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BernadinaChapin737 — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 21:00:08 GMT

BernadinaChapin737: Created page with 'Atonement What was The almighty doing around the cross?. It is really a search for understanding of one of the crucial events of history, perhaps the crucial event. The whole Ne…'

Atonement

What was The almighty doing around the cross?. It is really a search for understanding of one of the crucial events of 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 from 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 because the climax of a cosmic conflict with Satan and also the demonic forces of evil. Christ came since the Second Adam (Romans 5:18-19), winning the contest that Adam failed. He also came since the new Israel, faithfully keeping submitting to God as opposed to to Satan as the first Israel tried (Matthew 2:15; 4:4; etc.). Just after His baptism, the Spirit "drove" (Greek: ekballei) Him into the wilderness so that He might confront Satan (Mark 1:12). His victory there is 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 power to cast out demons as a demonstration that He was stronger than Satan. Although He described Satan as a "strong man," He claimed the opportunity to "bind" the strong man and despoil his possessions (i.e., those that were demon-possessed). His ability to cast out demons "by the finger of God" He presented as evidence of the arrival of God's kingdom on earth (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), along with his trial and murder (John 8:40-41, 44). Jesus recognized Satan as His principal enemy, and also before His death, He was so confident of victory which 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 is definitely the cross and resurrection as a conquer spiritual enemies. The Colossians were vulnerable to 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 in support of intermediary beings. "Go beyond Jesus Christ to greater realities," they could have taught. Paul replies that there are nothing beyond Jesus Christ, in whom God's fullness dwells. He it is Who "disarmed the powers and authorities, [making] a public spectacle of these, triumphing over them by the cross" (Colossians 2:15).

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

Because Christ has triumphed as our representative, we share in 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 that the gifts He gave would be the offices for building up the church. The captives are bypassed, but Colossians 2:15 seems an appropriate commentary.

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

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

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

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

Though this can be work that changes us from the inside and in which we ourselves participate, the credit still belongs to God, because it is His work being done in us and thru us. He is the one that brings it to completion tomorrow (Philippians 1:6). Meanwhile, we image Christ in this world. He was our representative within the cosmic conflict; we are His representatives in the existential struggle against the world, the flesh, as well as 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). Additionally, it involves what He did rather than (anti) us (see Matthew 20:28; Mark 10:45)---the objective view of the atonement. In fact, many think that the substitutionary nature of the atonement is the most important aspect of all.

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

When the angel stops Abraham from stabbing Isaac to death, Abraham finds a ram caught inside a nearby thicket that he can offer in place 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 made a crisis situation involving the enforced servitude of Benjamin, Judah stepped forward and freely offered himself instead for his brother (Genesis 44:18-34, especially not the Septuagint's use of anti in v. 33). In this instance also, some substitute needed to be provided. There was no potential for mere escape from the demands with 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 a lot of) is more like the sin offering in behalf of all of the people or the sacrifice with the goat on the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 4:13-21; 16:15-19). He's the "atoning sacrifice for our sins, and never only for ours, but also for the sins with the whole world" (1 John 2:2). He could be the "Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world" (John 1:29).

One for the world? How can that be just? Its justice is dependent upon the identity of the Sacrifice. An individual human deserves infinite punishment as a result of sins. Adding the punishment of some 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 experience of the other--just payment.

Our sins brought us beneath the curse of the law, but Christ became a curse for us by hanging around the tree (Galatians 3:10-14). Because of Christ's death, God could effect what Luther called a "happy exchange": we were the subjects of God's just condemnation, the objects of His righteous wrath, however the sinless Christ became "sin" for us, in order that we might become God's righteousness by Him (2 Corinthians 5:21). God established Him since the propitiation, the appeasement, so that the all-consuming fire of His wrath may be diverted to Him rather than 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 select from them? No! By its very nature the atonement is greater than any one metaphor or perspective can contain. We have to always be answering, "Yes, and much more besides." Like astronomers surveying the universe, the greater we study it, the greater vast it becomes. Our lack of ability to fully comprehend its dimensions doesn't nullify what we can understand, nor will it rob us of the amazement we sense at that which you know was accomplished.

BernadinaChapin737

BernadinaChapin737 — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 21:00:04 GMT