This verse opens a window into the very heart of God. It tells us what happened at the Cross — not just that Christ died, but that God was in Christ, working to bring a lost and guilty world back to Himself. Humanity had turned its back on God through sin. The relationship was broken, and no human effort could repair it. Yet instead of turning away, God Himself took the initiative. He came near in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ, to make peace. “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5).
To reconcile means to restore friendship, to bridge the distance between two sides. On the Cross, God dealt with the very thing that separated us — our sin. The verse says He was “not imputing their trespasses unto them.” That means God was not counting our sins against us, because He was counting them against His Son. “The LORD hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6). What justice demanded, grace provided. At Calvary, divine mercy and divine righteousness met perfectly. It was there that God could remain holy, yet forgive sinners completely.
The result is a message — “the word of reconciliation.” This is the Gospel: that through Jesus Christ, anyone can be made right with God. The wall that sin built has been torn down. The debt has been paid in full. “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1). God is not asking us to work our way back to Him; He is inviting us to believe in the One who already came all the way to us. The same God who once acted in Christ now speaks through His Word, calling the world to be reconciled. It’s not religion, effort, or feeling that saves — it’s trusting in what God has done through His Son.
At the Cross, God’s love was proven. The hand of reconciliation is still extended, and the message still stands: “Be ye reconciled to God” (2 Corinthians 5:20).