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Atonement

What was The lord doing about the cross?. It constitutes a search for understanding of one of the crucial events of human history, perhaps the crucial event. The whole New Testament focuses on the death, burial, and resurrection, events leading up to and flowing from it, its theological significance and ethical implications. We will focus on the deep significance with the [http://conspiracyparanormal.blogspot.com atonement], as explained from three perspectives: the dynamic, subjective, and objective views.

Dynamic view
The dynamic view sees Christ's death and resurrection since the climax of a cosmic conflict with Satan and the demonic forces of evil. Christ came because the Second Adam (Romans 5:18-19), winning the competition that Adam failed. He also came since the new Israel, faithfully keeping submitting to God instead of to Satan as the first Israel tried (Matthew 2:15; 4:4; etc.). Immediately after His baptism, the Spirit "drove" (Greek: ekballei) Him to the wilderness so that He might confront Satan (Mark 1:12). His victory there was clearly only one of what must have been many battles, for Luke records that Satan left Him until "an opportune time" (Luke 4:13).

During His ministry Jesus offered His ability to cast out demons as a demonstration that He was stronger than Satan. Although He described Satan like a "strong man," He claimed the opportunity to "bind" the strong man and despoil his possessions (i.e., people who were demon-possessed). His ability to cast out demons "by the finger of God" He presented as proof the arrival of God's kingdom on the planet (Luke 12:20-22). Jesus got His disciples mixed up in warfare; their successful preaching, healing, and exorcism mission He afterward described as the fall of Satan from heaven (Luke 10:18).

Satan was behind the betrayal of Jesus by Judas (John 13:2, 27), his abandonment through the other apostles (Luke 22:31-32), as well as his trial and murder (John 8:40-41, 44). Jesus recognized Satan as His principal enemy, and also before His death, He am confident of victory he spoke of it as a fait accompli (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11, 32). The moment before His death Christ Himself uttered the triumphant words, "It is finished" (John 19:30; compare Luke 12:50). The glorious resurrection is proof that His death would be a victory and not a defeat (Revelation 3:21).

As part of his confrontation with false teaching at Colossae, Paul presents the cross and resurrection as a conquer spiritual enemies. The Colossians were at risk of being deceived by a syncretistic blend of Judaistic legalism, Hellenistic philosophy, and Eastern mysticism. Apparently the heretical teachers weren't advocating a rejection of Jesus, however they denied Him the primacy and only intermediary beings. "Go beyond Jesus to greater realities," they might have taught. Paul replies that there are nothing beyond Jesus Christ, in whom God's fullness dwells. He it's Who "disarmed the powers and authorities, [making] a public spectacle of these, triumphing over them by the cross" (Colossians 2:15).

Not merely did Christ conquer Satan, demons, principalities, and powers. Younger crowd conquered death (Acts 2:24; Revelation 5:5-6). Paul uses militaristic terms to go over the resurrection, e.g., "destroyed" and "victory" (1 Corinthians 15:24-26, 54-56).

Because Christ has triumphed as our representative, we share with His triumph (hence the super-conquerors of Romans 8:37). In Ephesians 4:8 Paul applies Psalm 68:19 to Christ's triumph, picturing Christ being a conquering general returning to Rome for a victory parade: "When he ascended on high, he led captives in his train and gave gifts to men." The ensuing passage explains the gifts He gave will be the offices for building up the church. The captives are bypassed, but Colossians 2:15 seems suitable commentary.

In 2 Corinthians 2:14, Paul states that "God... always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and thru us spreads everywhere the fragrance from the knowledge of him." In cases like this the apostles (see 1 Corinthians 4:9), and perhaps all Christians, are probably the type of following along behind--themselves conquered, and yet joyously sharing in the victory celebration. Our struggle against Satan and demonic forces continues (Ephesians 6:12). As they is victorious, we also can be victorious (Revelation 3:21; 1 John 2:14-15; 4:4; 5:4-5).

Subjective view
It is true that we are the subjects of His daring rescue (Colossians 1:13-14), but we participate. This is the subjective nature with the atonement: it transforms us. While we are united with Christ through faith-repentance-baptism, God's Spirit begins the whole process of transforming us from one degree of glory to another (2 Corinthians 3:18).

The Spirit, Himself the guarantee that this beginning will reach its intended end (Ephesians 1:13-14), actually starts to produce His fruit inside our hearts (Galatians 5:22-23) as we cooperate by "walking within the Spirit" and being "led by the Spirit" (Romans 8:4, 14; Galatians 5:16). The metamorphosis isn't automatic; it takes constant mental concentration even as count ourselves dead to sin and alive to God (Romans 6:11). Additionally, it requires continual moral striving, even as refuse to let sin dominate us, yielding the individuals our bodies to righteousness instead of to sin (Romans 6:12-13).

It's a battle we fight, yet Paul assures us, "[S]in will have no dominion over you" (Romans 6:14). The struggle leads to holiness and the end is eternal life (Romans 6:22). When Christ returns, on the eschaton, the Spirit will have performed His work in us: "[W]e shall be like Him, for we shall see Him while he is" (1 John 3:2).

Though this is work that changes us from within and in which we ourselves participate, the financing still belongs to God, because it is His work being done in us and thru us. He is the one that will bring it to completion tomorrow (Philippians 1:6). Meanwhile, we image Christ these days. He was our representative inside the cosmic conflict; we are His representatives in the existential struggle against the world, the flesh, and the Devil.

Objective view
Yet Christ's death is a lot more than what he did for (hyper) us (see Mark 14:24; Luke 22:19-20) and what he does in (en) us (see Colossians 1:27). In addition, it involves what He did instead of (anti) us (see Matthew 20:28; Mark 10:45)---the objective take a look at the atonement. In fact, many believe that the substitutionary nature of the atonement is an essential aspect of all.

Several types of the substitutionary atonement come from Genesis. The word used in 1 John 3:12 to explain Cain's murder of his brother will be the word for "slaughter" (Greek: esphaxen), as with the offering of a sacrifice. It's led some to view our planet's first murder, recorded in Genesis 4:8, since the offering of a substitute sacrifice. In effect, Cain may have said, "So, You didn't like my vegetables being an offering? Let's see how You like THIS! (slash)." The murder certainly involved the shedding of his brother's blood, for it cried out from the ground against the perpetrator (Genesis 4:10).

Once the angel stops Abraham from stabbing Isaac to death, Abraham finds a ram caught in a nearby thicket that he can offer instead of (Septuagint: anti) his son (Genesis 22:12-13). The passage assumes that some sacrifice must be offered, and the one is replaced by the other.

[http://conspiracyparanormal.blogspot.com abductions] - More than a hundred years later, when Joseph's testing of his brothers developed a crisis situation involving the enforced servitude of Benjamin, Judah stepped forward and freely offered himself as an alternative for his brother (Genesis 44:18-34, especially not the Septuagint's usage of anti in v. 33). In cases like this also, some substitute needed to be provided. There was no potential for mere escape from the demands from the master.

Yet all three of these are one-for-one substitutions, just like the "eye-for-eye" provisions of the Law. Christ's sacrifice (one for many) is more like the sin offering in behalf of all the people or the sacrifice from the goat on the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 4:13-21; 16:15-19). He is the "atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours, but also for the sins of the whole world" (1 John 2:2). He could be the "Lamb of God, Who removes the sins of the world" (John 1:29).

One for the world? How can that be just? Its justice depends upon the identity of the Sacrifice. Just one human deserves infinite punishment due to sins. Adding the punishment of one other human adds no more than was there already (for infinity plus infinity equals infinity). The same holds true for "the sins of the [whole] world." The slaughter of the Infinite One for these sins beings one infinity into contact with the other--just payment.

Our sins brought us under the curse of the law, but Christ became a curse for us by hanging about the tree (Galatians 3:10-14). Because of Christ's death, God could effect what Luther called a "happy exchange": i was the subjects of God's just condemnation, the objects of His righteous wrath, but the sinless Christ became "sin" for us, so that we might become God's righteousness by Him (2 Corinthians 5:21). God established Him because the propitiation, the appeasement, so that the all-consuming fire of His wrath may be diverted to Him instead of destroying the rest of us humans (Romans 3:25). As Isaiah said, "The LORD has laid on him the iniquity folks all" (Isaiah 53:6).

Must we choose?
[http://conspiracyparanormal.blogspot.com resurrection] - Dynamic, subjective, and objective--must we choose from them? No! By its very nature the atonement is higher than any one metaphor or perspective can contain. We must always be answering, "Yes, and much more besides." Like astronomers surveying the universe, the more we study it, the greater vast it becomes. Our lack of ability to fully comprehend its dimensions will not nullify what we can understand, nor will it rob us of the amazement we sense at what we should know was accomplished.

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HattenRedwine341: Created page with 'Atonement What was The lord doing about the cross?. It constitutes a search for understanding of one of the crucial events of human history, perhaps the crucial event. The whole…'