God's Demand for Satisfaction

Please turn to 1 John 2:2 as we look at God’s Demand for Satisfaction.

Have you ever seen a movie that took place during the early days of our nation — perhaps Colonial times, or when our nation was in its infant stages in which a duel took place? Such a scene often begins with one person insulting another. Then there’s a slap in the face, followed by a demand for satisfaction. Then there would be some sort of a duel to settle the matter. Some duels were fought with swords. Some where fought with knives. And some were fought with pistols. I suppose that the gun fights in the old west would also fall under similar circumstances.

In the early years of our nation there was a very famous duel between Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton. Hamilton was the first Secretary of the Treasury, serving under George Washington. Burr was the Vice-President during Jefferson’s first administration. But he decided to not be a part of Jefferson’s second administration, and to run for governor of New York instead. There had been a long-going animosity between Hamilton and Burr, and Hamilton vigorously campaigned against Burr, in favor of his opponent. Burr lost the election, and he blamed Hamilton for his loss. Thus, he challenged Hamilton to a duel.

At dawn, on July 11, 1804, the two men met at Weehawkin, New Jersey for a duel. At this stage in history, these duel often ended without bloodshed. Opponents would purposely miss their shot. The duel was more of a test to see if the other person had the courage to go through with the duel. On this occasion, Hamilton was the first to fire a shot, and he purposely missed Burr, firing into a tree instead. But Burr took aim and shot Hamilton in the gut. He died the following day.

Why all of this history lesson? Because God is the offended party regarding the sins of each one of us. And He has demanded satisfaction for our sins. He doesn’t challenge us to a duel, but His demand stands. That demand is portrayed in a single word which is found in our text for today — propitiation.

Propitiation is an ancient word, and an ancient concept, which is pretty far removed from our culture. But it is an important word which is filled with a lot of meaning.

This morning, we are going to do something I don’t often do — we are going to spend our time looking at that one word — a word that is hard to say. Propitiation. Can you say that word with me? Propitiation.

As we look at this term we are going to consider the nature, necessity, agent, motive, and extent of propitiation.

Let’s read our verse together this morning.

1 John 2:2 ESV

He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

THE NATURE OF PROPITIATION

The first aspect of propitiation that we will look at this morning is the nature of propitiation. The Greed work translated “propitiation” in our text is hilasmos. It simply means an appeasement. We probably understand the concept of appeasement. It is like when a husband makes his wife mad, so he brings her flowers.

How many of you have heard of the War of the Toledo Strip? When I was in the fourth grade we had to learn Michigan History, and this war between Michigan and Ohio really intrigued me. You see, the bitter rivalry between these two States did not begin over football. It began over land. In the early years of our nation, before the advent of railroads, most commerce was tied to water travel. They built the Erie Canal so that ships could travel from the Atlantic Ocean up to the Toledo area, which was one the western locations of the growing frontier. So, the port of Toledo was an important port.

If I recall correctly, George Washington had given Toledo to the territory of Michigan. But Ohio became a State long before Michigan. As a matter of fact, the Ohio delegates kept blocking Michigan from becoming a State. They did so because they wanted Toledo, and the commerce it brought to belong to Ohio.

In the 1830’s President Andrew Jackson gave Toledo to Ohio. And to appease the angry citizens of Michigan, he gave us the Upper Peninsula. This compromise then allowed Michigan to move forward with Statehood.

Note that,

Appeasement has to do with Giving Satisfaction to Someone who is Angry

In biblical terms, the One who is angry is God. Look at

Romans 1:18–32 ESV

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error. And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.

God’s wrath is revealed, and He is the One who needs to be appeased because of the sins of mankind.

There are some other related term which are also translated as “propitiation.” Hilaskomai is the verb form of hilasmos and it means to make satisfaction or to make propitiation. It is used in

Hebrews 2:17 ESV

Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.

It was the priest’s duty to make propitiation for the nation of Israel in the OT economy. One of the reasons for the Incarnation of Jesus was so that he could become a faithful high priest and make propitiation for the sins of the people. Only a human could act as the Mediator between God and man in this way. But since all human beings were tainted with sin, God had to cause His Eternal Son to become man so that He could make propitiation.

Another term which is translated “propitiation” is hilasterion. This term refers to a sacrifice of atonement. It is used in Romans.

Romans 3:23–25 ESV

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith.

This same word is sometimes translated “mercy seat” in the Septuagint, which is the Greek Translation of the Old Testament. This has to do with the OT tabernacle. The tabernacle had various courts. But the innermost court, which was called the Holy of Holies, could only be entered one day a year by one man — the high priest of Israel. That one day of year is known as the Day of Atonement or Yom Kippur. On that day, the high priest offers a bull as a sacrifice for his own sins. Then he takes two male goats. One is offered as a sacrifice for the sins of the nation of Israel, and the other is let go as the scapegoat. Some of the blood of the sacrifice was taken into the Holy of Holies, and sprinkled on the mercy seat. The mercy seat was the covering on the Ark of the Covenant, which contained the two tablets with the Ten Commandments written on them. So, the mercy seat became known as the place of atonement — the propitiation.

It is important for us to understand that animal blood never satisfied God’s righteous demand. The writer of Hebrews said:

Hebrews 10:4 ESV

For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

While the blood of bulls and goats did not take away sins, they did defer the sins of the people until that time in which Christ was offered as the perfect sacrifice. A sacrifice which never had to be repeated.

We have been looking at the nature of propitiation. Let’s turn our attention now to

THE NECESSITY OF PROPITIATION

Look once again at

1 John 2:2 ESV

He is the propitiation for our sins ...

Note that,

Our Sins Bring About the Necessity for Propitiation

But how can a God who is light and without darkness be just and yet forgiving? Back to Romans.

Romans 3:25–26 ESV

whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

God is just in demanding that the penalty of death be paid. But He is also the justifier of the ungodly by putting forward Jesus Christ as the atoning sacrifice or propitiation.

MacArthur states: “The Scripture makes it clear. God is holy. He is wrathful. he is vengeful. He is condemning. And he must be propitiated, He must be appeased and He must be satisfied. And He will only be satisfied when all sins have been paid for and the wages of sin is death.”

So far, we have looked at the nature and necessity of propitiation. Let’s look now at

THE AGENT OF PROPITIATION

Look again at

1 John 2:2 ESV

He is the propitiation for our sins ...

Note that,

Christ is the Agent of Propitiation

Look at

Isaiah 53:5–11 ESV

But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth. Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.

Christ’s death was an actual payment to satisfy the justice of God. Christ’s death did not pay Satan, as some have taught; it paid the price to God. God was the initiator our propitiation by putting Jesus forward as our propitiation (Romans 3:25). And Jesus was the agent of our propitiation.

So far, we have looked at the nature, necessity, and agent of propitiation. Let’s move on to

THE MOTIVE OF PROPITIATION

What was the motive for propitiation? Let’s look at a text which we will study again in a few weeks (or months?).

1 John 4:10 ESV

In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

Note that,

God’s Motive in Putting Forward Jesus to be our Propitiation was His Love for Us

I love the lyrics of the modern hymn that we sing from time to time — HOW DEEP THE FATHER’S LOVE FOR US.

How deep the Father’s love for us, How vast beyond all measure, That He should give His only Son To make a wretch His treasure. How great the pain of searing loss – The Father turns His face away, As wounds which mar the Chosen One Bring many sons to glory.

Behold the man upon a cross, My sin upon His shoulders; Ashamed, I hear my mocking voice Call out among the scoffers. It was my sin that held Him there Until it was accomplished; His dying breath has brought me life – I know that it is finished.

I will not boast in anything, No gifts, no power, no wisdom; But I will boast in Jesus Christ, His death and resurrection. Why should I gain from His reward? I cannot give an answer; But this I know with all my heart – His wounds have paid my ransom.

So far, we have considered the nature, necessity, agent, and motive of propitiation. Let’s now look at

THE EXTENT OF PROPITIATION

1 John 2:2 ESV

He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

How are we to understand the statement that Jesus is the propitiation for the sins of the whole world? Is John writing about a universal salvation? You know, that everyone goes to heaven in the end? If that were the case then there would be no hell, and if there is no hell then there is no heaven. And if there is no heaven and no hell, then there was no need for Jesus to be our propitiation.

Some teach that Jesus’ death doesn’t actually save people, but it merely makes salvation possible. Others teach that Jesus’ death definitely saves.

Note that,

Jesus’ Death Definitely Saves all who Repent of Their Sins, and Place Their Faith and Trust in His Person and His Work

Since propitiation is tied to the Day of Atonement, we need to look briefly at

Leviticus 16:17 ESV

No one may be in the tent of meeting from the time he enters to make atonement in the Holy Place until he comes out and has made atonement for himself and for his house and for all the assembly of Israel.

For whom did the priest make atonement? For himself, his family, and the nation of Israel. John is telling them that the sacrifice that Jesus offered is not just for the nation of Israel, it is for the world because the Lord is calling out a people for His name from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. This is in keeping with Isaiah’s prophecy to the Servant of the Lord found in

Isaiah 49:5–6 ESV

And now the Lord says, he who formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him; and that Israel might be gathered to him— for I am honored in the eyes of the Lord, and my God has become my strength— he says: “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”

As we conclude our study of this important word, let’s look at

1 John 4:10–11 ESV

In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

Love is demonstrated by the fact that God first loved us, not the other way around. I love how the old gospel song puts it:

O how I love Jesus, because He first loved me!

Not only did God demonstrate His love by first loving us, but He demonstrated it in that He sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. As we have looked at this great term — propitiation — we should be awed by such a demonstration of love! The propitious work of Christ was not intended merely for the benefit of the individual. It was intended as a benefit for the community of believers. In other words, God has taught us how to love one another by giving us the greatest example of love the world has ever known. And it is by demonstrating this love toward our brothers and sisters in Christ that all the world will know that we are His disciples.

Let’s pray.

Father in Heaven,

May Your name be honored and revered in our assembly. May the kingdom of Your Beloved Son soon come. May Your will be done here on earth, and this assembly, as it is in heaven. Lord, we ask that You provide for our daily needs, both for our physical nourishment, and for our spiritual nourishment. Lord, we pray that You will forgive us for our trespasses and violations of Your revealed will; and we pray that Your Spirit would move in our hearts to forgive those who sin against us. Lord, we pray that Your Spirit would enable us to flee temptations, and to walk in the paths of righteousness for Your name’s sake. For Yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.