The Exchange

1

Change or Exchange

Think back to that special moment when you became a child of God. When you had your born-from-above experience, were you changed, or were you exchanged? Does it really matter if we know as long as we’re believers? That’s a fair question. To know doesn’t make you more of a child of God, just as to not know doesn’t make you less of a child of God. What it will do is give you a deeper understanding as to who Christ has made you to be.

I have a wonderful friend named Dorman. He’s one of those once-in-a-lifetime friends everyone hopes to have someday, the kind of friend who will love you to a fault. In one of our Tuesday pastors’ meetings (held at his church for over thirty-five years), I was sharing the biblical definitions of reconciliation, change, and exchange. Even though there are slight nuances of differences in these words, they basically mean the same thing. It’s OK to use the word “change” or the word “exchange” when describing your salvation experience. Of the two words, “exchange” will give you a broader view of and a deeper appreciation for your identity in Christ. The exchange that God made for you in the person of Christ was done once, and it’s forever.

It’s important to understand that the Bible was not written in English. Nor was it written by an American or by someone from Western civilization. Our tendency is to view the scriptures through the eyes of our particular cultural heritage. Sometimes our perception of a particular word may not give us the import of its true meaning. This is what my pastor-friend Dorman said about the word “change”: “Our perception of the word ‘change’ may limit our understanding of what happened to us when we were saved.” I think my friend is spot on.

Will there be a change in people after they accept Christ as their personal Savior? Absolutely. This change is the fruit of the exchange. Think about it this way, exchange is the root, and change is the fruit. No exchange, no lasting change. “God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:19 NKJV; emphasis added). Paul uses the verb “reconciling” in describing what God did in Christ for us. He uses the noun “reconciliation” to describe what we received. Christ was God in the flesh, exchanging His life for ours, so we could be in right standing with Him.

The Greek word for reconcile is katallasso. It means “to exchange,” like in exchanging currency. One of the first things you do when you travel to another country is exchange your currency for their currency. You do this so you can access the goods, services, and privileges that particular country has to offer. You could say the exchange of currency is necessary for your survival. We will go into further detail about the reason for the exchange in the next chapter.