Is Jesus Our Propitiation or Expiation?

Romans 3:24-25 speaks of “the redemption in Christ Jesus whom God purposed as a hilastērion through faith in his blood …” (author's own translation).

Jesus was “purposed” or “manifested”¹ by God as a hilastērion,² a term that conveys either “expiation” (RSV) in the sense of “atonement” (ISV, NIV, NRSV), or “propitiation” (ASV, ESV, NASB, N/KJV) in the sense of “appeasement” of divine wrath. In the LXX the word was used for the “mercy seat,” from the Heb. kappōreth (“propitiatory”), the lid of the Ark of the Covenant (Ex. 25:17-22; et al.) where Israel’s atonement was appropriated each year (Lev. 16:15-16). On either end of the gold-plated lid were two cherubim, with the presence of God in the form of the Shekinah in between. 

When Jesus had accomplished his mission on earth by way of death, burial, and resurrection, on either end of where his body had been laid were two angels (John 20:12). “Indeed, Christ has become the meeting place of God and man where the mercy of God is available because of the sacrifice of the Son.”³ While appeasing the “wrath of God” (cf. 1:18; 2:5-8) and allowing “peace with God” (1:7; 5:1), Jesus is our metaphorical “mercy seat” (CSB, NET, YLT) in the sense of “atoning sacrifice” (BSB, MSB, WEB). Does he then serve as an “expiation” (atonement) for sin, or a “propitiation” (appeasement) of divine wrath? Yes he does! 

What God has accomplished in Christ is “through faith in his blood,” a metonymy for his “death” (5:6-10).⁴ This is at the heart of the gospel message calling for an obedient faith-response where redemption is actuated  (6:3-7).

--Kevin L. Moore

Endnotes:

     ¹ The idea of planning or proposing is the more common usage of this verb (cf. Douay-Rheims, JUB), although the idea of displaying may fit the context better (cf. ASV, CEB, CSB, ERV, ESV, NASB, NET, NIV, N/KJV, NLT, N/RSV). Unless otherwise noted, scripture quotations are the author's own translation. 

     ² The only other occurrence in the NT of this noun is Heb. 9:5. The verbal form [hiláskomai] is found only in Luke 18:13; Heb. 2:17.

     ³ Everett F. Harrison, “Romans,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary. Vol 10. Eds. Frank E. Gaebelein and J. D. Douglas (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1976) 43.

     ⁴ Cf. Matt. 26:28; Acts 20:28; Eph. 1:7; 2:13; Col. 1:20; Heb. 9:11-15; 10:17-19; 13:12, 20-21; 1 Pet. 1:18-19; 1 John 1:7; Rev. 1:5; 5:9; 7:14; 12:11.

Related Posts: All Have Sinned and Fall Short of God's Glory, Jesus: Our Mercy Seat

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All Have Sinned and Fall Short of God’s Glory

“For all have sinned and fall short of God’s glory, being justified freely by his grace through the redemption in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:23-24).¹

Contextually the “all” here is not a universal evaluation and indictment of each individual person, regardless of age, mental capacity, and culpability. Otherwise, Jesus himself would be implicated.² The overarching theme of Romans is that Jews and Gentiles alike stand before God on the same footing. Irrespective of genealogical descent, the obedient receive divine favor and the disobedient face divine wrath (2:6-16); there is no partiality with God (2:11). All are guilty (3:10-12, 23; 5:12), whether Jew or Gentile (3:9, 19), not just one ethnic group to the exclusion of the other. 

All “have sinned”³ in the past and “fall short”⁴ in the present “of God’s glory.” While “glory” [dóxa] has various shades of meaning in scripture,⁵ here it seems applicable to “the divine presence and the privilege man originally had of direct communion with God…. God’s glory is the majesty of his holy person. To be cut off from this fellowship is the great loss occasioned by sin.”⁶ Nevertheless, the heavenly plan of justification “is intended to restore something of the glory of God to our lives so that we ‘can see and reflect the glory of the Lord’ (2 Cor 3:18)—and one day come to share his glory fully, in all its splendor (5:2).”⁷

Just as all have sinned, all are “justified freely by his grace.” God’s grace is freely offered as a gift, but it is of no value unless and until it is received by way of an obedient faith-response to the gospel.⁸ “What God has given the world in Christ, infinitely great and absolutely free as it is, is literally nothing unless it is taken.”⁹

The term “redemption” was originally used of “buying back” a slave or paying a ransom for a captive to attain release from bondage; then fig. in the NT for “release” from sin (BAGD 96). Spiritual redemption is “in Christ Jesus,” a prepositional phrase prolific in Paul’s writings. Penitent believers, having been baptized “into Christ” (6:3) are thus “in Christ” (6:11), inextricable from being in Christ’s emblematic body – the church (12:3-8).

--Kevin L. Moore

Endnotes:

     ¹ Unless otherwise noted, scripture quotations are the author’s own translation.

     ² 2 Cor. 5:21a; Heb. 4:15; 9:28; 1 Pet. 2:22; 1 John 3:5.

     ³ To “miss the mark” of God’s standard (cf. 2:12; 5:12-16; 6:15). 

     ⁴ The verbal husteréō essentially means “lacking” (Matt. 19:20; Mark 10:21; Luke 15:14; 22:35; John 2:3; 1 Cor. 1:7; 8:8; 12:24; 2 Cor. 11:5, 9; 12:11; Phil. 4:12; Heb. 4:1; 11:37; 12:15).

     ⁵ In John 17:5 Jesus prayed to regain his former dóxa, then said that the dóxa the Father had given him was also given to the apostles (v. 22). All faithful disciples will share in this dóxa (Rom. 2:7, 10; 8:18, 21; 9:23; 1 Cor. 2:7; 2 Cor. 3:18; 4:17; Eph. 1:18; 3:13; Phil. 3:21; Col. 1:27; 3:4; 1 Thess. 2:12; 2 Thess. 2:14; 2 Tim. 2:10; Heb. 2:10; 1 Pet. 1:7; 5:1, 4, 10); note also the angels (Luke 9:26) and departed saints (Luke 9:31). Various nuances are apparent in Matt. 6:29; Luke 2:32; 4:6; 12:27; 14:10; 7:18; Rom. 9:4; 1 Cor. 11:7, 15; 15:40-43; 2 Cor. 3:7-11; Phil. 3:19; 1 Thess. 2:20; Heb. 2:7; 1 Pet. 1:24.

     ⁶ Everett F. Harrison, “Romans,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary. Vol 10. Eds. Frank E. Gaebelein and J. D. Douglas (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1976) 41.

     ⁷ Roger Mohrlang, Romans in R. Mohrlang and G. L. Borchert, Romans Galatians CBC 14. Ed. P. W. Comfort (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale, 2007) 68, 70.

     ⁸ Cf. 1 Cor. 15:1-4; 2 Cor. 6:1; 11:4; 1 Thess. 1:6; 2:13; Jas. 1:21.

     ⁹ James Denney, “St. Paul’s Epistle to the Romans,” in The Expositor’s Greek Testament. Vol. 2. Ed. W. Robertson Nicoll (London; New York: Hodder and Stoughton, 1897) 611-12.

Related Posts: Rom. 3:24-25, Propitiation or Expiation? 

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Faith and Works: Romans Chapter 2 Versus Chapters 3–4?

There are only two prospective outcomes of God’s righteous judgment: either (a) “glory,” “honor,” “immortality,” and “peace,” summed up as “life eternal” (Romans 2:7);¹ or (b) “wrath and fury, tribulation and distress” (vv. 8-9). The standard of judgment is the same for everyone, according to the “works” or “deeds” [érga] of each person (v. 6), without inequity, injustice, or favoritism. “For there is no partiality with God” (v. 11). 

The term érga is the plural form of érgon (vv. 6, 7, 15), referring to an “act” or “action,” a “work” or “deed,” “what one undertakes to do” or “something done,” applicable to human conduct whether good or bad.² The second chapter of Romans highlights active obedience in the justification process (vv. 6-8, 10, 13, 14), which seems at variance with the chapters that follow regarding justification by faith apart from works (e.g., 3:20, 28; 4:2-5).

In a linguistic sense, interpreters throughout the history of the interpretation of Paul have resolved the problem of Romans 2 by taking the rest of the letter, understood in the traditional sense of a negation of justification through the doing of good works, as the main text which determines the meaning of the entire letter. Romans 2—or the parts that do not fit that meaning—is then read in a way that is consistent with the rest of the letter. In that way, before the process of interpretation begins, the reading of Romans is predetermined in such a way that one part of the letter determines how another is to be read. In reality this predetermination of how chapter 2 is to be read also determines the meaning of the rest of the letter. By leaving out of consideration the possible influence of chapter 2 on the meaning of Romans, the traditional understanding is reinforced. Our understanding of the letter would be different if chapter 2 were allowed to co-determine its meaning…. the tension between Romans 2 and the rest of Romans should be considered, not as a problem to be avoided, but as a promising starting point for deepening our understanding of the letter …³

Alleviating Misconceptions

If justification is “by faith alone,” as commonly inferred from chaps. 3–4, what are we to make of chap. 2? Is this apparent discrepancy irreconcilable? The problem is not what Paul actually says but the way in which “faith” has been misconceived as merely an internal belief devoid of external acts [érga] of obedience. However, the original audience to whom Paul’s letter is addressed understood “faith” [pístis] as “obedience of faith” [hupakoēn písteōs] (1:5; 16:26; cf. 1:8; 2:6, 7, 8, 10, 13, 14; 6:3-17; 10:16; 15:18; 16:19). 

The humble “works” of obedience in chap. 2 are not the same as the judaized meritorious “works of the law” [érgōn nómou] (3:20, 28) discussed later.⁴ Context and linguistic qualifiers determine whether the term “works” [érga] and comparable expressions are meant in a positive or negative sense, so “there is no real antithesis between Faith and Works in themselves. Works are the evidence of Faith, and Faith has its necessary outcome in Works.”⁵

Conclusion

For those on the positive side of God’s righteous judgment, Paul clearly does not discount personal responsibility and effort as implied in Romans chap. 2 by the requisites of “seeking,” “endurance,” “of good work,” and “doing good” (vv. 7-10). Salvation involves divine-human participation for “those who do not regard their good works as an end in themselves, but see them as marks not of human achievement but of hope in God. Their trust is not in their good works, but in God, the only source of glory, honour, and incorruption.”⁶

For those on the negative side, the motivating disposition is “self-seeking” characterized by the ones who “do not obey [apeithéō] the truth, but obey [peíthō] unrighteousness” and everyone “who does [katergázomai] evil” (vv. 8-9). Condemnation is the inevitable consequence of human defiance, sinful effort, and rejection of God’s merciful grace. Whether good or bad, God “will give to each one according to his works” (v. 6).

--Kevin L. Moore

Endnotes:

     ¹ Eternal life is indicative of both longevity and quality of existence (cf. John 10:10; 1 Tim. 4:8). Unless otherwise noted, scripture quotations are the author’s own translation.

     ² Note Rom. 9:11; cf. Matt. 16:27; 1 Cor. 3:13-15; 2 Cor. 11:15; 2 Tim. 4:14; Tit. 1:16.

     ³ Hendrikus Boers, The Justification of the Gentiles (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1994) 8-10.

     ⁴ A number of passages employ érgōn (“works”) without nómou (“of law”) but have the same meaning (BAGD 308), e.g., Rom. 4:2, 6; 9:12; 11:6; Eph. 2:9.

     ⁵ William Sanday and Arthur C. Headlam, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on The Epistle to the Romans. ICC. 5th ed. (Edinburgh: T. and T. Clark, 1908) 57.

     ⁶ C. K. Barrett, The Epistle to the Romans BNTC (London: Adam & Charles Black, 1984) 46-47.

Related Posts: Bookends of Romans: Defining Faith, Abraham Believed God (Rom 4:3), Abbreviated Gospel, Baptism (Rom 6:1-4) 

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