(Note: This is a companion article to our video study on reconciliation. View that study here)
Romans chapter 5 verse 11 contains an interesting statement. The verse reads: “And not only so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received reconciliation.”
And it led me to this line of thought and question: What does it mean to be reconciled? And do we honestly rejoice in our reconciliation?
Sure, we may hear talk about rejoicing, but how often do we even think about our reconciliation to God through Jesus Christ? If we are honest with ourselves, many times we act and think as if we still have not been reconciled at all!
So today in this study, we are going to explore this topic and answer these questions, because Paul spends quite a bit of time explaining this – not without reason – he clearly wants us to know and understand the precise reason and foundation for why we can truly rejoice in God.
As we begin today, let’s read verse 11 in the context of the preceding verses, because all of it together paints an amazing picture of Jesus and His finished work, which is the very basis and reason for why we can rejoice in God.
Let’s begin with Romans 5:8-11:
“But God displayed his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.
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.
And not only so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received reconciliation.”
What we can see here in these verses is truly amazing! For those who are wondering whether God truly loves them, you need not wonder any longer, because as verse 8 says God displayed (some translations say “commended” or “demonstrated”, but it all means the same thing); God displayed His love toward us – He has made His love known to us. We don’t need to wonder about His love, we don’t need to guess about it, because He already put His love on full display for us to see.
And how did He do it? In that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us!
Now notice the interesting detail in the phrasing there, while we were yet sinners… this tells us a couple of things – the first of which is that when we were at our absolute lowest point, when we were completely dirty and totally wretched to the very core, when we had no knowledge, love or care for God and were spiritually dead, that is when Jesus died for us! Pause for a few moments and truly meditate on that fact, because as you do, you will begin to see the amazing love of God that is on display there!
The second thing this phrase of the verse teaches us is that we are not still in that category of “sinner” anymore! We have covered this topic many times in the past, so we will not go into much detail about it today, but this truth is so very vital and foundational to our understanding of our identity today in Christ Jesus. And this is the beginning of the point that Paul is making here regarding where we stand is reconciled with God through the sacrifice of Christ. Because the very fact that Christ died for us, He was the sacrifice in our place, and that sacrifice had an effect; which was to pay the price for us to be reborn and made new creations as we believe on Him. This alone should pu a smile on your face and a glad song in your heart, but it doesn’t end there, let’s continue on…
In verse 9, we see that along with our rebirth and new identity, because we are now justified by the blood of Christ, we are also saved from wrath through Him! This wrath being spoken of here is the wrath of God, the tribulation, where everyone who has not accepted the substitutionary atonement of Christ will experience the wrath of God poured out upon them (Zephaniah 1:14-18). But we see here (as well as many other places in scripture” that it is Jesus Christ and His sacrifice that actually saves us from the wrath of God – not because God has somehow gone soft or forgotten about our sin, but that the price has been fully paid, and we are now completely new creations, fully justified, made righteous and holy. In-short, we are not “sinners” anymore.
Verse 10, solidifies this fact for us even further, by explaining that when we were enemies with God (we aren’t anymore), we were reconciled to God, through the death of His Son (that’s Jesus), and not only are we reconciled to Him, but also saved by His life.
So we can see a very clear picture of what Jesus actually accomplished on the cross for us, and how complete this rebirth actually is. This is a truth which doesn’t nearly get enough coverage in modern church buildings, but again, it is vital to our understanding of our new identity in Christ – it is the very essence and foundation of what he accomplished for us.
What we have just read are the verses leading-up to our main verse today of Romans 5:11, which now speaks of rejoicing in our reconciliation. And now you have some good reasons to do exactly that! This is why Paul laid down the foundations first – because saying that we can rejoice in the reconciliation, really doesn’t carry much meaning if we don’t know or understand what the reconciliation actually means for us. So he spends some time telling us about some of the wonderful things which the sacrifice of Christ has given to us, about our new identity in Him as righteous, and saved from wrath, and then in verse 11 he says: And not only so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received reconciliation.
And now, after explaining what reconciliation actually means, this verse actually has significance for us! We now have a real reason to rejoice because we can know, understand, and acknowledge what Jesus Christ has accomplished for us!
And believe it or not, this actually gives God glory – because we are rejoices in the truth of His Son, Jesus, the very essence of the Gospel itself. Consider the words of Jesus in John 17:1-4:
“These words spoke Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify your Son, that your Son also may glorify you:
As you have given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as you have given him.
And this is life eternal, that they might know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.
I have glorified you on the earth: I have finished the work which you gave me to do.”
Nothing gives God the Father more glory than the finished work of Jesus Christ, and every time we remember and testify of what Christ has done for us, it is most certainly all glory to God.
It also glorifies the Father to bless us for Jesus’ sake as well, and to grant our requests. To anyone who still wonders whether God actually wants to answer our prayers and fulfill our requests, Jesus answered this question for us three chapters back, in John 14:13-14:
“And whatever you shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
If you shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.”
Jesus repeated this statement twice, perhaps because He knew that we would have such a difficult time believing it! Why do we find it such a hard thing to take Jesus at His word?
He plainly promises to do anything that we ask in His name… He didn’t place any limits on it, so why should we?
He even gave us the reason why we can ask Him for anything: that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
Do you understand this reason given by Jesus? It actually gives God glory when our requests are answered, because it is rooted and grounded in the finished work of Christ and our new identity in Him!
Today, our requests are granted because we have been reconciled to God in Christ, fully justified and made righteous and holy in Him – and that is why your requests are granted so abundantly; because we are in Christ Jesus! And this gives God the Father glory, because it all points back to Jesus!
So in closing, you now have a solid set of reasons to truly and honestly rejoice in your reconciliation.
Be blessed