Facets of the Atonement

“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45).

What happened at the cross? Over the centuries theologians have proposed numerous ways of understanding what Christ accomplished on the cross. People have argued vehemently in support of various “theories of the atonement.” In recent years, though, most theologians are realizing that there is an element of truth in many of these theories and that we should consider them together to get a complete understanding of the atonement.

“Not all theories of the atonement can be justified biblically. Some are incompatible with others, and many, while having an element of truth, are not adequate explanations of how salvation is accomplished. All of them, however, are illuminating and in some way widen our knowledge of this profound subject.”¹

The atonement is like a fine diamond; it has many sides, many facets that gleam differently as we turn to look at it first from this angle, then from another. So we’ll look at a few of the prominent theories and see how the different facets reflect God’s glory and grace to us.

The death of Christ as an example. “To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps” (1Pet 2:21). Jesus taught that we should turn the other cheek and go the extra mile. He said, “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness” (Matt 5:10). He showed us just how far we should be willing to take that by going to the cross where “when he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly” (1Pet 2:23).

The cross as demonstration of God’s love. “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom 5:8). The cross shows us just how far God’s love for us goes. Once we understand the depths of our sin, the love shown at the cross should leave us speechless. And it should fill us with confidence. “What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” (Rom 8:31-32).

The cross as Christ’s victory over evil. When the forces of evil coaxed Man to sin, they gained a foothold on the earth and authority over humanity. “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Eph 6:12). At the cross, Christ took all of that back. “And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross” (Col 2:15). Then God “raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come” (Eph 1:20-21). Though for now sin and death and the dark powers that are loose in the world can still harm us in their death throes, the war is over, and we have victory in Christ Jesus.

The cross as payment of our debt to God. Substitutionary atonement, the idea that Christ died to satisfy the wrath of God, to pay the penalty for our sin, is frequently attacked today as not only bloody and petty but also as new. Though the modern formulation has its roots in Anselm’s satisfaction theory, it really only became what we know today in the time of the Reformation. But that doesn’t mean the idea of Christ paying for our sin hasn’t been part of Christian teaching since the beginning.

Jesus was introduced as “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). In Hebrews, the death of Christ is likened to the Day of Atonement (9:1-15). Peter said of Jesus, “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness” (1Pet 2:24). And one of the earliest statements of faith of the fledgling church was “Christ died for our sins” (1Cor 15:3). Christ and the apostles pointed to Isaiah’s prophecy of the suffering servant in relation to Christ’s death: 

But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed (Is 53:5).

“... [S]ubstitution is not a ‘theory of the atonement.’ Nor is it even an additional image to take its place as an option alongside the others. It is rather the message of each image and the heart of the atonement itself.”²

Together, these facets give us a fuller understanding of the atonement than any one theory can. Erickson sums up the picture created:

In his death Christ (1) gave us a perfect example of the type of dedication God desires of us, (2) demonstrated the great extent of God’s love, (3) underscored the seriousness of sin and the severity of God’s righteousness, (4) triumphed over the forces of sin and death, liberating us from their power, and (5) rendered satisfaction to the Father for our sins. All of these things we as humans needed done for us, and Christ did them all.³

This brief article can barely scratch the surface. I recommend John Stott’s The Cross of Christ to everyone.

1 Norman Geisler, Systematic Theology
2 John Stott, The Cross of Christ
3 Millard Erickson, Introducing Christian Doctrine

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Part of Christianity 101