Christology (Atoning Work)
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The Atonement
The Atonement
Term to know: Atonement - to cover, cancel, or forgive
The Basic Motifs of Atonement
The Basic Motifs of Atonement
Sacrifice
Propitiation
Substitution
Reconciliation
The Cause for the Atonement
The Cause for the Atonement
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Genesis 2:16–17 (NKJV)
16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat;
17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
The penalty for sin is death:
Not only physical death (separation of the soul from the body)
but also spiritual death (separation of ourselves from God).
Christ came to earn our salvation because of God’s faithful love (or mercy) and justice.
God’s love is affirmed in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
Term to know: Propitiation - The satisfaction of the righteous demands of God in relation to human sin and its punishment through the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ upon the cross, by which the penalty of sin is cancelled and the anger of God averted.
Martin H. Manser, Dictionary of Bible Themes: The Accessible and Comprehensive Tool for Topical Studies (London: Martin Manser, 2009).
25 whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed,
26 to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
God’s justice is affirmed when Paul writes that God put forward Jesus “as a propitiation” (Rom. 3:25), that is, a sacrifice that bears God’s wrath so that God looks favorably toward us. Paul says this was done “to show God’s righteousness” and also “so that he might be just” (Rom. 3:25–26) In other words, the sins God “passed over” or didn’t punish before Christ came to earth had to be punished somehow if God was to “be just.” Therefore, someone had to take the punishment for those sins, and that someone was Jesus.
The penalty we owe to God was paid by Christ through his death on the cross.
In Jesus’ life and death, we find a full expression of God’s justice (sin is punished) and faithful love (God gave his own Son to bear the punishment).
Wayne A. Grudem, Christian Beliefs: Twenty Basics Every Christian Should Know, ed. Elliot Grudem (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2005), 72.
The acceptable payment had to be perfect, complete, and without fault.
Christ, the perfect Man, gave himself in our place, so that whoever believes in him will not die (physically and spiritually) but have everlasting life.
The Necessity of the Atonement
The Necessity of the Atonement
26 Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?”
4 For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins.
12 Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.
26 He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.
Jesus knew there was no other way for God to save us than for him to die in our place. Jesus had to suffer and die for our sins. Other means, like the sacrifices offered for sins in the Old Testament had no lasting value, for “it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins” (Heb. 10:4). Jesus, “by means of his own blood,” secured “an eternal redemption” (Heb. 9:12), thereby putting away sin “by the sacrifice of himself” (Heb. 9:26).
Wayne A. Grudem, Christian Beliefs: Twenty Basics Every Christian Should Know, ed. Elliot Grudem (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2005), 72–73.
The Nature of the Atonement
The Nature of the Atonement
1. Christ offered Himself as a sacrifice, thereby earning saints forgiveness of sins. Guilt is removed and we are back to Adam and Eve’s state guilt-free but able to fall
7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace
13 And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses,
2. Christ also lived a life of perfect obedience to God so that His righteousness would be counted for us who believe.
19 For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.
9 and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith;
30 But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption—
8 though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.
9 And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him,
Jesus also lived a life of suffering. He was, in the words of Isaiah, “despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief” (Isa. 53:3). He suffered when he was assaulted by Satan’s attacks and temptations in the wilderness (Matt. 4:1–11). He “endured from sinners” tremendous “hostility against himself” (Heb. 12:3). He was tremendously grieved at the death of his close friend Lazarus (John 11:35). It was through these and other sufferings that “he learned obedience” (though he never once disobeyed) and “became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him” (Heb. 5:8–9).
As Jesus drew closer to his death, his sufferings increased. He told his disciples something of the agony he was experiencing when he said, “My soul is sorrowful, even to death” (Matt. 26:38). When Jesus was crucified, he suffered one of the most horrible forms of death ever devised by man. While he did not necessarily suffer more pain than any human being has ever suffered, the pain he experienced was immense. Wayne A. Grudem, Christian Beliefs: Twenty Basics Every Christian Should Know, ed. Elliot Grudem (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2005), 73–75.
The Extent of the Atonement
The Extent of the Atonement
1. Christ paid the penalty we deserved to pay for our sin.
2. Christ bore the wrath we deserved to bear.
3. Christ overcame the separation our sin caused between God and us.
4. Christ freed us from the bondage caused by sin.
13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love,
Wayne A. Grudem, Christian Beliefs: Twenty Basics Every Christian Should Know, ed. Elliot Grudem (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2005), 75.
The atonement has made our salvation possible. It is also the foundation of other major doctrines. The doctrine of the church deals with the collective aspects of salvation, the doctrine of the last things with it future aspects.
The Resurrection
The Resurrection
Term to know: Resurrection - A rising from the dead into a new kind of life not subject to sickness, aging, deterioration, or death.
Wayne A. Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; Zondervan Pub. House, 2004), 1253.
The atoning death of Christ paid for our sins, but the process was not complete until he had defeated death by being physically resurrected in the same body
19 Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”
20 Then the Jews said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?”
21 But He was speaking of the temple of His body.
New Testament Evidence
New Testament Evidence
All four gospels contain accounts of Jesus’ resurrection
5 But the angel answered and said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.
6 He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.
7 And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. Behold, I have told you.”
4 But when they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away—for it was very large.
5 And entering the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a long white robe sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed.
6 But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid Him.
7 But go, tell His disciples—and Peter—that He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, as He said to you.”
8 So they went out quickly and fled from the tomb, for they trembled and were amazed. And they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.
3 Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.
4 And it happened, as they were greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments.
5 Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead?
6 He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee,
7 saying, ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.’ ”
25 The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” So he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”
26 And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, “Peace to you!”
27 Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.”
28 And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!”
Throughout the book of Acts, the apostles continually speak of Jesus’ resurrection, encouraging people to trust in him as the one who is alive and reigning in heaven. The rest of the New Testament depends entirely on the assumption that Jesus is a living, reigning Savior who is the head of the newly formed church. Simply put, one can find ample proof for the resurrection throughout the New Testament.
The Nature of Christ’s Resurrection
The Nature of Christ’s Resurrection
Christ’s resurrection was not a simple coming back from the dead as others had experienced (such as Lazarus in John 11:1–44). Rather, when Jesus rose from the dead, he began a new kind of human life in which he had a perfect body that was no longer subject to weakness, aging, death, or decay. When Jesus rose from the dead, he had a body that would live eternally, for Jesus had “put on the imperishable”; he had “put on immortality” (1 Cor. 15:53
53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
Jesus’ new body was a physical body. When his disciples saw him, they “took hold of his feet”
9 And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, “Rejoice!” So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him.
His disciples “ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead” (
41 not to all the people, but to witnesses chosen before by God, even to us who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead.
In his new body, Jesus “took … bread and blessed and broke it” (
30 Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them.
He also invited Thomas to touch his hands and side
27 Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.”
The Bible is clear: Jesus physically rose from the dead with a body made of “flesh and bones” (
39 Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have.”
Wayne A. Grudem, Christian Beliefs: Twenty Basics Every Christian Should Know, ed. Elliot Grudem (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2005), 76–77.
Doctrinal Significance of the Resurrection
Doctrinal Significance of the Resurrection
1. Christ’s Resurrection Insures Our Regeneration
1. Christ’s Resurrection Insures Our Regeneration
Term to know: Regeneration - The radical renewal of a person’s inner being by the work of God’s Spirit.
Martin H. Manser, Dictionary of Bible Themes: The Accessible and Comprehensive Tool for Topical Studies (London: Martin Manser, 2009).
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),
6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
19 and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power
20 which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,
4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
11 Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
2. Christ’s Resurrection Insures Our Justification
2. Christ’s Resurrection Insures Our Justification
Term to Know: Justification - declarative act that we are not guilty but righteous before God
25 who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification.
3. Christ’s Resurrection Insures Our Future Perfect Resurrection Bodies
3. Christ’s Resurrection Insures Our Future Perfect Resurrection Bodies
14 And God both raised up the Lord and will also raise us up by His power.
14 knowing that He who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus, and will present us with you.
21 who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.
Christians Response to the Resurrection
Christians Response to the Resurrection
58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.
1 If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.
2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.
3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
4 When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.
11 Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts.
13 And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.
Ascension Into Heaven
Ascension Into Heaven
Ascended to a Place