The Work of Christ

The Work of Christ

1 John 2: 1 – 2.

Introduction

One of the most familiar biblical images for God is that God is our Heavenly Father.  Jesus is the Unique Son of God.  He is the Only Begotten Son of God, born of the Virgin Mary.  But, Jesus taught us to address God as “Our Father in Heaven” when we pray.  This biblical image has led to two erroneous views about God.

First, some people wrongly believe that we are all God’s children.  Yes, Jesus teaches us to pray to God as our Heavenly Father.  But this does not mean that all people are God’s children.  No, the Bible teaches us that we become children of God through faith in Jesus.  There are two ways the Bible describes this new relationship through faith.  The Apostle Paul says we are adopted by God and become co-heirs with Christ.  The Apostle John uses the phrase “born again” and tells us that in order to become God’s children we must be born again through faith in Jesus.

Second, some people have a hard time accepting the Christian faith, because they have had such a bad relationship with their earthly fathers.  This is backwards.  Instead of projecting earthly father characteristics onto our Heavenly Father, we ought to think of God as the perfect example of Fatherhood.  As men, we ought to strive to follow God’s example in our relationship with our own children.  As children, we ought to recognize that God is the only perfect Father and that our earthly fathers will not always be perfect.

If God is the perfect example of Fatherhood, then we ought to allow the Bible to shape our own understanding of what fatherhood looks like.  As the Perfect Father, God has created us and given us life.  God has provided for all our needs—both our physical needs and our spiritual needs.  And, God has demonstrated his Love for us by sending his Son, Jesus, to give us forgiveness of sin and eternal life.

Last Sunday, our sermon focused on the Person of Jesus—the personal characteristics of Jesus and who Jesus is.  The Bible teaches us that Jesus is the Son of Man, the Christ (or the Messiah) and the Son of God.  In the first four hundred years of Christian theology, several controversies arose about the character of Jesus.  As a result, theologians and church leaders held several Church Councils to distinguish between heresy (or false teachings) and orthodoxy (or right teachings) about Jesus.  The orthodox position is that Jesus is both fully God and fully human.

Today, we will focus on the work of Jesus—or what Jesus did for us in his crucifixion and Resurrection.  In some ways, it is easier to talk about the Person of Christ than it is to talk about the Work of Christ.  For example, the Bible consistently teaches only one thing about the Person of Jesus—Jesus is fully God and fully human—and theologians have clearly set the boundaries to distinguish between what is false and what is true.  This is not the case with the Work of Christ.  We don’t have one accepted way to talk about what Jesus did for us on the cross, because the Bible describes it in many different ways.  The Bible tells us that Jesus gave his life as a Ransom…that Jesus’ death satisfied the Righteousness of God…that Jesus died as a Substitute for our sins…and even that Jesus died as an Example for us to remain faithful and obedient to God until death…

Since all of these ideas about the Work of Christ can be found in the Bible, I believe they are all correct interpretations of the Work of Christ.  However, I believe that none of them can adequately describe the Work of Christ.  The Work of Christ is too big and too wonderful to be captured in just one image.

The theological term for the Work of Christ is the word “atonement.”  Atonement is actually and English word which means that Jesus died on the cross so that we could be atoned or “at one” with God.  I chose the Scripture for this morning because the word “atone” shows up…or at least “atoning sacrifice.”

1 John 2: 1 – 2.

1 John 2: 1 – 2 …1 My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense--Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. 

Some people don’t like to read the Book of 1 John, because it makes them feel guilty.  They think John is teaching an unrealistic view of sinless Christian life.  For example, in this passage John says he is writing to us so that we “will not sin.”  However, we need to read this in context and pay close attention to the way he shifts between different verb tenses.

When John says we “will not sin,” he does not mean that we will never commit another sin.  Instead, he is teaching us something very important about sin.  According to John, sin is evil and opposed to God’s will for our lives.  It is not acceptable for Christians to live in continuous sin.  In fact, it is not acceptable for Christians to be comfortable with sin. 

Of course, he then follows up this statement with an affirmation that Christians will commit individual sinful acts.  There is hope for the Christian who sins.  Our hope is what Jesus is doing on our behalf while seated at the right hand of our Heavenly Father.  Jesus is defending us and speaking to the Father on our behalf.  Jesus is interceding for us in the presence of God.

But, intercession is not the only thing Jesus has done for us.  Jesus also gave his life as “the atoning sacrifice” for our sins.

Direction of Christ’s Work

I am reading from the New International Version.  But, I know some of you read from other translations.  Your translation may not use the phrase “atoning sacrifice.”  I know the King James Version, New American Standard Bible and the English Standard Version use the word “propitiation;” and the Revised Standard Version uses the word “expiation.” 

It’s true that the Greek word here can mean either “propitiation” or “expiation,” but “propitiation” and “expiation” do not mean the same thing.  In some ways, they have opposite meanings.  So, we have to make a choice between “propitiation” and “expiation.”  And that is what the translators have done.  They have chosen “propitiation” over “expiation.”

“Propitiation” is a word which is normally associated with the world of animal sacrifice.  In the pagan world, people believed that their gods were angry with them and required animal sacrifices to appease their anger.  By killing an animal and burning the dead animal on a sacrificial altar, they could change the mood or attitude of their gods.  The sacrifice was directed toward the gods.  A human being offered the sacrifice so that the gods would be pleased with them.

“Expiation” also comes from the world of animal sacrifice.  However, it differs from “propitiation” in the direction of the sacrifice.  It was not offered to the gods.  It was offered toward the sins.  The blood of the sacrifice was not intended to appease the anger of the gods.  Instead, the blood was used to cover over or to cleanse the sin.

If we want to have a biblical view of sacrifice, we need to examine the ways sacrifices were used and described in the Old Testament.  Since the earliest Christians (including Jesus and his disciples) came out of Judaism, it is reasonable to say they were shaped by their understanding of the Old Testament.

Some sacrifices in the Old Testament were obviously directed toward God.  God was angered by the sins of his people.  God’s people deserved to experience the full wrath of God because of their sins.  Therefore, they offered sacrifices to appease God’s anger.

Other sacrifices in the Old Testament were directed toward the sins of the people.  A couple of examples can be found in the procedures for consecrating the priests, consecrating the altar, and even in the Jewish Day of Atonement.  In these cases, an animal was killed, and the blood of the animal was used to cleanse the priest, the altar and the people of Israel.

Perhaps we should not choose between “propitiation” and “expiation.”  Both of these concepts can be found in biblical sacrifices.  And, I believe both concepts are at work in the death of Jesus on the cross.  Jesus died on the cross to turn away God’s wrath from us, because our sins deserve to experience the full weight of God’s wrath.  Jesus also died on the cross to wash away our sins…to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

The only thing I would insist on is to say that we do not offer the sacrifice.  In the Old Testament sacrifices, animals were not willing sacrifices.  The animals did not know what was happening to them.  The animals had to be captured and restrained in order to be offered as sacrifices.  Jesus did not have to be captured.  Jesus willingly gave his life—his life was not taken from him.  Therefore, since Jesus is fully God and fully human, God himself is both the subject and the object of the sacrifice.  God provided the means for us to escape the wrath of God as well as the means to have our sins washed away.

Scope of Christ’s Work

One aspect of the atonement (the Work of Christ) that has occupied theological discussions for centuries can be described in the question, “For whom did Jesus die on the cross?”  Did Jesus die only for the elect—those who would be saved?  Or, did Jess die for everyone—both the saved and the unsaved?

Theologians who say Jesus only died for the elect raise two interesting questions. 

If Jesus died to turn away God’s wrath, then there are some sins which are punished twice.  All the sins of the world were punished in Jesus’ suffering and death on the cross.  Then, some sins receive a second punishment in Hell. 

If Jesus died to wash away sins, then the death of Jesus was not 100 percent effective.  Jesus was successful in forgiving the sins of those who are saved.  But, Jesus failed to forgive the sins of those who are not saved.

I believe this can be reconciled by describing the difference between the accomplishment of atonement and the application of atonement.  When Jesus died on the cross, Jesus accomplished atonement for all the world—God’s wrath was turned away and sins were forgiven.  However, this accomplished work of Christ is not applied universally to all the world.  The accomplished work of Christ is applied personally and individually through faith.

The Work of Christ contains aspects of universality and exclusivity.  Jesus’ death is universal because it is offered freely to all people and all races and all nations at all points in history.  However, Jesus’ death is exclusive because it is the only way God has provided for us to escape from God’s wrath and have our sins forgiven.

Motivation for Christ’s Work

The theological phrase “atoning sacrifice” shows up twice in the Book of 1 John…

1 John 2: 1 – 2 …1 My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense--Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. 

1 John 4: 10…This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 

These two references have something very important in common.  In both passages, Jesus is the “atoning sacrifice.”  Jesus not only offered the sacrifice.  Jesus IS the sacrifice.  He was the spotless lamb who turned away God’s wrath and washed away our sins.

However, these two references also make two different points about why Jesus offered himself as the “atoning sacrifice.”

1 John 2 tells us that Jesus was motivated by Righteousness.  His death on the cross satisfied the Righteous requirements of God.  His death on the cross was sufficient because Jesus was truly Righteous.  His life was perfect and sinless.  Jesus was uniquely qualified to serve as our representative priest before God.  AND, Jesus was uniquely qualified to be the Righteous sacrifice.

1 John 4 tells us that Jesus was motivated by Love.  God loved us so much that he provided the only way for us to be “at one” or reconciled with God.  AND, Jesus loved us so much that Jesus was faithful and obedient to God’s plan for his life.

Both Righteousness and Love are important concepts for us to understand why Jesus offered his life as the “atoning sacrifice.”  Because God is Righteous, God cannot tolerate human sin.  Our relationship with God is broken as a result of our unrighteousness.  Because God is Love, God cannot tolerate this broken relationship.  God could maintain his Righteousness without ever offering us a way to be in relationship with himself…But without relationship, there would be no Love.  God could maintain his Love for us by tolerating any and all forms of human sin…But by tolerating human sin, God’s Righteousness would be compromised.  The death of Jesus on the cross is the only way to reconcile God’s Righteousness and Love.  God provided the sacrifice that satisfies his Righteousness and demonstrates his Love.

Conclusion

One of my favorite ways to describe the Work of Christ is to use a human illustration about forgiveness.  I got this illustration from a book I read in a college theology course (Fisher Humphreys, Thinking about God: An Introduction to Christian Theology, [New Orleans: Insight Press, 1974]).

Imagine that you are in business with someone who has been your life-long friend.  After a long and successful career, you discover that your friend and business partner has been stealing money from you.  When you find out all the details, you discover that your friend and business partner has stolen your entire life savings.  There are three ways you can respond.

First, you can simply ignore the theft.  You can continue to be friends and business partners.  This is what most people think of when they think of forgiveness.  However, forgetting is not the same thing as forgiveness.  In fact, forgetting is not a good option.  By ignoring the problem, you are not helping your friend and business partner—he will continue to steal, because he has gotten away with it.  By ignoring the problem, you are also an accomplice to the crime.  You knew about it and did nothing.

Second, you can punish the criminal.  If you punish the criminal, you alleviate your own guilt, you help the criminal to “learn his lesson” and hopefully correct his ways.  You even have the satisfaction of “doing the right thing” and seeking justice.  But, justice does not fix the relationship.  In fact, justice is probably going to destroy the relationship.

The third way is the way of forgiveness.  Forgiveness is not the same thing as forgetting or ignoring the crime.  Forgiveness is not the same thing as justice.  Forgiveness is suffering the consequences of someone else’s actions and working to restore the relationship.

This is what Jesus did on the cross.  Jesus did not suffer the consequences of his own sins.  Jesus suffered because of our sins.  Jesus did not give us what we deserve.  Jesus took the punishment and consequences that we deserved so that we could be reconciled to God.