The second chapter is an in depth discussion from Murray on the Nature of the Atonement.
The nature of the atonement is based on the obedience of the Son
who comes to earth as a servant in obedience to the Father.
The atonement, conventionally spoken of, has both active and passive
components yet these two are not different periods of time as if the work on
the cross was one activity completely separated from Christ’s life of obedience.
There is a twofold demand of the law which includes both penal
sanctions and positive demands.
Christ came as man’s substitution under a curse and condemnation due to
sin but he also met all of the law’s positive requirements.
Christ was forged through a life of temptation, suffering and trial
which perfected his development and growth, preparing him to accept with will,
determination and volition his path towards the cross as our sacrifice.
We are beneficiaries of his perfection through union with Christ.
The nature of the atonement is best understood by the following
breakdown:
1) Sacrifice-the atonement is expiatory in nature. Sin has a liability and it must be paid. Christ
is our substitute.
Hebrews 13:10-13 shows Christ’s sacrifice as a form of sin offering.
2) Propitiation-a word meaning “to cover”. It has a sense of cleansing and forgiveness
or to appease and placate. Propitiation
presupposes wrath and displeasure of God.
God does not turn wrath into love through propitiation but because of
his love he authored the plan of salvation. The atonement, from our
perspective, enhances the love of God because of its great price. God is the
one who appeases his own wrath. To deny propitiation is to deny the atonement
itself.
3) Reconciliation-We are alienated from God through sin and this needs
to be removed. It is not our enmity against God which is removed, but his
alienation from us that is repaired. Reconciliation
is a work of the past, it has already been accomplished. The removal of the
alienation is bought through the blood of Christ.
4) Redemption- Christ secured our ransom, our release through the
substitutionary price which was the giving of his life. Ransom supposes bondage
or captivity and it is that which we are redeemed from.
a) We are not
redeemed from the law; created beings are always under the law of God.
b) We are redeemed
from the curse of the law and its penal sanction.
c) Christ has
adopted us and just as he fulfilled the requirements of the law. As we are joined to him in adoption, so also
do we enjoy the benefits of that which he has done.
d) Christ has redeemed us from the necessity of
keeping the law as a means of salvation through it.
e) Christ redeems
us from sin and its bondage. Not only
are we justified, found innocent in front of the law, but we are saved from its
defilement and power.
Christ died for us, but in a sense, we, as believers have died in him
and now as a result of that we can begin a process of sanctification.
Although we are discussing the atonement of a personal level, there is
a definite sense in which the atonement was the work that broke the power of
the god of this world and is the first step in ultimately removing sin from the
created realm.
Commentary: Substitutionary atonement is not something that is popular in today's world or even in Christianity itself. Many do not like to think of man under the bondage of sin or that a loving God exhibits wrath against that which offends His holiness. Despite how we may feel uncomfortable thinking of ourselves as sinners who commit sin, or how non-modern these concepts are, deep down man knows that in a sense, we live in a broken world. We may not want to admit that we are a part of that brokenness, but we know it to be true if we give it much honest thought. If we can admit that much then we must decided whether we alone can save ourselves or if there must be another way. The Bible tells us that the price of imperfection, however slight, is too great an abyss for man to cross on his own. Thank God for His amazing love that determined before the foundation of the world that He alone would provide the means of our salvation, no matter the infinite price it would cost. Christ truly is our SACRIFICE, our PROPITIATION, the one who RECONCILES and our REDEEMER.
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