The Atonement and onwards

As I mentioned in my last post, I've recently been considering some aspects of the atonement and the different ways of explaining what God has done for us in the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

In recent years I have become more sympathetic to the 'Christus Victor' theme as a way as describing in a cosmic sense what Jesus accomplished in his death and resurrection. In the context of this overarching triumph over the forces of evil, there are clearly many aspects to what Jesus' death means for us in particular. He took on himself the punishment for our rebellion against God and our evil deeds (penal substition), he paid the price (took the full consequences) for our sin ("the wages of sin is death" Rom 6.23), he died and rose again that we might have new life in him, he closed the book on the old covenant (see Romans 7)... and so on.

However, my recent re-reading of the NT and OT texts has given me lots of new things to ponder (some of which I hope to return to in later posts), and I am currently pursuing some avenues of thought in the OT (about blood if you want to know!). In my short investigation so far, none of the standard ways of speaking about the atonement (except for the most straightforward - e.g. 'Jesus died in my place'), have not felt entirely satisfactory, not quite telling the whole story. My hope, and it is a naive one perhaps, is that I will find a way to construct for myself a way of talking about the atonement that relies on Biblical language and reflects as best I can the fullness, and yet simplicity, of what God has done for us in Jesus' death and resurrection. I cannot pretend that I expect to complete this search but I'm sure it will be an interesting journey!

In my wanderings, I aim to keep three markers in sight. Firstly, I will keep foremost in my mind's eye a vision of the cross that once held the creator and saviour of the universe - but is now empty. In this I hope to follow Paul's insistence in 1 Corinthians 15 that "If Christ has not been raised... you are still in your sins."

Secondly, I shall keep my eye to the picture of Jesus that we have in Revelation chapter 5.

"See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah...has triumphed!"
Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the centre of the throne...

I am convinced that no doctrine of the atonement can be complete unless it embraces fully the picture of Jesus we see in these verses: both triumphant Lion and slain Lamb.

Finally, I will strive to keep in mind Paul's warnings about 'earthly wisdom' in 1 Corinthians 1. Ultimately it's not a question of wisdom, but of power: while the cross seems like foolishness to those that are perishing, to us who are being saved it is the power of God. At the end of the day, as my friend Archie says, 'It works'.