2 Corinthians / Question
Paul says God reconciled them to himself through Christ and gave them the ministry of reconciliation. He defines the message as: in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them. See 2 Corinthians 5:18–19.
In 2 Corinthians 5:18–21, Paul says the initiative belongs to God, who restored relationship with himself through Jesus Christ and then entrusted Paul’s team with a task and a message centered on reconciliation. He describes their role as representatives speaking on Christ’s behalf, urging the Corinthians to accept this restored relationship. This paragraph sits within Paul’s defense and explanation of his ministry, where he contrasts outward appearances with what God is doing through weakness and suffering. Just before, he says Christ’s love controls their actions and that a new creation reality reshapes how they view people (5:14–17).
Paul presents reconciliation as something God starts and carries out. God restores relationship “through Jesus Christ” (verse 18) and then entrusts Paul’s team with both a task (“ministry of reconciliation,” verse 18) and a message (“word of reconciliation,” verse 19).
A careful answer keeps the immediate passage, the book's argument, and the whole-Bible storyline together, so the question is answered in context instead of as a detached idea.
Start with 2 Corinthians 5:18-19, then read the surrounding section so the answer stays connected to the passage's flow.
18But all things are of God, who reconciled us to himself through Jesus Christ, and gave to us the ministry of reconciliation;
19namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not reckoning to them their trespasses, and having committed to us the word of reconciliation.