April 9, 2004

THE PROPITIATION

"He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world" (1 John 2:2, NKJV).

The portrait of Christ as the propitiation for the whole world is loaded with significance for every inhabitant of our planet.

In simple terms, Christ is our propitiation in that by His death on the cross, He paid the penalty for our sins. Through grace, He became our sin-offering and suffered the penalty of our sins so that God might declare us righteous (see Romans 5:21). John makes an important point when he says that Christ "Himself is the propitiation for our sins" (1 John 2:2). Jesus is both the sacrifice as well as the one who offers up the sacrifice (see Hebrews 2:17).

Jesus Christ became the propitiation for every man, woman, and child on our planet. Peoples of all races and nationalities are included (see John 1:29; 2 Peter 3:9). This universal salvation is for all who will accept and appropriate the merits of Christ's sacrifice (see John 1:12; 3:16).

The apostle John identifies Christ's work of propitiation as the integral part of the anatomy of divine love. The pagan concept of propitiation as the appeasement of an angry God is totally rejected. The good news of the gospel is that "while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8, NKJV). A God who is absolute love (see 1 John 4:8) does not need to be appeased or reconciled to the sinner. It is the sinner who needs to be reconciled to God (see 2 Corinthians 5:18, 19). The only hope for the fallen race is to become reconciled to God. "When the sinner looks upon Christ as the propitiation for his sins, let men step aside. Let them declare to the sinner that Christ is the propitiation... for the sins of the whole world."--Workers Under God, p. 220.

My Prayer Today: Lord, as a God of love, You provided Jesus as my propitiation. Through Him, I have life eternal. Amen.