RECONCILIATON

"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 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." 2 Corinthians 5:17-21

RECONCILE=KATALLASSO=GREEK=TO CHANGE, EXCHANGE=TO CHANGE FROM ENMITY TO FRIENDSHIP, TO RECONCILE.

Enmity speaks of the hatred God has for sin. God hates sin. The enmity exists on man's part alone, it is man who needs to be reconciled to God, and not God to man.

ATONEMENT=KAPAR=TO COVER OVER, PROPITIATE, PACIFY.

In the Old Testament, atonement at the tmple was the operating concept of forgiving sin. By the blood of animal sacrifice, over and over, year after year, the priest sacrificed a bull on The Day of Atonement or Yom Kippur. Levitcus 4:13-21 gives these instructions. The whole process (burnt offering, guilt offering, sin offering, meal offering, peace offering, etc. which you can read all about in Levitcus 1,4-5,9,14,16,) was an offering to God for sin. It was a foreshadowing of the blood sacrifice made once for all by Jesus, the lamb of God who was slain before the foundation of the world. The blood of the precious lamb of God that would reconcile the lost and sinful world back to God Himself for all time. Whosoever shall come will be reconciled TO GOD THROUGH CHRIST.

In the New Testament..ATONEMENT=KATALLAGE=SIGNIFIES RECONCILIATION..Romans 5:11, Romans 11:15, 2 Cor 5:18-19...corresponding New testament words are hilasmos=propitiation-1 John 2:2, 4:10, and hilasterion=mercy seat, the covering of the ark of the covenant-Romans 3:25, Hebrews 9:5.

Atonement is mentioned all over the Old Testament, but only once that i can find in the New Testament. Propitiation i found 3 times all in reference to Jesus being the propitiation for our sins..Romans 3:25, 1 john 2:2 and 1 John 4:10.

"And He is the propitiation for our sins and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world." 1 John 2:2

"For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled we shall be saved by his life. And not only so but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ by whom we have now received the atonement." Romans 5:10-11

Jesus became the fulfillment of the Old Testament sacrifice, through the person and work of the lord Jesus Christ, in his death on the cross. By shedding his blood in his sacrifice for sin, we are reconciled to God through Christ.. He who knew no sin, God's son, was made to be sin for us...that we may be reconciled to God through him. He became the atonement and the propitiation for sin so we could be 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." 2 Cor 5:21

Jesus now stands forever between our Holy God and sinful man. Jesus took the judgment of God on himself for us. When the veil was ripped twain from top to bottom, we became the tabernacle of meeting..

What are we waiting for...

Pastor Troy has a great teaching on the foreshadowing of Jesus in the Old Testament Temple of God... go to raveninstitute.blogspot.com and it will be lessons 27-37 of the Romans study.