and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.
1 John 2:2
Propitiation is another churchy word that is difficult to understand. Usually, we just don’t understand what it means. This devotion, the second in the series, looks at the meaning of propitiation and how it fits into the plan of salvation.
Nuggets
- Propitiation can be a form of appeasement or how God remains Who He is so He can keep on loving us.
- God wouldn’t have designed the plan of salvation if it wasn’t because of He loves us and His wish to restore the relationship.
- Jesus knew that He was the only One who could appease God’s wrath.
- Jesus’ blood gave us new life.
- God is not going to excuse those who have not confessed their sins.
To read devotions in the Churchy Words series, click the appropriate button below.
I made omelets for breakfast this morning, so Adam was done with his almost before I got mine made. I thought he had gone upstairs so I was gnawing in my mind on what I would do for this post.
Of course, Adam caught me. We talked through a little bit about the levels of understanding of the term propitiation. Some of us know what it means; some of us have no clue. Others think they know but may not really.
I mean, when was the last time you used propitiation in a sentence or conjugated it? If you are like me, like never.
Let’s take a look to see what is meant. I found two different explanations of propitiation. (Okay, see. It is a difficult concept.)
The first one said that it was about appeasement or satisfaction. In order to be justified, God had to do something to appease His wrath. (It doesn’t stop there. We then have to be reconciled to Him.)
The second explanation that I found said that propitiation is how God remains Who He is so He can keep on loving us.
Propitiation Because of Love
"In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins" (I Jn. 4: 10 NKJV).
If we look at propitiation as a form of appeasement, look who is doing the actions. “… [God] loved us and sent his Son …” (I Jn. 4: 10 ESV). The only us in there comes after the verb.
My first thought was there is no us about it; it is all Him. But that isn’t totally right. The action is all Him, but we are the object of the action.
God wouldn’t have designed the plan of salvation if it wasn’t for us. It was all about His love for us. He wanted to restore the relationship.
Our loving Father knew there was no way we could make amends for the sin. “Therefore [Jesus] had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people” (Heb. 2: 17 ESV).
Propitiation by the Only Way
“He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world” (I Jn. 2: 2 ESV).
I bet if there was any other way than sending His Son to die this horrible, agonizing death, God would have done it. Jesus asked for some other way to be found. “He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, ‘O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will’” (Mt. 26: 39 NKJV).
To read Did Jesus Struggle with His Mission, click the button below.
But Jesus knew that there was no other way. He had already said that. “Jesus said to [Thomas], ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me’” (Jn. 14: 6 NKJV).
Jesus knew that He was the only One who could appease God’s wrath. So, He willingly did it. Was it easy? No. Did it hurt? Yes. Jesus died anyway because He loves us, too.
Propitiation by Jesus’ Blood
“Whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins” (Rom. 3: 25 ESV).
We’ve talked a couple of times over the last few devotions that it is about Jesus’ blood.
I am not squeamish about blood, but I haven’t really seen a lot of blood at once. I remember watching Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ for the first time. I know that blood was all Hollywood smoke and mirrors (thank goodness!), but to think that was probably a pretty accurate picture of the real thing stopped me in my tracks.
To think that Jesus went through that agony was unfathomable. As one who is allergic to pain, that really had to hurt.
And not for any reason involving Him. Jesus hadn’t sinned. It was all for us and our sin.
Let’s look at it this way. Usually when you have wrath, the outcome is this epic battle.
God had the wrath that needed appeasing. Jesus was a one-Man army in the epic battle. And He was victorious! Jesus saved us from God’s wrath. He stepped in front of us and took the brunt of the battle for us.
Let’s look at it another way. We talked before about vengeance being God’s responsibility.
God really wasn’t seeking vengeance on us (even though He probably should have). He was looking for justice, instead.
When we think about justice, we think about someone who has committed a crime getting caught and punished. In our minds, they get what they deserve.
Who is the criminal in this story? Yes, it is Adam and Eve — and ultimately all mankind. But it is in reality Satan. He was the deceiver that got the ball rolling. Adam and Eve were the deceived.
That doesn’t pardon Adam and Eve. They made the choice to buy the baloney Satan was selling.
But God’s vengeance — if there is any at all — is pointed toward Satan, not us. God loves us. He was disappointed in us, sure; but He still loves us.
Here is a third way to look at it. Think about how necessary blood is for life. Think about someone bleeding out. People can lose their lives because of one well-placed cut.
Jesus’ blood gave us new life. He bled out so that we might live.
Propitiation that Condemns
“God's anger is revealed from heaven against all the sin and evil of the people whose evil ways prevent the truth from being known.” (Rom. 1: 18 GNT).
I know what you are saying. “Hang on, Chick. You’ve just been talking pardon, love, life. Where does this condemn come from?”
It comes from the if-there-is-any-vengeance-it-is-against-Satan idea. But man is an accomplice. There may or may not be vengeance, but there is condemnation.
Yes, there is the no condemnation verse. “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8: 1 ESV).
But that doesn’t mean there is no condemnation. “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God” (Jn. 3: 18 ESV).
We can talk about all of the warm fuzzies we want. But they mean nothing if the propitiation isn’t there.
What? Did you think God was going to green flag sin? Nope. He is going to black flag it.
God is not going to excuse those who have not confessed their sins. His anger has not been appeased if we do not accept that Jesus is the only Way.
God still loves the non-believers. The problem is the relationship has not been restored. There is no free pass into heaven.
Making the Connections
The main thing I get out of all of this is substitution. Jesus substitutes Himself for us so He could do the hard stuff, the stuff we would never be able to do.
Jesus knew God’s wrath had to be appeased because we wouldn’t have been able to take it if it was directed at us. He stepped in front of us to take the bullet we never could.
Why? Love.
Plain and simple.
How Do We Apply This?
We accept the love. We accept the sacrifice. We ABCD. We live for Him.
Loving Father. We know when Adam and Eve committed the original sin that You must have been disappointed in us. We know Your wrath has been directed toward Satan. Though all of these years, You have continued to love us. You showed this when You sent Your Son to die for us. We are humbled that Jesus would willingly, purposefully step in front of us to take all that — by rights — we should have taken ourselves. We admit we are sinners. We believe that Jesus is the only way — the propitiation — by which our relationship with You can be mended. We confess You as Sovereign God. Help us to demonstrate this commitment we have made by changing our lifestyles to live in the way in which You have called us. Amen.
The ABCDs of Salvation
A – admit our sins
B – believe His Son Jesus is our Redeemer
C – confess God as Sovereign Lord
D – demonstrate that commitment by making any changes needed in our lives to
live the way in which God has called us
If you have not become a believer in Christ, please read through the Plan of Salvation and prayerfully consider what God is asking you to do.
What do you think?
Leave me a comment below (about this or anything else) or head over to my Facebook group for some interactive discussion.
If you don’t understand something and would like further clarification, please contact me.
If you have not signed up for the email daily or weekly providing the link to the devotions and the newsletter, do so below.
If God has used this devotion to speak with you, consider sharing it on social media.
Pingback: What Does Sanctification Mean? – Seeking God with Elaine
Pingback: How Is Jesus Our Cornerstone? – Seeking God with Elaine
Pingback: What Is Righteousness? – Seeking God with Elaine
Pingback: What Does Atonement Mean? – Seeking God with Elaine