Page 18 - TH200 Abundant Life A4 Final

Abundant Life in the Son: A Study of Salvation

Jesus verified the concept of vicarious substitution, noting that “the
Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life
as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). The apostle Paul confirmed this
truth: “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a
curse for us” (Galatians 3:13). These verses state clearly that Christ, the
sinless One, took upon himself the penalty that sinners should rightfully
have borne. Paul insisted that the atonement through the death of Christ
shows that God is both just and merciful (Romans 3:21–26).

Aspects of the Atonement
No one term defines or explains all that is included in the atonement.
We will examine five words to clarify Christ’s saving work more fully.

Obedience
Of the various aspects of the atonement, the one that unifies the
whole concept the most is Christ’s obedience. Obedience is the general
aspect on which all the others depend. Providing salvation for us
required Christ to become our obedient sacrifice. He didn’t assume
His own rightful status of equality with God but willingly took the form
of a servant (Philippians 2:7–8). This required Him to voluntarily limit
the exercise of His divine attributes for a time (Hebrews 2:14). John
captured Jesus’ sublime act of obedience simply and graphically: “The
Word became flesh and lived for a while among us” (John 1:14)—as a
man. Luke recorded that Jesus obeyed His parents during His youth
(Luke 2:51). Jesus himself stated that His mission on earth was to do
God’s will obediently (John 6:38).

As the Son of Man, Christ obeyed the demands of the Law. He kept the
civil law as one born a Jew and observed the ceremonial law as well. He
also kept the moral law, fearing God and keeping His commandments.
Finally, He submitted to all the penalties that resulted from man’s
disobedience to the law of God.

While obedience is the general aspect of the atonement, four
other specific terms describe what God did in Christ’s death: sacrifice,
propitiation, reconciliation, and redemption. Each term describes the
provision of God that meets a specific need of sinful man. These
words are especially important because they are the ones used in the
New Testament.

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