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THE PROBLEM OF THE ATONEMENT
THE MISUNDERSTANDING OF THE DEATH OF CHRIST
Nowhere in the Scriptures does it say that Christ died to pay the penalty of man’s sin and satisfies God’s justice. Not in the three passages (Rom. 3:25-26; II Cor. 5:21; Gal. 3:13) usually cited to support this doctrine does it say explicitly that Christ paid the penalty of sin or satisfied the justice of God. In the Rom. 3:25-26 passage, propitiation is not the satisfaction of God’s justice; neither is redemption the paying the penality of sin. In the II Cor. 5:21 and Gal. 3:13 passages, “made to be sin” or “a curse” does not mean paying the penalty of our sins. In his second letter to the Corinthians, Paul writes,
“He who knew no sin was made to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (II Cor. 5:21 ERS)
Historically, there has been three interpretations of the phrase “made to be sin” in II Cor. 5:21:
1. When Christ in His incarnation took on human nature, which is “in the likeness of sinful flesh” (Rom. 8:3), God made Him to be sin.
2. Christ in becoming a sacrifice for sin was made to be sin, the word “sin” (harmartia) meaning a “sacrifice for sin” ( Augustine and the NIV margin “be a sin offering”).
3. Christ is treated as if He were a sinner, and as such Christ became the object of God’s wrath and bore the penalty and the guilt of sin (the traditional Protestant interpretation).
In the first interpretation, it is assumed that Christ’s death is a participation. on the behalf of and for the sakes of sinful humanity.
And in the second interpretation, which is probably the correct interpretation, the basic concept is sacrifice, but the scarifice has been usually assumed to be a substitution, not as a participation.
In the last interpretation, it is assumed that Christ’s death is a vicarious act, a substitution in the stead of sinful humanity. But this substitution interpretation must here be rejected because it is contrary to the explicit statement in the verse that he was made sin “for us,” that is, “on our behalf” (huper hemos, NAS; see verses 14-15, and 20).
Christ was made to be a sin-sacrifice for us to save us from sin, to take away our sin (John 1:29). And Christ was made a sin sacrifice to take away our sin “in order that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” That is, that we might be set right with God in the risen Christ. As we have already seen, the righteousness of God is the activity of God to set us right with God; that is, to save us from sin (trust in false god) to righteousness (trust in the true God). Christ participated in our spiritual death to save us from sin (trust in a false god), so that we could participate in the risen Christ, being saved from death to life and hence being saved from sin to righteousness (trust in the true God). The substitution interpretation of Christ’s sacrifice does not understand this participation and just assumes a legalistic substitution interpretation of Christ’s death as a paying the penalty of sin for us. And when Apostle Paul writes to the Galations,
“Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us — for it is written, ‘Cursed be everyone who hangs on a tree'” (Gal. 3:13),
he does not mean that Christ paid the penalty of sin as our substitute, but that Christ’s death was to deliever us (“redeemed”) from our sins and to save us from the wrath of God (“the curse of the Law”, see Gal. 3:10). And Christ being made a curse for us, does not mean that Christ died as a substitute, in our place, paying the penalty of our sins, but that Christ’s death was “for us”, on our behalf (huper hemos). The Scripture that Paul here quotes (Deut. 21:23) does not mean that being made a curse was for another’s sins but because he was being hung on a tree for his own sins (Deut. 21:22). And since Christ was hanging on the tree (the cross) was not because of His own sins (He was without sin – II Cor. 5:21), but was on our behalf to redeem us from our sins and from God’s wrath against our sins (Rom. 1:18). Paul does not say that Christ took our curse but that He became a curse to redeem us from the curse of the law. Christ’s death sets us free from the law and from its curse.
The introduction of these legalistic concepts into the interpretation of these passages has obscured their meaning and interpretation. Apart from the clear and explicit statement of Scripture, it cannot be assumed that this is what these verses mean. Since this legalism is contrary to the clear and explicit statements of Scripture, any interpretation employing these legalistic concepts is suspect. In fact, the Scripture explicitly rejects the principle of vicarious penal sacrifice upon which this interpretation depends.
“The person who sins will die. The son will not bear the punishment for the father’s iniquity, nor will the father bear the punishment for the son’s iniquity; the righteousness of the righteous will be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked will be upon himself.” (Ezekiel 18:20 NAS; see also Deut. 24:16; Jer. 31:30)
The legalistic misunderstanding of salvation and the death of Christ is based on and grounded in a legalistic misunderstanding of God. Since legalism is basically an absolutizing the law, either by identifying God with law or making the law stand by itself apart from God and above God, legalism is fundamentally a misunderstanding of God. It conceives of God entirely in terms of the law. The will and mind of God are subject to the law, whether the law is conceived as existing externally apart from God and above Him or as the eternal and essential nature of God. The law is the eternal, objective order, lex aeterna, to which the will and mind of God conforms as the Lawgiver and Judge. In legalistic Christian theologies, the law is not external and above God but is internal and in God, the very essential nature of God. The law is the essential being of God. According to these theologies, God’s will is immutably determined by His eternal and unchanging nature; it is the expression of His essential being. [1] God acts freely (?) in accordance with the inner law of His own essence. He does not will the good because it is good; for then the good would be above God. Neither is the good good because God wills it; for then the good would be arbitrary and changeable. God acts freely but not whimsically; He acts always in accordance with the inner law of His being. [2] Thus God’s being is understood in terms of the law.
According to this understanding of God’s being, the holiness and the righteousness of God is understood in terms of the law. The holiness of God is the eternal conformity of His will to His being which is law; it is the purity and moral perfection of God’s being. [3] Holiness is accordingly the fundamental attribute or, more exactly, the consummate infinite moral perfection of all the attributes taken together. Each attribute has its own perfection; holiness is the infinite moral perfection of the whole together. It is not one attribute among others but is the total moral perfection of the Godhead that sets Him transcendently apart and above all the creatures. As such, holiness is the regulative principle of all of them. Accordingly God’s love is holy love; His power is holy power; His will is a holy will.
“Love must have a norm or standard, and this norm or standard can be found only in Holiness.” [4]
In His eternal and essential nature, God is Holy. Righteousness is understood legalistically to consist in the conformity to the law of right and wrong. [5] The absolute righteousness of God is the infinite moral perfection of God and as such is equivalent to the holiness of God. In His eternal and essential nature, God is righteous. God is immutably determined by the law of His own being to act righteously in His relationships with man. This exercise of the divine will in relationship to man, determined by God’s infinite righteous nature, has been called the relative righteousness of God. [6] God’s righteous nature expresses itself in the form of the law and in all its essential principles of right and wrong, the law is an immutable transcript of the divine nature. This relative righteousness of God is called rectoral, when viewed as exercised in administering the affairs of His government, in providing for and governing His creatures. This relative righteousness of God is also called distributive,
“when viewed as exercised in giving unto each creature his exact proportionate due of rewards and punishments. It is called punitive or vindicatory when viewed as demanding and inflicting the adequate and proportionate punishment of all sin, because of its intrinsic ill deserts.” [7]
God, because of His own eternal and essential righteousness, must reward all good because of its own intrinsic merit (remunerative justice) and He likewise must visit every sin with a proportionate punishment because of its own intrinsic demerit (retributive justice). According to this legalistic theology, to do otherwise God would be unrighteous and unjust. Absolute justice which is the eternal being of God requires and demands the reward of good and the punishment of sin. As the Judge, God shows His righteousness by visiting divine retribution upon sin and unrighteousness. No evildoer can escape; all will receive what is due to them and the precise deserts of their evil. Because of the holiness of the divine nature, God hates sin with a holy revulsion and is impelled by the demands of His righteousness to pour out His wrath. God must display His righteousness in judging and punishing sin; not to do so would be a reflection on His righteousness. [8]
There is little place in this view of God for love, mercy, or grace. These were totally absent from the legalistic philosophy of the Greek and Roman philosophers and have little place in the legalistic Christian theologies. [9] In the definition of God in the Westminster Shorter Catechism, the goodness of God is mentioned but the love, mercy, and grace of God are totally absent.
“God is a spirit, infinite, eternal and unchangeable in His being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness and truth.” [10]
Where love is allowed a place in this legalistic view of God, it is reduced to an affection or emotion which must be subordinated to God’s holiness and righteousness in order not to become sentimentalism, a sympathy which tolerates human imperfection. A. Hopkins Strong says in his Systematic Theology;
“The rationality of his [God’s] love involves moreover a subordination of the emotional element to a higher law than itself, namely, that of holiness. Even God’s self-love must have a reason and a norm in the perfections of his own being … The immanent love of God is a rational and voluntary affection grounded in perfect reason and deliberate choice … Love is not rightfully independent of the other faculties but is subject to regulation and control … In true religion love forms a copartnership with reason … God’s love is no arbitrary, willful, passionate torrent of emotion … And we become like God by bringing our emotions, sympathies, affections under the dominion of reason and conscience … Since God’s love is rational, it involves a subordination of the emotional element to a higher law than itself, namely, that of truth and holiness … Love requires a rule or standard for its regulation. This rule or standard is the holiness of God.” [11]
According to this legalistic theology, God’s love is conditioned and limited by his justice; that is, God cannot exercise His love to save man until His righteousness (justice) is satisfied. Since God’s justice requires that sin be punished, God’s love cannot save man until the penalty of sin has been paid, satisfying His justice. God’s love is set in opposition to His righteousness, creating a tension and problem in God. How can God in His love save man from sin when His righteousness demands the punishment of sin? This is the problem that the death of Christ is supposed to solve. According to this legalistic theology, this is why Christ needed to die; he died to pay the penalty of man’s sin and to satisfy the justice of God. The necessity of the atonement is the necessity of satisfying the justice of God; this necessity is in God rather than in man. And since this necessity is in God, it is a absolute necessity. If God is to save man, God must satisfy His justice before He can in love save man. It is not surprising that in the popular mind this abstract problem of the antinomy between love and justice in God is reduced to a concrete opposition between God the Father who wants to punish sin and God the Son who wants to forgive sin. That this is not true is clear from Scripture: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son” (John 3:16). But this is the way the popular mind has seen this abstract problem.
Legalism has distorted the relationship of death to sin. Death is always the result of each man’s own personal sins. The Biblical concept of sin as basically trust in a false god, idolatry, is misunderstood as basically a transgression of the law, the breaking of the rules and a falling short of the universal divine standard. According to legalism, sin is considered to be a crime against God, and the penalty for these crimes is spiritual, physical and eternal death. Until the penalty is executed at the last judgment, man is under the burden of an objective guilt or condemmation which must be satisfied by the execution of the penalty. And in addition to this objective guilt there is a subjective guilt of a bad conscience, which may or may not correspond to the objective guilt. This objective guilt has been conceived in terms of a debt which man owes and/or as demerit on man’s record. Thus man needs to be saved because he is a guilty sinner.
This legalistic concept of death is a misunderstanding of the Biblical concept of death. In the Scriptures, death is not always the result of each man’s own personal sins. According to Romans 5:12-14, all men have received spiritual and physical death from Adam but not eternal death.
“Therefore, as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death passed unto all men, because of which all sinned: – 13 For until the law sin was in the world; but sin is not imputed where there is no law. 14 But death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned after the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come.” (Rom. 5:12-14 ERS).
Since Adam, man is not responsible for being spiritually dead because he did not choose that state. He received spiritual death from Adam just as he received physical death from Adam. But man is responsible for the god he chooses. The true God has not left man without a knowledge about Himself.
“19 Because that which is known of God is manifest in them; for God manifested it to them. 20 For since the creation of the world the invisible things of Him, both His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, so that they are without excuse.” (Rom. 1:19-20 ERS)
This knowledge about God leaves man without excuse for his idolatry. He knows that his false gods are phonies. But this knowledge does not save him because it is knowledge about the true God, and not a personal knowledge of the true God which is life eternal (John 17:3). But even though man is not responsible for being spiritually dead, he is responsible for remaining in the state of spiritual death when deliverance from it is offered to him in the person of Jesus Christ. If he refuses the gift of eternal life in Christ Jesus, he will receive the wages of his decision, eternal death (Rom. 6:23). If a man refuses the gift of spiritual and eternal life in Christ Jesus and continues to put his trust in a false god, remaining in spiritual death, then after he dies physically, at the last judgment he will receive the results of his wrong decision or sin, eternal death, separation from God for eternity.
Romans 6:23 does not mean that sin must be punished and that death is the penalty of sin. The meaning of this verse must be determined by considering its context, the previous verses from 15 to 23. The context of this verse is not the law-court but slavery. Sin is personified as a slavemaster. Verse 14 says that sin will no longer have dominion or lordship (kurieusei) over the Christian, because he is now under grace. Verse 16 speaks of yielding oneself as a slave – either to sin or to obedience [to God]. Verse 17 speaks of having been slaves to sin but now (verse 18) being slaves of righteousness. Verses 20-21 asks what return did they get from the things that they did as slaves of sin. Paul says that the end of the slavery to sin is death. Verse 22 says that the end result of being a slave of God is eternal life. Then in verse 23 Paul summarizes his argument by saying that the wages of sin, that is, the wages paid by sin as a slavemaster, is death. But God does not pay wages, but gives a free gift, eternal life in Christ Jesus, our Lord.
It is very plain from verses Rom. 6:17 and 18 that the slavery of sin was a past experience for the Christian. He has now changed masters. If he had remained under his old master, sin, that master would have eventually paid off in only one kind of coin, death. But since they have changed masters, they are not now in a position to collect wages from the old master, sin. And it does not say the they get wages from their new master, God. But they get a free gift, something that could not be earned, eternal life. What kind of death did they receive from their old master? Eternal death, eternal separation from God. That eternal death is meant here is clear from the second half this verse: “…but the gift of God is eternal life…” Paul is not here talking about spiritual or physical death but only about eternal death, the end result of the slavery of sin. Romans 6:23 says nothing about the penalty of sin, that is, that sin must be punished. True, the end result of the slavery of sin is eternal death.
But that does not mean that sin must be punished before the sin can be forgiven. If the sinner repents and turns from his idolatry and to the true God in faith, he will be freely forgiven. If he does repent and believe, he will not still be liable to be punished for his sins.
“21 But if a wicked man turns away from all his sins which he has committed and keeps all my statues and does what is lawful and right, he shall live; he shall not die. 22 None of the transgressions which he has committed shall be remembered against him; for the righteousness which he has done he shall live. 23 Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, says the Lord God, and not rather he should turn from his way and live? … 32 For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, says the Lord God; so turn, and live.” (Ezek. 18:21-23,32; see also Ezek. 33:11)
Here is the error of legalistic understanding of death. It says that sin must always be punished even if the sinner repents and believes (trusts) God. This contradicts the plain and clear teaching of God’s Word (Ezek. 18:21-23; 33:10-20; Lam. 3:31-33; Isa. 55:6-7; II Chron. 7:14; II Pet. 3:9). Do not misunderstand what I am saying here. I am not saying that God does not punish sin. He does. This is not the error. The error is to say that God cannot forgive sin before or until he has punished sin. The error is that God must always punish sin before sin can be forgiven. That is, that before God can in love forgive the sinner, He must of necessity punish the sin. This is false. Man needs to be forgiven but paying the penalty of sin is not forgiveness. When sin is punished, it is not freely forgiven. The punishment of sin is the execution of the results of sin; forgiveness is free dismissal of the results of sin. If sin is forgiven, it is not punished and if sin is punished, it is not forgiven. Forgiveness through punishment is a contradiction. The punishment of sin is not forgiveness of sin and forgivenss of sin is not its punishment.
According to this legalistic teaching, this necessity of punishment is grounded in the justice of God. This justice requires, it is said, that the penalty must be paid before guilt can be removed. The guilt of sin cannot be freely forgiven, but only can be taken away by paying the penalty, which alone can satisfy justice. Justice demands that sin must be always punished. According to this legalistic theology, God is not free to forgive the repentant sinner until the sin is punished. God’s freedom is thus limited and his love is conditioned by his justice. As we will see, this legalistic concept of justice is a misunderstanding of the righteousness of God.
The legalistic preoccupation in Christian theology with death as the necessary penalty of sin has distorted the Biblical concept of spiritual death as separation from God and of eternal death as eternal separation from God. Separation from God is far more serious than the penal consequences of sin as God is more important than the law. But not only is death misunderstood but life is also misunderstood as the reward for meritorious works. Life as fellowship and communion with God, that is, a personal relationship to God, is lost sight of in the legalistic preoccupation with the law and its meritorious observance.
ENDNOTES
[1] Archibald Alexander Hodge, Outlines of Theology
(Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1949), p. 154
(question 60), p. 411 (question 13).
[2] Ibid., p. 153 (question 58).
See also Henry Clarence Thiessen,
Introductory Lectures in Systematic Theology
(Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1949), p. 129.
[3] A. A. Hodge, Outlines in Theology, p. 163.
[4] A. Hopkins Strong, Systematic Theology
(Philadelphia: Judson, 1907), vol.1, p. x.
See also Carl F. H. Henry Notes on the Doctrine of God
(Boston: W. A. Wide Co., 1948), p. 113.
[5] James I. Packer, “Just, Justify, Justification,” in
Baker’s Dictionary of Theology, ed. Everett F. Harrison
(Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1960), p. 305.
[6] A. A. Hodge, Outlines of Theology, pp. 153-4 (question 59).
[7] A. A. Hodge, Outline of Theology, p. 154, question 59 (underlining ERS).
[9] Note the brief treatments of the love of God in
Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, 3 vols. 1871;
A. A. Hodge, Outlines of Theology, 1878;
A. H. Strong, Systematic Theology, 1907;
Herman Bavinck, The Doctrine of God, 1918.
[10] Thiessen, Lectures in Systematic Theology, p. 54.
[11] Strong, Systematic Theology, pp. 264-265.
See also Henry, Notes on the Doctrine of God, chap. VIII.
If Christ did not die to pay the penalty for man’s sin and to satisfy God’s justice, then why did Christ have to die to save man? Why then do men need to be saved? An examination of Scripture (John 10:10; Eph. 2:4-5; Heb. 2:14-15; I John 4:9; etc. See also the sections of Chapter 1 of my book, From Death to Life, entitled ” Death” and ” Death and Sin“.) clearly shows that the answer to this question is that man needs to be saved because he is dead and needs life. Man is spiritually dead and is dying physically. Being spiritually dead, man is separated and alienated from God (Eph. 4:18; Col. 1:21). Man does not know God personally, and because he does not know the true God, he turns to false gods, to those things which are not God and makes them into his gods (Gal. 4:8). The basic sin is idolatry (Ex. 20:2; Rom. 1:25), and man sins (chooses these false gods) because he is spiritually dead, separated from the true God.
And all men have sinned because they are spiritually dead. This is what the Apostle Paul says in the last clause of Romans 5:12: “because of which [death] all sinned.” Spiritual death which “spread to all men” along with physical death is not the result of each man’s own personal sins. On the contrary, a man sins as a result of spiritual death. He received death from Adam, from his first parents. The historical origin of sin is the fall of Adam – the sin of the first man. Adam’s sin brought death, spiritual and physical, on all his descendants (Rom. 5:12, 15, 17). This death, inherited from Adam, is the personal, contemporary origin of each man’s sin. Because he is spiritually dead, not knowing God personally, he chooses something other than the true God as his God; he thus sins.
This is why a man needs to be saved. He is dead spiritually and dying physically. Man needs life; he needs to be made alive, to be raised from the dead. And if he receives life, if he is made alive to God, death which leads to sin is removed. And if death which leads to sin is removed, then man will be saved from sin. Thus salvation must be understood to be primarily from death to life and then secondarily from sin to righteousness. And since God’s wrath, God’s “no” or opposition to sin, is caused by sin (Rom. 1:18), the removal of sin brings with it also the removal of wrath. Salvation is then thirdly from wrath to peace with God (Rom. 5:1, 9).
The righteousness of God is God acting in love for the salvation or deliverance of man. This righteousness of God has been manifested, that is, publicly displayed, in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ (Rom. 3:21-22). God was active in Jesus Christ, particularly in His death and resurrection, for salvation (Acts 4:12; I Thess. 5:9; I Tim. 2:10; 3:15; Heb. 5:9). Because He is the act of God for our salvation, Jesus Christ is the righteousness of God (I Cor. 1:30). The gospel or the good news is about this manifestation of the righteousness of God. The gospel tells us about God’s act of salvation in the person and work of Jesus Christ (Rom. 1:1-4; I Cor. 15:3-4; Eph. 1:13). God acted in Him to deliver man from death, from sin, and from wrath. But since wrath is caused by sin and sin is caused by death, salvation is basically the deliverance from death to life. Man cannot make himself alive. Only God can make alive for He is the living God and the source of all life. And God did this through the death and the resurrection of Jesus.
Because God loves man, He did not leave him in death but has provided for him deliverance from death by sending His Son into the world.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:16 KJV)
Thus God in His love for man sent His Son to become a man, Jesus Christ, the God-man (John 1:14). He was the perfect man; He lived in perfect fellowship with God, His Father, and perfectly trusted God throughout His entire life (John 1:4; 8:28-29; 12:50; 16:32; 17:25). But He came not just to be what we should have been or to give us a perfect example; He came to die on our behalf in order that we might have life in Him. Jesus said,
“10 I came that they might have life, and have it more abundantly. 11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.” (John 10:10-11 KJV)
And the Apostle John said,
“In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world that we might live through him.” (I John 4:9)
He entered not only into our existence as man, but He entered into our condition of spiritual and physical death. On the cross He died not only physically but spiritually. For only this once during His whole life was He separated from His Father. “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Matt. 27:46 KJV) He was forsaken for us; He died for us. “By this we know love, because he laid down his life for us” (I John 3:16 ERS).
But God raised Him from the dead. He entered into our death in order that as He was raised from the dead we might be made alive with and in Him (Eph. 2:5). Hence Christ’s death was our death, and His resurrection is our resurrection (II Cor. 5:15). He became identified with us in His death in order that we might become identified with Him in His resurrection and have life. He became like us that we might become like Him. As the second century Christian theologian and bishop of Lyon, Irenaeus (125-202 A.D.), said,
“… but following the only true and steadfast teacher, the Word of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, who did, through His transcendent love, become what we are, that He might bring us to be even what He is Himself.” [1]
The writer to the Hebrews also wrote,
“But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, … so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.” (Heb. 2:9 NIV).
“14 Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same nature, that through death he might destroy him that has the power of death, that is the devil, 15 and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong bondage.” (Heb. 2:14-15)
He acted as our representative, on our behalf and for our sakes. The Greek preposition huper does not mean “instead of” but “on the behalf of” or “for the sake of”. In the following passages, the Greek preposition huper cannot mean “instead of”.
“For it has been granted to you that for the sake of [huper] Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake [huper autou, on the behalf of him]” (Phil. 1:29)
“It is right for me to think this about all of you [huper pantan humon], because I have you in my heart, since both in my bonds and in the defense and confirmation of the Gospel you all are partakers of grace with me.” (Phil. 1:7 ERS)
“5 On the behalf of [huper tou toitotou] such a man I will boast, but on behalf of myself [huper emautou] I will not boast, except of my weaknesses. 6 For if I wish to boast, I shall not be foolish, for I shall be speaking the truth; but I refrain from this lest anyone reckon to me above what [huper ho] he sees in me or hears from me, 7and by the surpassing greatness [huperbole] of the revelations. Wherefore, in order that I should not be exalted [huperairomai] there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, in order that I should not be exalted [huperairomai]. 8About this [huper touton] I besought the Lord that it should leave me; 9 and He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfected in weakness.’ Most gladly therefore I will boast in my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest on me.” (II Cor. 12:5-9 ERS).
Thus the Greek preposition huper does not mean “instead of” but “on the behalf of” or “for the sake of”. And thus Chirst died on the behalf of all men, not instead of them;
“For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that one died for all [huper panton, on the behalf of all], therefore all have died,” (II Cor. 5:14)
that is, in Christ who represents all.
“And he died for all [huper panton, on the behalf of all], that those who live might live no longer for themselves but for him who for their sake [huper auton, on the behalf of them] died and was raised.” (II Cor. 5:15).
Adam acting as a representative brought the old creation under the reign of death. But Christ acting as our representative, on our behalf, brought a new creation in which those “who have received the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness will reign in life” (Rom. 5:17).
“21 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” (I Cor. 15:21-22)
“Wherefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature: the old things are passed away; behold, they are become new.” (II Cor. 5:17)
[Jesus said]
“Because I live ye shall live also.” (John 14:19 KJV)
Acting through our representative, God has reconciled us to Himself through Christ, that is, God has brought us into fellowship with Himself.
“18 But all things are of God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ … 19 to wit, that God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself ….” (II Cor. 5:18-19; see also Rom. 5:10-11; I Cor. 1:9; I John 1:2-3).
This representative work of Christ should be understood, not as a vicarious act, instead of another, but as a participation, an act of sharing in the condition of another. Christ took part or shared in our situation. He entered, not only into our existence as a man, but also into our condition of spiritual and physical death.
“14 Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same nature, that through death he might destroy him that has the power of death, that is the devil, 15 and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong bondage.” (Heb. 2:14-15)
On the cross, Jesus died not only physically but also spiritually (“My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” Matt. 27:46), sharing in our spiritual death. We are reconciled to God through the death of Christ (Rom. 5:10) because He shared in our death (Heb. 2:9). But He was raised from the dead, and that on behalf of all men (II Cor. 5:15). He was raised from the dead so that we might participate and share in His resurrection and be made alive with Him.
“4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in offenses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in heavenly places, in Christ Jesus;” (Eph. 2:4-6 ERS).
His resurrection is our resurrection. He was raised from dead for us so that we might participate in His resurrection and have life, both spiritual and physical. Thus the representative work of Christ is a participation, an act of sharing in the condition of another. He participated in our death so that we could participate in His life.
Since spiritual death is no fellowship with God (it is the opposite of spiritual life which is fellowship with God), then being made alive with Christ we are brought into fellowship with God. Hence we are reconciled to God (Rom. 5:10; II Cor. 5:17-19). The Greek word katallage, which is translated ” reconciliation” in our English versions, means a “thorough or complete change.” Hence it refers to a complete change in the personal relationship between man and God. Because man is dead, he has no personal relationship with God, no fellowship with God. When a man is made alive to God with Christ, he is brought into a personal relationship with God, into fellowship with God. His personal relationship to God is completely changed, changed from death to life. Reconciliation can, therefore, be defined as that aspect of salvation whereby man is delivered from death to life. And the source of this act of reconciliation is the love of God. It is a legalistic misunderstanding of reconciliation to say that God was reconciled to man. The Scriptures never say that God is reconciled to man but that man is reconciled to God (Rom. 5:10; II Cor. 5:18-19). The problem is not in God but in man. Man is dead and needs to be made alive. Man is the enemy of God; God is not the enemy of man. God loves man, and out of His great love He has acted to reconcile man to Himself through the death and resurrection of Christ. It is true that God in His wrath opposes man’s sin and in His grace has provided a means by which His wrath may be turned away. But this aspect of salvation is propitiation, not reconciliation. Reconciliation should not be confused with propitiation. God in reconciling man to Himself has saved man from death, the cause of sin, and hence He has removed sin, the cause of His wrath – no sin, no wrath. Christ’s death is a propitiation because it is a redemption and it is a redemption because it is a reconciliation, salvation from death to life.
Now this salvation (primarily from death to life and secondarily from sin to righteousness) is exactly what God accomplished through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, His Son. Jesus entered into our spiritual death in order that as He was raised from the dead, we might be made alive with and in Him (Eph. 2:5). And by saving us from spiritual death, Christ saves us from sin. It is by taking away the spiritual death which leads to our sin that God takes away our sin. Jesus died for our sins – literally – to take them away (John 1:29). What the Old Testament sacrifices could not do (Heb. 10:1-4), the death of Christ has done. The blood of Jesus (His death) cleanses us from our sins (I John 1:7). We are delivered from sin itself, not just from its consequences. We were saved from our trust in false gods when we put our trust in Jesus Christ and in the true God who sent him. Did we not “turn from idols to serve the living and true God” (I Thess. 1:9)? When we were spiritually dead, we trusted in and served those things that were not God: money, power, sex, education, popularity, pleasure, etc. But when we turned to the risen Christ, and received Him as our Lord, we entered into life, leaving behind those false gods. The risen Jesus Christ is now our Lord and our God (John 20:28).
The death and resurrection of Jesus was the means by which God removed death – the barrier to knowing the true God personally and knowing His love. Now God reveals Himself to us in the preaching of the gospel, making us spiritually alive to Himself when we receive Jesus Christ who is life (John 14:6; I John 5:12). To be spiritually alive is to know God personally, and to know God personally is to trust Him. For “God is love” (I John 4:8, 16) and love begets trust. And the trust in God that God’s love invokes in us is righteousness (Rom. 4:5, 9); it relates us rightly to God. Just as trust in a false god is sin, so trust in the true God is righteousness (Rom. 4:3-5). Righteousness is not a quality that we possess, neither is it merit that we have earned nor have imputed to our account, but it is a right relationship to God; faith in the true God relates us rightly to Him. And just as sin flows from death, so righteousness flows from life ( Gal. 3:21). Thus by taking away death, God takes away sin. By making us alive to Himself, God sets us right with Himself through faith. Life produces righteousness just as death produced sin. God not only acted in Jesus Christ to reconcile us to Himself, that is, to deliver us from death to life, but also to redeem us from sin.
“In Whom [Christ] we have our redemption through His blood, the deliverance from our offenses, according to the riches of His grace” (Eph. 1:7 ERS; see also Col. 1:14).
The redemption that is in Christ (Rom. 3:24) is deliverance from sin by the payment of a price, a ransom, which is the blood of Christ, that is, His sacrificial death. The price is not the payment of a penalty but is the means by which the redemption from sin is accomplished.
“18 Knowing that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your vain manner of life handed down from your fathers; 19 but with the precious blood, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot, even the blood of Christ.”
(I Pet. 1:18, 19 ERS; see also Heb. 9:14-15).
According to the English translations of Eph. 1:7 and Col. 1:14, redemption is made equivalent to forgiveness of sins. But the basic meaning of the Greek word aphesis here translated “forgiveness” is “the sending off or away.” Hence to redeem from sins is to send them away, to deliver from sin. Jesus “was manifested in order to take away sins” (I John 3:5 ERS). He is “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).
Salvation is not just forgiveness. It is more than forgiveness of sins; it is also deliverance from death; it is the resurrection of the dead. Forgiveness of sins is not enough; man needs to be made alive to God because he is spiritually dead. And he is dead, not because of his own sins, but because of the sin of another, Adam. So the forgiveness of a man’s sins does not take away spiritual death because the spiritual death was not caused by that man’s sins. Thus forgiveness of sins does not remove spiritual death. But the removing of spiritual death does removes sins. Salvation as resurrection from the dead is also salvation from sin and thus is also the forgiveness of sins. Thus to be made alive to God means that sins are forgiven.
This redemption from sin was accomplished by the death of Jesus Christ because His death is also the means by which we were delivered from death, the cause of sin. Since spiritual death leads to sin (Rom. 5:12d ERS), sin reigns in the sphere of death’s reign (Rom. 5:21). And since Christ’s death is the end of the reign of death for those who died with Christ, it is also the end of the reign of sin over them. They are no longer slaves of sin, serving false gods. Sin is a slave master (Rom. 6:16-18) and this slave master is the false god in which the sinner trusts. We were all slaves of sin once, serving our false gods when we were spiritually dead, alienated and separated from the true God, not knowing Him personally. But we were set free from this slavery to sin through the death of Christ. For when Christ died for us, He died to sin (Rom. 6:10a) as a slave master. Sin no longer has dominion or lordship over Him. For he who has died is freed from sin (Rom. 6:7). That is, when a slaves dies, he is no longer in slavery, death frees him from slavery. Since Christ “has died for all, then all have died” (II Cor. 5:14). His death is our death. Since we have died with Him and He has died to sin, then we have died to sin. We are freed from the slavery of sin and are no longer enslaved to it (Rom. 6:6-7). But now Christ is alive, having been raised from the dead, and we are made alive to God in Him. His resurrection is our resurrection. “But the life He lives He lives to God” (Rom. 6:10b). This is the life of righteousness. And so we, who are now alive to God in Him, are to live to righteousness. For just as death produces sin, so life produces righteousness.
“And He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.” (I Pet. 2:24)
Christ bore our sins to take them away (to redeem us from sin) so that we might die to sin with Christ and be made alive to righteousness in His resurrection. Having been redeemed from the slavery of sin through the death of Christ, we who are now alive in Him have become slaves of righteousness (Rom. 6:17-18), that is, slaves of Christ who is our righteousness (I Cor. 1:30). Redemption is salvation from sin to righteousness.
Now that God has redeemed us from sin by the death of Christ, we are also delivered from the wrath of God. The death and resurrection of Christ is not only deliverance from sin but also deliverance from the wrath of God.
“Since, therefore, we are now justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God” (Rom. 5:9).
“God put forth Jesus Christ as a propitiation through faith in His blood” (Rom. 3:25 ERS).
The death of Jesus Christ is a propitiation because it is the means that God has appointed for turning away His wrath from man. While God in His love could have mercy on man and turn away His wrath from man (Psa. 78:38; Exodus 34:6; Numbers 14:19-20), God has appointed means whereby His wrath will be turned away. In the Old Testament, God’s appointed means for turning away His wrath were the sacrifices and offerings. When these sacrifices were offered in true repentance and faith, they were an atonement or propitiation. But these sacrifices could never take away sin (Heb. 10:4, 11); that is, they could not bring about repentance and faith because they could not make alive ( Gal. 3:21). On the contrary, there is in those sacrifices a continual remembrance of sin year by year (Heb. 10:3). That is, the worshippers, not having been cleansed of their sins, still have a consciousness of sin (Heb. 10:2); they keep on sinning and knew that they were sinning. Therefore, those that draw near could never be made perfect by those sacrifices (Heb. 10:1). But Christ has put away sin once for all by the sacrifice of Himself (Heb. 9:26; 10:12), and has made perfect them that are being sanctified or set apart to God (Heb. 10:14). Now there is no more remembrance of sins (Heb. 10:17) since those drawing near, having been cleansed from their sins, have no more consciousness of sins (Heb. 10:22). It was to accomplish our cleansing from sin that Christ “gave Himself for our sins” (Gal. 1:4) and “died for our sins” (I Cor. 15:3). God has acted in Jesus Christ to redeem us from sin.
Neither could the Old Testament sacrifices reconcile man to God; they could not make man alive to God ( Gal. 3:21). But through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, man can be made alive and reconciled to God and his sins can be taken away. And then since there are no sins to cause wrath, the wrath of God is turned away. No sin, no wrath. Thus Christ’s death is the perfect sacrifice for turning away God’s wrath because by it man is redeemed from sin. Christ’s death is a propitiation because it is a redemption; it is both a propitiation and a redemption. Propitiation is the sacrificial aspect of Christ’s work of salvation from wrath to peace with God, and redemption is the liberation aspect of Christ’s work of salvation from sin to righteousness. And it is a propitiation and a redemption because it is a reconciliation to God. Reconciliation is representative aspect of Christ’s work of salvation from death to life. By being made alive to God, death, the cause of sin, has been removed, one is set free from sin, and by being liberated from sin, which is the cause of wrath, wrath is removed.
Because God loves us, He has acted in the death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ for the salvation of man from death, sin and wrath. Since wrath is caused by sin (Rom. 1:18) and sin by death (Rom. 5:12d ERS), salvation is basically from death to life and then from sin to righteousness and then from wrath to peace with God. Thus there are three aspects of salvation.
(1) propitiation is salvation from wrath to peace;
(2) redemption, is salvation from sin to righteousness; and
(3) Reconciliation is salvation from death to life.
These three aspects of salvation are accomplished in and through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Christ’s death is a propitiation because it is a redemption; and it is a propitiation and a redemption because it is a reconciliation to God.
“24 Being set right by his grace as a gift through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God set forth as a propitiation
through faith in his blood …. (Rom. 3:24-25; ERS);“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.” (Rom. 5:10 (NAS);
“18 Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ, and gave us the ministry of reconciliation,
19 namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were entreating through us; we beg you on the behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.” (II Cor. 5:18-20 NAS); see also I Cor. 1:9; I John 1:2-3).
These three aspects of salvation were accomplished in and through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ
Propitiation is the sacrificial aspect of His work, redemption is the liberation aspect of His work, and reconciliation is the representative aspect of His work of salvation. The Gospel tells us about this act of God for our salvation in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ (I Cor. 15:3-4). And in the preaching of the Gospel, God exerts His power for the salvation of men by bringing them to faith in Jesus Christ (Rom. 1:16).
END NOTES
Let’s return to the question raised in the introduction to this section: why must Christ die? The classic solution to this problem of the necessity of the atonement is that, since man is dead, Christ must die for man, if man is to be saved. The problem that the atonement solved is not in God but in man: it is man who is dead and sins because he is dead. Thus Christ died primarily to save man from death and then secondarily to save him from sin and hence thirdly from wrath. The necessity of the atonement is not in God and hence not absolute but in man and hence relative. It is not the justice of God that requires the death of Christ but the love of God who wants to save man. It is not God’s justice that is the barrier to man’s salvation but it is death. And Christ’s death and resurrection has overcome that barrier. Death is a real and objective barrier to man’s salvation; death separates man from God (spiritual death) and man’s spirit from his body (physical death). Death had to be defeated and this is not just dramatic and emotional language. Neither the objective nor subjective theories of the atonement understands or takes seriously this problem. Since death came by a man, Adam, so death had to be removed by a man, the God-man, Jesus Christ (I Cor. 15:21-22). All legalistic theories of the atonement see sin as the problem; death is always a secondary problem because death is always seen as the necessary penalty of sin. They assume that the law can make alive, contrary to the clear statement of the Scriptures. Paul says in his letter to the Galations:
“Is the law against the promises of God? Certainly not; for if a law had been given which could make alive, then righteousness would be indeed by the law.” (Gal. 3:21)
If the law could make alive, then the death and resurrection of Christ would be unnecessary and Christ died in vain (Gal. 2:21). But the law cannot make alive; therefore, salvation is not by the law. Thus any legalistic interpretation of the atonement cannot be true because the law cannot make alive and can not produce righteousness; it cannot save from death and sin. The classic solution sees death as the primary problem and sin as a secondary problem because man sins because of death (Rom. 5:12d ERS). The death and resurrection of Christ solves the problem of death by making us alive to God in and with the resurrection of Christ. It thus solves the problem of sin. God saves us from sin itself (primarily, idolatry – trust in a false god) to the righteousness of faith (trust in the true God) by making us alive to God, when we receive by faith the gift of eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The purpose of the incarnation of the Son of God is salvation. Since salvation is basically from death to life, Christ on the cross entered into our death, both spiritually and physically, in order that man can be made alive with Christ in His resurrection. By faith we can then say; His death is my death and His resurrection is my resurrection. On the cross, Christ died both spiritually and physically. His body died physically on the cross when He gave up His spirit (Matt. 27:50; John 19:30). His spirit was separated from His body. But before He died physically, He died spiritually.
“And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, ‘Eli, Eli, la’ma sabach-tha’-ni?’ that is, ‘My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?'” (Matt. 27:46)
This cry was misunderstood by the bystanders as a calling upon Elijah (Matt. 27:47-49). But it was not a calling on Elijah, but it was His spirit as the Son of God calling upon God His Father. He had entered into our spiritual death inherited from Adam and His spirit was separated from God His Father. This spiritual death was not a non-existence of His spirit, but was a separation between His spirit as the Son of God from God His Father. This is only time in all eternity that He as the Son of God was separated from God His Father. It happened because He had entered on the cross into our spiritual death inherited from Adam (Rom. 5:12; I Cor. 15:21-22). This raises the problem of how is this possible. As it was expressed by those who mocked Him, saying
“He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God; let God deliever him now, if he desires him; for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.'” (Matt. 27:42)
How can God die? As Greeks understood the divine, the gods are immortal; they never die. Then how could the Son of God die? Now their understanding of God as immortal was based on their understanding of God as unchanging in His being, therefore He could not change by dying. And they argued that God does not change because He is timeless. But the Biblical God does not change because He is timeless, but because He keeps His promises. The prophet Malachi says for God,
“6For I, the Lord, do not change; therefore you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed. 7From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes, and have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord of hosts. (Malachi 3:6-7 NAS)
If Israel turns from their sins, then they will not be consumed because the Lord God is unchanging in keeping His promises not to destroy them if they will return to Him. Thus the Biblical God is unchanging, not because He is a timeless unchanging super-It, but because the Biblical God, who keeps His promises, is three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, who are without beginning or end. The Biblical God has time, but His time has no beginning nor end. His time is an absolute time, not like our created time which has a beginning.
“In the beginning God created heaven and earth.” (Gen. 1:1) The beginning of the heaven and earth was also the beginning of created time. When God created the heaven and earth, God created our time. But God’s time was not created; it never started nor will it end; it is absolute without beginning or end. God created the heavens and earth by an act of His will. As those in heaven sang,
“Worthy art thou, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for thou didst create all things, and by thy will they exist and were created.” (Rev. 4:11)
God is three Persons by whose will all things were created and do exist. Now an act of the will, a choice, involves time: the time before the choice, the now of the choice, and the time after of the choice. Since God as three persons makes choices, and since an act of the will, a choice, involves time, then God must have time in which They exercises His will. Thus this will of God means that God has time, but it is not a created time with a beginning, but absolute time without beginning or end; it is eternal. In this absolute time, God makes decisions and changes do occur. Thus God is both changing and unchanging. So the Greek philosophical distinction between what is God and what is not-God is false; God is distinguished from what is not-God by His act of Creation by which He as the Creator made decision to create all things, and by His will “they exist and were created.” (Rev. 4:11)
And in eternity God also made the decision for the Son of God to become a man and to die on the cross for the salvation of men. So this once in all eternity, at the cross, the Son of God died spiritually by being separated from God the Father. He did not cease to exist, but He entered into our spiritual death and His personal relationship to God His Father was broken and He was temporarily separated personally from God His Father. But He did not remain in this spiritual death; God the Father raised the Son of God from the dead, not only physically, but also raised Him spiritually from the dead. And thus God provided for us salvation from death to life, both spiritually and physically.