2 Corinthians 5:18

All things. That is, all of the “new” things of v. 17 in particular, and thus also the new ministry (chs. 3:6; 4:1) and the new discernment of character (2 Cor. 5:16). God is the source of them all.

Reconciliation. Gr. katallage, “exchange,” “reconciliation,” “restoration to favor.” In Rom. 5:11 the same word is translated “atonement” (see comment there). In the NT it denotes a return to favor with God (see Rom. 5:1, 10; Col. 1:20). The idea of reconciliation to God implies that in the past God and man enjoyed a state of fellowship, that there now exists a state of separation (Rom. 8:7), that God has taken the initiative to terminate this state, and that it is therefore again possible for man to enjoy fellowship with God.

Reconciliation involves no change on God’s part, for God never changes (Mal. 3:6; James 1:17; cf. Heb. 13:8). It is not God who needs to be reconciled to man, but man who needs to be reconciled to God (see 2 Cor. 5:18-20; Eph. 2:16; Col. 1:20-21). There has never been enmity on God’s part. Men sometimes conceive of God as a stern judge, angry with sinners, hard to be placated, unmerciful, ready to condemn. This characterization misrepresents Him and is an affront to Him. Christ did not have to go to the cross in order to appease God, but as a demonstration of His love. God did not demand the death of His Son, but gave Him out of a heart of infinite love (John 3:16; 1 John 4:9; see on Rom. 3:25). On the other hand, God cannot set aside His law and avert the consequences that follow its violation without denying His own character, of which His law is an expression. God has always hated sin. He cannot, in fairness, treat good and evil alike. The atonement does not change the law; it changes the enmity that resulted from its violation. Reconciliation removes the enmity by means of a substitutionary fulfillment of the law’s requirements.