reconciliation to mankind.

Reconciliation is such a wonderful and powerful word. To reconcile is to restore friendly relations with someone. It is a restoration of favor once lost. Reconciliation allows two parties to live in harmony with one another. This is what the cross of Jesus Christ does for everyone who will receive salvation by faith. Once we are born again, we are forever set right with God. The favor of God is restored to us and we can live the rest of this life and life eternal in harmony with Him.

Paul begins by telling us that, “all of these things are from God.” Just as we have seen that our adequacy is not from ourselves rather God makes us adequate in Christ, so our reconciliation with God does come from our own efforts either. God has reconciled all believers to Himself by doing something that we could not do for ourselves, namely live a righteous and perfect life and then present Himself as the atoning sacrifice for the sins of mankind (1 John 2:2). Because we have all sinned, the only way for us to ever be made right with God is through the actions of Jesus on the cross (Romans 5:18). When we attempt to achieve this favor by means of our own effort, we nullify the grace of God and the saving power of the cross in our lives (Galatians 2:21). But as we confidently stand in the finished work of Jesus on the cross as our means of being reconciled to God, we also need to realize that He has given us a ministry, namely sharing this wonderful news with others.

Paul says that God “has given us the ministry of reconciliation.” To minister to someone is “to attend to his/her needs” and the greatest need of mankind is to be reconciled to God. That is why I believe that this call to participate in the ministry of reconciliation is vital for every believer. When we share the gospel with someone, we can expect to experience one of two reactions. One is that of apathy and/or rejection but the other is one of joy and acceptance. We should never let a negative response to the gospel keep us from continuing to share it with others. If we have been reconciled to God, we are to participate in the ministry of reconciliation.

Paul then tells us what this message of reconciliation is all about. Consider his words:

“God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them.”

That’s it! That is the gospel. Jesus was God incarnate. God, without giving up His throne, came to earth as a man, lived a perfect existence, died a sacrificial death for our sins, was buried, and rose victoriously over death. “God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself!”

Along with this act of Divine reconciliation comes the forgiveness of sins…all of our sins. As Jesus paid the price for our sins on the cross, God was then able, out of His love, mercy, and grace, to freely pardon us, not counting our sins against us and all of this was done without losing one ounce of His Divine righteousness and justice. The price was paid. Believers in Jesus have been spiritually set free! (Galatians 5:1)

Notice Paul’s pattern…the announcement of our reconciliation (as believers) followed by a call to participate in sharing this with others. Then he explains our reconciliation and again follows that with a reminder that God has “committed to us the word of reconciliation.” I believe that this passage demonstrates what it truly means to “shod our feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace.” First, we stand in the truth that salvation, forgiveness, and reconciliation with God all comes by faith in the finished work of Jesus on the cross. But secondly (yet equally as important) is our responsibility to share this good news with the world.

Remember, that in Ephesians, Paul is reminding us to put on spiritual armor in order to get ready for a spiritual battle. The enemy would like nothing more than to strip away our own security in Christ thus disabling our effectiveness in telling others about the gospel of Jesus. Remember, he is like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8). But we are to resist him, firm in our faith (1 Peter 5:9a). Our enemy desires to keep us distracted from our real purpose of preaching the gospel of peace and reconciliation (Luke 8:12). This is why we must stand firm “having shod our feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace.”

To shod our feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace means:

1. That we stand firmly in the gospel for our own salvation and share this good news with others
2. As believers, we recognize that God has made us adequate to share this good news
3. Reconciliation comes only through the cross of Jesus Christ