Six Misconceptions About the Reconciliation of All

21-10-2011 - Posted by Andre Piet

Misconception #1

The Reconciliation of All is an unbiblical expression, invented by man.

Incorrect.

The expression is taken directly from Colossians 1:20:

apokatalaxai ta panta = the reconciliation of all

“…through Him to reconcile all to Himself (making peace through the blood of His cross), through Him, whether those on the earth or those in the heavens. And you, being once estranged and enemies in comprehension, by wicked acts, yet now He reconciles…”

The translation “having made peace” is not correct. The Greek here is an aorist, a timeless verb form. God has not completed peace-making on the cross as a finished past event in that sense. Rather, He makes peace through the cross, irrespective of “when.”

Misconception #2

The Reconciliation of All means that on the cross the sins of all are reconciled.

Incorrect.

Reconciliation is not associated with sin, but with enmity.

Sins are covered. Reconciliation concerns the removal of hostility.

The Hebrew word kaphar (and its Greek equivalent) is often confused with reconciliation, and that confusion is one major reason why the average Bible reader has little idea what reconciliation actually means.

Misconception #3

The Reconciliation of All means that God forgives everyone.

Incorrect.

Forgiveness and reconciliation are two entirely different matters.

Forgiveness means that God no longer takes sins and offenses into account.
Reconciliation means that God changes hostile creatures into loving creatures.

Reconciliation is not a kind of general pardon.

Misconception #4

The Reconciliation of All means that all people will be reconciled.

True, but incomplete.

The reconciliation of all concerns all enmity, “whether on earth or in the heavens.”

The peace that God brings about applies not only to all people on earth, but also to all hostile rulers among the celestials, including “the prince of the power of the air” (Ephesians 2:2; 6:12).

Misconception #5

The Reconciliation of All means that God has reconciled Himself to everyone.

Incorrect.

God has never been an enemy of any of His creatures. On the contrary, He loves the work of His hands.

Since God has never been hostile toward any of His creatures, He neither could be nor needed to be reconciled.

To say it plainly:

God does not reconcile Himself to His enemies. He reconciles His enemies to Himself.

See Romans 5:10 and 2 Corinthians 5:18–19.

Misconception #6

The Reconciliation of All means that everyone is already reconciled.

Incorrect.

As long as there remains in God’s universe even one creature hostile to his Creator, the Reconciliation of All is not yet a fact.

So what does the reconciliation of all actually mean?

It means that every enemy, and everyone estranged from God, whether in heaven or on earth, will be won over by the love demonstrated at the cross of Golgotha.

No enemy and no estranged being will be able to remain untouched by the overwhelming power of God’s love.

Not one enemy will remain.

Every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

“…that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father!”
Philippians 2:10–11

Why this confession is wholehearted

That this confession is genuine and wholehearted is evident from the following:

1. Every tongue will confess

This is explicitly not mere lip service. In Scripture, the lips refer to the outward expression, while the tongue, by contrast, refers to what comes from within.

2. The word in Philippians 2:11 is exomologeō

The prefix ex means “out of” or “from within.” Everywhere this word occurs in the New Testament (11 times), it expresses wholehearted agreement.

Moreover, no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except by the Holy Spirit
(1 Corinthians 12:3).

3. Every tongue will confess “to the glory of God the Father”

This confession will not be forced. It will be made to the glory of God, and specifically of God as Father.

In heaven, on earth, and under the earth, the acclaim will sound forth willingly and wholeheartedly.

Translation: Peter Feddema