We were Reconciled in one Body to God through the Cross and have been Brought Near

On the cross in one Body both the Jews and the Gentiles were reconciled to God; we were reconciled in one Body to God, and now we are one with the Lord to preach the gospel of peace.

Christ Himself is the peace offering for the Body of Christ as revealed in Ephesians 2:14. He accomplished a full redemption for both the Jewish and the Gentile believers, and He Himself is our peace, He is our harmony.

This is the peace that we have in the Body of Christ and the harmony that we have in the church life – Christ Himself is our peace. We were reconciled to God in the Body of Christ through the cross, and all the different ordinances of human life and religion were abolished and annulled on the cross.

When Christ died on the cross as the peace offering, the peacemaker, His death abolished, annulled, the different ordinances of human life and religion.

All the differences among races and peoples, all the differences of social rank, and all the different ways of living and worship have been abolished by Christ on the cross through His death.

And if we still hold on to our differences, as the world encourages us to do, we will not know the Body of Christ and the one new man. But if we allow the cross to operate in us and terminate anything that would make us different from others, so that only Christ in us would remain, then we will know the Body and be the one new man in reality.

May we no longer delay the Lord on obtaining the one new man, but may we be willing to drop our differences – which we may treasure – for the sake of the peace in the Body of Christ and the bringing in of the one new man, and for the New Jerusalem as the ultimate peace offering.

May we see and realise under the Lord’s light how much our culture replaces Christ and brings us into enmity with God and with one another, and may we let the Lord reconcile us in one Body through the cross, making peace between us and being our peace with God and with one another.

Hallelujah, by Christ’s abolishing in His flesh the separating ordinances, that is, by His slaying the enmity, and by His creating the Jewish and Gentile believers into one new man, peace was made between all believers!

Now we have peace with God and peace with one another through the blood of Christ who died for us as the peace offering. We are reconciled to God in one Body through the cross, and the cross has made peace between us and God and us and others. Hallelujah.

Now, because we have enjoyed and experienced Christ as our peace offering, and because we apply Him daily as the Peacemaker, we can be one with the Lord to preach the gospel of peace to all those who are far off and to those who are near.

We were Reconciled in one Body to God through the Cross and have been Brought Near

Christ is the peace offering for the Body of Christ, as seen in Eph. 2:14. We were reconciled in one Body to God through the cross, both Jews and the Gentiles (v. 15).

We were reconciled to God not only individually and not only for the Body of Christ but also in the Body of Christ (v. 16).

If we are not willing for the cross to be applied to that which separates us, we will not be reconciled to God in one Body. But if we allow the cross to operate in us and terminate anything that would separate us from the others, we will be reconciled to God in one Body, and we will have peace with God and with all the saints.

Reconciliation is not merely an individual matter, that is, we are reconciled to God not only individually and personally, but corporately in the Body and as the Body. We usually regard reconciliation as an individual matter, but proper and genuine reconciliation is in the one Body.

The Body of Christ is the instrument, the means, by which we were reconciled to God, and we were also called in one Body (Col. 3:15). We all together were saved together and reconciled together to God in one Body. Peace is possible only when everything contrary to God’s economy is terminated (see Col. 1:20; 2:14-15; 3:15).

When we realize that our culture is contrary to God’s economy and to the peace in the Body, we will allow the Lord to terminate it through the cross so that we may have peace, the peace of Christ in the Body of Christ.

We may look a certain way outwardly, but inwardly and constitutionally we are not British, American, Chinese, Korean, Polish, Romanian, etc – we are not this or that, but we are the same as Christ, even Christ in expression.

Through the blood of Christ we all have been brought near both to God and to God’s people (Eph. 2:13, 18-19). On one hand we were in one Body reconciled to God through the cross, and on the other, through the blood of Christ we are brought near to God and to His people.

We who were once far off have become near in the blood of Christ; to whom have we become near? We have become near to both God and one another.

We were alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, strangers to the covenants of the promise, having no hope, and without God in the world; but through the blood of Christ we have come near to God and to His people.

We were fallen, we were far of from Christ, from the commonwealth of Israel, and from the covenants of God’s promise; but the redeeming blood of Christ has brought us back, and now in the blood of Christ we have become near both to God and to God’s people. Hallelujah!

We were reconciled in one Body to God through the cross; on one hand, the cross of Christ has slain the enmity caused by the ordinances which were given because of the flesh, and on the other hand, it has redeemed us with the blood of Christ shed upon it.

It was through the cross that both us – the Gentiles – and the Jews were reconciled in one Body to God.

What a wise God we have! He not only redeemed us through the blood of Christ, but He also made peace between us and Him and between us and others through the death of Christ on the cross by terminating everything contrary to God’s economy on the cross.

Now there’s peace in the Body of Christ, and we all were reconciled in one Body to God through the cross, and we have been brought near to God in the blood of Christ. Praise the Lord!

Thank You Lord for reconciling us in one Body to God through the cross. Thank You for terminating through the cross everything that is contrary to God’s economy. We open to You, Lord, and we allow Your cross to operate in our being to terminate anything that is contrary to God’s economy and that damages the peace in the Body. Hallelujah, we are reconciled to God in the Body of Christ! Praise the Lord, we have been brought near to God and to His people through the blood of Christ. Hallelujah!

Being one with Christ to Preach the Gospel of Peace, that is, Preach Peace as the Gospel

The death of Christ is really all-inclusive, for through His death Christ redeemed us, obtained forgiveness of sins, justified us, destroyed the devil, terminated all the ordinances and differences, made peace for us, and created us as the one new man in His Body.

Through the death of Christ on the cross we have been brought near to God and to His people, we have been reconciled in one Body to God through the cross, and sin and sins were terminated and done away with.

In resurrection Christ came as the Spirit to preach peace as the gospel (Eph. 2:17). He came in resurrection and announced peace as the gospel to those who were far off and peace to those who were near. Christ as the Spirit came to preach the gospel of peace, which He has accomplished on the cross.

“Those who were far off” refers to the Gentiles, the uncircumcised, who were separated by the flesh. “Those who were near” refers to the Jews, the circumcised, who were brought near by God’s choosing.

Christ died on the cross to slay the ordinances so that He might create in Himself the one new man and shed His blood to reconcile us to God; then, in resurrection, He came as the life-giving Spirit to preach peace as the gospel.

Whether we were Gentiles or Jews, Christ came to us to preach peace as the gospel – He came to announce to us that He made peace between us and God and between us and one another, and that He reconciled us in one Body to God through the cross. What glad tidings of peace!

Today we need to be one with Christ to proclaim the gospel of peace, which is the gospel of the genuine oneness; we need to proclaim this gospel to the divided people and nations around us.

Christ has made peace by terminating all the divisive elements and by creating the one new man; He is our peace offering, He is to us the God of peace. We announce Him as peace, even as the peace we have received, enjoyed, and experienced.

Only those who know the grace of God can preach the gospel of grace. Only those who have repented for the forgiveness of sins can preach the gospel for the repentance of sins. Only those who realise they have been born into the kingdom and are now living in the kingdom life can preach the gospel of the kingdom.

Only those who really know Christ as the peace offering in the Body, that is, those who have been reconciled in one Body to God through the cross and have been brought near through the blood of Christ, these can proclaim the gospel of peace.

When we know Christ as the peace offering corporately, we can stand before the enemy and proclaim the gospel of peace with boldness.

Thank You Lord for dying as the Peacemaker and shedding Your blood to reconcile us to God. Thank You for coming in resurrection as the life-giving Spirit to preach peace as the gospel. Hallelujah, peace has been made, and Christ as peace is here to be the peace between us and God and us and one another! Lord, we want to experience You as the peace offering in the Body, and we want to stand one with You to proclaim the gospel of peace so that many may be reconciled to God!

References and Hymns on this Topic

• Inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, the message by Ron Kangas for this week, and portions from, Life-study of Ephesians, msg. 23 (by Witness Lee), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Crystallization-Study of Leviticus (1), week 11, Experiencing Christ as the Peace Offering for the Body of Christ.
• Hymns on this topic:
  # Whom have I, Lord, in heav’n but Thee? / None but Thee! None but Thee! / And this my song through life shall be: / Christ for me! Christ for me! / He hath for me the serpent trod, / He hath redeemed me “by His blood,” / And reconciled my soul to God: / Christ for me! Christ for me! (Hymns #518)
  # All things Thou reconciledst / To God by Thy shed blood, / To thus present us holy / And blameless unto God. (Hymns #189)
  # Come! Now enjoy His blood. / What access this to God! / Here wondrous cleansing power / Flows to us, hour by hour. / One sacrifice for all was made, / And peace our conscience does pervade. / Redemption’s price is fully paid! (Hymns #1109)