|
Introduction
One of the greatest doctrines of the New Testament is the
sacrifice of our Lord as our substitute. Without it there would
be no reconciliation, justification, redemption, sanctification,
cleansing from sin, or eternal security. This doctrine has
given to thousands of saints quietness in the hour of death, and
comfort when the enemy assails causing them to question their
salvation. It seems to me that if the saints understood the
glory of substitution and its accompanying doctrines, there
would be fewer who would question such a precious truth.
There are words we use to describe biblical truths which are not
found in the scriptures such as “trinity” or “rapture”.
Substitution and expiation are two such words not found in most
translations, although expiation is the translation of the RSV
in Rom. 3:25; 1 Jn. 2:2, 4:10.
|
It is necessary to define such terms for speakers often speak of
the expiating or substituting work of the Lord, possibly
assuming all know what is meant. However, many do not know the
meaning of the terms, especially “expiating”. Some get
“expiating” or “expiation” confused with expiring or expediting,
both of which are totally different. Christ expedited
the purposes of God, that is, He advanced them by His work. He
expired on the cross when He dismissed His spirit, but
these are not expiation. Simply put: |
|
|
a) |
Propitiation is the appeasing of God’s righteous judgment
against sin. |
|
|
b) |
Expiation is the removal of guilt and punishment because the
execution of judgment has already been meted out. This can only
be done if propitiation has been to God’s satisfaction. |
|
|
c) |
Substitution is the one bearing the punishment of another. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Illustration: |
|
|
a) |
Many years ago my car broke down at the traffic lights. The
four way emergency lights were blinking so the car was clearly
seen. While I went to get help my wife and children stayed in
the car. Suddenly, a very large truck ran into the back of the
car and it was totalled. The fellow was brought to court and
given a fine. He payed the fine, and the law was satisfied.
That was expiation. The sentence was passed and punishment
executed. |
|
|
b) |
However, I was not pleased. The law was satisfied but I was not
propitiated, for the punishment was not to my satisfaction. I
then had to rent a car, look for another car, and getting a loan
have several years of payments. For me to be satisfied with the
punishment would have meant a car provided free of charge and
another car of equal value given to me. Had that happened I
would have been propitiated. |
Neither expiation or propitiation are concerned with who the
judgment is executed upon, however, righteousness is. The
question then becomes: “Was it righteous for
God to punish the innocent for what they had not done, and give
opened ended forgiveness to the guilty?” Naturally speaking it
was not righteous. Consider the following. If I had two
children, one was an obedient child and the other a disobedient
rascal. If I had told them both not to touch my computer and
then discovered the disobedient one not only had touched it but
had wiped material off. Would it be righteous for me to
discipline the obedient child for what they had not done and let
the rascal go free? How then was it righteous for God to do
that very thing in Christ being chastised for my
transgressions? The answer is in the fact that had the obedient
child volunteered to bear the punishment out of love for the
other, then it would have been perfectly just. God’s salvation
was not that which was obtained by the end justifying the means,
it was a righteous work, becoming to His own person and
character. Our Lord was never coerced into being a substitute.
In the words of the prophet he said: “Here am I; send me” (Isa.
6:8), and again: “I come to do thy will” (Heb. 10:9).
God’s love leads to an activity of mercy seen in expiation and
propitiation, after which grace is manifested in the blessings of
forgiveness, etc.
In this paper the concern will be basically on the differentiating and
working together of “expiation”, “propitiation”, and “substitution”,
with particular emphasis on “substitution”.
The Questions
|
1) |
There are those who teach that since God is the God of love,
everyone will go to heaven. It is called “universalism”. There
is another which teaches that Christ died, but only for the
elect, and it is called “limited atonement”. It is my
understanding that they both distort the character of God: |
|
|
|
a) |
“Universalism” focuses on the love of God, but then whither in
part or in whole, ignores His justice. It must be observed that
before it ever says: “God is love” (1 Jn. 4:8, 16), it says:
“God is Light” (1 Jn. 1:5). |
|
|
|
b) |
“Limited atonement” confuses Christ as the substitute and Christ
as the propitiation. The Holy Spirit informs us that: “Christ
is the propitiation . . . for the sins of the whole world”, but
does not say “Christ is the substitute . . . for the sins of the
whole world” (1 Jn. 2:2). Lockyer writes: “Christ is the
substitute of the believer, and becomes the sinners substitute
once he is accepted as Savior” (All the doctrines of the
Bible). That which ought to be preached in the gospel is the
truth of propitiation and the all sufficiency of the work of
Christ for every sinner gathered. It is not biblically correct
to preach a gospel which states Christ as their substitute.
Propitiation is the
message for the sinner, substitution is the message for the
saint. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
2) |
Since Christ bore the penalty for the sins of the whole world (1
Jn. 2:2), is it righteous of God, having executed judgment on
Christ, to execute judgment again on the unbeliever? I am
deeply grateful to God for every man, woman, or child who
presents the gospel to the unsaved, and to the many evangelists
and missionaries whose lives have been devoted to spreading the
gospel. However, there is an observation which is a universal
fact. A gospel preacher will have no problems with ignoring
context, original meanings of words, or stating that what he/she
is presenting is application and not interpretation. For
instance: “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God”
(Rom. 3:23) is often used to prove the sinfulness of man, yet
this is not the meaning in its context. Paul has dealt with the
sinfulness of man from ch. 1:21-3:19, and then begins to show
the way of salvation for everyone is the same, for all need it
(Rom. 3:20-4:25). It is in this section we read Rom. 3:23. The
problem arises when the application becomes the interpretation,
and this has happened with the truth of substitution. |
|
|
|
a) |
There is no scriptural foundation to preach to the unsaved that
“Jesus is your substitute”. |
|
|
|
b) |
There is scriptural foundation to preach to the unsaved that He
is willing to be such, and ready to be such, there is sufficient
in Him and His work to be such, and He alone is the
“propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for
the sins of
the whole world” (1 Jn. 2:2). Propitiation is not
substitution. Through the work of Christ mercy can be extended
to those who put faith in His blood through His propitiatory
work (Rom. 3:25). |
|
|
|
|
|
|
3) |
If Christ were the substitute for every sinner of Adam’s race,
then it would be very unrighteous for God to punish a second
time and it would necessitate universal salvation. That is, no
one could be banished to the Lake of fire and all would be saved
whither they accepted it or not! It is a little misunderstood
fact that only those who are saved can say: “Christ is my
substitute”. Thank God we who are saved can sing with assurance
the words of Toplady: |
|
|
If Thou hast my discharge procured,
And freely in my place endured
The whole of wrath divine,
Payment God will not twice demand,
First at my bleeding Surety's hand,
And then again at mine. |
What Was, Is, and Will Be Accomplished By His
Substitutionary Work?
|
Luke is the gospel of death for in it there is the record of the
deaths of a poor man and a rich man (Lk. 16:22); a little girl (Lk.
8:42); and those on whom the tower in Siloam fell (Lk. 13:4).
With that in mind, when reading of the transfiguration Dr. Luke
informs his readers that Moses
and Elijah spake of “His decease which He should accomplish” (Lk.
9:31). None of the other deaths could be said to be an
accomplishment or accomplish anything. Every one was a reminder
of man’s failure and sin. Rich is the truth, the work of
our Lord was an accomplishment laying the foundation for
multiple blessings. He was the only human who ever accomplished
anything by His vicarious sufferings for sin and death. By that
death the Lord: |
|
|
a) |
Laid the foundation to destroy him that had the power of death.
(Heb. 2:14) |
|
|
b) |
Fulfilled the purpose for which He came: “to seek and to save
that which was lost”. (Lk. 19:10) |
|
|
c) |
Ratified the new covenant. (1Cor. 11:25) |
|
|
d) |
Made available: |
|
|
|
|
i) |
Justification (Rom. 5:1) |
|
|
|
|
ii) |
Sanctification and redemption (1 Cor. 1:30) |
What Were The Characteristics of The
Substitutionary Sacrifice of Our Lord?
|
The sacrificial sufferings and death of the Lord are unique in
the annals of eternity. No other sacrifice: |
|
|
a) |
Satisfied the justice and holiness of God. |
|
|
|
|
i) |
There used to be a hymn sung: |
|
|
|
|
|
“Such was the sacrifice He made, the law could ask no more,
For not a mite was left unpaid when He my judgment bore”.
|
|
|
|
|
|
When an individual accepts the finished work of the Lord, they
are justified, gloriously free from the condemnation of the law
of God. Paul writes: “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of
the law, being made (ginomai) a curse for us” (Gal. 3:13);
again: “made Him to be sin for us. . . that we might be made (ginomai)
the righteousness of God” (2 Cor. 5:21). Divine justice has
been executed on Christ, propitiation is available for the
whosoever will, but it is only upon “them that believe” (Rom.
3:22). |
|
|
b) |
Enabled full reconciliation in its effects (Rom. 5:10). (The
word ought to, by context and language, be “reconciliation”.) |
|
|
c) |
A ransom. (1Tim. 2:6) |
|
|
d) |
A manifestation of the love of the Lord for the Father. (Jn.
14:31) |
|
|
e) |
A manifestation of the loyalty and devotion of the Lord to the
will of God. (Heb. 10:5-7) |
|
|
f) |
A manifestation of the love of the Lord for His own. (Gal.
2:20) |
|
|
g) |
A manifestation of the love of God for humanity. (Rom. 5:6-10) |
The Word “For”
This italicized section on the word “for” is
somewhat technical so unless one wants to
consider the prepositions it can be skipped.
When we humans read a paper or listen to a
speaker we interpret the words by their
context. Take
for instance the word “shirt”. It can mean a
piece of clothing for the upper body; indicate
to a person not to lose their temper, to lose
ones possessions, or indicate ultimate
generosity. Therefore, in the consideration of
the word “for” context must be taken into
consideration. Secondly, the word must be
understood, not from our understanding from our
mother tongue, but from the Greek of the New
Testament. The English word “for” is the
translation of at least three Greek words,
“gar”, “huper”, or “anti”, with each having its
own shade of meaning.
The word “gar” indicates “a reason” as in: “For
that which is conceived in her” (Matt. 1:20).
“Huper” can indicate “on
behalf of” as “pray for (huper) them which
despitefully use you” (Matt. 5:44), or “for the
purpose of” as when the Lord said: “This
sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of
God” (Jn. 11:4).
At times the words “gar” and “huper” are used in
the one verse as when Paul wrote: “For when we
were yet without strength, Christ died for the
ungodly” (Rom. 5:6). The first “for” is “gar”,
the second “for” is “huper”, which in this case
means “in place of”; also (Jn. 18:14; Gal.
2:20).
The third word “anti” means “in the place of”.
This is the word used when it is written: “When
he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judaea in
the room (anti) of his father” (Matt. 2:22), or
“Give His life a ransom for (anti) many” (Matt.
20:28).
It will be evident that the word “huper” (on
behalf of) is the word most often used of the
sufferings and death of the Lord (Lk. 22:20; Jn.
6:51, 15:13; Rom. 5:6, 8; 8:32; 2 Cor. 5:14, 21;
Gal. 3:13; Heb. 2:9; 1 Pet. 3:18). However, at
times “huper” (on behalf of”) is used as the
equivalent of “anti” (in the place of) (Phm.
1:13 and 2 Cor. 5:14) as the contexts show. In
the context of the clauses: “Raised again for
our justification” (Rom. 4:25); “Who gave
Himself for our sins” (Gal. 1:4); “Christ died
for our sins” (1 Cor. 15:3); even though the
preposition is “huper” yet it evidently has the
truth of “anti”, “in the stead of”, that is “in
the place of”.
In that lovely picture of Abraham and Isaac,
Abraham offered the ram “for a burnt offering in
the stead (Heb. “Tachath” which is the
equivalent to “anti”) of his son (Gen. 22:13);
Eve called her son Seth who was given “instead”
(tachath) of Abel (Gen. 4:25).
Those who are Greek scholars all indicate that
“huper” must be determined by context as to
whither it signifies “for the benefit of” or “in
the place of”. Robertson, in his book “A
Grammar of the Greek New Testament”, writes: “In
the papyri a huper often bore the sense of
“instead of”. Collecting all the usages of the
words it is my understanding that anti specifies
only the idea of substitution, whereas
huper may include both, “in the interest of” and
substitution. Huper indicates Christ suffered
and died on behalf of all humanity therefore, is
the “propitiation for the sins of the whole
world” (1 Jn. 2:2) indicating the Lord suffered
and died in the interests, on behalf of the
unsaved and also as their substitute?
What is propitiation? Concisely put,
propitiation is the holy justice of God being
executed so that His anger against the sinner is
satisfied. If the work of salvation was put in
a chronological order, it would be divine love
caused the mercy and grace of God to flow out in
giving Christ to make propitiation through His
work on the cross, and be available to be the
substitute for all who would accept Him.
Why
Must God Punish Sin?
God
does not punish disobedience because He has the
authority to make demands and punish attitudes
and behavior unacceptable to Him.
|
God does punish disobedience because: |
|
|
a) |
His holiness is perfection and He is perfect, therefore to
ignore the attitude or behavior manifested, would indicate He
put little value on His holiness. |
|
|
b) |
His righteousness, moral sense, demands retribution for the
wrongs committed. |
|
|
c) |
It is the only way by which the flood gates of His love, mercy,
and grace can be wide opened and bring blessing to all who
desire salvation. |
|
|
|
|
May God grant us good understanding as He, by His
Holy Spirit, deigns to guide us into all truth.
John 16:13
Rowan Jennings, Abbotsford,
British Columbia
|