“But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 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, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” – Romans 3:21-26
As we continue to study and expand our knowledge of our great God in this Knowing God series, it’s been good and healthy to recently examine Christ’s role and work as the only Mediator between God and man. Children, do you remember why Jesus came to earth? He came to do all that was necessary to save His people from their sins. Remember that He was named “Jesus” because “Jesus” is the Greek equivalent of “Joshua”, which means “Yahweh is salvation” or “Yahweh saves”. (Matthew 1:21)
The salvation that Christ accomplished through the sacrifice of Himself was long displayed through the types and shadows of the Old Testament sacrificial system. This is proven time and again in Scripture in a variety of ways. Those sacrifices were specifically called types and shadows of which Jesus is the body and pattern (Hebrews 9:13-24). Jesus affirms that the law and prophets spoke of Him and His work (Luke 24:27, John 1:45). Christ is declared to be “our Passover sacrificed for us” (1 Corinthians 5:7). Jesus is also declared to be sacrificed for His people as a sin offering to take away our sins (Hebrews 9:26). Finally, He is the one who fully accomplishes for His elect what the sacrifices did on a lesser level (Matthew 20:28, 1 John 2:2, Galatians 3:13).
The writer to the Hebrews teaches you in Hebrews 2:17, “Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.” Observe how the Apostle Paul teaches you in Romans 3 that God the Father set Jesus forth “as a propitiation by His blood”, and the writer here speaks of Jesus, as your merciful and faithful High Priest, “making propitiation for the sins of the people”. Now, some of you are familiar with what the word “propitiation” means. Some of you may heard it before, but it’s just one of the big, $5 theology words that flies over your head. If the former is true for you, let’s contemplate Christ’s work more in this devotion. If the latter is true for you, let me bring the word “propitiation”, as well as the word “expiation” down to earth for you and briefly explain the great things they communicate. For both of these truths are wonderful in growing to understand and praise Christ for as you further your study and deepen your knowledge of Him and His work for you in your redemption.
Know that these two words, “propitiation” and “expiation”, are connected. Biblically speaking, expiation refers to the taking away guilt through the payment of a penalty or the offering of an atonement. Propitiation refers to the object of the expiation. There is a sense in which propitiation has to do with God being satisfied and appeased. Know that the Greek word for “propitiation” that Paul uses in Romans 3 can also refer to the “mercy seat”, or the “place of propitiation” as the mercy seat was on the lid of the ark of the covenant. It was the place where the sprinkled blood of a vicarious lamb appeased God’s wrath on sin. See the wonderful connection that shadow provides as Scripture teaches you that Jesus came as a propitiation to make propitiation. He came out of great love and took on flesh so that He could be your penal substitute. He came so your sins would be justly imputed to His account and He suffered the penalty for them all. He came that through the shedding of His blood, He offered a perfect and satisfactory sacrifice of Himself that appeased the wrath of God against His people, making full atonement, and bringing about true reconciliation.
Francis Turretin says it well in his work, The Perfection of the Atonement, when he writes, “The doctrine for which we contend is; that Christ hath so perfectly satisfied divine justice for all our sins; by one offering of himself: and not only for our guilt; but also for both temporal and eternal punishment; that henceforth there are no more propitiatory offerings to be made for sin: and that though; for the promotion of their penitence and sanctification; God often chastises his people; yet no satisfaction is to be made by them either in this or a future state of existence.”
Considering this, it’s right to say that expiation is the act that results in the change of God‘s attitude towards you. What Jesus did on the cross, and the result of His work of expiation is propitiation—God‘s anger is turned away. Study and meditate on the following passages that give you much comfort and assurance of Christ’s work:
- In John 1:29, the Apostle John teaches you that when John the Baptist saw Jesus, he exclaimed, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”
- Again, in speaking to why Jesus came in His incarnation, John says 1 John 3:5 “And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin.”
- Speaking of the excellencies of Christ and his finished work, the writer says in Hebrews 1:3-4 “who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.”
Beloved, I pray that the doctrines of propitiation and expiation not only become an informed part of your vocabulary, but that the love, mercy, and riches of Christ and His work that they communicate fuel and expand your love and praise of Him, doing so with growing understanding. (Psalm 47:7) My prayer is also that these doctrines will fuel and inform your fellowship and encouragement of one another, along with your evangelism in the details of how you share the person and work of Christ with the lost.