Jesus' Prayer Request
The Difference Between Reconciliation and Union
In understanding the Scriptures, some believers may have a religious explanation in mind concerning our relationship found in Christ instead of a relationship based on a living union. It is important for us to comprehend the union that was accomplished through Christ’s resurrection and to know the Lord’s heart concerning the union that was brought forth.
Much of the reality of our union into Christ gets lost in two separate concepts. The first of these two concepts is familiar to most of us, and that is the truth of reconciliation. No doubt there are many truths ascribed to reconciliation and that it is a very important subject. The other concept is union or oneness, which is also immensely important, and which will be further examined in this book. These are two totally different concepts that have accomplished very different ends. Reconciliation was accomplished first as God moved to reconcile sinful man unto Himself, and union was achieved when Christ joined us to Himself. There is no question as to how necessary reconciliation is to our salvation, but we must realize that God has accomplished more than that.
The distinction between these two concepts is most clearly seen in the manner in which we relate to God. Furthermore, how we comprehend oneness and its differences with reconciliation will reshape and define how we relate to the Lord. Most Christians live in the mindset of someone who has been reconciled to God, and the relationship they have with Him functions on that basis. They function in a reconciled mindset because the full reality of union has not become so real and so powerful that they can actually live and relate based on it.
There are some believers who are familiar with the idea of union and any accompanying terms (such as the term “in Christ”), but does our oneness with Christ define our relationship with Him? What is our comprehension of being in Christ? Union is something some believers have encountered in terms of theology from the pulpit yet has not affected their daily lifestyle. To genuinely see what has happened in the resurrection will bring us into the Lord’s comprehension of who we are now. We will now examine a few passages of Scripture to see if we can draw out the distinction between reconciliation and union.
The Mindset of the Reconciled
In Romans chapter five, we have an introduction to the contrast between reconciliation and union. Romans 5:10 states, “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.” We can have a partial comprehension of this verse without realizing how powerfully it relates to what has happened to us by means of union in Christ. Although some may not comprehend this union and the fullness of what that means, many have comprehended reconciliation and what it has brought about. Let us take a renewed look at reconciliation and what it accomplished.
The primary focus of reconciliation is that, before salvation, we were yet sinners and enemies of God, and at a great distance from Him. There was a breach between God and ourselves. The very need for reconciliation implies distance, separation, and a state of enmity between two parties. And so, in our minds, the concept of being reconciled to God may not have anything to do with the concept of being in Christ. In other words, two opposing parties can be brought together and made to get along without becoming one. What we may not realize is that even the basis of reconciliation is founded on more than just two parties getting along but upon oneness.
When reconciliation is our primary basis of our relationship with God, we become keenly aware of the God who is now or once was our enemy. Even when we are reconciled, we remain ever mindful of the God who can become distant or even angry. With a reconciliation mentality comes a certain amount of fear of losing that relationship and therefore a certain amount of maintenance that we continually require of ourselves. Logically speaking, if a believer has a fear of displeasing or separating from God, then he probably has a tendency toward working to keep the relationship on an even keel.
If a believer is in fear of upsetting the Lord and being separate from Him, then he will be motivated to work to maintain the reconciled relationship. Although there may not be an overwhelming works mentality in that person, when the fear arises that God may be angry, that would be a time when that person would step forward and try to do something to bring forth a union with God. Since his primary relationship with God is on the basis of reconciliation, it is maintained through keeping things in good standing with Him. Even though it may only be a thought in the back of our minds, there is always the awareness that what has been brought together can probably also be split apart. The pressure of this can become overwhelming at times.
Beyond Being Forgiven
The God that most people seem to know is the God to whom they have been reconciled. Yet there are many places in both the Old and New Testament that reveal God’s love and desire to bring us beyond reconciliation and into a relationship of oneness with Himself. In many of those scriptures, there is the implication of a deep, intimate relationship; something beyond being mere chums and friends.
God’s first relationship with any man was with Adam in the Garden of Eden. God and Adam walked in the cool of the evening and fellowshipped together. That is the kind of relationship they had together. Some may think that because they walked in the cool of the evening it was a “cool” relationship! And why not? Everything seemed to be comfortable between them, and at first, things seemed to be going great. Surely Adam felt good in this relationship with God because there was a bond and a certain degree of acceptance. But then came the breach when Adam and his wife partook of the knowledge of good and evil, which plunged them into sin. With that breach, God was removed to the far spectrum of their existence. Adam and Eve were driven away, locked out of the garden, and sent far from the presence of God that had once been so comfortable and near. There was then this great wall and distance between them and God.
If most men today were in control of this situation, they would immediately set about to bring Adam back into nearness with God. In man’s mind, the desired end would be for Adam to be reconciled back to the relationship he once had with God. While it seems like a great plan, we must realize that it has some limitations. Restoring man to exactly the same relation with God that he had before means that built into that relationship is the potential to fall back into the Lord’s displeasure and be kicked out of the garden once again. The relationship that Adam had with God in the garden was good, but it was far from being based on a sure and firm foundation.
Fortunately, God’s purpose went far beyond restoration and reconciliation, for He also set about to bring forth a union that would bring mankind into a position that could not become “unreconciled” ever again. The term used to describe that position and relationship is called “in Christ.” When people consider or discuss union, they rarely mention the term “in Christ,” and yet this term specifically defines our entering into oneness with Christ so that we partake of the relationship that God has with His Son, which is unbreakable.
The “Much More” Factor
Let us look once again at Romans 5:10: “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.” Notice that the first portion of this verse declares the work of Christ’s death. It is here in His death that we have come to comprehend the work of reconciliation that took place, and it is clear from this verse that through Jesus’ death all enemies were reconciled. But our Lord did more than just die; He also rose and ascended. His death was more than just something that He did simply to reconcile us into His good graces so that we could be in favor; it was His advance towards us to bring us into oneness.
Throughout this chapter, the phrase “much more” is used to signal every believer that we should look further and deeper into what is being presented. The Scriptures declare that through the death of the Son we who were God’s enemies were reconciled. Yet this same passage goes on to say that once we have become reconciled through His death there is much more that He wants to bring us into through His life. The reconciliation part of it is settled and established so that we can become saved by His life. The true comprehension of that would have such an impact on us that we would never think or relate to God outside of oneness in Christ again, for this reality would affect us constantly.
The writers of the New Testament and believers throughout time who have truly seen the depth of the manner of this love have the impact of it upon their lives. Paul was an example of this when he said, “I am crucified with Christ” (Gal. 2:20). He used the word “am” in the present tense instead of the word “was” denoting something past. The Greek grammar bears out that this crucifixion with Christ was a past, finished work having present results. He is saying that the effect of being crucified with Christ was impacting his life even at that very moment. The impact of knowing the fullness of what God has brought us into will be felt throughout our being every day. The impact of His Cross makes the difference between a man of God and a man of religion.
Yes, we were saved from hell by Jesus’ death. But how many people are living by such a union with Christ that they are constantly being saved from many things of themselves, the world, and the devil at every moment? If we do not find ourselves continually “saved by His life” through a relationship of union, then we may not yet have known the full impact of these words “we shall be saved by His life.” We may not yet see that His life now is the risen life and that He is the resurrection. We may not yet have fully seen that we are joined to that life and that life is the life we now live by. The only life that we have as His body is Him, and if we were to become separated from His life we would shrivel up and die.
And so again, being “saved by His life” becomes more than the fact that His life came down here and died for us, for that is still reconciliation! It is important to realize that there is a powerful separation between the reconciliation brought forth through His death and the union that now saves us through His life. Many times the explanation that we come up with about being saved by His life is still on the basis of reconciliation. Yet Paul here is refuting reconciliation being the end of the matter and saying that if reconciliation has happened, then there is a “much more” that we must enter into. However, we may never reach the “much more” of these verses if we keep reverting to the first understanding of what He accomplished only through His death. *** Stay tuned for Part Two!
