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Colossians 1:18-20
Paul explains how Jesus made peace. He did this by reconciling all things to Himself or to the Father through His own shedding of blood (verse 20). We must understand the context. Paul is talking about Jesus Christ in His most elevated, most excellent sense. He is God doing these things for us. The Father has given Christ divine glory and responsibility because of the redemptive work He did in reconciling us to Him. That is one of the big factors that make Christ special because He volunteered (Philippians 2:5-8) to come down here as a Man, as a Servant, and He gave Himself throughout His life, living a godly life with no sin. Then He gave Himself on the cross or tree for our sins. And so the Father has highly exalted Him for all of the sacrifices He made to reconcile humanity to Him. Paul tells us in so many words that the Son, Jesus Christ, is the Great Peacemaker, the Great Reconciler. He is great because He did the impossible, what no other man could do: to reconcile everyone, not just some, but all to the Father. That is what the Father is heading toward in His Plan. He wants all to come to repentance (II Peter 3:9), and it is available to all through the blood of Jesus Christ. Certainly, they must accept it, each in his own time or order, as Paul says in I Corinthians 15:23. But God is looking for total reconciliation, or as close as possible, with all humanity. However, He has given free moral agency to people, so there will probably be some who reject Him. We know for sure that Judas Iscariot the son of perdition, is doomed. The Beast and the False Prophet will be sent into the Lake of Fire, so human reconciliation with God will not be total. But it is God's goal that all will be reconciled to Him. Christ made it possible; He provided the means for total reconciliation. It does not mean that everybody will accept it or claim it, but what He did is valid for all should they choose to accept it.
Richard T. Ritenbaugh
The Peacemakers
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