Fellowship – BT6:  Dealing with sin by repentance, confession, and reconciliation for restoration

 

 

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The whole idea of reconciliation (a) is about restoring people back into fellowship with God, this mending back together into wholeness is in the very definition of soteria salvation, a relationship that was lost originally in the garden of Eden (b), which is thus a key objective of gospel ministry (c), even reconciling all things to Jesus (d), especially the division between Jew & Gentile (e), reconciliation of a separated husband & wife (f), or mending a rift with others (g).

 

<Notes> a) diallasso: reconcile or reach mutual concession, where people in conflict come together through meaningful change, ending hostility; or katallasso, katallage: change down-from to an exact point, or exchange of coins or enmity resulting in friendship – exchanging 2 different positions for 1 position, a change on the part of one party induced by an action of the other party; or apokatallasso: reconcile back again, bring back to a former state of harmony, thus to reconcile completely, b) Genesis 3:8, c) Romans 5:10-11, 11:15; 2 Corinthians 5:18-20; Ephesians 2:16, d) Colossians 1:20-22, e) Ephesians 2:16, f) 1 Corinthians 7:11, g) Matthew 5:24; Acts 7:26.

 

Yes, this reconciliation is about restoration back to fellowship, especially within the Church.  Paul strongly urges: “Be katartizo repaired/mended/restored (a), comfort one another, agree with one another, live in harmonious-peace” (b), and “Brethren, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are Spirit-kind-of [people] should repair/mend/restore (a) him in a Spirit of gentleness” (c), and “I appeal to your brethren . . . that all of you agree and/coupled that there may be no divisions among you, but that you be repaired/mended/restored (a) to the same mind and/coupled the same judgment” (d).  <Notes> a) katartizo: adjust down-from/according to, exactly fit to be in good working order to fully function; to mend, repair, complete; to fit, equip, order, arrange, adjust, b) 2 Corinthians 13:11, c) Galatians 6:1, cf. 5:23 where gentleness is a ‘flavor’ of the singular fruit of the Spirit that is Unconditional-Love, d) 1 Corinthians 1:10.

 

Peter also encourages:  “After you have suffered a little while [from the trials of persecution as a Christian] the God of all unconditional-loving-favor-of-grace . . . will Himself katartizo repair/mend/restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you” (a). <Notes> a) 1 Peter 5:10.

 

Forgiveness leads to reconciliation between God and man, and between us and others, so “be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ forgave you” (a).  Thus be “bearing with one another, so if one has a complaint against another, then forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive” (b), because “if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you” (c).  See Unconditional-Love – BT16 and following on forgiveness. <Notes> a) Ephesians 4:32, b) Colossians 3:13, c) Matthew 6:14; Mark 11:25; Luke 6:37.

 

Surrender by repentance and confession leads us to forgiveness and back into fellowship.  That’s what Paul found out about confessing his weaknesses – that’s how he actually became strong in the Lord (a).  That’s also what John realized as to how we can continue walking in The Light to have koinonia fellowship with God: not by denying our weaknesses or sin, hiding from it, or trying harder to overcome it, but to confess/agree with the Lord about them.  Then “He is actually, ongoingly faithful and/coupled righteously-just/equitable in order to definitively/wholly forgive us our sins (our unfaithfulness) and/coupled definitively/wholly cleanse/purify-from-admixture us from ALL (b) unrighteous-injustice/partiality (c)” (d). <Notes> a) 2 Corinthians 11:30, 12:5-10, b) pas: rare case where this means “the whole of”, c) a violation of God’s justice that brings divine disapproval, d) 1 John 1:5-10.

 

Christ’s propitiation or atonement that exchanges our sin/unfaithfulness and our unrighteous-injustice/partiality to Him WITH the opposite of this, i.e., His Holy character, for the sake of His unconditional-love for us, happens NOT only on the cross when we have trusting-relying-faith in Him for our salvation, but it continues every time we confess our sins to Him – see Surrender-Control – BT2 and – BT3.

 

We can see this link between koinonia fellowship with God’s Holy Spirit and fellow Christians in 2 Corinthians 13:14, where the Greek directly links the close/along-beside consoling/counseling comfort (a) of Christ with the consoling comfort (b) of koinonia fellowship with the Holy Spirit (c), but this is linked to koinonia fellowship with others, even house to house (d), even daily (e). <Notes> a) paraklesis, b) paramuthion, c) the Parakletos:  ‘close-beside’ caller, summoner, or inviter; helper, succorer, or assistant; encouraging teacher, counselor, comforter, or consoler; defense-attorney, judicial-advocate, or court-intercessor, d) Acts 2:46, e) Acts 6:1.

 

Horizontal relationships depend on our Vertical relationship with God.  That’s what Irenaeus observed around 200 AD – the churches that rejected the charismata grace-gifts of the Holy Spirit were also devoid of its fruit, particularly unconditional-love for others, because Galatians 5:22 says that unconditional-love is the singular fruit/essence/nature of the Holy Spirit – see Tongues & Interpretation – BT14 and Body Ministry – BT9 for Cessationism denial of the grace-gifts.  Koinonia fellowship with God and others is the fruit of Spirit-baptism!

 

Reflections:

 

As a Christian musician, the only way to restore fellowship with God from sin is by surrendering-control thru repentance and confession that leads us back to trusting-relying-faith in Christ’s perfect sacrifice to satisfy justice and actually cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  If this involves “working” FOR God through “acts of penance,” invented by the Catholic Church, we are stuck in the old covenant way of “works righteousness.”

 

The way of reconciliation is through the Spirit of gentleness.  Receiving and giving forgiveness is the only way to relationally-experience the Spirit’s nature of Unconditional-Love.  Only through restored fellowship can Christ’s Spirit of Holiness continue to destroy the works of the devil in our lives to continue making us holy.  This continuing “work of Christ to destroy the works of the devil” proves that we are God’s children!

 

The only way to continue bear/hold/carry fruit is to continue abiding-in/remaining-connected-to the Vine of Christ, the producer of fruit.  The only way to escape the condemnation of the world because of lust is to continue being partakers of the divine nature through the precious promise of the Holy Spirit.  If you deny Spirit-baptism with it’s grace-gifts, then you are denying or quenching the Spirit’s power and the “fruit of the Spirit” that both flow from the One Holy Spirit.  Finally, all this continual fellowship depends on the devotion of regular proseuche conversational-prayer!

 

 

 

 

 

Spiritual Education, Dealing with sin by repentance, confession, and reconciliation to restoration for salvation, salvation is a mending back together for wholeness, reconciliation with God and relationships with others, forgiveness is our responsibility to start the healing process, Surrender by repentance & confession exchanges our sin for Christ’s holiness, If we deny the Spirit’s gifts we lose out on the Spirit’s fruit