Our Ministry of Reconciliation to a Fallen World

Excerpt from Book: Making Small Groups Work by Dr. Henry Cloud & Dr. John Townsend 

DiscipleshipImplications Of The Fall

Living In A Fallen World

As fallen people, we love and deal with other fallen people. Because Adam and Eve passed on to us the art of going our own way, we all encounter fallen spiritual, relational, psychological, emotional, and functional dynamics...

These dynamics started in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve had a good relationship , were healthy, and loved their work—until something happened. They tried to take God's place. As a result, life as it was created to be lived became unavailable. In their attempts to become god-like, they lost their ability to be fully human.   

The Loss Humankind Experienced At The Fall

"We must understand the entry of sin into the creation. This involves not only the fact of the entry, but the very nature of sin itself and how it has affected every aspect of the created order." - Freddy Davis

1. Disconnection From The Source Of Life (God)

God had provided [Adam & Eve] all needed for life—materially, relationally, spiritually, and in every other way. When they decided to play His role, humankind fell into trying to provide for itself, independent of God. We went down the path of trying to be self-made.  

2. Triple Loss Of Relationship (with God, People, and Self)

Adam and Eve lost their relationship  with God, and they became alienated from each other. Their intimacy with Him and one another was replaced by fear, hiding, mistrust, and other things... [some of these, and more, are also signs of loss of a healthy love for self]

3. Guilt, Shame & Condemnation

Adam and Eve felt ashamed, judged, and condemned. To cope with guilt, they began to perform and, worse, to hide who they really were. They covered their vulnerability with fig leaves, just as we become false to look better than we are. 

4. Disobedience/Rebellion

Humankind lost God's authority in our lives and no longer naturally obeyed Him. We became our own bosses, going our own way, and disobeying His ways, to our loss. 

5. Loss Of Knowledge Of God's Ways

With little knowledge of God's ways, we disregard learning what He says. God designed life to work in very specific ways. He has told us how to relate to one another, set and reach worthy goals, and get through difficulties. But we try to figure it out for ourselves without consulting the Designer of the manual.  

6. Lost Control Of Self And Have Tried To Control Everything Else

God was originally in control of everything except us. He left us free to control ourselves but intended that we yield the rest of the universe to His control. We were to trust and to yield. When we fell, we reversed course. We lost control of ourselves (loss of self-control) and began trying to play God and controlling everything else around us, especially other people. So we no longer felt in control of our lives and try to control everyone and everything around us. 

17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. - 2 Corithians 5:17-21 NIV

The Ministry Of Reconciliation We Have Received

We are bringing people back to God and the life He created for us to live. We have the incredible and very realizable call to help people... We will reverse the effects of the Fall on their lives and bring about lasting change as we help people implement the foundations of the gospel into their everyday experience.

1. Reconnect To The Source of Life (God)

and see that God is the source of whatever they are trying to accomplish in life...

2. Reconnect Through Real Relationship (God, People, and Self)

to God and through experiencing connections with others [and self]...

3. Experience God's Grace And Peace With God

acceptance, and forgiveness...—and the absence of shame, guilt, judgment, and condemnation.

4. Learn And Experience The Value And Delight Of Obedience To God And His Word

to God as the authority of life.

5. Learn God's Ways & How To Apply It To Your Daily Living

 (from Raimer, not the book) Part of learning God's ways is not just about following, applying, and obeying general Biblical principles; it is about reliance on Holy Spirit for specifics. Yes, Scripture will be the ground where we test out our own hearing from God. It must bow to Scripture. That being said, Psalm 32:8 says, "I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with My  loving eye upon you." This means God Himself, through His Spirit, will be leading, guiding, and counseling us in all aspects of daily life.  We are not left to our own resources to ascend to the high standard of God. NOTE: This deep transformation will NEVER happen through mere willpower, but only through the power of Holy Spirit. 

He sends us Holy Spirit to be give us wisdom, discernment, and the desire and power to accomplish what only Holy Spirit can do in and through us. Holy Spirit will reveal Jesus, His ways, and His will. And all of it will align with the Word of God. He also will use the people of God to speak to us, train us, and even bring correction. Altogether, these three, along with life circumstances, are ways in which Holy Spirit will help us recognize His will and ways.  

"For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him." - Philippians 2:13 NLT

And so we learn God's ways through His Spirit, as we abide in Christ and dwell in His Word. This happens practically as we spend time with Him throughout the day.  And we also take advantage of  Christian fellowship and life-on-life discipleship with other believers so that we can learn from one another and receive loving accountability to help us see our own failure to let God be God in our lives. 

6. Give Control To God (Dependence on God) & Take Control Of Self (Self-Control)

for the rest of life (and relax in doing so) but take control (exert self-control) and responsibility for themselves.