46. Doesn’t a person also have to let himself to be reconciled (2 Cor. 5:20)?

Taken from the Q&A page

No. Paul does not say in 2 Corinthians 5:20, “Let yourself be reconciled to God,” but: “Be conciliated to God!” The difference is crucial. In Greek, it is an imperative in the passive voice: a command that asks nothing of man, but brings something about. It is not an invitation to human action, but a divine proclamation. Just like “be cleansed,” “be opened,” or “be roused”—the word does what it says.

Reconciliation is not a process in which man must take a step or give permission. On the contrary, Paul says: “Yet all is of God, Who conciliates us to Himself through Christ.” —2 Corinthians 5:18— God is the One acting; man is the recipient.

When Paul “beseeches,” it is not a desperate plea, but the powerful urging of an ambassador who proclaims what God is doing. The evangel is not an offer but a declaration: God is conciliating the world to Himself.
And faith responds: Amen!

See in more detail:
be conciliated – not: let yourself be conciliated

Delen: