Two views of Reconciliation

Here is a summary of Particular Reconciliation and General Reconciliation

Particular Reconciliation:
(1) God preselected individuals for salvation before creation
(2) Christ came and died for those individuals - limited atonement
(3) God gives those individuals faith in Christ, then accepts their faith and places them in Christ.

General Reconciliation
(1) God selected Christ to redeem humanity before creation. Therefore those chosen and placed in Christ during their lifetime through belief in the truth were corporately chosen as the target group of His redemption plan before the foundation of the world.
(2) Christ came and died for humanity in general but not specifically for each individual.
(3) God chooses individuals and places them into Christ after accepting their faith and reckoning it as righteousness.

The first point of difference centers on the meaning of Ephesians 1:4 which says we (born again believers) were chosen in Him before the foundation of the world. Particular Reconciliation maintains that being chosen in Him means being chosen as foreseen individuals. General Reconciliation maintains that being chosen in Him means Christ was chosen to be the Lamb of God, hence the Redeemer, before the foundation of the world and therefore God chose corporately everyone subsequently redeemed when He chose His Redeemer, thus we were chosen in Him.

The second point of difference centers on the meaning of 1 John 2:2 which says He is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the whole world. Particular Reconciliation maintains that Jesus is the propitiation or means of salvation, not only for elect Jews but also for elect Gentiles. General Reconciliation maintains that Christ provides the means of salvation for everybody, the whole world, all humanity. Propitiation means that God’s acceptance of Christ’s sacrifice provides the means of salvation, the mechanism of reconciliation. When God puts an individual believer spiritually into Christ they “receive” the reconciliation provided by Christ’s sacrifice.

The third point of difference centers on the meaning of Romans 4:5 which says but to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is reckoned as righteousness. Particular Reconciliation maintains the “his faith” was supernaturally given to him by God because the unregenerate are spiritually unable to trust in Christ. General Reconciliation maintains “his faith” is the individual’s trust in Christ, because if it were God’s gift of faith, it would not need to be reckoned as righteousness.

 

God is reconciling humanity one sinner at a time. He has not reconciled all of humanity, only provided the means of reconciliation for humanity, but each individual must "receive" the reconciliation to benefit from Christ's provision.

 

One of the many mistaken interpretations of scripture is that God has reconciled the world (humanity) rather than is in the process of reconciling humanity to Himself, one sinner at a time. Only those who have been born anew in Christ have been reconciled, and that is why we (those born anew) have the ministry of reconciliation to the lost. This is the ministry of evangelism.

 

Romans 5:10 (NASB)
For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.

Confusion exists as the difference being presented between having been reconciled, (a completed action) and our future "shall be saved" by His life. One of the aspects of salvation is our future bodily redemption at Christ's second coming, His living return.