reconcile Summary and Overview

RECONCILE , Eph 2:16, RECONCILIATION. Heb 2:17. These terms imply the restoration of man to the favor and grace of God through the atonement made by Jesus Christ. Reconciliation is a change of relation of two parties from enmity to peace. It is twofold - man-ward and God-ward. God is reconciled to man by the satisfaction of his justice through the atoning sacrifice of Christ; man is reconciled to God as his loving Father, as exhibited in the sacrifice of his Son, which removes distrust and creates gratitude and love. Both sides are combined in 2 Cor 5:18-20; comp. Rom 5:11, where the English Version renders the Greek word by "atonement" (which is etymologically correct, but not according to modern theological usage).