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The Types of Redemption
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Was there healing in that type? There was healing from snake venom and the effects of it. They
were delivered from death; they received physical healing. What does that prove? There has to
be healing in the plan of redemption, otherwise it wouldn’t have been in this, and so much more.
Jesus is the Author and Finisher of our faith. He is the Apostle, the High Priest, the Mediator of
what comes out of your mouth, of what you believe in your heart.
When you believed in your heart that Jesus was raised from the dead, and you confessed out
loud, out of your mouth, “Jesus is my Lord. I receive Jesus as my Lord. I believe He’s been
raised from the dead,” did something happen to you? Jesus was able to do something with your
words.
In 2 Corinthians 5, the whole passage deals with what we’ve studied previously. Verses 17 and
18 say, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away;
behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us…” What
has He done? Not atoned, but He has reconciled us. What does “reconciled” mean? It means
“exchange.” It’s the ministry of reconciliation. He “hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ,
and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation.”
The Church has not taught that. We are supposed to be telling everybody about the great
exchange. He took your sins and gave you His righteousness. He took your sickness and gave
you health. He took your poverty and made you rich. I’m quoting the Scriptures.
Religion has taught people, “If you’ll just be really, really sorry for your sin, and repent and try
to live right, maybe you’ll be saved.” Religion has taught people that it’s still up in the air.
Religion has taught people that when you get to heaven, Peter will be there with a big scale and
will see if you have more good works than bad works, whether you can get in or not. No! That is
not the Gospel. That is not truth.
We have been given a ministry of reconciliation to tell people about the great exchange: He took
my sin and gave me His righteousness. He took my sickness and gave me healing. He took my
poverty and gave me riches. He took the chastisement of my peace and gave me His peace. (2
Corinthians 5:21; 8:9; Matthew 8:17; Isaiah 53:5) Let’s get this built into our consciousness.
Let’s quit being religious with men’s ideas and be excited about this.
He gave us this ministry of reconciliation, and he goes on to say in verse 19, “…God was in
Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them,” because He
took them on Himself, “and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.” Reconciliation
is about exchange. “Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by
us: we pray you in Christ's stead…” What does that mean? If Jesus were here in Person, this is
what He would tell you, as His ambassador, as His representative: “I’m imploring you—Be
reconciled to God.” Believe that you have fellowship with God again, that you have every right
to be blessed, that you have every right to heaven, that you have every right to healing and every
blessing. Why? Because of the great exchange. Verse 21 says, “For he hath made him to be sin
for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” Just as surely
as He was made sin, we are made righteous. This is the great exchange.