(1) The act of mercy, whereby Jesus takes on God's wrath, in our place and makes appeasement, bringing us peace is called propitiation.  (2) The term for Jesus Christ removing our sin from us and, thus, cleansing from all sin we committed and sin committed against us is called expiation.  Together this, accumulative free mercy, ushers in for us justification or complete atonement.  At this point we are at perfect peace and in perfect purity, in God, the Judges sight.  (3) The last basic accomplishment of Jesus' death is adoption.  We are positively clothed in Jesus' righteousness and made legitimate sons and daughters of God our Father.  At this point we are not merely at peace and cool with God but He actually adopts us and greatly loves us and lavishes this love on us with full intensity in Jesus Christ as free grace.

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       (1) Propitiation: The best Old Testament example of propitiation is that of the Passover lamb and of the first goat concerning the celebration of the Day of Atonement.   When God was delivering the children of Israel out from under the bondage of Egypt (First dozen chapters of the book of Exodus) is when we learn about the Passover lamb.  God declared that He was about to kill every first-born child in the land of Egypt.  God also stated the only way to escape this was to kill a spotless lamb and smear its blood on your doorpost.  Whoever did this God would "pass-over" their household and no one would be killed by God that night.  This is what Jesus Christ did, He took the blow of death for us in our place.  Therefore, all who trust in Him God's wrath then passes-over them and they are safe. 

       This is similar to the first goat on the Day of Atonement.  The high priest slits its throat and murders it so that it is killed and not the people. Why kill the goat in bloodshed, "because of their transgressions, for all their sin."[1]  This means they should have died in bloodshed, but the goat took it instead as a foreshadowing for what Jesus was going to do.  God's wrath is on the goat and not on the people who actually did the sinning.  Jesus is this for all believers. 

       This why in the gospels and New Testament epistles you hear of God's wrath and being saved from it.  God's wrath is coming to all who sin.  Romans 1:18, "The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness."  Likewise John the Baptists speaks in this manner, Luke 3:7, "[John the Baptist] began saying to the crowds who were going out to be baptized by him, "You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?"  Jesus Himself famously said: John 3:36, "He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him."  In basic phrasing, to sum up this doctrine, Jesus would often would speak in this simple form, "Your sins are forgiven."[2]  This phrasing in the bible is referred to propitiation and or propitiation and expiation together.

       (2) Expiation: For the second goat (called the escape goat) the high priest laid his hands on it while confessing the sins of the people.  This was the act in which the sins of the people were legally transferred to the goat in the sight of God.  At this point it was now the goat who was the: liar, adulterer, cheater, gossiper, murderer, hypocrite and everything else we were.  Then the goat was driven away from the camp or temple of the Israelite's to wander in rejection in the lonely wilderness.  This was a symbol to show that sins were now taken away from us so much so that the goat was tangibly cursed and so must be sent away from God, for no cursed and defiled thing shall enjoy God's presence. 

       This is why in Hebrews 13:12 it says Jesus Christ " suffered outside the gate" of Jerusalem, so that "He might sanctify the people with His own blood."   He was "cursed"[3] for us in place, therefore, like the escape goat who had the sins of the people imputed and transferred to it, so to Jesus has to be drive outside of the blessed city, because He was cursed both in God eye's.

       Also in, the Old Testament law, the children of Israel constantly had to wash themselves, their houses and items.  But why?  It was a symbol to show that one day God was going to permanently and eternally wash clean all their dirty souls who believe and honor the Name of Jesus Christ.

       This cleansing is so thorough that even sins committed against you such as childhood abuse, rape or all other mistreatings are completely cleansed and your whole soul healed.  This is the glory, which belongs to the Great Physician that both the sins we willingly violate our own souls with and the sins of others who sin against us, which adds to the filth of our souls are perfectly cleansed by, the Son of God.  Jesus is the Heavenly escape goat who was cursed in order to cleans us and remove all our sins from us!

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       Our glorious Lord Jesus Christ in His Propitiation and Expiation, on the cross, accomplishes for us complete atonement and or justification before God the Judge.  One common expression of this accomplishment by Jesus is stated in this manner: payment or debt.  By looking at atonement in this way is helpful in that it makes this doctrine more tangible and teachable for us to understand what happened when Jesus died for us.  Jesus tells us to even pray that God would forgive us of our "debts."[4]  All our sin and failures and the consequence of them are like a gigantic debt that Jesus Christ, with the life payment of His blood and suffering, completely pays in full.  We are now freed and no longer in the negative and so are at perfect peace with God our Creditor who is now happy with us.

       Also when you read the Old Testaments prophets you will often times see mixed together long explanations of the coming messiah coming to save, redeem, bring in mercy, healing in His wings and forgiveness.  These will also be thrown in with such analogies as God will no longer be to His people Master but Husband and they live in perfect happiness with Him in His Holy temple.  There is some difficulties in this, because to the untrained eye these all look so similar, which in some ways they are.  Although, these are intertwined, yet with discernment one is able understand to which particular accomplishment they belong in Jesus' gloriously saving of us.

       Exodus 19:4, 'You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to Myself."  This verse spoken by Yahweh to Moses and the children of Israel on Mt. Sinai is a prototype concerning what His Son, Jesus, was going to do in His saving of the world.  Yahweh delivered this nation from bondage and slavery, all by Himself, with mighty power and wisdom.  This is like a summery of atonement, for God killed all the first-born sons of Egypt and thousands of lambs were slaughtered, while Yahweh passed-over the Israelites in mercy.  Then victoriously killed the whole army of Egypt with ease, just like Jesus triumph over the Devil and the grave.  Yet, our verse does not stop here.  Yahweh says that He did this and much more, for He bore them "on eagles wings and brought [them] to [Himself]."  This leads us to our last section concerning adoption.  Jesus goes beyond delivering us from hell and slavery of sin, but brings us to Himself as our Husband and Heavenly Brother.  Great is the glory of our God.

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           (3) Adoption: Ephesians 1:5-6, "[God] predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He has made us accepted in the Beloved."  The "Beloved" is Jesus Christ.  God our Father shows His great love toward us in that He, before time began to insure His love would forever cover us, "predestined" the whole church to "adoption."  There is no love story as grand, deep and timeless as God's great love to such worthless people.  But notice the depth of this "predestining."  Adam was a son of God by creation yet God goes deeper than this in our adoption.  Jesus Christ in the truest since has the infinite love of the Father on Him, for He is the only begotten Son of God.  Jesus is the outshining of the Father's glory and holiness.  Jesus rightly has all the love and immutable delight of the Father.  But God adopted us as sons "in Christ", He who is the "Beloved" of the Father, therefore, we are much more made sons of God than what Adam was!

       Adam was called a "son of God"[5], yet because of Adam's sin and our sinning we forfeit this blessing and are mutilated into sons of the Devil.  Jesus was quite frank about this reality, "You are of your father the devil."[6] 

            In Jesus Christ's act in saving us from the wrath of God and the penalty of being cursed, all He needed to do is be our propitiation and expiation.  Yet, our glorious God and Savior did not stop here, but He actually made us into sons of God.  But do not mistakenly think that our son-ship is the same as Adams son-ship.  Here is Jonathan Edwards to help us here:           

"Though Adam was in a stare of friendship with God, and has communion with God by having His Spirit, His perfect image, and an uninterrupted conversation with God, yet he had not, nor never would have had that communion with Christ the Mediator as believers have and are to have.  Adam was not a partaker with Christ of His relation to the Father.  [Adam] was [God's] son by creation, and in that he had God's image and was the object of God's Fatherly love, yet he was not the son of God by being a member of His only begotten Son, and so was not a partaker of the Father's love to His Son and was not a heir with [Christ]. ...[Adam] would not have been a partaker with Christ the Mediator in His glory; he would not have been glorified together with Him as a member, and partook of the same joy and pleasure as a member with the head. ... so neither would [Adam]  have bad that intimate and familiar [friendship] with [Jesus] as believers will have in heaven."[7]

       There are many ways in which the bible describes and talks about this idea of the church being adopted as eternal sons and daughters of God in Christ.  I personally like the term "much more" used in the book of Romans chapter 5.  Not only did Jesus Christ our God and Savior provided forgiveness of our sins, cleansing for our souls and even reconciled us to friendship with God, but went above this and did "much more."  Below are a few ways in which is this describe in the bible.           

       (1) Theologically, when the bible speaks of this adoption it centers on the concept of imputed righteousness, in particular the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ to us.  2 Corinthians 5:21, "[God the Father] made [Jesus] who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."  In this Jesus did not only pay of the Debt of sin we, by His suffering for us, but went beyond this and credit billions of dollars positively to our moral account.  Jesus Christ, being God Himself, who became a man and lived perfectly as a man had years of perfect human obedience given to God the Father.  Accordingly, out of mercy He then gave to all believers these 33 years of perfect human obedience to us as if we lived it!  We are so positively righteous that we shine like celestial stars of light in the heavens.  John 12:36 "While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light." These things Jesus spoke."

       (2) The Old Testament antitype leading us to this glorious reality is the friendship that people like Abraham, Moses and David had with God.  James 2:23, "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness." And he was called the friend of God."  David was said to be the man after God's own heart.  God said in, 1 Samuel 13:14, referring to David that, "The LORD has sought for Himself a man after His own heart."  Moses asked God to show him His glory.  God did; and He did it just like a friend would who interacts with another man in kindness.  God came down at one point and ate a dinner with Abraham as if they were long time comrades.[8]  This was to show a dim shimmer of the close friendship that man would have with God that would come as a result in what the promised Son of God would acquire in His accomplishment of His death and resurrection for mankind.

       (3) Inheritance is spoken for this same understanding of the "much more" that King Jesus gave in His marvelous mercy.  In, 1 Peter 1:4, he speaks of, "an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you."  Jesus not only paid of our sinful debts but also on top of this He gave us Himself.  In the giving of Himself, what Jesus means is that we become united to Him, as an eternal inheritance.  Jesus is the recipient of His own rewards for His prefect obedience to the Father.  Jesus always has the Fathers infinite love, but in His obedience to the Father, in His act of dying on the cross, did earned for Himself an infinite reward; this is so because it is right for Jesus to be reward for His actions.  God the Father spoke in this way to Jesus Christ, Psalm 2:8, "Ask of Me, and I will give You The nations for Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth for Your possession." Therefore, all who are united to Jesus receive this reward with Jesus Christ.  Furthermore, Jesus is the object of the Father's infinite (in the truest since infinite) love and delight.  All who are united to Jesus Christ as His bride and united as part of His body received His eternal and infinite rewards.  We will be able to intake all the infinity of the Father's love that our souls and glorified bodies are capable of, because we are in Christ!

            (4) Baptism is the symbolic teaching tool to help us understand both the atonement and in particular the resurrection.  What baptism teaches us is how we are mystically united to Jesus Christ and, thus, receive Him and all that He has.  I would say other than understanding the basic truth of Jesus being a propitiation for our sins, this understanding concerning what our "union" to Christ means is the next important aspect to know.  This union with our God and Savior shows and makes since for why we receive so many benefits.

       Romans 6:4, "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."

       Baptism explains to us that in Christ's death and resurrection we are united in Christ's mystical body.  1 Corinthians 6:15, "Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ?"  1 Corinthians 12:27, "Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually."  He is the vine we are the branches.  Jesus said in, John 15:5, "I am the vine, you are the branches; for without Me you can do nothing."

       What is being taught is the intense closeness that believers have by being connected to their God and Savior Jesus Christ.  If Jesus Christ is in a perfect physical human body, as the Head the church, then consequently all members of Christ's body will be given glorified physical bodies.  The incredible union of believers and Jesus means that they will share in the same goodness and blessedness that Jesus Christ has, as He is the Son of God and the center of the Father's delight.  Because we are part of the "body" of Jesus Christ means that the same veins that run in the head (Christ is head of the body) so to the rest of the body is blessed and strengthen with the same veins.  Jesus Christ being the head is the Supreme and is able enjoy the nutriment of the Holy Spirit best, but because we are part of His same body we to will have the overflow of the Holy Spirit in us.  Jesus Christ receives, in the truest since, the infinite pleasure of the Father poured into Himself, and therefore, we as members of His body will share in feeling this pleasure of the Father poured in infinite fullness.  Because Christ Jesus lives forever, so does the church, who is part of His body.  Jesus Christ will never leave any believer, because they are now part of His body and so Christ is always with and in them!  Because Jesus Christ experiences life in the fullest, so to all those who are united in His same body.  We are united to Christ like His husband, which leads us to our last point on this section.

            (5) Christ is our husband and we are His bride.  This is no mere teaching symbol like baptism, but is actual reality.  Much like our adoption, is actually reality, so is our marriage to the "Lamb of God", our Lord Jesus Christ.  Water Baptism is to serve us in helping us understand what it means to be united in Christ, that we are apart of Him, His bride, and adopted as son of the Most High.  The apostle Paul states this truth in the following manner, 2 Corinthians 11:2, "I am jealous for you with godly jealousy. For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ."  Marriage on earth is also, much like water baptism, as symbol to teach us about the extraordinary and marvelous union believers have by being made one into Jesus Christ, the eternal living fountain of Yahweh's glory, image, and happiness.  Ephesians 5:32, "[Marriage] is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church."  Marriage, therefore, was God's design to showcase the Glory of God in how He, saved and much more united the church it His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. 

            Heaven is often spoken of as a great feast, as a marriage feast of Jesus Christ and His church, which He personally provided forgiveness and cleansing for, in His bloodshed.  Revelation 19:9, "Then he said to me, "Write: 'Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!' " And he said to me, "These are the true sayings of God."

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            When the word "saved" is used it could mean just one single aspect of the one of the 3 main accomplishments Jesus' bloodshed or it could mean all 3 of the major accomplishments.  The manner to determine these things is to be very acquainted with all of the bible, from cover to cover, and reading the particular verse in context.  Sadly, many who claim the title of Christian or even teacher fulfills neither of these needed practices.

            Also I would like to point out to my readers this observation.  We need to preach both to ourselves and to the church all three of these major aspects of Jesus' accomplishments all the time.  For example I notice that the evangelical Charismatic side of the Church tends to preach very well on the Adoption that Jesus acquired for us, while the reformed church preaches better on the first two aspects.  Both sides of the church I believe could learn and be a benefit from each other here.  We must give justice and magnify all 3 of these accomplishes all the time.  The fame of our Lord Jesus Christ is at stake.  We magnify Him best in how often and thoroughly we preach all three of these accomplishes of Jesus' bloodshed.

            Also allow me to also give this observation.  Do not underestimate the importance of the doctrine of propitiation as compared to adoption just because there might seem to be more various examples teaching adoption in the bible.  I would encourage by reminding my readers to ponder the fact that when you pile together all the times the bible mentions God's anger or wrath, compare to the times that His love is mentioned, His wrath is spoken of more.  There is a reason Jesus Christ Himself spoke more of Hell than heaven!  We are not good people who are looking for that "much more" of blessing to add to our lives.  We are sinners, whom God is wrathful towards creating an eternal place called hell, so that all sinners may burn in suffering forever.  "We need to be saved." (Isaiah 64:3) We needed saving from this punishment, which is why Jesus looked so bloody on the cross, for He took this punishment for us in our place!

         Conclusion: I feel so thoroughly saved and secured being at rest in the death and resurrection of my Lord Jesus Christ.  There is no greater peace and happiness than living my faith daily in my Lord Jesus Christ.  I find the greatest act a Christian has been called to do here on earth is that we daily wrestle our faith and love on the glorious Person of Jesus Christ and really rest in what He actually accomplished for us in His death and resurrection.  How well are you doing this my friend?  Luke 7:47, "Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little."

    Romans 6:4, "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."

 

Sincerely Yours in Christ: Oshea Davis

 

(This is from Book I am working on: Jesus's Blood never fails me)

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 [1] Leviticus 16:16

 [2] Matthew 9:2

[3]  Galatians 3:13, "Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us. (For it is written, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree")"

 [4] Matthew 6:12

[5]   Luke 3:38, "Adam, the son of God."

 [6]John 8:44

 [7] Jonathan Edwards, " Christians Have Communion with Christ", found in Sermons on the Lord's Supper, by The Northampton Press, 2007, pages 147-148

[8]  Read Genesis 18:1-9