Brilliance. Life. Goodness. Purity.
The beginning.
God-likeness. Good and evil.
The temptation.
~
Our first father fell.
Adam.
Creating a debt for mankind.
Sin.
~
The wages of sin is death.
Cost.
God requires payment.
Judgment.
~
People were chosen, set apart.
Israel.
They were given commands by God.
Law.
~
The law condemned all because none were righteous.
Not one.
Blood sacrifices were needed for payment of sin.
Atone.
~
The sacrifice was a type and shadow.
Christ.
Jesus came from Israel.
Messiah.
~
The One Man who lived without sin.
God-Man.
Never taking advantage of being God.
Servant.
~
Jesus lived following the will of the Father.
He shared that our hearts store evil.
There was a need for Light.
Sins needed forgiveness and repentance.
Message.
~
But the Law demanded a cost.
So, Christ died in our place.
He drank the wrath of God on the cross,
In order for us to receive grace.
Gospel.
~
Christ resurrected and overcame death.
Justified.
He ascended and became the right hand of God.
Exalted.
~
Turning to the One who saves us,
Savior.
Ache of sin, desiring forgiveness.
Repentance.
~
Faith in Christ and the debt He paid off.
Reconciled.
Then He sends the Advocate to all who believe.
Sanctified.
~
While we were still a sinner,
Christ died.
Justified by the righteousness He imputes to the faithful,
We are reconciled.
DEBT- PAID IN FULL
~
In the beginning, it was good.
But then, it became tainted.
A Lamb sacrificed His life.
In the end, it is good.
Some sisters in Christ and I are covering the next study, which is reconciliation. The last study, dealing with atonement, I wrote a poem on. You can check it out here – The Price Of The Cross (Good Friday) (Highly recommend reading this poem, if you would want more details covering atonement). There are a lot of parallels between atonement and reconciliation.
What I noticed in reconciliation is the importance of finding favor again, in the eyes of the Lord. We need to find His favor, in order to be restored to Him. Yet, we need to be restored, in order to find His favor. Thus, reconciliation is extremely important and Christ had to be intercede to connect both restoration and favor.
Through the study, and from something another sister shared, I saw the amazing connection of Christ having to be exalted, first. He needs to be exalted in order for not only reconciliation to happen, but also for those who put their faith in Him to receive the Holy Spirit. To understand what I mean check out these verses:
- (ESV) John 7:39, “Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.”
- (ESV) Acts 2:32-33, “This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing.“
- (ESV) Acts 5:30-31, “The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.“ (This scripture, relating to Israel, was eye-opening for me. Christ being exalted relates to repentance being given to Israel and forgiveness of sins.)
In Summary, Reconciliation through Jesus Christ gives us:
- Peace with God
- Favor with God
- Forgiveness from God
- Joy in Christ
- Pardon from sins
- Justification
- Closeness to God, a relationship
- Restoration
- The Holy Spirit, An Advocate
- Conviction of sin, righteousness, and the judgment to come
- An Interceder, The High Priest, Jesus
- Holiness
- Blamelessness
- New Life
- Salvation
- Knowledge of Truth
- Eternal inheritance
- Righteousness
- Wisdom
Scriptural references:
- John 7:39
- Acts 2:32-33 (See also Ephesians 3:19), 5:30-31
- Romans 3:25, 3:28, 4:24-25, 5:01, 5:06, 5:10-11, 5:16, 8:01, 8:33-34, 8:39, 11:15
- Colossians 1:19-22
- 2 Corinthians 5:18-20
- Ephesians 2:14-16
- Matthew 18:35 – (We must forgive others, so that we are forgiven. But we must first be forgiven through Jesus Christ, so that we have the love of God within us, to help us love others and forgive.)
- 1st Timothy 2:04-06
- Hebrews 7:25, 9:15
- Proverbs 12:02
To learn more about what Jesus did on the cross and why His atonement sacrifice is so needed please see: Why Did A Loving God Kill His Son? (Does God Hate?) If you do not know the Gospel, do not turn away. If you think you know the Gospel, check out these questions and see how prepared you are for the day someone might ask you why you believe: The Gospel Challenge (30 Question Quiz) – Are You Ready To Defend Your Faith?
Monthly Scripture To Memorize/Meditate On – (ESV) Romans 5:08, “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Community Prayer – June ‘21
Get To Know Me & My Blog
Believer Handbook
Personal Blog: Peeking Beneath Second Blog: UnAshamed Christian Housewife
Inside Cup 
Thanks for sharing, TR! 😊 I thought it was neat how in your poem, it seemed like several lines gave a definition and then gave the word it was defining or describing, which leads to pondering the connection between the description and the word given. Very cool! Also the way it builds until the line about the debt being paid, and the way the lines after that feel like a “cooling off” of sorts, really accenting what the poem is all about. And in your prose, I really enjoyed reading your list of things that Christ did for us in reconciling is to the Father! Thanks again, and God bless you!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh, wow!!!! I didn’t even catch that in the poem! I’m going to have to reread with new eyes!!! I’m so glad you enjoyed it and the list of what Christ did 💗 it’s a favorite of mine.
LikeLiked by 1 person