JESUS, THE GREAT ACCOMPLISHER -- Tomorrow:
Devotion 18 of 32
HE RECONCILED THINGS IN EARTH AND THINGS IN HEAVEN, #2
THINGS IN EARTH
" . . . whether they be things in earth . . . "
The thoroughness of the reconciliation is seen in this expression – "whether they be things on earth." All men [or humanity as a whole] can correctly be lumped into one great group. They are all sinners, and have all come short of the glory of God (Rom 3:23; 5:12). They can also be viewed as all coming from Adam (Acts 17:26). However, mankind can also be viewed by categories – like Jew and Gentile, bond and free, and male and female (Gal 3:28). They can also be viewed by nation (Matt 28:18; Acts 2:5; 10:35). There are also categories like "sons and daughters," and "young men and old men" (Acts 2:17). The phrase "things in earth" includes all of these categories. The reconciliation wrought by God through Christ filters down to the finest detail of humanity.
The reconciliation reached backward as well as forward, bringing those who had already died in faith into full acceptance, as well as those who were not yet born. This aspect of the reconciliation must also be seen. Ponder these categories without being unduly distracted by them.
1. Those living before the Law, i.e. Adam, Eve, Abel, Enoch, Noah, Melchizedec, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph etc.
2. Those living under the Law. Moses, Aaron, Israel, David, the Prophets, etc.
3. Those living during the Law, but not under it as a covenant. Nineveh, the Queen of Sheba, king Cyrus, etc.
4. Those living from John the Baptist until Pentecost. Lazarus, the thief on the cross, etc.
5. Those living from Christ to the end of the world.
6. Infants. Those slain by the edict of Pharaoh in the land of Egypt, and by Herod when Jesus was born, as well as all premature and untimely deaths. There were also infants that perished in the flood, and in the holocaust of Sodom and Gomorrah.
7. Creation. The creation itself is impacted by the reconciliation of Christ. It too will be liberated from the bondage of corruption (Rom 8:19-22). That liberation is directly related to the reconciliation accomplished through Jesus by the blood of His cross. Creation will be freed from mortality only when the sons of God are raised from the dead and made fully known.
Behold the magnificent scope of the reconciliation! Do not think of it only in relation to yourself, or your friends, nation, or even the church.
THINGS IN HEAVEN
" . . . or things in heaven." We learn from Scripture that sin caused certain effects in heaven as well as upon earth. Here we are told "things in heaven" are "reconciled" through Christ's blood. Hebrews 9:23 reveals that "the heavenly things themselves" were "purified" with "better sacrifices" – referring to the sacrifice of Christ. In this text, "purified" is equivalent to "sanctified" – not cleansed from corruption, but cleansed for use, like the book of the Law, the tabernacle, the altar, its furniture, and the various utensils employed in it (Ex 29:36; Lev 16:19; Num 31:20; Heb 9:19).
It is not that "things in heaven" were actually polluted by man's sin, and that is not what is intended by our text or the one in Hebrews. The situation created by sin is much like this: a "do not handle" tag was placed on heavenly things, rendering them inaccessible to man. "Things in heaven" could not join together with fallen man, nor could they be contained within the natural creation.
These heavenly realities may now be the object of an optimistic quest by men, as the redeemed set their "affection on things above," seeking them wholeheartedly (Col 3:1-2). These are included in the "things God has prepared for them that love Him" (1 Cor 2:9), and, having been reconciled, they have now been revealed to us through the Spirit (1 Cor 2:10).
PRAYER POINT: Father, in the name of Jesus, I thank You and rejoice in the plentitude of redemption.