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Faithlife Study Bible Chapter 3

3:24 being justified To be justified means to be set right or declared righteous (see v. 20 and note). It refers to both the acquittal of all charges and the provision of right status before God. Justification stands in contrast to condemnation (see v. 7).

The Greek word used here, apolytrōsis, refers to the act of freeing a slave or prisoner by payment. People were enslaved to sin (6:16–17, 20), so God offered His Son as the payment to “redeem” them (vv. 25; 8:32; compare ). Paul’s understanding of redemption probably was shaped by two paradigmatic acts of redemption in Israel’s history—the exodus and the return from the Babylonian exile (e.g., ; ; ).

3:25 mercy seat The Greek word used here, hilastērion, refers to the lid of the ark of the covenant (see ; ). Once a year, on the Day of Atonement, the Jewish high priest would apply animal’s blood to this lid (). Paul’s description suggests that Christ functions as the locus of atonement in the new covenant.

Barry, J. D., Mangum, D., Brown, D. R., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Ritzema, E., … Bomar, D. (2012, 2016). Faithlife Study Bible (). Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.