Atonement and Reconciliation

Jesus prayed that his disciples would be united, even as He and His Father are. “That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us” (John 17:21; see also 3 Nephi 19:29).

To be “at one with” someone or something is to be at peace, to be in a state of agreement. I learned recently that the word “one” used to be pronounced like “own,” instead of our kind of odd modern pronunciation: “won.” The former pronunciation still exists in several compound words, including “alone,” “only,” and “atone.” (See “one,” Online Etymology Dictionary.) So when the word “atone” first appeared in the English language, it’s fundamental meaning was obvious to English-speakers: bringing things together, helping them to be “at one” with each other.

The Greek word katallagé (καταλλαγή), which means “reconciliation” appears four times in the New Testament, and the verb form, katallassó (καταλλάσσω) appears another six times. Every one of these times except one, the King James translators used a form of the word “reconciliation” to translate these words. But one time, taking their cue from the older William Tyndale Bible, they used the word “atonement” instead. Notice how that word punctuates a discussion of Christ reconciling us with His Father:

For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.

And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.

Romans 5:10-11

The word emphasizes the outcome of the Savior’s reconciliation: We are made one with God. We are brought into harmony with Him. We become united with Him.

Very few other Bible translations use the word “atonement” in this verse. Most say “reconciliation.” I like the way the New Living Translation renders verse 11:

So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.

Romans 5:11, New Living Translation

Lehi taught his son Jacob that the Holy Messiah would make intercession for us, to bring us back into the presence of God, “to answer the ends of the atonement” (2 Nephi 2:10).

Jacob taught his people that the Savior’s atonement is “infinite” (2 Nephi 9:7), and that it delivers us from condemnation and restores us to “that God who gave [us] breath” (2 Nephi 9:25-26). He made the following plea to his people:

Wherefore, my beloved brethren, reconcile yourselves to the will of God, and not to the will of the devil and the flesh; and remember, after ye are reconciled unto God, that it is only in and through the grace of God that ye are saved.

Wherefore, may God raise you from death by the power of the resurrection, and also from everlasting death by the power of the atonement, that ye may be received into the eternal kingdom of God, that ye may praise him through grace divine. Amen.

2 Nephi 10:24-25

Later, in Jacob’s book, he extends this challenge to his future readers: “Wherefore, beloved brethren, be reconciled unto him through the atonement of Christ, his Only Begotten Son” (Jacob 4:11).

The atonement of Jesus Christ heals our relationship with God. It brings us into harmony with Him. It unites us with Him. It makes us His friends.

Today, I will be grateful for the reconciliation that is possible because of the Savior’s atonement. I will strive to reconcile my will with the will of God, recognizing that Jesus Christ has given me the means to do so: the “at one ment” which He prayed for and which I desire is possible because of Him!