Word studies · Greek · Strong's G2644
καταλλάσσω · katallássō · appears 6 times in the New Testament
In one line: Enmity ended and relationship restored, at God's initiative.
All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:
2 Corinthians 5:18
Katallassō is to reconcile — to end hostility and restore relationship, the change from enemies to friends.
Paul uses katallassō for what God has done through the death of His Son: enemies reconciled, the world no longer counted against its trespasses, and a ministry of reconciliation handed to the church. Notice who acts — God reconciles us, never the reverse.
Katallassō is built on allassō, “to change,” with kata intensifying it; in ordinary Greek it described exchanging money, then settling a quarrel. The commercial background is not accidental: reconciliation in Paul involves an accounting, with trespasses not counted.
Modern reconciliation implies two parties meeting halfway. The Greek in Paul is one-directional: God reconciles the world to Himself, and the appeal that follows — “be reconciled to God” — is an invitation to accept a peace already made rather than to negotiate one.
Katallassō (G2644) appears only 6 times in the New Testament, all of them in Paul's letters, and 4 in a single passage of 2 Corinthians 5.
Reconciliation adds relationship to the legal picture of justification: not only is the verdict changed, the enmity is over. And the church is drawn into it, entrusted with “the ministry of reconciliation” rather than merely the news of it.
Reconciliation in Scripture is initiated by the offended party — which is the harder, godlier move. Take the first step this week toward someone you would be within your rights to wait on.
to change mutually, i.e. (figuratively) to compound a difference
For if, when we were enemies of God, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through His life!
Romans 5:10But if she does, she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband. And a husband must not divorce his wife.
1 Corinthians 7:11Press and hold reconcile in any chapter and this study opens on the verse you are reading, with the lexicons, every occurrence and the commentaries beside it. The Bible is free to read.
Scripture quoted from the Berean Standard Bible, public domain. Strong's definitions are public domain. Counts come from The Pillar's own tagged text.