March 13

Reconciliation means “to be returned to favor.” This is necessary only on our side; God does not need to be reconciled. “All things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ, and has given to us the ministry of reconciliation” (2 Cor 5:18). In the same way, our message to sinners is on their part alone: “we pray you in Christ’s stead, be reconciled to God” (v. 20). Paul adds the prefix apo to the word in Ephesians 2:16 and Colossians 1:20-21 to mean fully reconciled. In Hebrews 2:17, the word should be translated “propitiation.” This word is the same used for “mercy seat.” For God to be propitiated means that He has found satisfaction in the sprinkled blood. He rests in the finished work of Christ. Specifically He has received full payment for “the sins that are past,” i.e., He was holding the promissory notes given each year on the Day of Atonement, at which times He agreed to live another year among a sinful people, awaiting full payment at the hand of Christ.