He has abolished the law with its commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new humanity in place of the two, thus making peace, ~ Ephesians 2:15 NRSV
2Co 5:17-21 NRSV "So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! (18) All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; (19) that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. (20) So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. (21) For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."
The above scriptural quote is in my view the most concise declaration of the gospel of God's grace. It states that God was in Christ Jesus reconciling the WORLD to himself. When KOSMOS is used in the Greek it is universal. However, Paul clarifies his meaning in another of his letters. Rom 5:18 NRSV "Therefore just as one man's trespass led to condemnation for all, so one man's act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all." So, let's look at the evidence before us: All are reconciled, all have life, and all are justified. It really should not be a shock, and were it not for thousands of years erroneous doctrine, it would not be a shock at all that God had reconciled, justified and given life to all. In fact, the majority view of the early church was universalism. But, what about salvation? Sure you have mentioned, reconciliation, justification and life, but what about salvation? I'm glad you asked twice :)! Well Paul had this to say about that in another place: 1Ti 4:10 NRSV "For to this end we toil and struggle, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe." The preponderance of evidence is mounting.
Well, what about the phrase in 1 Timothy? "especially of those who believe." This is another great question that I am happy to answer. All of the above declarations have impact on the eternal state, but my contention is that the gospel of grace has important implications for life here on earth. It is the element that will supernaturally create the "new humanity." I will repeat an analogy I have used in the past. If you were to go to my bank and deposit a million dollars in my account I would immediately become a millionaire. However, if I was not aware that you had done it, or did not believe you had done it what benefit would it be to me? It is only when I hear of your deposit and believe it was made that I can begin to benefit from my millionaire status. This is the reason for declaring the gospel to people. It is why Paul stated in the above 2 Corinthian passage that our ministry was to proclaim to people that they should be reconciled to God.
I know that many evangelical's will demand you believe that the passages that I quoted don't really mean what they say. To that I simply say that they have an intellectually dishonest position as it is precisely, concisely, exactly what was written. Further, if it is not absolutely true then Paul is indeed a false witness. That is the ONLY intellectually honest conclusion to reach.
This is really good news! In fact it is the really good news/gospel that turned the religious people's world upside down in the first century. It is the pristine gospel of God's grace. It is the gospel, that when apprehended by faith, creates peace/shalom with the Parent God, that produces love for the Parent God, and in turn creates loving beings that can begin to love their neighbor as they do themselves, and dare I say, even love their enemies. It is the way in which the Holy Spirit produces a genuine New Humanity!
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