Constant Coulibaly

Preachers work with God in the ministry of reconciliation. Speaking of himself and the preachers associated with his apostolic work, Paul said in 2 Cor. 6:1, “We then, as workers together with Him [God] also plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain.” The expression “workers together with Him” refers to someone who collaborates with God.

We shall note that although this verse introduces a new chapter, it is closely connected to the latter part of the preceding chapter. At the end of chapter 5, Paul had spoken about reconciliation with God and its nature. The word “reconciliation” or “reconciled” is used five times in three verses. Paul said, God “has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ”, He “has given us the ministry of reconciliation”, “God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them”, He “has committed to us the word of reconciliation.” Finally, Paul urged the readers to "be reconciled to God."

When people turn from their sins and come to God in obedience, through submission to Christ, they find reconciliation with God (Matt. 11:28; Col. 1:21; Heb. 7:27). A preacher’s relationship with the Lord can progress from becoming a child of God to being a servant of God, actively and faithfully proclaiming the gospel of Christ.

This labour, as Paul explains, is about calling on sinners to reconcile with God and be saved. God has entrusted the apostles with the ministry of reconciliation. This is to say, the apostles received from God the terms on which men and women could be at peace with God. Those terms are found in Jesus’ command to the apostles: “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.” (Mark 16:16) For a person to be reconciled to God, they must have faith in Christ and be baptised into Him for the remission of sins (Jn. 3:16; Acts 2:38). The means by which God calls men to reconcile with Him is the gospel. Paul explains this saying, “He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (2 Thessalonians 2:14) Preachers and other servants of God collaborate with God to save men from the destructive power of sin.

Collaboration with God amounts to nothing if done without faith. But, to work faithfully with God is to follow His instructions. A lady from the United Methodist church I am currently studying baptism with challenged the “pastor” of her congregation, asking why they practice sprinkling instead of immersion in water. His reply was that it is a matter of choice for individuals seeking to be baptised. He also said they don't always have the facilities to perform baptisms by immersion. I found this answer to be weak. Jesus did not make baptism something optional. Furthermore, from His own experience, we find that “when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water” Question, could Jesus have emerged from the water without first going down into the water? The answer is resoundingly no. Baptism is, by definition, immersion. There can be no successful equivocation about this truth. Baptism, as demonstrated by the example of Jesus Christ, is an act of immersion in water, not sprinkling or pouring (cf. baptism of the eunuch, Acts 8:38-39).

To minister reconciliation is to teach the truth that by committing sin, man has offended God. Sin is the transgression of God’s law (1 Jn. 3:4). When one violates any of God’s commands, he goes against God and offends Him. Yet, the offended God provided a way for mankind to make peace with Him. He did this through the perfect sacrifice of Christ dying on the cross to pay the price for men’s sins.

As Paul explained in 2 Corinthians 5:21, God made Christ “who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” In Christ, God treats our sins as if we have never committed them. This divine act is called justification, where God pardoned us at the specific point in history - the death of Christ on the cross. On that day, God literally declared to the human family, "I pardon you for all your sins committed for all time."

This message of reconciliation with God through Christ is the core of the ministry of reconciliation that preachers are called to proclaim. It is the good news that, despite our offense against God, He has made a way for us to be forgiven and restored to a right relationship with Him. The negative implication of this message is that when Christ returns, those who have not come to know God and have not submitted to the authority of Christ will be punished (2 Thessalonians 1:7-9).

To be able to bring man back into fellowship with God Almighty, after sin has separated them (Is. 59:1-2) is, in my view, the greatest achievement and honour for a man. A preacher is to be commended who works alongside with God in the business of saving souls, using the very means God has provided.

Among past preachers, Paul is one who took the ministry of reconciliation very seriously. He could endure the fire of hardship in life, yet never gave up preaching the gospel to the lost in the 1st century setting. May his example inspire all preachers, both in the 21st century and beyond.