There will never be a love that burns with a greater intensity, with a greater ferocity, than the one God has for his creation. Furthermore, out of everything in his beloved creation, humanity is far and away his most beloved. It is a wonderful and profound mystery that the creator of the endlessly expanding universe would even be mindful of us, let alone treasure us so dearly.
This excellent news has, as it should, captured the heart of the Church. It has become a huge point of emphasis in her teaching—again, as it should. However, there are other aspects of God the contemporary Church has, generally speaking, underemphasized or flat-out ignored as a result of this extreme focus on God’s love and benevolence. Scripture tells us God is utterly righteous and just (Psalm 11:17), completely holy in every way. It tells us he detests evil in all its forms (Psalm 11:5), and to violate his perfect law is to engage in an act of deep injustice and disobedience.
Simply put, God loves what is good and hates what is sinful. He is wrathful against sinful acts, and as the all-righteous, almighty judge of creation, he must punish all wickedness. He must punish all instances in which his perfect law has been disobeyed.
At first, this may sound like very, very bad news for us. We’ve all sinned. We’ve all transgressed his good law. We don’t glorify him as we ought, we lie to each other, we hate our neighbor, we lust, and we still have the audacity to feel boastful, self-glorifying pride after doing these things. To pull no punches, we are more sinful than we can hope to understand, and as previously stated, sin incurs the holy wrath of God.
“As it is written: ‘None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.‘”
Romans 3:10
If this is true (and it is), then thank God for the propitiation of Jesus Christ!
What Is Propitiation?
Propitiation sounds like a fancy word, but it’s rather simple to understand.
From a secular perspective, Webster’s Dictionary defines propitiation as “the act of gaining or regaining the favor or goodwill of someone or something” as well as “something that appeases.” To put the word in biblical context, then, propitiation is the satisfaction of God’s sin-incurred wrath through the suffering, sacrificial death of Jesus Christ, in which our sin was placed upon him, and he was punished for it in our place.
The sacrifice of Jesus Christ appeases the wrath of God and satisfies his need for justice.
“He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.“
1 John 2:2
“In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.“
1 John 4:10
“[Jesus] [w]hom 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.“
Romans 3:25
How Does This Work?
The doctrine of propitiation may initially seem odd. You might wonder how the sacrifice of a not guilty party (Jesus) satisfies God’s wrath directed at the wrongdoings of another party (us). This is where the dual nature of Christ comes in. Jesus came to this earth completely God and completely human—100% of both! This means he was able to fully experience what it is to be human (pain, temptation, sorrow, grief, joy, etc.) while still remaining divine and sinless. This voluntary identification with the human condition allowed him to successfully mediate for and represent mankind on our behalf, as we could never hope to mediate between humanity and God in our sinful, broken state. However, his divine nature allowed him to be a perfect, unblemished sacrifice unlike any other—one that covered the sins of humanity once and for all.
The writer of Hebrews explains it like this:
“Therefore he 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.“
Hebrews 2:17
We could never hope to appease God’s wrath on our own. Left to our own devices, we all deserve eternal separation from him in hell. God knew this, and so much did he love us, he devised a glorious plan of propitiation that allows us to be in community with him, all without compromising his justice.
Implications of Propitiation
Critics of the Bible and Christianity may say that the doctrine of propitiation demonstrates the cold, detached, hateful nature of God. They may claim that no loving, kind-hearted deity would ever harbor such anger towards its creation, and this means God is nothing short of a vengeful monster.
In reality, the doctrine of propitiation demonstrates the exact opposite. It tells us that God, the all-righteous creator and judge from whom morality stems—God who cannot let sin go unpunished (that would make him an unjust, immoral judge!), loved us so much that he was willing to come down to us in the flesh and take the full brunt of justice in our place.
This is powerful, unimaginable love.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.“
John 3:16
Looking Ahead
How can we apply this amazing knowledge to our lives?
Recognize Your Fallenness: On your own, you are not enough to sustain yourself through life and ministry. You can know this principal is true because it is deeply rooted in your salvation: on your own, you could do nothing to appease the holy and righteous wrath of God, so you needed him to reach down and help you, and he did that through the redemptive work of Jesus Christ on the cross. Take this to heart in other areas as well. Nowhere in scripture does it say you are to carry the burden of existence alone. If you have accepted Christ, then you have open access to a God who loves you. You have access to a God who is stronger than you could ever fathom. He has equipped you with his Holy Spirit to do every good work. So when your discipling relationship with that person on your heart isn’t panning out the way you would like, and you are starting to feel inadequate for your calling, recognize that you are not enough on your own and, through prayer and reflection, utilize the guidance and wisdom of the Holy Spirit. In this same way, when you’re undergoing a time of deep loss and sorrow, perhaps because of the death or sickness of a loved one, once again recognize you are not enough to get through life by yourself, and cry out to the God who saves.
Spread the Good News: Did you know there are thousands of people in your community who, at this moment, are still subject to the full wrath of God? There are people who live next to you, or who pass by you in the grocery store, or who even sit next to you in church, who have not accepted the propitiating sacrifice of Jesus Christ? Think about how lost and hopeless you were before you entered into relationship with God, and let this fuel you to go out and make disciples. Pray and see if there is anyone in your life God is calling you to. What relationships do you have that are spiritually ripe for the plucking? It is not God’s will for any to receive the eternal punishment that is their due, and it shouldn’t be your will either. Get out there and serve so that others may discover the miraculous news of the propitiation Christ offers them!
“That is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.“
2 Corinthians 5:19
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