THE BIBLE TEACHES

UNIVERSAL
RECONCILIATION – NOT
UNIVERSAL SALVATION!
2 Corinthians 5:18-20: “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 by us; we pray in Christ's stead, be
reconciled to God.”

These verses do teach universal reconciliation, providing that

the word, “world,” means the whole world or “universe” of
men. Angels and animals cannot be included as being part of
this world because no provision has been made by God for
the reconciliation of the devil and his fallen angels for whom
the lake of fire was originally prepared (Matt. 25:41); and
because animals do not have the capacity to sin.

Reconciliation, however, is not synonymous with salvation.

The Lord Jesus Christ offered himself to God as the
propitiation for all the sins of mankind, and God accepted that
sacrifice which has now removed the sin barrier that
prevented sinners from being reconciled to God. It's
interesting to note that nowhere does the Bible say that God is
now reconciled to men; God has done nothing offensive that
would demand his own reconciliation to us. Christ's
propitiation or full payment for the penalty of sin on our
behalf has now removed every obstacle and cleared the way
for us to find peace, or reconcile, with God. The provision
for reconciliation is now made available, as God is not
imputing anyone's trespasses unto them that they should stand
in the way of our reconciliation with him that now enables us
to claim as our own his free offer of salvation through faith in
his Son.

Just as our salvation has been fully provided for in Christ, so

our reconciliation with God has also been made available in
him; but Paul beseeches us in Christ's stead to “be reconciled
to God.” The ball is in our court, folks; and it is up to us to
overcome our natural wrath toward God and move into this
position of reconciliation with him that allows us to
acknowledge that his eternal Son, the second Person of the
Godhead, has done everything necessary to secure our
salvation if only we will accept it by trusting him. Thus,
because our alienating sins have been removed from the
equation, both of reconciliation to God and of salvation, it
now becomes not a “sin question, but a Son question.
(Thanks to Curt Crist of Welcome to Grace for coining this
term!) Those who leave the question unanswered or who
answer it with a “no, I won't trust Christ,” having failed to
avail themselves of either reconciliation or salvation, will get
what they deserve: an eternity spent apart from God. No
punishment remains for sin, because God has imputed all sin
to Christ who paid the sin debt in full. To punish the unsaved
for sin would result in collecting the same debt twice.

This “ministry of reconciliation” that we who have trusted the

Son have been given, is dispensational in nature, in that
before the revelation of the mystery was given to Paul, God
had been dealing exclusively with and through his special
nation of Israel. “For if the casting away of them [Israel] be
the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them
be but life from the dead?” (Romans 11:15). Charles Baker
writes in his “A Dispensational Theology”: “In order that
there be a reconciliation of the world, there had to be an
alienation of the world first.” He goes on to explain that
before Paul's unique ministry, Israel was not alienated from
God as the Gentiles were as recorded in Romans 1:21-32,
“but with the casting away of Israel at the beginning of Paul's
ministry, Jew and Gentile alike were alienated, and although
the work was accomplished through the cross, it was only at
this point that God could announce the ministry of
reconciliation for the world.” (A Dispensational Theology,
Charles Baker, Grace Publications, Grand Rapids, MI, pg.
363-4). It was not that this reconciliation of the world unto
God was not available before the cross, but that it was not
declared until Paul's revelation; and up to that time, men were
required to join themselves to what God was doing through
Israel in order to avail themselves of it. In every age, men are
saved by simply hearkening to and doing what God requires
at that particular time.

In summary, God has made provision for us in Christ both the

avenue of reconciliation with him and the salvation that
naturally follows when those who acknowledge that
reconciliation to God trust what his Son has done through his
own blood on our behalf. God no longer sees the world's
sins but is instead looking for our trust in his Son.
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